Play the Game: Hannaford Prep Year Three

by J Bree

  The courses steadily get worse.

  By the time dessert comes out, I won’t even say what it is but I don’t think Illi will ever hear the word ‘foam’ without feeling queasy and enraged again, Joey’s hands have progressed from the fine tremble to full-blown shakes. Avery watches them as closely as I do, her appetite disappearing as it becomes clear he’s going to rage out.

  Joey takes a phone call and leaves the dining hall, blowing Odie a kiss because he must be the dumbest motherfucker on the planet, and some of the tension leaks out of Avery.

  The waiters clear our plates and everyone stands to leave. Well, we stand to leave. The other students, parents, and teachers all start to mingle and network like this has been a lovely, productive dinner and I’d rather gouge my own eyeballs out than stay here.

  “I’ll hunt the little fuck down for you and finish him off.” Illi murmurs, and I shake my head.

  “Despite what Ash said, the plan is still to leave him for now.”

  Ash snorts and tucks me under his arm protectively. “I think we should contact Morningstar and give him a counter-offer. Whatever the fee is I’ll pay it.”

  I groan at him but it’s not the worst idea.

  As we walk back towards the dorms, Blaise’s dad starts to grill him about me.

  Namely, why Ash is draped all over me if I’m Blaise’s girlfriend. I pretend that I’m ignoring the dick but I hold my breath while I wait for the answer.

  “We’re in a poly relationship. It works.” Blaise says, and Avery’s eyes are impressed as they catch mine.

  His father makes a noise of disgust and I tug out of Ash’s arm, just enough to turn around and give the vile man my best impression of Avery’s ball-shriveling glare.

  “You seem to be having trouble getting it; no one here gives a fuck about you or your shitty opinions. If you want to keep breathing, you’ll keep them to yourself.” I say, low and even toned. The color seeps out of his cheeks and he glances at his miserable son.

  “What the fuck have you gotten yourself into now?” He mumbles, snapping his fingers at Blaise’s mom and tearing off down the hall without even saying goodbye.

  I take a deep breath to stop myself from chasing him and stabbing him through the eye, and Ash tugs me back into his side.

  “Sorry, Star.” Blaise murmurs and I shake my head at him.

  It’s been a clusterfuck sort of night.

  Avery slips her arm through mine and frowns down at her phone as I help direct her. Illi grouches about the shitty dinner and Odie laughs at Harley’s snarky comments. I enjoy it for about thirty seconds, then we round the corner and find Joey and two of Senior’s bodyguards waiting for us at the bottom of the staircase. Great. Perfect.

  I move to tuck Avery behind Blaise and he nods at me, understanding my silent instruction to protect her if this goes to shit. One of Joey’s babysitters takes a step forward and then falters when he sees Harley, second only to Illi in sheer width of muscle. Harley is itching to make them all bleed. Now he knows the extent of what Senior and Joey have been doing to his cousins, he wants to bleed them all the fuck out. He was civil enough during dinner because of the witnesses but now we’re alone, Joey is on thin ice.

  I step forward, drawing his attention away from Ash. “You really are too stupid to survive, Joey.”

  He grins at me, the whites showing all the way around his eyes so he looks fucking deranged. “Father has told me to bring you home, Mounty. He’s eager to meet the fabled Wolf of Mounts Bay.”

  Then he reaches out to grab my wrist, his fingers nearly brushing my skin, and Ash moves faster then I’ve ever seen a fucking human move. I swear right this second he’s found his superpowers.

  Joey is against the wall, pinned by his throat, before his bodyguards realize what’s going on.

  “Lay a hand on her again and I’ll fucking bleed you out. I’m done with your games and your little lessons. I’m done toeing the line. Come after Lips or Avery and I’ll destroy you both.”

  Joey’s eyes dance around Ash’s face, searching for some hesitance or faked bravado, but there’s only the cold killer his father wishes he would embrace there.

  Illi gently moves Odie so she’s standing with Avery behind Blaise, then he flanks Harley with that little fucking grin of his slashed across his lips. His movement catches Joey’s attention, but he only addresses the bodyguards, dismissing the psycho entirely.

