Page 69 of Hide and Seek

I nod. “Through the camera you lifted for me.”

He shakes his head again. “Of course you did.”

“He figured out it had a two-way microphone. He initiated it.”

“But you chose to engage with him,” he counters. “You gave him the clues to find them. You facilitated this.”

“True,” I concede.

“So he’s been challenging you, his stalker, to chase him through the woods so you can fuck his brains out against a tree, and he has no idea who you are?” he asks incredulously.

“Pretty much.”

“And he hasn’t made any effort to see your face or anything?”

I shake my head.

He huffs out a bewildered laugh. “I mean, I get it. I sure as fuck wouldn’t have passed on the chance to take him up on what he was offering, so I can’t really blame you for doing exactly what I would have done in your position.” A smirk lifts the corner of his mouth. “But damn, bro. Who woulda thought little Myles would be such a freak?”

“Not me,” I say honestly.

“Well, now that you’re not lying to yourself or me anymore, I guess I can tell you where I was before I had my little run-in.” He leans back in his chair, placing his forearms on the armrests in a casual pose. “And who I was talking to.”

“Who were you talking to?” I ask when he doesn’t elaborate.

“Carter.”

“Yeah?”

“Yup.” He swings back and forth in his chair. “I had him look into a few things for us while he’s on break.”

“And?” I prompt when he falls silent.

“And he figured out the link between the Kings and Myles.” He picks up a pen and spins it around his fingers. “Wanna know what it is?

“Obviously.”

“Jacob Fisher.”

“And that’s helpful how?” I ask. “We already knew he was the one blackmailing Myles. It’s not like I can interrogate a dead man and get answers from him.”

“No, but you can hold your damn horses and let me finish.”

I shoot him a flat look and keep quiet.

“Good boy,” he says with a smirk.

I flip him off. “Are you going to tell me or keep being an asshole?”

“Not sure, pissing you off is fun.” He gives me a cheeky grin. “But fine, I’ll tell you what Carter found.” He leans forward. “Jacob Fisher’s real name was Jensen Fallbrook, and according to his rap sheet, he’s a lifelong criminal who spent the last decade working for a certain dead guy who tried to off Felix.”

“What does that have to do with the Kings?” I ask.

“Nothing. There’s no connection there other than bro got him a job on campus so he could have access to Felix, and he used the Kings to deflect any suspicions onto them if he was caught.”

“That’s it? That’s the only connection?”

“Yeppers.” Jace leans back in his chair and taps his fingers against his thigh in a quick pattern. “Between Jensen, Myles, and the Kings, at least. I found evidence that Myles has been poking around in the Kings’ system, so we can’t rule out that he’s on their shit list for other reason, but the hit on Felix hadnothing to do with the Kings, same with Jensen blackmailing Myles.”