Chapter 12
SHANE
“You look like crap,” Jace says as I walk up to where he, Jax, and Killian are standing together in the lobby of the main house.
“Thanks,” I deadpan.
He beams a big smile at me, which only puts me in an even worse mood.
I barely remember coming home and crawling into bed last night, and the first thing I saw when I woke up was a text from Jordan saying there was a house leadership meeting, and I had less than twenty minutes until it started.
That meant I had enough time to get up, drink some water, take a couple of painkillers for my headache, get dressed, brush my teeth, and haul ass over to the main house so I wouldn’t be late.
I didn’t even have time to grab a coffee, and I don’t function well without my morning coffee on a good day.
At least I don’t have to worry about acting weird around Jace after what happened last night since he’s being his usual annoying self, but that’s pretty much the only good thing going for me today.
“Are you hungover?” he asks. “You look hungover.”
“I thought I looked like crap?”
“You do, but you look like crap because you look hungover,” he says, like he’s explaining something to a toddler.
“I’m a little hungover,” I admit, since it’s not like I can hide it.
“Did you have a fun night?” he asks innocently, but there’s a gleam in his eyes that’s unmistakable.
My cheeks and neck flush hot. So much for not acting weird around him. “It was fine.”
The corner of his mouth lifts in a too-sexy smirk. “I bet it was.”
“Do you have any idea why we were summoned?” Jax asks.
“No. Did you hear anything?”
Both Jax and Killian shake their heads.
The door leading to the western wing of the house opens, and Axel pokes his head into the lobby. “Follow me.”
Dutifully, we do as we’re told as he leads us through a maze of hallways and doors, but instead of taking us to the panic room, he leads us to a different room where Jordan and Nico are already waiting for us.
Like the panic room, this one is tiny and has the same general decor as the rest of the house, and it’s also completely empty except for an extravagant chandelier.
“I imagine you’re wondering why we called you to a meeting this morning,” Jordan says once Axel has closed and locked the door.
“We made some headway in our search for the physical copies of the blackmail files, and we need to act fast to make sure we can use this information to our advantage.” He flicks his gaze to Axel.
“Carter was able to pinpoint where the files are being kept,” Axel says, his expression grim. “But getting them won’t be easy.”
“Good thing we’re not fans of easy,” Jace says, his expression unbothered.
“What are we looking at?” Jax asks.
“They’re being kept in a safe, which isn’t all that surprising,” he says.
“But the safe is in a locked room that can only be opened with a code that changes every twenty-four hours. The only way to get that code is to gain access to the private server where Myles first found the file, which also controls the security for the room, and that can only be done by hardwiring into it from inside the house.”
“What else?” Killian asks.
“The only way to get to the safe room is through the bedroom of the main leader.”
“Ben?” I ask before I can stop myself.
Axel nods. “So not only do we need to break into Ben’s room, we also need to get the code so we can get into the safe room, and we need to break into the safe. And of course, there are multiple layers of security and surveillance that need to be neutralized before we can do any of that.”
“I imagine you’ve either found an opportunity for us to do all that, or there’s more you’re not telling us,” Jax says, his expression shrewd.
“It’s both,” Jordan confirms. “The Kings are hosting a party tonight, and Carter found out that they’re going to be updating their security system next week and completely overhaul it, so it’s either we jump on this chance now or we’ll have to wait until after we’ve figured out exactly what’s in the update and how to bypass it. ”
“Sounds like tonight’s the night, then,” Jace says. “Is there a plan?”
“Not yet, which is another reason you’re here,” Jordan says.
“Getting into the party might be an issue,” Killian says. “Especially for me. There’s no way in hell they’ll ever let me set foot in there ever again.”
“Me either,” Jax says.
“Why not?” I ask.
Killian smirks. “Because I may have slept with Ben’s ex-girlfriend while she was still his current girlfriend.”
“And I beat up three of their junior members when they tried to jump Myles and might have stabbed Ben’s little brother in the process.”
“Yeah, that would do it.” I glance at Jace. “Have you pissed Ben off lately?”
“Not as far as I know.” He shoots me a grin.
“I can get Jace on the list,” I tell the leaders. “But not the other two.”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Jordan says.
“You’re friends with Ben?” Killian asks.
“Not friends, exactly, but we went to the same boarding school and our dads have done business together since before we were born, so we’ve been in each other’s orbits without being actual friends since we were kids.
I’ve been to plenty of their parties over the years.
No one will think it’s weird if I angle for an invite to this one.
” I pause. “I’ll have to think of a way to get Jace on the list without anyone asking questions, considering our history, but it shouldn’t be a problem. ”
“Excellent,” Jordan says.
“If you can get me into the house and keep me off their security cams, then I can get the files,” Jax offers.
“Won’t be a problem,” Jace says dismissively. “I can hack their system with my eyes closed, and it should be easy enough to slip away from the festivities and get to their server room so I can hack that too.”
I look between the twins. I already know Jax can crack locks thanks to our adventure in the escape room, but Jace is an actual hacker? Is that what they meant before when they said they wanted him to work his magic on the files?
“The only issue left is getting Ben’s ID so we can get Jax into the server room,” Jordan says.
“Can’t you do your thing and open it once you’re there?” Killian asks Jace.
“Not since Myles made their system his bitch,” Jace says.
“It would have been easy peasy before, but from what I’ve been able to tell, they’ve added a fuck ton of safeguards to protect the room and server from both internal and external threats, and the only foolproof way to get in without setting off a half dozen alarms is with one of the leaders’ IDs. ”
“So how are we supposed to get his card?” I ask. “It’s not like he’s just going to leave it lying around during a party.”
