Page 64 of Play The Game

Avery hands me a cup of coffee and climbs into my bed, the side Harley crawled out of less than an hour ago to head into swim practice. “I am. If I have to take the Jackal on to keep him then I will.”

He makes an unhappy sound under his breath. “The Jackal threatened my girl. I need you to get her to me and away from him before he gets his hands on her.”

That’s child’s play, and I shrug even though he can’t see me do it. “Easy. Name and location.”

The silence I’m left in is telling and when it drags on for a little too long, I cuss him out under my breath. “She knows she’s your girl, right? I’m not kidnapping some girl you’re cyberstalking, am I?”

“We’ve met.”

Fuuuuuuck. Seriously?!

I sigh loudly at him, something I wouldn’t do to any other member of the Twelve, but, again, he’s usually one of the more tolerable of the bunch. “You want me to kidnap a girl you’ve met but aren’t in a relationship with because the Jackal somehow knows you’re into her and is threatening her. Does that about cover it?”

The Coyote laughs and says, “Yep. You in or not, kid?”

Avery cuts me a look, cold and calculating, with her phone in her palm ready to start work if I deem this a job we’re taking. There’s no way around it though, we need as many members of the Twelve on our side as we can manage and it’s not like either of us are above a little bit of kidnapping. Hopefully we won’t live to regret it, but that’s a problem for another day.

“I’ll do it for a favor. Send her details through to me and I’ll have her to you by midnight tonight.”

The Coyote chuckles at me. “Oh, I think you can have her here a little faster than that, kid. She sleeps down the hall from you.”

Avery’s eyebrows nearly hit her hairline and mine aren’t far behind. The Coyote is stalking a Hannaford girl? For fuck’s sake. “Who the fuck is she?”

The chuckles turn into a full fucking belly laugh. “I’m glad you agreed to do it before you asked, kid! Her dad’s a senator and her mom’s a news anchor, so it may make some waves when she disappears.”

Avery drops her phone. I have no idea of who this girl is but by the look on Avery’s face I’ve just made a critical error. “Viola Ayres? You’re cyberstalking Senator Peter Ayres’ daughter?”

His tone changes on a dime. “Oh, hey! Is that the hot girl you brought to the Lingerie Party? I never caught your name, hottie.”

Avery sneers at the phone and I cut in, “Just answer the question, Coyote; is Viola the girl you’re stalking?”

“Yes, but I’m not stalking her, I’m just casually keeping an eye on her from afar. I mean, I could hack her webcams and watch her sleep at night, but I don’t, because I’m not a pervert. Honestly, Wolf, it’s like you don’t trust me or something.”

He’s right on the money because I don’t trust him, or any other hacker on the planet. Which reminds me; my eyes narrow down at the phone as if he can see me. “I thought you wiped my middle name from existence? I keep getting packages with the name listed.”

He scoffs. “I did. There’s no way anyone has looked you up and found out your dirty little secret. Must be someone you know.”

Fuck.

I can’t think of anyone other than the Jackal who knows it.

Fuck.

I share a look with Avery. “I’ll have her to you by midnight. Even if I have to gag ‘er and drag ‘er, she’ll be in the bunker by midnight.”

To say that I don’t have time for Mr. Trevelen’s bullshit is putting it fucking mildly.

Avery gave me the rundown on Viola Ayres while I forced myself to eat breakfast, my stomach roiling with nerves over the potential issues, and I try to scrape together a plan for how the hell I’ll get out of this if it all goes to shit. I hit Illi up to deliver her for me, organize a pick up time and then all I have left to do is… kidnap the girl.

Fuck.

I’m busy trying to look calm around the guys so they don’t get involved and complicate things even more when Trevelen pulls me out of math class. It’s our first class for the day, and the second he calls out my name, my stomach drops and I share a look with Avery.

Nothing good ever comes from being pulled out of class.

I pack my bag, my face the picture of calm and sure, while Harley glares at Trevelen like he’s seconds away from shanking him. I squeeze his arm gently, discreetly, then follow the principal down to his office.

A shiver runs down my spine as he directs me to sit. The last time I was in this room I was facing suspension and the Jackal got me out of it. I watch Trevelen attempt to pull himself into a power pose but he lacks the spine required to pull it off. I raise an eyebrow at him like a spoiled rich kid, and he clears his throat.