Chapter 9 Shane #2
“Then I’ll take your lashes for you.” He gives me a grin that’s full of heat but somehow looks completely innocent. “I do like it rough, after all.”
Thank fuck the room is so dark, because my cheeks and neck heat with a blush that’s probably a vivid shade of tomato red. Jace, of course, notices, and his only response is a covert wink that does nothing to help my situation.
Jax makes a thoughtful sound, like a low hum, pulling Jace’s attention from me. “What are you thinking?” he asks his brother.
“Do you see this?” Jax skims his fingertip over a strip of wallpaper that’s about three inches long.
Jace stands and peers at the wall. “Well, fuck me sideways.” He gently traces his finger over the spot. “Good eye, bro.”
“What?” Killian asks, his long strides cutting across the small room in only seconds.
Jax steps back from the wall so Killian can lean in and look at whatever Jax found.
“Well, damn,” Killian mutters and gently pokes at the spot. “Good catch.”
I glance between the three of them. What the hell are they looking at?
“C’mere,” Jace says, waving me over.
Tentatively, I fit myself between where he and Jax are standing.
I have no idea what the fuck is going on with me, and why I’m feeling so off-kilter and unsure of myself right now.
I might not be the most confident person in the world, but I’m good at faking it.
I’ve spent so many years pretending to be someone I’m not that I can pretty much fake my way through anything.
But I’m so far out of my element here that no amount of fake confidence can make me feel like I’m on equal footing when I’m around the Hawthorne cousins.
I have no idea how many, if any, of the rumors about them are true, but I know for a fact that they’re not like most of the students here.
Our families have been casual business partners for generations, and I’ve heard all about their less-than-legal ventures and how they’re connected to organized crime in multiple countries from my father and his associates.
Our family businesses are also involved in some shady shit, but my dad has kept me away from that side of things, and I only have a vague idea of exactly what we’re mixed-up in.
From what I’ve heard, the Hawthorne cousins have been heavily involved in all aspects of their family businesses since they were young teens, and have no problems doing whatever is necessary to protect their own.
Beyond that, Jace, Jax, Killian, and Xave aren’t just campus royalty; they’re also enforcers, and everyone knows that fucking with one of them means fucking with all of them, including Killian and Jax’s boyfriends.
And after seeing glimpses of what Jace is actually capable of, it’s not surprising that Jax and Killian are just as unfazed by this whole situation as he is.
“See that?” Jace drags his finger over the area Jax pointed out.
I lean forward and study the spot. “No,” I admit.
“Feel it,” he suggests.
I’m very aware of all three of them watching as I lift my hand and run my finger over the spot.
My brow furrows when I feel a slightly raised bump that’s long and skinny, almost like the part of a doorbell that you push on. I run my finger over it again. “What is that?”
“Try pressing it,” Jace suggests.
I pause and shoot him a wary look. “Why does this feel like I’m the guinea pig in case this isn’t what you think it is and it’s actually a trap?”
“Because you’re paranoid and think so badly of me that you assume I would put you in harm’s way to protect my own ass?”
“Is he wrong?” Jax says dryly.
Jace just shoots his brother a serene smile and shrugs.
A weird sense of stubbornness falls over me. I should step back and let one of them push it, but I don’t want to give Jace the satisfaction of backing away after a challenge.
Giving him a flat look, I press on the spot.
The bump or whatever it is moves under my hand, and I can feel a soft click, like how two pieces of a puzzle snap together, when it’s flush with the rest of the wall.
Slowly, I look around, waiting for… something… to happen.
There’s a slight sound, like the scrape of paint on paint, and the four of us turn around as a small panel the size of a textbook lifts away from the rest of the wall.
“Yahtzee,” Jace says as he walks over to the panel.
I point to the button or whatever it is I just pushed. “How did you see that?” I ask Jax.
He motions to the edge of the wallpaper sheet that’s about ten inches from the button. “It’s not straight. The only reason one section of the panel would be slightly off from the rest is if there was something underneath it.”
I look at the wallpaper. He’s right. There’s a slight curve to the edge of the sheet, but it’s only off by a few millimeters.
“But how did you see that?” I press. “Especially from three feet away?”
He shrugs nonchalantly. “I’m good at spotting patterns and any sort of discrepancies in them.” He flicks his gaze to where Jace is standing in front of the now-open panel.
