Play the Game: Hannaford Prep Year Three

by J Bree

  Blaise just laughs because everyone is fucking relieved to be out of that fucking hospital room.

  Avery and I are a little more discreet in our fussing, but we’re still fucking fussing. Avery’s fingers fly over the screen on her phone as she covers for our absences and plots out our next move. I watch Harley’s every step as if he’s going to drop dead any second and when we get to the stairs right as classes let out for the day, I death glare every single student who dares come near us.

  I can’t trust that the Jackal hasn’t sent someone else to finish the job.

  The whispers follow us; about Annabelle’s absence, the takedown of Ms. Vivienne, why we’ve been gone. I try my best not to roll my eyes at them but Ash is openly smirking like a smug dick about it all. When I jab him in the ribs he shrugs, “I’m just enjoying the theories of the sheep. Imagine their faces if they knew the truth.”

  He’s not wrong.

  Blaise and Ash go back to their room and I coax Harley back to our room with the promise of ice cream and coffee. He doesn’t give a shit about either of them, I start to suspect he’s just humoring me. It’s only after dinner I find out his real plan.

  “Over my dead fucking body are you going to swim training. I will knock your ass out.”

  He frowns at me, cutting a look at Avery like she’ll help him but she’s firmly Team Sit-The-Fuck-Down. “I’m going fucking insane, babe. You gotta ease up.”

  There’s no way I can let him out of my sight without the panic clawing at me.

  Instead of admitting any of that I glare at him and point to the couch. “Sit you’re ass down and don’t move. Your doctor said no swimming for another week, so no fucking swimming for another week.”

  He growls at the two of us, like that will scare us into submission, and Avery laughs in his face. He cusses the two of us out to hell and back, and I ignore him on my way to the shower. When I’m done and brushing my teeth, Harley calls out to grab my attention.

  My heart skips a beat, as I scramble but I find him on the couch where I left him only now Avery’s joined him and Harlow Roqueford’s face is on national TV, with an Amber Alert out on her. Her father stands at a press conference, blotting at his eyes, and listing all of her saint like qualities.

  “What school did she end up at?” I ask, and Avery answers without looking up.

  “Huxerly Prep in Boston. Her father has business associates there to keep an eye on her. She did her stint in rehab, too. She’s probably just fallen off of the wagon. I’ll make some calls and make sure she hasn’t run back to find Joey.”

  I nod, but there’s something not right about this.

  The sound of the door unlocking breaks through our thoughtful silence but we don’t look up, confident only Blaise and Ash can get in here, and it’s Blaise’s voice that calls out.

  “Star. You have another package.”

  The difference between finding Lance’s head and finding Harlow’s is fucking huge.

  Avery starts to collect every frame of footage taken at Hannaford for the entire day while I call Illi, staring into the box at Harlow’s vacant eyes. He picks up immediately.

  “Don’t fucking tell me. You have another package.”

  I curse under my breath. “How did you guess? What the fuck is going on?”

  He groans at me. “Because a headless corpse just got found at the docks, strung up like a fucking crucifix. It’s a girl, fake tits on her and nails like a fucking housewife. Who is it?”

  I rub a hand over my face. “Oh, you know, only the oil magnate’s beloved daughter who’s got every fucking cop in the country on the lookout for her.”

  “Okay, kid. We need to have a chat about who the fuck is stalking you.”

  I snort at him. “No shit. Can you make it up here to get the package? I can call the Bear if it’s too much.”

  “We can’t be trusting any member of the Twelve right now. Leave it with me, I’ll be there as soon as I can sort… the rest of it out.”

  He hangs up and I tell Avery what he said. She stares at me for a long time, silent and calculating.

  She shakes her head. “It doesn’t make sense. It can’t be the Jackal. Senior doesn’t play these sorts of games. Who else would be this invested?”

  I shrug at her. “Whoever it is, they’re not killing people I like. They’re killing people who’ve threatened me… or our family.”

  We’ve managed to attract some sort of sick, twisted guardian angel.

