17. Felix
FELIX
“When is you-know-who coming home?” Eden glances at the door to my room.
We’re both lying on my bed, surrounded by a mess of books, papers, and devices as we study.
“No clue.” I look up from the notebook I’m scribbling in. “He’s not big on sharing his comings and goings with me.”
“I wish Belmont didn’t have so many stupid rules.” She nibbles on the end of her pen and kicks her feet in the air. “Then we could just study in my room and not have to worry about the unholy trinity busting through the door at any moment.”
“I thought that was Jordan, Axel, and Nico?” I ask with a grin.
“Oh, they are,” she assures me. “But Killian and the twins are almost as bad.” She lowers her voice and glances around like she’s expecting one of them to pop out from behind the furniture and catch us gossiping. “I overheard something interesting about the leadership elections this year.”
“How did you hear about that?” I ask. “I live here, and I haven’t heard anything.”
“I overheard Daniel talking to someone about it on the phone last time I was home,” she says, referencing her stepfather. “This isn’t common knowledge.” She shoots the door another quick look. “In fact, I’m pretty sure no one else knows about this.”
“What?” I ask.
“They’re not holding elections next year.”
“They’re not?” I drop my voice. Talking about frat business in Hamilton House when I’m not a member feels wrong, like I’m breaking the rules or something.
“Nope. They changed the charter, so now the current leaders pick the new ones, and the only elections they have are for house positions.”
I put my pen down so I can get all the tea. “When did they do this?”
“Over the summer. Apparently it was a huge thing because it’s the first time they’ve changed the charter since it was founded.”
“Do you know why they changed it?”
She nods. “I don’t know all the details, but they found out that one of the leaders from a few years ago was selling information about members to the Kings. And not just like, gossip, either, but about people’s businesses and families and stuff like that.”
“Do you know who it was?”
She shakes her head. “He didn’t say, but I’m assuming it’s someone from the past few years.”
“Yeah, probably.”
She shoots me a conspiratorial grin. “I also overhead Jordan and the guys talking about who they’re going to pick as their successors. Wanna know who it is?”
“Yeah, tell me.”
“Killian, the twins, and Xavier.”
“Do they know about this?”
She shakes her head.
“Killian is going to be insufferable when he finds out. Can you imagine him with that kind of power?”
“Honestly, it’s the twins I’d be most worried about. Killian is scary, but they’re terrifying.”
“They can be,” I agree.
“Speaking of insufferable assholes, how’s your evil stepbrother been lately?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, keeping my tone casual.
“I mean, how’s he been lately? You haven’t mentioned him much in the last week.”
My neck heats uncomfortably under my sweater. “Fine.”
“Fine?” She shoots me an incredulous look.
“Yeah.”
“That’s all I get after almost a week of radio silence?”
“There’s not much to tell,” I say evasively. “He hasn’t been around much this week.”
I feel bad for lying to her, but there’s no way in hell I can tell her that Killian has been letting me use him as a human teddy bear at night so I can sleep. I still haven’t even told her about us getting off together, and I don’t even understand what’s going on or why any of this is happening.
“Was he able to find out anything about that call and the messages you got? I don’t know anything about computers or hacking, but that seems like something Jace should be able to figure out.”
“He probably could. If I told them about it.”
“How could you not tell them?”
“It’s not that big a deal.”
“Not that big a deal?” she splutters. “Someone tried to run you over with a car and kill you.”
The door to my room swings open mid-sentence, and Killian and the twins walk in just as Eden finishes.
“Say what now?” Jace asks as he strolls into the room behind Killian. “Someone tried to off you again?”
“When?” Killian stalks over to my bed like a predator tracking his prey.
I sit up. Something about lying on my stomach while he looms over me makes me feel weird.
“Time to go, sweetheart,” Jax says to Eden, who’s already gathering her books and papers. “As much as I’m enjoying the view, I’m not risking your stepbrother’s wrath if he finds out we were in here with you.”
“View?” She glances at me, her cheeks pink with a blush.
I motion to where her skirt has ridden up and is showing most of her thigh. Everything important is still covered, but Eden flushes even deeper red and yanks it down.
Jax grins and winks at her, and I’m low-key worried she’s going to turn purple from how hard she’s blushing.
The twins might be two of the most unhinged people I’ve ever met, but they’re also two of the most beautiful.
It’s one of the things that makes them so dangerous.
No one suspects that the pretty boy rich kids who can charm the pants off anyone have an actual body count that has nothing to do with how many people they’ve slept with.