  “Do you two really want to die for this dickhead? Because this isn’t going to be a beating; I don’t do beatings. It’s going to be your blood on my hands and your body melting away to nothing in a vat of acid. Is that how you were planning on spending your night?”

  Joey’s eyes flash back to Ash’s face. “Do you really think some little gangster queen can keep you safe?”

  Avery snorts at him, her tone as cold as ice as she says, “We’ve found bigger monsters than you to call our own. Run along to Senior and tell him that, too.”

  Ash chuckles and shakes his head. “He’s not going to run anywhere. I’ve waited a long fucking time for this.”

  Harley doesn’t peel him off of Joey until the little fuck is unconscious and unrecognizable.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  For possibly the first time in my life I am excited for Christmas.

  Well, not Christmas Day, I’m still trying to weasel my way out of that but the rest of winter break is going to be perfect. No plans or expectations, I’m going to eat my body weight in ice cream and figure out how the fuck we’re going to hunt the Jackal without getting ourselves killed or found out by the Twelve.

  Illi sends me a giant box of information he’s been compiling, file after file of shady shit the Jackal is pulling on the other members of the Twelve, including putting a mole in the Boar’s MC clubhouse. I know for a fact the giant biker will personally wage war with the Jackal if he finds out.

  He’s fucking touchy about his clubs.

  The file about me curls my gut, but at least we now have a full list of the teachers on the Jackal’s payroll. Ash is going to have to quit the track team until we can oust Mr. Ember from the coach’s position and Mr. Trevelen is on borrowed time.

  The guys move into our room and rotate between my bed and the pullout. Avery takes it all very well, happy we’re all safe and in one spot, and the guys are all on their best behavior. Mostly.

  Blaise makes it his mission to piss Harley off, over some spat I have no interest in taking sides over, and he starts to play his guitar and make up stupid songs at all hours of the day and night. Ash and I secretly love it. Avery puts in her headphones and ignores us all in favor of flirting with Atticus over text messages. It’s messy and loud and fucking perfect.

  I wake on Christmas morning to Avery’s face hovering over mine. I startle, making Harley grunt and mumble in his sleep, and she motions for me to stay quiet and follow her to the kitchen. It feels like a trick, like she’s using her Beaumont Bullshit to force me into accepting the day, but I smell the coffee she’s brewing and decide to play along.

  For now.

  I sit at the table and Avery fusses over me until there’s a perfectly made hot coffee and a plate of French toast in front of me and I’m a happy girl. Avery waits until I’ve eaten the whole plate before she speaks.

  “Tell me why you hate Christmas.” She says and I groan at her.

  I take a deep, deep gulp of my coffee. “Did you know that even foster kids and kids in group homes get presents from Santa? Every kid on my street used to ask what I’d done wrong every year when I had nothing. Once, when I was eight, I decided it had to be because we never had a tree. So I made one from shit in the backyard and decorated it with all the crap I’d made at school and put it all up in my room. I wrote a letter, asking for food because I didn’t want a bike or a fucking doll or some other shit. I was hungry. I woke up to nothing, like always and sat there and wondered what the fuck I’d done to piss the fat man in the suit off. The next Christmas I was in the group home, and I puked when I
saw my name on a present. I gave it to one of the other girls. I hate it. Last year, your present was the first one I’ve accepted. I fucking hate this day and I hate how fucking weak it makes me feel. Can I go back to bed now?”

  Avery stares at me and I’m so freaking glad there’s no pity on her face. I know she’s feeling it, but she must know how badly I don’t want to see it. All I can see in her eyes is the bloodthirsty Beaumont rage.

  “Thank you for telling me. We should start working on our plans to hunt the Jackal soon. I’m not going to involve the guys in it. We’ll make better plans without them getting all alpha-male over this.”

  I nod and sip my coffee. If there was any day I needed the caffeine to kick in and give me super powers, this would be it. Avery doesn’t push me or ask any questions, so we sit in silence while we try to think of a way through this mess but no matter what angle I take, it all boils down to one thing.

