Page 43 of Deadly Little Games

“Oh, yes, you’re down as his emergency contact. He’s registered to start this term, but he hasn’t signed in according to our records,” she says, and my stomach does a flip-flop, threatening to expel the piece of toast I ate for breakfast.

“Are you sure?” I push, praying she’s made a mistake.

“Yes, sorry. Is there anything else I can help you with?” she asks.

If he’s not here, then he must be somewhere else—but where? Maybe she’ll know the guy that he’s going to rent the room from. What’s his name? I try to rack my brain to remember. Was it Jeremy? Anthony? I rub my fingers into my temples. Levi, it’s Levi.

“Do you know?—”

“Gage Ledger. What the fuck are you doing here?” a deep voice asks from somewhere behind us, and I catch the girl behind the desk rolling her eyes before she continues typing away on the computer.

My heart races as I spin around, only to be confronted by three guys closing in on us from all sides.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Gage

Turning around, I’m face to face with Uriah Pierce, Rune Fox, and Aydan Bardot. Uriah crosses his arms over his broad chest, and his blond hair has grown since the last time I saw him, sitting just above his shoulders. With a grin on his face, Rune runs his thumb across his lip and focuses intently on Freya. My stomach stirs, and I fight the urge to claim her in front of them. Despite knowing she will never be mine, the sight of Rune staring at her fills me with anger.

Lucas embraces Freya by wrapping his arm around her, and she doesn’t push him away. I’m not the only one who wants to emphasize that she is off-limits. I can’t even remember the last time I saw Uriah with a girl, but Rune is a player through and through. He lives and breathes pussy just like his cousin Lucas.

Aydan’s face is buried in his phone as he hangs back, his fingers tapping away on the screen, his brown hair falling just above his eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sound escape his lips. My gaze returns to Uriah.

“You know we like to keep you boys on your feet and do check-ins,” I say, and Uriah scoffs.

“You’ve been trying to recruit us for how many years now?”

I shake my head. “You may not be patched in, but you know as well as I do that we own you and nothing goes on here without us knowing.”

Uriah laughs. “Well, apparently, something has. What brings you here?”

As I open my mouth, Freya breaks free from Lucas’s grasp and takes a step forward, shaking herself off. “My brother, Alec LeClair, is missing and I’m looking for him. Have you seen or heard anything?”

Closing the gap between them, Rune steps forward until their faces are mere inches apart. Each breath I take is erratic and unsteady, leaving me feeling out of control. I tighten my fists into balls and catch Uriah’s eyes moving between me and Freya. Rune reaches out, his fingers delicately brushing a stray piece of hair behind Freya’s ear. Before I can move, Lucas forcefully shoves Rune in the chest.

“Don’t touch her. She’s mine,” Lucas growls, and Rune laughs, raising his hands up in surrender.

“Oh, cousin, you know how to pick them, don’t you?” He winks, and Lucas grins, bringing Rune in for a hug and slapping him on the shoulder. “We could share?” Rune suggests, and Lucas shoves him backward again. He puts his hands up in surrender with that signature Fox smirk.

Freya huffs. “Have you seen him or not?”

“Sorry, sweetheart, the name doesn’t ring a bell.”

She pulls out her phone and shoves it in his face. I hold back a chuckle at her forwardness as he shakes his head.

“What about some guy named Levi?” she asks, and Rune nods.

“If it’s the Levi I know, then he’ll be at the grave tonight,” Rune says, and I curse under my breath.

“The grave?” she asks.

“Your boy here knows. See you there.” Rune points to me and I roll my eyes. “Oh, and it’s dress-up, so make sure you come as your favorite villain or no entry.”

For fuck’s sake. The grave is a nightmare, and I loathe going, but now Freya has a lead, so there isn’t a choice. Alec owes us some answers and needs to pay for stealing from The Brotherhood. If we are going to find Levi here, Rune is right—he’ll be at that party.

Hours later, we’re at a hotel with bags full of dress-up clothes lying on the bed. Freya takes her costume and slams the bathroom door shut. I pick up my green suit with large purple question marks and shake my head toward Lucas, who’s sprawled out on the bed with a snake candy between his teeth.

“You seriously had to go with themed costumes?” I ask, and he grins, biting into the snake.

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