“Gonna need your skills with this one, bro,” Jace says, his attention still fixed on whatever is inside the panel.
Jax strides over to where Jace is, and I trail along behind him. I feel about as useful as a monkey right now—and probably seem about as smart as one.
Jax looks into the panel when Jace moves out of the way, and the calm, calculating look in his eyes is as unnerving as the chaotic energy that always seems to flow through Jace’s.
Curiously, I peer over Jax’s shoulder to see what they’re all looking at.
Inside the panel is a large combination lock, like the ones you’d find on a safe.
“Can you crack that?” Killian asks.
Jax nods and steps forward.
The three of us watch silently as he examines the lock for a few beats, then leans close so his ear is almost touching the smooth surface of the panel as he starts slowly spinning it.
I don’t know anything about cracking locks, but there’s no way he’ll be able to figure out the combination. There have to be thousands, if not millions, of possible combinations. How can he possibly tumble it without any sort of equipment or clues as to what the numbers are?
My skepticism mounts with each passing minute, but the others don’t look fazed, so I keep my reservations to myself.
“Done,” Jax says in a flat voice as he steps back and pops the lock open.
“How the fuck did you do that?” I ask.
“The pins,” he explains as Jace pops open the panel and peers inside. “You can hear them fall into place if you know what to listen for. It’s easier with a stethoscope or some sort of amplifier, but the lack of ambient noise in the room helped me pick up the change in vibrations.”
“Who the fuck are you guys?” I look between the twins, then glance at Killian. “How do you know how to do this kind of stuff?”
“Remember when I told you my brother and I have some unique hobbies?” Jace says, his attention still on whatever was hidden behind the lock. “Killian’s hobbies are as weird as ours.”
Killian shoots me a little smirk. “Almost as weird as theirs.”
“Almost as weird as ours,” Jace corrects as he fiddles with something in the panel. “Welp, I’ve got some good news, and possibly some bad news.”
“What’s the good news?” Jax asks.
“I was right. This is definitely a release mechanism of some sort.”
“For the locking system?” Killian asks.
“Doesn’t look like it. This is most likely another step in the process of finding the locks, which leads me to the possible bad news.”
“Which is?” Jax prompts when Jace doesn’t continue.
“That connecting the wires correctly will get us one step closer to not being trapped, but a single mistake will probably trigger some sort of booby trap.”
“Like what kind of booby trap?” I ask.
“Not sure.” He keeps fiddling inside the panel, and I move behind him so I can look over his shoulder to see what he’s doing.
The inside of the panel is a mess of loose wires, but the confident way he connects the ends together and slips them into the motherboard underneath is reassuring.
“Could be as simple as locking the room down so we can’t escape until someone lets us out,” he continues. “Or it could be as nefarious as triggering something meant to hurt whoever is unfortunate enough to fuck up while trying to get control of the room.”
“And how confident are you that you’re not fucking up?” Jax asks calmly.
“Confident enough.” He slips the last loose wire into a slot on the motherboard and steps back as the panel lights up. “Here’s hoping I didn’t just kill us.”
My chest squeezes with fear, and my heart skips a beat as the board flickers with red and green flashes that seem to be coming from both little lights on the motherboard and sources underneath it.
But before I can freak out, there’s a loud click, and a paperback-sized section of the wall next to the door slides open, revealing two buttons: one red, and one black.
“And that’s how it’s done.” Jace slaps the black button in the newly opened panel. “Who’s your daddy?”
“Definitely not you,” Killian says with a smirky smile. “But good job on the not killing us thing.”
“I’m amazing,” Jace says with fake seriousness. “And totally your daddy.”
Killian starts to say something but is cut off when the door pops open and Jordan, Nico, and Axel step inside.
“Not bad,” Jordan says as Axel closes the door behind him. “That’s a new house record,” he adds as Axel pushes the red button.
“Record?” I ask.
“So this was a test,” Jace says, but there’s no boasting or pride in his tone.
Jordan nods. “And you passed with flying colors.”
“Go us,” Jax says dryly.
“How much did we beat the old record by?” Jace asks.
“The previous record was more than triple your time,” Nico says, a slight undertone of bitterness in his voice.
“That was your record, right?” Jace grins shamelessly.
Nico nods curtly.
“Has anyone not been able to figure it out?” Killian asks curiously. “Like what happens if they can’t? Is there a time limit, or do they just keep trying until you take pity on them and let them out?”