“Damon Cosgrove,” Felix tells him. “And you do realize that ‘kid’ is a year older than you, right?” He tosses Jace a grin.
“Yup,” Jace says, grinning back.
“That’s the emo guy, right?” Jax asks. “The one with the piercings who dresses like that lead singer from that metal band you like?” He shoots me a quick look.
I nod.
“There’s more to the story,” Killian says. “And they were just about to tell us when you walked in.” He flicks his gaze to Jace and me. “So go ahead and tell us now that the gang’s all here.”
I glance at Jace and give him a quick nod when I see his questioning look.
He quickly fills them in on what we learned about Damon’s birth certificates and how Jace linked his original last name to the files.
“I’ve found references to whoever this Blake is in a few dozen exchanges, and based on what’s in them, it looks like Blake has been one of the Kings’ primary contacts for gathering intel on people for the past few years. There’s not much else about him in there, but one thing worth noting is that Damon doesn’t have a blackmail file. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything either way since there are only a few of the Keepers in the files to begin with, but itcouldmean something.”
“Do you think it’s him?” Jax asks his brother.
Jace shrugs. “Can’t say yet. There are a few more things I need to look into before I can come to a conclusion.”
“What are your instincts telling you?” Killian asks.
“Not sure. The kid is an enigma, but being weird doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. But then again, he could be, so…” Jace shrugs again and swipes a flash drive off his desk. “Here.” He extends it to me. “This is everything I found on him.”
I take the drive and tuck it in my pocket. “Thanks.”
“So do you think Eden and Damon are, you know?” Jace makes a circle with two fingers and pokes another finger through it a few times.
The rush of anger that goes through me is sharp and sudden, and it takes all of my self-control to keep my reaction from showing in my expression.
Felix shakes his head. “Trust me, she would have told me, in great detail, if they were. They’re just friends.”
“You think he’s laying the groundwork to get with her?” Killian asks.
Felix shrugs. “No clue, but I don’t think she’s into him that way. She’s not shy about telling me when she likes someone, and the only thing she’s said about him is that he’s easy to talk to and she likes texting with him. I don’t know the guy, but from what she’s told me, he’s not really her type.”
“What do you think?” Killian asks me. “You’ve been tailing him.”
“I don’t know,” I say, keeping my tone neutral. “Nothing I’ve seen makes it look like he is, but who knows?”
I glance at Jace, who’s giving me another thoughtful look.
“What?” I ask him.
“Nothing.” He picks up his switchblade again and snaps it open. “So, what are we doing tonight?”
I half listen as everyone discusses the various things happening around campus, but my mind is stuck on the visceralreaction I had to the idea of Damon and Eden hooking up, which was just a more extreme version of how I reacted when I saw him dancing with those women at the AV party.
I’m not a jealous person. I’m also not possessive of people. My whole thing is getting with women whoaren’tlooking for more, and I have no problem hooking up with women who are already in relationships and are looking for some extracurricular funbecauseI don’t have to worry about them wanting more.
It's not my fault they want to cheat, so why should I deny myself the experience they’re offering just because they’re with some guy who means nothing to me?
And I don’t chase people. Ever. I always wait for them to come to me.
In all the years I’ve been hooking up, I’ve never once had any sort of emotional reaction to the idea of a past partner getting with someone else, and I literally see it happen on the regular, considering how many women on campus I’ve slept with.
But Damon is different, and it’s not just because of what’s been happening between us.
That first night in the woods was hands down the hottest thing I’ve ever done, and it was only the second time I’ve given in to my true desires and gotten to explore that side of myself. The first was at the AV party.