Eden quickly packs up her things and hurries out of the room.
“Talk. Now.” Killian crosses his arms. His stare is intense, and I resist the urge to squirm.
“It’s not a big deal,” I say again.
“Yeah, I think we’ll be the judge of that.” Jace pulls his butterfly knife out and flips it open.
I’ve known the twins as long as Killian, so I don’t even flinch as he spins the knife around his fingers in a blur of glinting metal. Knives are like fidget spinners to Jace. As long as it’s moving and he’s not holding it still, then there’s nothing to worry about.
“Talk,” Killian says.
“It happened after Natalie and her friends ambushed me.”
“Last Saturday?” Jax asks.
I nod.
Something flares in Killian’s eyes, but it’s gone before I can decipher it.
“I was heading toward the woods and was just about to cross the old access road?—”
“Where on the road?” Jax interrupts.
“Right at the end, where it connects to the path closest to the cul-de-sac.”
“Then what happened?” Killian asks.
“I got a call and stopped to answer it. A second later, a car went flying past me?—”
“What kind of car?” Jace asks. “Color, make, model, plate info. Details would be helpful.”
“Black or maybe navy blue. And it was a sedan of some sort.”
“That’s it?” Jax asks. “That’s all you’re giving us to work with? It was black or maybe blue and car-shaped?”
“I was a little distracted by the almost getting run over part to go into spy mode.”
“You’d suck as a spy.” Jace snaps his blade closed. “Although you’d probably kick ass at resisting waterboarding since you’re a swimmer.”
“The connections your brain makes are as interesting as they are terrifying. You know that, right?” I shoot him a pointed look.
He slips his knife away and pulls out a pack of gum. “Yup. Imagine what it’s like actually living with it.” He pops out a piece of out and tosses it in his mouth. “Hmmm?” He holds the pack out to me.
In all the years I’ve been around them, Jace has never once offered me a piece of gum. In fact, he usually makes a point to stare at me as he chews it like he’s making sure I see that he has gum and I can’t have any.
Slowly, I shake my head.
He slips the pack into his pocket and blows a bubble.
“Do you remember anything else?” Killian asks, steering the conversation back to my almost unaliving.
“Not about the car.” I chew on the corner of my lip.
“What aren’t you telling me?” he asks, his voice low and a bit rumbly.
“The call I got, the one that made me stop. It wasn’t a normal call.”
“Elaborate.”
“I don’t know who it was from, but after the car went past, they hung up, and I got two messages.”
“Texts?” Jace asks.
“No, like messages. They appeared on the call screen after the number disappeared.”
“Phone, now.” Jace holds out his hand.
I give it to him.
“What did they say?” Killian asks.
“The first said he’s still out there, and the second said be careful.”
“Jesus Christ. And you didn’t think to tell me this?” Killian demands.
“It’s not a big deal.”
“It is, and you know it is,” Jax says. “You’re not stupid, but you’re being an idiot about this because you don’t want it to be true.”
“Yeah,” I scrape out. “Maybe.”
“Anything?” Killian asks Jace.
He keeps his attention on the phone. “Not so far. Do you at least remember the number?”
“It was a line of zeros.”
He looks up sharply. “How many zeros?”
I think back and count them in my head. “I’m pretty sure there were fourteen of them.”
His expression hardens, like that means something to him.
“Do you think it’s the hacker?” I ask. “The one who doctored the video feed at the pool?”
“Most likely.” He looks back down at my phone and taps on the screen as he resumes whatever he was doing. “Only someone with that kind of skill set could get around the security on this thing. K made sure you got the best we have. No ordinary hacker could do that.”
I flick my gaze to Killian. His stare is so intense, so dark, I have to look away.
“I’m taking this.” Jace slips my phone into his pocket.
“Next time anything like this happens, you tell me immediately,” Killian says, his voice low. “ Anything . You got it?”
My chest prickles with heat and excitement at not just his tone, but how he’s looking at me. It’s so intense, so focused, and fuck if I don’t love it.
Not trusting my voice, I nod.
Jax looks between us, then flicks his gaze to his brother. They stare at each other for a few beats, like they’re locked in some sort of mind-meld.
Before I met the twins, I never really believed in twintuition or anything like that, but I sometimes wonder just how connected Jace and Jax actually are. I’ve seen them have entire conversations without saying a word or even changing their expressions, the same as they’re doing now.
I have no idea what they just decided or why, but they break eye contact and Jax gives Killian’s shoulder a little slap.