  Fuck. Me.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Harley goes back to school on Monday and I continue to watch his every move, waiting for something to happen and for him to drop dead. I’ve never been this fucking paranoid before but his hospital stay has fucking broken something in me.

  He deals with my over protectiveness for exactly three classes and then finally he snaps and tells me to get the fuck over it.

  I just nod along; it’s easier to agree with him and then do whatever the fuck I like.

  We eat dinner in the dining hall because Avery has an extra dance practice and none of us feel like cooking. Ash leaves for a run straight after, kissing me far too possessively for public consumption, but after Annabelle’s disappearance the other students are now silent in our presence. No whispers follow me and even the clueless freshmen give me a wide berth.

  The rumor is I ran her off.

  The truth is worse.

  Harley tells Blaise to go ahead and start studying back in my room, and I give him a curious look. He shrugs, “I want you to myself for an hour after your freak out all fucking day.”

  “I can’t help it. You died.”

  He nods and tucks me under his arm, walking me back up to his room. None of the guys in the hall dare to look at me and I can’t say I’m unhappy about it.

  Harley kicks his shoes off at the door and waits for me to do the same, then he grabs my ass and lifts me into his arms, burying his face into my neck. I wind my arms around his neck and thread my fingers through his hair, sighing.

  What the fuck would I have done if he’d died?

  “Stop fucking thinking about it.” He mumbles into my skin, and I shiver uncontrollably.

  I shake my head at him. “I can’t help it. I haven’t ever had someone to lose before and now I have four people I can’t live without. Six if you count Illi and Odie, and I do. Fuck. I don’t think I’m cut out for… loving people. I can’t fucking breathe when I think-”

  “Well, stop fucking thinking then.” He growls and kisses me, effectively turning my brain off the way only he can.

  I groan and kiss him back, pushing and desperate because how fucking dare he nearly die on me? After everything I’ve done to keep him breathing, dammit!

  He grunts and walks us over to his bed, falling until he’s on top of me, catching himself with one hand so he doesn’t crush me. He feels fucking perfect on top of me. I wriggle until the heavy weight of his hard dick rubs against my clit through our uniforms.

  I definitely want to suck him off. I want to taste him and remind myself he’s okay, he’s here, he’s mine.

  When I tell him that, he grunts and kisses his way down my neck. His hand slides underneath the tiny triangle of lace between my thighs and two of his fingers ease into me, my pussy already wet and aching for him. “You first, baby. I need you first.”

  I think about arguing with him but I swear his mouth is magic and the second his lips and tongue touch me all rational thought just leaks out of my brain until I’m writhing underneath him. When his mouth closes around my clit and he groans, the vibrations tip me over the edge until I’m screaming and thrashing, clenching down on his fingers, held down by his firm grip on my hips.

  He chuckles under his breath at me, all satisfied alpha male at making me lose my damn mind, and I yank at his hair until he crawls but up my body.

  When he kisses me, I groan at the taste of myself on his lips and decide that this isn’t enough. I can’t wait any longer, we’ve been slow enough. I need every f
ucking inch of him.

  “I need you. I’m on birth control, and I know we’re both clean so I need you inside me right now.” I whisper against his lips. He groans and pulls away, his hips jerking to rub his dick against the soft skin of my belly. He opens his mouth and I cut him off.

  “I know what I’m doing. Okay, I don’t know exactly what I’m doing but I know that I want you so don’t argue with me.”

  He scoffs and laughs at me then slides his hand back down my stomach until two fingers slip back inside me. I frown at him, ready to chew him out for trying to distract me, when he adds a third and my heart stutters in my chest at the stretch.

  Oh.

  Right.

  I scramble until I get my shirt and bra off, my skirt and panties are a little more tricky because Harley refuses to stop kissing and touching me, even for a second, but I manage it somehow. I feel a little frantic as I yank his shirt off, my legs starting to shake as he crooks her fingers inside me and rubs my G spot mercilessly. I gasp out his name as I come again, and my hands become useless. I swear I must black out a little because then next thing I know he’s gone, standing to take the rest of his clothes off, thank fuck.