  “The problem is Luca.” I say, frowning down at my now empty coffee cup.

  “The hot guy that always kisses you in front of Harley? I thought you said he was nice.”

  I blow out a breath. “Yeah, he’s nice but he’s also loyal. I think he’s so nice to me because he thinks I’m someday going to submit to the Jackal and become his boss too. He’s always around and I haven’t seen anyone get past him.”

  Avery taps her chin delicately. “You don’t think you could get past him?”

  “If they haven’t switched up his security I could be in and out in under a minute and none of them would know the Jackal was dead until morning.”

  Avery nods. “But they would have changed everything since the meeting.”

  I hum under my breath and think it through. Should I go to him or draw him out? “I can’t just send Illi in; I would never risk him like that and stealth will be our biggest asset. Plus, the other members can’t find out what we’re planning.”

  I need to take the guys to the gun range and see if any of them have some skills I’m unaware of. I know Harley has been trained by the O’Cronin’s and Diarmuid is the best sharpshooter I’ve ever seen. If Harley inherited those same family traits then maybe I can set him up on a roof to take the Jackal out that way.

  “I need to meet with the Crow and discuss how we’re going to handle the Jackal. He seems to be waiting for him to spiral and from what the Coyote said that’s already happening.”

  Avery sighs and gets up, grabbing my plate for a second helping of breakfast. As she’s piling on the toppings Harley groans and rolls out of my bed, rubbing his eyes like he needs another ten solid hours of sleep. I know the feeling well.

  He kisses my cheek and then joins Avery in the kitchen to make himself a coffee.

  “You forgot the sprinkles.” Harley mumbles and starts rummaging through the kitchen cupboards until he finds them.

  Avery arches an eyebrow at him and he scoffs at her. “It’s Christmas morning, Lips deserves some fucking sprinkles on her breakfast.”

  I blush, swooning a little that he even remembers that, and Avery sighs at us both. “If the two of you can’t contain your sickening love-struck selves I’m moving out.”

  I laugh at her, pissing her off until she drops a small perfectly wrapped box in front of me.

  “You promised me no presents.” I glare and Avery shrugs, smug-as-fuck.

  “I already know you got us all gifts. You think I didn’t search the entire room while you were in the shower last night? Please, I know you’re not that dense. The boys even helped me.”

  I glare at Harley and he just shrugs sheepishly. Sighing, I shake my head. “There’s no way you found the presents. I hid them too damn good from you.”

  Avery leans back against the table and smiles at me. “Sure I didn’t.”

  Ugh. Fuck.

  She has to be bluffing because there’s no way she figured it out.

  Avery laughs at the look on my face and flounced off to wake the other two guys up so we can start this awful day. Harley puts the plate of extra breakfast, complete with sprinkles, in front of me and kisses my cheek again.

  “Thanks for joining us.” He mumbles and moves to the couch.

  Okay, maybe it’s not completely awful.

  I finish my toast and have a quick shower. Ash doesn’t move until Avery wafts a coffee under his nose and Blaise bitches us all out for waking him. I end up on the floor in Blaise’s lap by the time Avery wrangles everyone into exchanging gifts. She doesn’t mention my sad little story this morning and I could fucking kiss her for it.

  “I remembered that you didn’t want things bought for you.” Blaise mumbles into my shoulder, slipping our shared iPod into my hand. I smile, because a new playlist sounds perfect, and all that I really want. He smiles back at me like I’m the freaking sun, and my heart does this silly little backflip in my chest, then he turns the iPod on to show me the name of the song.

  It’s our song.

  The one he wrote for us to sing together for choir. He’s recorded it for me, somehow in secret because I know Ash still hasn’t heard it yet. I furiously blink back tears. I will not cry in front of everyone, dammit!

  Harley makes a pissy noise and I glance up to find him shaking his head at Blaise. “Of course you gave her a fucking song.”

  Blaise snickers under his breath and I elbow him. “What’s wrong with a song? I love it.”

