Page 102 of Play The Game

Avery starts to collect every frame of footage taken at Hannaford for the entire day while I call Illi, staring into the box at Harlow’s vacant eyes. He picks up immediately.

“Don’t fucking tell me. You have another package.”

I curse under my breath. “How did you guess? What the fuck is going on?”

He groans at me. “Because a headless corpse just got found at the docks, strung up like a fucking crucifix. It’s a girl, fake tits on her and nails like a fucking housewife. Who is it?”

I rub a hand over my face. “Oh, you know, only the oil magnate’s beloved daughter who’s got every fucking cop in the country on the lookout for her.”

“Okay, kid. We need to have a chat about who the fuck is stalking you.”

I snort at him. “No shit. Can you make it up here to get the package? I can call the Bear if it’s too much.”

“We can’t be trusting any member of the Twelve right now. Leave it with me, I’ll be there as soon as I can sort… the rest of it out.”

He hangs up and I tell Avery what he said. She stares at me for a long time, silent and calculating.

She shakes her head. “It doesn’t make sense. It can’t be the Jackal. Senior doesn’t play these sorts of games. Who else would be this invested?”

I shrug at her. “Whoever it is, they’re not killing people I like. They’re killing people who’ve threatened me… or our family.”

We’ve managed to attract some sort of sick, twisted guardian angel.

Fuck. Me.

THIRTY-TWO

Harley returns to class with us the next day, despite me campaigning for him to rest for another week, and I refuse to let him out of my sight for even a second. He tries to talk me down while I hover over him eating breakfast, but nothing can convince me to stop my surveillance, waiting for something to happen and for him to drop dead. I’ve never been this fucking paranoid before, but his hospital stay has fucking broken something in me.

He deals with my over-protectiveness for exactly three classes and then finally he snaps and tells me to get the fuck over it.

I just nod along; it’s easier to agree with him and then do whatever the fuck I like.

We eat dinner in the dining hall because Avery has an extra dance practice and none of us feel like cooking. Ash leaves for a run straight after, kissing me far too possessively for public consumption, but after Annabelle’s disappearance the other students are now silent in our presence. No whispers follow me and even the clueless freshmen give me a wide berth.

The rumor is I ran her off.

The truth is worse.

Harley tells Blaise to go ahead and start studying back in my room, and I give him a curious look. He shrugs, “I want you to myself for an hour after your freak out all fucking day.”

“I can’t help it. You died.”

He nods and tucks me under his arm, walking me back up to his room. None of the guys in the hall dare to look at me, and I can’t say I’m unhappy about it.

Harley kicks his shoes off at the door and waits for me to do the same, then he grabs my ass and lifts me into his arms, burying his face into my neck. I wind my arms around him and thread my fingers through his hair, sighing.

What the fuck would I have done if he’d died?

“Stop fucking thinking about it,” he mumbles into my skin, and I shiver uncontrollably.

I shake my head at him. “I can’t help it. I haven’t ever had someone to lose before and now I have four people I can’t live without. Six if you count Illi and Odie, and I do. Fuck. I don’t think I’m cut out for… loving people. I can’t fucking breathe when I think⁠—”

“Well, stop fucking thinking then,” he growls and kisses me, effectively turning my brain off the way only he can.

I groan and kiss him back, pushing and desperate because how fucking dare he nearly die on me? After everything I’ve done to keep him breathing, dammit!

He grunts and walks us over to his bed, falling until he’s on top of me, catching himself with one hand so he doesn’t crush me. He feels fucking perfect on top of me. I wriggle until the heavy weight of his hard dick rubs against my clit through our uniforms.