  He’s fucking perfection, and I can’t breathe when I look at him. How is that still possible, after months of kisses and touches, orgasms and blowjobs, how can I still feel lightheaded just looking at him?

  He smiles at me, slow and so fucking adoringly I want to die, and then he settles back on top of me again, kissing me until I’m panting.

  “You sure?” Harley mumbles against my lips, and I bite his lip until he grunts back at me and shifts his hips, lining himself up and pushing in.

  The stretch is uncomfortable, just this side of pain, but I’m no stranger to things that hurt and he kisses me to distract me. I’m so fucking full of him, I can’t breathe but I don’t even want the air in my lungs anymore if it means we have to stop.

  “Babe, fuck, babe…” he mumbles into my skin and I nod, tugging and pulling until finally he moves, rolling his hips and holy fuck this is it. This is how I want to die. Impaled by Harley’s fucking dick, stretching and filling me until I’m his.

  He catches my lips with his in another blistering kiss and rocks slowly inside of me until I can’t take the easy pace anymore, desperate for more, and I bite his lip again.

  His control snaps and the next stroke is harder, building and building until he’s slamming into me, and fuck if that isn’t exactly what I need. I hold onto his shoulders, his neck, fucking anything I can and he doesn’t stop.

  It’s fucking perfect.

  He shifts to hold himself on one arm and slips his hand between our bodies and the second his fingers touch my clit, I’m gone. All I see is white light and pure fucking bliss. I hear him grunt my name and his hips stutter to a stop, grinding rather than pounding.

  When I blink up at him, trying to get my eyes working again, he grins down at me like I’m the most perfect thing he’s ever seen. Like I’m his soul, his reason for being.

  I have to duck my head and blink rapidly because I will not be that pathetic girl who cries after her first time, and he scoffs at me, pulling out to go clean up and I kind of think he’s giving me a second to pull myself together. It’s sweet.

  Harley cleans me up too because apparently he’s a gentleman, then he climbs back into bed and bundles me into his arms. I rest my head on his chest, secure in his arms, listening to his heartbeat like I had for days in the hospital. His mom’s heart locket catches in the light as he catches his breath.

  “How did Joey get a hold of the locket? You said you’d been trying to get it back for years.”

  He grunts and shifts so he can thread his fingers through my hair, stroking my back until I’m a boneless mess.

  “The first time I went to juvie was the first time Avery and Ash even knew I existed. Senior wouldn’t let Alice and my mom see each other. Used to fucking kill Ma, they were as close as Ash and Avery were as kids. So they didn’t know about me until Social Services knocked on the big, ugly fucking door at Beaumont Manor and Senior had his staff turn them away. But the kids all heard my name, heard how I was related and Avery started to pull strings until I got out. She got me into boarding school with them, got me away from my grandfather. I was too fucking scared to wear the locket in middle school. Scared I’d lose it, scared I’d break it. It was like a fucking night light, I’d go to sleep with it in my hand. Joey found out and broke into my room and stole it. I raged out destroyed the whole room, went after Joey, the only reason I didn’t kill him was because Ash and Blaise stopped me. I fucking hated Ash for stopping me. I didn’t know… I didn’t know what was going on. I thought he was picking that psycho over me. Avery had to do a fuck load of mediation to get us through that. Now I feel like a dick. He was being fucking tortured and protecting us all and there I was being pissy at him for it.”

  I blink away tears and clear my throat. “He doesn’t blame you. He only blames Senior and Joey. He’s just as fierce as Aves with his love. He’s just a dick about it.”

  Harley chuckles, the rumble loud and warm against my ear. “I don’t regret anything, babe. It got us here. I’d do it all again, and Ash and Morrison would too.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Harley tells me not to make plans for my Saturday.