“Nope, but we don’t need him to since we’ve got you on our side,” Jace says.
“Me?” I ask incredulously.
He nods.
“What do you mean?” Jordan asks. “How can Shane help with that?”
“He has a particular skill set that no one else does,” he says cryptically.
“I do?”
He nods, the corners of his lips tipping up in a smile. “You’ve got a talent for sleight of hand, and that includes pickpocketing, doesn’t it?”
“How did you know about that?” I ask at the same time Killian and Jax both say, “What?”
“I have my ways,” he says with a grin.
“Is that true?” Jordan asks.
I nod. It’s not like I can lie since Jace somehow figured it out.
“So we have a plan,” Axel says, looking relieved. “Shane will get Jace and himself into the party, and once it’s safe, Shane will get Ben’s card off him. Then the two of you can get Jax into the house so he can get the file while Jace plays Oracle.”
“Sounds good to me,” both Jax and Jace say in unison.
“Guess I’m not going to be all that useful this time around,” Killian says, not looking all that broken up by the news. “But good luck.”
“You good?” Jordan asks, looking directly at me.
I want to tell him that no, I’m not good with the plan and I don’t think relying on me to get Ben’s card is a good idea, but I know my protests will fall on deaf ears, so instead I just nod and hope to fuck I look breezy and confident and not like I’m internally freaking out.
“Let us know when you’ve got yourself and Jace on the list,” Jordan says.
“I will,” I tell him, my heart already fluttering in my chest as nerves tickle my belly.
“Let us know if you need anything for tonight,” Jordan says as Axel pulls a key ring out of his pocket and goes to unlock the door. “And don’t fuck this up.”
“Have we ever let you down before?” Jace asks with a smirk.
“We’ve got this,” Jax adds, just as confident as his brother.
Once the door is open, we follow Axel out of the tiny room and back through the maze of hallways and doors until we’re once again in the lobby.
No one says a word as we leave the main house together, and we’re just coming up to the gate when Killian tosses me a little smirk and taps his ID on the sensor. “Looks like someone’s getting a little baptism by fire tonight.”
“Yay me,” I say dryly as the rest of us tap our IDs to log our exit. “Nothing like finding out that I’m going to be doing some insane spy shit that will probably get me killed when I still haven’t even had my morning coffee.”
“You won’t get killed,” Jace assures me as the four of us walk down the path that will take us to Hamilton House. “I won’t let that happen.”
Something about his tone calms the very real anxiety that’s been brewing beside me, and I find myself relaxing.
“We’ve got your back,” Jax adds and claps me on the shoulder in a reassuring way. “We’ve done this sort of thing dozens of times, so as long as you listen to us and don’t be a dumbass, you’ll be fine.”
“You guys are way too calm about this,” I tell them. “I mean, I know you’re used to this kind of thing, but it’s still a pretty insane plan and there’s a fuck ton of ways it could end very badly for all of us.”
“It is, and there are,” Jace agrees. “But it’s like Jax said, as long as you listen to us, you’ll be fine.”
“How did you find out that I can pickpocket?” I ask him. I haven’t told anyone on campus about that.
He grins. “There’s a note on your student file about it.”
“Really? Wait. How did you get my student file?”
“Same way I get most of my information.” Our arms bump together, and it’s then that I notice how close we are, and I fight the urge to take a step back from him.
“Hacking?” I ask when he doesn’t elaborate.
He nods.
“So you’re an actual hacker like Myles?”
“Not at his level, but yup.”
“That’s both surprising and not.” I shake my head. “What was in the note?”
“It mentioned that you went through a bit of a klepto phase when you first started at your boarding school and got caught trying to break into another student’s room after you lifted their key off them.”
“That’s not what happened,” I say quickly. “He stole from me first. I was just trying to get my shit back, and they believed him over me because he was a senior and I was only a freshman.”
“Well, I believe you.” Jace bumps his arm against mine, and more of my nerves melt away. “Did you get your shit back?”
“Yeah, I bribed his roommate into letting me in so I could get it.” I smile despite myself.
“Probably should have gone that route first, but in my defense, that’s the one and only time I’ve ever gotten caught.
And I didn’t even get caught lifting the key.
I got caught using it to break into his room. ”
“Looks like we’ve got a criminal mastermind on our side,” Jace tells Jax with a grin.
“Looks like.” Jax shoots me a smirk.
“Bet you didn’t have popping your mission cherry on your bingo card for today when you woke up this morning,” Jace says as the dorm comes into view ahead of us.
“I definitely didn’t,” I tell him.
“Don’t worry, your cherry is in good hands.” His smirk makes my stomach feel funny, and not from nerves. “I’ll be gentle.”
My neck and face heat with what’s probably a blush, but luckily Killian and Jax are both too busy looking at their phones to notice.
Jace, however, notices, and I don’t miss the flare of heat in his eyes as he gives me a secret smile.
“Catch you assholes later,” Killian says, tossing us a quick wave, his attention still on his phone.
“Later,” I say as he quickens his steps and hurries ahead of us.
“See you tonight.” Jace gives me another heated grin that does nothing to help my blushing situation.
“Later,” Jax adds, slipping his phone in his pocket.
“Later,” I repeat dumbly and hang back for a few beats as they bound up the steps, their movements completely synchronized, and watch as they disappear into the house.
Shaking my head at how insane the day already is, I pull my phone out of my pocket and bring up Ben’s contact info.
Thank fuck the news about both me and Jace being named to the house leadership hasn’t broken yet.
There’s no way I could wrangle an invite if Ben were aware of my new position.
Might as well get that settled now. Then I can get a coffee and go hide in my room while I try not to panic about tonight.