Page 52 of Vengeful

"Okay," I said slowly. "If that's the case, we know where it is and what to expect when we get there."

"Nothing good," Hunter said. "If Caleb wanted to leave booby-traps, that's where he'd do it."

"Would Samuel Bell agree to use Caleb's land?" I directed the question to Lila.

She frowned in thought. "If the Brantley family is engineering this, maybe he doesn't know. This could be a way for them to get me, Chloe and Zachary all in the same place to get rid of us. Or maybe he knows and doesn't care."

She looked halfway defeated already. She was obviously convinced her father wasn't on her side, no matter what she did.Even if she figured out what it was he wanted, it wouldn't be enough.

I thought my father was difficult, but he was a lamb compared to Samuel Bell. Raising children to be tough was one thing. Breaking them down bit by bit was another. If Lila decided she wanted him dead, I'd be out of the door like a bullet. He wouldn't see the sunrise in the morning.

"If this is a move by the Brantleys, then Frankie did us a huge favour by making sure I was included," I said. "She could have made sure I was left behind or incapacitated, so I couldn't do anything."

"That might explain why Joshua was pissed off," Hunter said. "If she fucked with their plans, none of them would be pleased."

"No, they wouldn't," I agreed. "But Frankie doesn't take risks like that. Not unless she's very sure she can smooth it over after."

"I'm sure Joshua would forgive her after a blowjob," Hunter said. "He's not as complicated as Reuben or Caleb. He reminds me more of me than they do."

"They seemed pretty close." I rubbed a hand over my stubble.

For all I knew, she was on her knees with her mouth around his cock this very moment. That was a visual image I really didn't need, but I couldn't help wondering if she let her hair down before she fucked. The hot librarian look was cute and all, but she struck me as a wild woman in private. Someone who knew exactly what she wanted and how to ask for it. That being the case, Joshua was probably the one on his knees, his mouth between her legs. Yeah, I didn't need that visual image either. I shook my head to try to dislodge it from my brain.

"Can you find out if the trials are going to be at this location?" That was at least a billion times more important right now than the sex lives of other people.

"Are you suggesting I hack Brutham Academy?" Parker asked lightly. "You know that's usually grounds for a shallow grave, right?"

In spite of his words, he looked ready to tackle the challenge. More than ready, excited. Of course he was. If a shallow grave was guaranteed, he'd probably do it anyway. Firstly, to see if he could, and secondly, because of the basic enjoyment he got from fucking with people and the establishment in general. One day, his excitement and curiosity would get the better of him.

With any luck, it would wait untilafterthe trials.

"Usually I wouldn't suggest doing anything like that," I said slowly. "But the only alternative is trying to follow and that's too unpredictable."

"That's not the only alternative," Hunter said. "Frankie seems to like you."

"If you're suggesting I try to seduce her just to find out—" I started.

Hunter shrugged. "I'm just saying, we all have to make sacrifices to get where we need to go. It's not as if she's not hot."

If he'd slept with her before, his expression gave away nothing. Good, I really didn't want to know. Whatever he did before Lila was in the past and his business. I was sure he didn't want to know about my past encounters either. Which I had no intention of telling him about anyway. Some things were better left unsaid, especially that. Everyone before Lila felt faceless and meaningless. Practice before I found the real thing. Practice I enjoyed, but nothing more than that.

I glanced at Lila. "No."

I silently insisted she not agree with Hunter. I’d do whatever was necessary, including fuck Frankie, but I'd feel like shit if I did it. I genuinely liked the woman and I didn't want to do anything that would feel like cheating on Lila. I liked to think I had more integrity than that. But if Lila's life was at stake—

"No," Lila said softly. "I don't want anyone using anyone like that, no matter what else happens. Also, if Frankie touched Slade, I'd have to kill her, and she seems like a relatively decent person, for Brutham."

I smiled. "Thank you." I had a feeling Chloe would have insisted on Dane or Zachary doing it, but Lila had more integrity and a stronger sense of ‘touch him and die’ than Chloe.

Parker scratched the back of his head. "Hacking it is then. If I end up dead from this, it was nice knowing you all." He kissed Lila's mouth. "I love you."

"I love you too." She pressed her cheek to his and stayed there for a few moments before Hunter handed Parker his laptop.

Parker took a deep breath and opened his computer. He tapped on his keyboard and focused his bright blue eyes on the screen.

"This may take a while. These systems are designed to be hack proof. Although, there is no such thing as hack proof, even if Frankie designed the system. Hell, even if Kennedy had." He glanced up for a moment. "If they worked together, they could probably invent something hack proof."

"Get on with it," Hunter snapped. He gestured at Parker to hurry up.

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