Page 76 of Playing Dirty

“Team Greyson has entered Falcon Hall. Over.”

“Copy that. Over,” Wyatt calls through a few moments later.

My attention moves to the guys, and I murmur, “Text if you run into problems. Or if you happen to find the damn thing.”

“Sounds good.” Phoenix nods, as do the other two.

With that, I motion for the three of them to spread out, having already gone over my game plan with them before we broke off from the larger group.

Each of us will take a floor; me starting on the first before heading up to the second and helping Cooper. Phoenix will do the same, starting on four before going down to meet up with Sawyer on three. Once all of us are done, we meet back at doors and call in to Wyatt.

Their footsteps fade as they head up the stairwell, and I immediately dip into the bathrooms near the entry. Once that’s clear, I set to work on the six lecture halls on the ground floor.

I’m about halfway through the first when static, followed by one of my teammates speaking through the walkie, almost makes me jump out of my own skin.

“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter while I spin the volume dial on the walkie almost all the way down. The last thing I need is one of the janitorial staff or campus security hearing it and coming to investigate.

With nothing to be found in the first room, I make my way slowly through the second, all the while scanning my flashlight over every inch of the place. The walls, the lectern or tables in front, on the back of whiteboards; any possible place a five-foot-long pennant could be hanging, I check, only to come up empty-handed.

The likelihood of Madden hiding it in one of the busiest buildings on campus is extremely low, so I’m not surprised or disappointed when the third and fourth rooms deliver the same result as the two prior.

I let the door of hall number four slowly fall closed behind me, ready to finish up the remaining two so I can help Cooper upstairs with some of the classrooms. Who knows, the sooner we get out of here, and I might be able to—

“Well, what do we have here?” a low, menacing voice says from directly behind me.

My brain doesn’t even process it before fingers wrap around my wrist, the unexpected contact causing me to release my flashlight. It clatters to the floor while I’m pulled around the corner, only for my back to slam against the wall. Both of my wrists end up pinned above my head in his grip, and the rough impact of my bones against cement momentarily stealsmy breath and my thoughts.

I don’t have time to regain either before his other palm covers my mouth.

Panic zaps through my veins like lightning. There’s no chance any of my teammates will hear me if I shout for help, and with my phone and walkie well out of reach…I’m on my own.

I feel my assailant step closer, kicking my feet apart so he can wedge a knee between mine. His face is cloaked in darkness beneath a hood, making it impossible for me to make out a single feature, even when it’s only inches away.

“So this is why you cancelled on me, huh?” he whispers, his breath hot against my cheek. “I’ll have to remember that next time you’re begging me to let you come.”

It takes a second for my brain to register the voice, let alone the words being spoken, but the second I do…

“Madden?”

My voice comes out muffled behind his palm, but it’s clear enough for him to hum softly in confirmation.

“Unless there’s someone else who you let tease you to the edge of sanity that I don’t know about?”

His grip on my wrists loosens before disappearing entirely, allowing my arms to fall back to my sides. He presses his forearm against the wall beside my shoulder before his other palm leaves my mouth, clearly wanting to keep me in place but trusting me enough not to shout or scream anymore.

I don’t know why he’d worry about it, though. I can barely think as his fingers skate over my jaw before his thumb traces a line down my throat.

My Adam’s apple bobs beneath his touch when I swallow, and I feel equally panicked and aroused when I reach up to push the hood off his head. And the feeling only intensifies the moment his hazel eyes come intoview, barely illuminated by the dim lights scattered around the halls.

“Fucking Christ. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

He chuckles, the dark, seductive cadence making it impossible to calm my racing heart.

“You’re the one who should be worried about giving some poor, unsuspecting member of the janitorial staff a fright. Especially looking like this.”

His hand at my throat drops down slightly before latching on to the zipper near my collar. The sound of the teeth sliding apart as he pulls it down may as well be a sonic boom in the dead silence of the hallway, and he makes no signs of stopping until the two sides of my jacket fall apart at my waist.

Every inch of my body is attuned to his; hyperaware of each atom of air disappearing between us as he leans in again. His nose grazes along my jaw, and that first brush of his skin on mine is electric, making my hair stand on end and cock stir to life.