  “It’s cheating because you’re the hardest fucking person to buy for and Morrison has a secret fucking weapon.” Harley mutters under his breath, but he hands me a small box with a card taped on top. I find a hot wiring kit and a promise to teach me to boost cars over the summer break. It’s actually fucking perfect because when I am not wanting to learn more skills to keep me alive in the Bay?

  I kiss him, with a little too much tongue for Avery’s liking, and then Ash tugs me away from him and hands me a large black box, tied with luxurious black ribbons, and I start to panic a little that he’s forgotten how weird I am about money and bought me something expensive.

  “If that is sex toys or lingerie then please tell Lips now, I don’t need to know the specifics of your relationship.” Avery snipes, and Ash gives her a cool look as he hands her a much smaller box with a kiss to her cheek.

  “I saved that one for later.” He whispers into my ear and I shiver. I don’t know if I want him to be joking or not.

  I take a deep breath and open the box to find a bulletproof vest, brass knuckles, a tactical pen, and a new belly holster for my new ghost gun.

  “Ah, nothing says Christmas like weapons.” Avery snarks, but I smile at Ash and give him a quick peck now Avery’s pissy.

  “Good call; I don’t even care how much it all cost you. I love it, thanks.”

  Then I stand up and move the cabinet under the TV to the side until I can access the loose floorboard there that houses my safe this year. Avery groans and jabs Harley in the ribs. “I told you she’d hide the presents in there!”

  I laugh at her and open the safe, slipping the little velvet bags out for each of them and handing them over.

  They all look at the bags with varying degrees of curiosity and apprehension. And lust but, unsurprisingly, that comes from Avery.

  “You’re giving us favors for Christmas?” Ash says.

  I shake my head. “Just look in them, for fuck’s sake.”

  Avery squeals when the deep blue diamond rolls out, caged in a delicate platinum sphere and hanging from a chain. Each of the guys have them as well, though the spheres look less pretty.

  “Whose color is blue?” Blaise says with a frown, and I smile at him.

  “Mine. I don’t give out favors, but if any of you need to I want you to have the diamonds ready. If something happens and I’m not there you can use that as currency.”

  Avery clears her throat and puts the necklace on, clutching at the diamond like it’s the most precious thing she’s ever held. “And how exactly did you pay for these? There’s at least three million dollars worth of diamonds here.”

  I
smirk at her. “I didn’t pay for them. The Vulture did. The favors he owed died with him and I had eleven diamonds from him. More than enough to cover these.”

  Blaise grins at me and blows me a kiss, breaking the awed tension in the room. “Aw, you want to start your own gang. Do I have to start calling you boss?”

  The next day, I wake up early feeling better now that Christmas is over with.

  Avery refuses to take the day off from her rigorous training sessions for ballet, and I walk her down to the gym even though we’re basically alone. She reads out her conversation with Atticus to me and I do my best to be supportive. It’s fucking hard because I’m still firmly on Team Atticus-can-fucking-grovel but what Avery wants, Avery gets.

  And Avery wants Atticus in the worst way.

  When I’ve dropped her off at the gym and I’m sure there’s no random spies hanging around, I head back to our room to wake the guys up and have breakfast. I want French toast again, because when don’t I? Ooh and ice cream, and a giant mug of coffee. If Harley makes me breakfast I might kick the other two out to show him my, ahem, gratitude.

  I’m still chuckling at my own hilarity when I unlock my door and step in, freezing as the door swings shut behind me.

  Three sets of eyes take me in.

  Harley is shirtless, holy hot damn, sitting on the couch holding a bottle of whiskey. Ash looks deliciously sleep rumpled and he has shot glasses lined up on the coffee table in front of them both. Blaise looks tired and grumpy from where he’s sprawled out on the floor.

  “Wanna play a game, babe?” Harley says, waving the bottle at me as if that will entice me into playing along. I blush as I come out of my trace and I kick my shoes off, stalking over to slump down on the couch between the cousins.

  “Can we just drink? I was also kinda hoping for breakfast.” I grouse, but the second Harley slings an arm around my shoulders I’m in. Why does he smell so good?!