Page 10 of The Deceptions

I swallow hard when he doesn't let the paper go. "What exactly aren't you telling me?"

"Four years ago, Franco and a couple stakeholders heavily invested in Greenwood University. So much so that he's now on the board of trustees.”

I tense. "Okay... Why did he do that? I'm assuming there's a reason he would invest in something so… normal."

"Strange, right? Why would a gang leader invest in education and become a vital part of running it?”

I swallow hard, sitting on the edge of my seat. Where is he going with this?

"Why?"

Jonathan sighs. "That's where you come in. There are several unknown aspects of this case and investigations that need someone in the middle of it."

"And that's the case?" I ask, crinkling my brow.

I don't really understand what he's saying.

"Yes," he says, nodding. "We need someone on the inside of this institution. In the classes and frats. We need you to be in the thick of everything, observing Franco's moves and anyone else that might be involved with him. The University is ringing alarm bells left and right, but we’re not sure what exactly is happening there. We want you to observe and take notes on the people important to that place.”

Sweat trickles down my neck. My stomach swishes from the nerves.Anyone associated with him.That meansthem, too.

"Okay? So, you're sending me to college to keep an eye on the institution itself? Or Franco?” His name leaves my lips in a whisper as my hope dwindles down the drain.

College, I can do. Easy peasy. I already graduated from my online classes with a bachelor’s in criminal justice andcybersecurity. But doing it in my former hometown with my ex-best friends and murderers lurking around somewhere, probably running parts of their foster father’s enterprise by now? Much harder.

"Both? Sort of?" he says as if it’s a question, cringing slightly.

"Both..." I trail off breathlessly, groaning at the hangover banging inside my brain again.

"Something else is going on within those walls. We believe Franco has created some sort of initiation of sorts and is siphoning off college students to fill his ranks and push his control outside of Greenwood. He’s building something, Liv. We just don’t know what, yet.”

I rub my temple. "I mean, every leader in the history of leaders pushes the boundaries of their gangs, mafia, or whatever. What's different about this?" Literally, nothing except that he wants to torture me by making me come back here. Ugh. I squeeze my eyes shut, throwing up a bazillion walls in my brain. I can't think about the upcoming case or who could be involved.

"It's the fact that Franco has never attempted to step out of his comfort zone, until now. By investing in the college, Franco has extended invitations to other gangs to join."

"Another gang?" I ask, quirking a brow.

"Yes. There are multiple gangs residing on campus now, each living in their own quarters, presenting themselves as frats for the student body to join." Jonathan only nods when he turns the computer screen toward me. "But the main adversary is them. The Shades, as we call them."

"And what do we know about them? Or any of them?" Sometimes it's tiring trying to pry information out of his elusive ass. He's as tight-lipped as he was when he was in the special forces and learned how to keep everything inside. Something hetried to pass down to us in our training when he took all of us in and expanded Veritas.

"Absolutely nothing. We simply have their names, but nothing more. They’re elusive and hiding a lot of what they do from the public eye." Jonathan slides me a sheet of paper, listing off five gangs living on campus. Some I’ve heard of. But others? Not a clue.

"Helpful," I grunt, glancing at my empty coffee cup and wishing it would refill itself. I was right, I need more caffeine to survive this conversation. "I'm assuming this is all a part of my assignment when I go there?" I raise a brow.

"Indeed. This will be your most complicated case yet, Liv. There will be a lot of moving parts you need to keep your eyes on. But we trust you to fully immerse yourself and get the job done.”

"What's the bottom line of this mission? The main reason you're sending me here?"

"We want eyes on Franco and his..." his lips roll together, and my heart drops into my stomach. I know exactly what names are about to fall from his lips. "And his sons, Huxley Crewes, JJ Jones, and Macklyn Owens."

My heart drops into my burning stomach and dissolves completely at the mention of them.

My jaw clenches as my fingers tighten around my coffee cup. I'm way too sober and hungover to even pretend I want to jump headfirst into this mission armed with nothing but akeep an eye on the people who orchestrated your murder.

No matter how much caffeine runs through me. It’ll always be a fuck no from me. Fuck them. They can die under Franco’s thumb. No matter how much I want to put Franco away and watch as he rots in Veritas prison, I won’t willingly walk back into the lion’s den.

"Y-you... Y-you want me to-to..." My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. "Find someone else," I demand rigidly."Ask Jordy!" I basically shout, losing myself to the panic clawing inside of me. “He’d love to do this.” That’s not an understatement. When I finally opened up to my loud and crude roommate a few years ago, he finally understood my story. And in return, I understood his.