Page 23 of Gambit

Unsurprisingly, Lucas is already waiting for us, dragging on his cigarette. He greets us with a tense nod, then dives right into the intel.

“A rival faction is trying to gain control by leveraging favours owed to them by influential figures,” he says.

I can practically see the gears turning in my guys’ heads as they process the information.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Tarq grumbles.

“We need to play them at their own game. We need to strategically align ourselves with those same key individuals who owe us favours. Then, we remind them of those debts and secure their loyalty. Let’s face it, we’ve saved their asses more times than we can count.”

“Who do we start with?” James asks.

“The usual suspects who’ve made themselves known. I’ll reach out to them one by one. Use my charm and persuasive skills to secure their loyalty.”

Raph grins, his hand resting on my ass. “We’ll have your back.”

“Always,” Tarq adds, his eyes flashing with a dangerous glint.

“I want Robert, Imogen, Connor, and Harry. They’re the biggest hitters on campus. If anyone has been approached, it will be them.”

“Agreed,” Oliver murmurs. “We’ll start rounding them up.”

I nod as he disappears with James and Tarquin, leaving me, Raph, and Lucas alone. “Where is Drago, by the way?”

Raph raises an eyebrow. “You want him in on this?”

“Not in, just not out.”

“Consider it done.”

Moments later, my phone rings.

Robert’s voice comes through, smooth as whiskey and twice as dangerous. “Eliza. I hear something is going down.”

“Yeah, I need a meet. You in?” I say without preamble.

“You never have to ask.”

“Thanks, cuz.”

He snickers. “Where and when?”

“Townhouse, thirty minutes.”

“On it.”

We hang up.

“Thirty minutes isn’t a lot of time to gather everyone,” Raph murmurs.

“No, but I don’t want to give them the opportunity to fuck us over by taking too long.”

“Good point.” We nod at Lucas and then turn back to the townhouse. “Time for a quickie?” he asks, pulling me closer.

“You are insatiable and rain check. This is serious.”

“When is it not?”

“Point taken, but later, okay?”