  When I ask him why, he gives me a smug, haughty smile. I’d be pissed about it but all three of my guys keep sharing these little secretive looks and eventually I give up and just go with it. I’m stupid enough to ask Avery if she knows what going on and she gives me her own smug fucking smile.

  “Why don’t you ask your lover?”

  I could die.

  She screeches with laughter at my blush. “I’m so glad to know that having sex hasn’t stopped you from blushing like an eighteenth-century contessa on her wedding night.”

  So that’s the end of my inquiries.

  I wake to pancakes and coffee for breakfast and then Harley drives us all into Haven in the Maserati. Apparently he won a bet about Avery but I’m too afraid to ask what the hell it was. Blaise sulks in the back with me, dicking around to piss Harley off but my golden god is above the petty bullshit today. I finally break and ask him why he’s so happy and he gives me a smug look in the mirror.

  “We’re getting tattoos. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to get your insignia on me? I fucking hate that Illi’s had it all this time and I haven’t.”

  I blanch, fucking shocked that that’s what’s going on.“You don’t have to. None of you do.”

  He gives me a look in the mirror. “I only waited because the others hadn’t been inducted. I’m not waiting anymore.”

  Avery rolls her eyes at him, then smiles at me. “We are all doing this. As a family, even if there are needles and bodily fluids involved.”

  Blaise roars with laughter at her. “How’s Atticus faring with your hatred of bodily fluids? Does he know he’s going to have to wear a hazmat suit to fuck you?”

  I groan as Ash turns to stone next to me but Avery snarks back before he can come to her defense.

  “I don’t want his fluids or any other fucking piece of shit man that walks this Earth. I’m taking a vow of celibacy because you’re all fucked.” She says through clenched teeth and my stomach drops. Fucking Atticus.

  I sigh, and wonder how the fuck I’m going to help her with this now we’ve agreed to work with him. That’s a fucking headache to think about later. I lace my fingers into Ash’s.

  “Do you know where you’re getting yours?” I murmur, trying to distract him from the conversation happening around us. If I didn’t already know, his clenched jaw would tell me everything I need to know about his feelings towards Atticus.

  He stares out the window, a frown over his brow and replies, “We discussed it after the Lingerie Party, we’re all getting the same thing. Well, not Avery. I’m sure you’ll find it suitable, Mounty.”

  I nod and rub my thumb along the back of his hand.


  Harley parks behind the tattoo parlor and as we all pile out of the car I rub my arms, the chill in the air biting at me. Ash tucks me under his arm and leads me in.

  The guy sitting behind the reception desk nods at Blaise and they start talking shit about how his last tattoos turned out. One of the tattoo artists looks Avery up and down dismissively, obviously used to Hannaford girls and their rich bitch attitudes, and she stares him down like he’s a steaming pile of shit.

  Then his eyes flick over to me and he frowns. Ash cuts in front of me and snarls at him, “What the fuck is your problem?”

  The guy raises his hands in submission, “Nothing man. She just looks familiar, that’s all. I thought I recognized her.”

  Blaise starts to snicker under his breath and I sigh.

  “Any chance you’re from Mounts Bay?” Avery says, sickly sweet, like poison.

  He nods and pulls his chair up, ready to draw up the design they want. A group of high school girls come in for piercings and I start getting twitchy at the looks my guys get. Avery rolls her eyes at me but joins me in glaring at them.

  When Harley tells the guy they all want the same thing he cracks a lame joke about boy bands and Ash looks ready to gut him.

  Then Harley gets a UV torch out of his pocket and shines it on my face.

  The tattoo artist shits his fucking pants.

  Oh, goodie.

  “You get that it takes a week to heal, right? You can’t go to classes with that on your face!” Avery hisses, but they all ignore her completely.

  I sit in the corner in a state of shock.

  The tattoo artist from the Bay took a good ten minutes to calm down enough to trace the image out nicely, but the tremor in his fingers is finally gone. I try to look friendly and approachable but I think that only freaks him out more. Something about me being an assassin and renowned killer has him freaked out. Who knew?