“It’s so crazy that you were not only at the same rave, but you stayed at the same hotel.”
“Yeah, that was a weird coincidence,” I agree.
“Is Damon okay?” he asks. “I have no idea what the kid’s life is like, but something tells me it’s not like yours, so getting drugged and kidnapped would probably fuck with him.”
“Yeah, he definitely lives a different life than I do. He was pretty messed up after we escaped, but I think that had more to do with having a gun shoved in his face and watching me off those guys. He seemed okay once we got to the city.” I pause. “Can you see if he came back to campus?”
“Can I see if he’s on campus?” He shoots me a flat look, then spins around and taps one of the keys on his keyboard. Themonitor next to the one that still has the map on it flickers to life. “I’m going to let you off the hook for asking such a dumb question because you went through something traumatic,” he says as he does his thing. “And to answer your stupid question, yes. He swiped his ID at the main gate about an hour before you did. Any other moronic questions?” he asks, giving me some side-eye.
I shoot him a big grin. “Nope.”
“I still can’t believe that Damon is a famous DJ.” He shakes his head and logs out of whatever he was looking at on his computer. “I know next to nothing about the guy, but that’s not something you’d expect to find around here.”
“Yeah, discovering that was a mindfuck. I’ve been following his alter ego for years and had no idea he’s been on the other side of campus this whole time.”
The memory of a hot mouth wrapped around my dick and a low moan of pleasure fills my senses, but I push it aside. I do not need to be thinking about that right now.
A loud beep echoes in the room, and a red rectangle with a bunch of writing in it appears on his screen.
Carter mutters something that sounds suspiciously like “Oh, for fuck’s sake” as he glares at the screen and quickly types something that makes the warning or whatever it was disappear and the beeping stop. “Can you ask your cousin to stop being a dumbass?” he asks, his voice heavy with exasperation as he keeps typing. Several screens flash on his monitors as he presumably takes care of whatever the warning was about.
“Which one?” I ask with a chuckle.
“All of them, but in this case, Jace.”
“What’s he done now?” I ask, not at all surprised that’s who he meant.
“He diverted some packages that were supposed to be delivered to King House, and the system flagged the misseddelivery. I’m sure he had his reasons, and I don’t really care what they are, but can you tell him to cover his tracks next time? Especially since I’m the one who has to deal with the paperwork if he gets caught.”
“Did he get caught?”
“No, because I just covered for him.”
“I’ll talk to him, but you’ve spent the past few years working with him. How effective do you think I’ll be?”
He huffs out a laugh. “Fair enough. Then tell him he’s going to have to deal with the paperwork himself next time. Maybe the threat of bureaucracy will deter him.”
“Done.” I lean back in my chair. “How’ve you been?”
“Not bad,” he says after a few beats. “The quiet is a nice change.”
“Did you go home at all?”
He shakes his head and cuts his gaze to the side. “No point. Did you hear about the new security protocol they’re implementing?”
“I don’t think so,” I tell him. “What is it?”
Carter has a habit of info dumping when he’s trying to distract himself, and I listen as he launches into a detailed breakdown of the update he’s been doing to our security system. Most of what he says goes right over my head, but I’m used to listening to my twin cousins talk about shit that’s far beyond my scope of understanding, so I just let him talk and nod when it feels appropriate.
“Sounds like something’s going on,” I say when he finishes. Hopefully that’s a neutral enough answer to keep him talking if he needs to.
“Yeah, shit’s going down and has been for way longer than they’re letting on,” he agrees.
“They, like the leadership? Or they like the alumni?” I ask.
“Both, but mostly the alumni.” He picks a pen up from his desk and pops the cap off, then snaps it back on a few times. “Have your dad or uncles said anything to you? I’ve picked up some chatter on the official channels, but I don’t have an in with the alumni like you do.”
I shake my head. My family was one of the original founders of the frat, and my position as part of the admin team gives me special privileges like hearing about sensitive information that others aren’t privy to.
