Fake Game (The System #3)

Chapter Thirty-Five

THIRTY-FIVE

JACKSON

“ A re you sure?” I hold my hand against the elevator door to stop it from closing.

“Yeah, I’m just going to go rot in my bed for the next twenty-four hours. Not exactly fun stuff.”

“We could just cuddle?”

“This is so weird.” Parker stares at me like I’m an alien.

“Shut the fuck up.”

“That’s more like it.” He shoots a set of finger guns at me.

“Go. I’ll text you later. Promise.” Deer perches on her tiptoes and I lean down as she presses a kiss to my cheek. “Seriously, go.” She grabs her giant pink suitcase and wheels it away.

I want to go after her, but I don’t want to suffocate her. If she needs some time, I’ll just have to deal with it. Somehow.

“Dude, let go of the elevator.” Aleks nudges his foot into the back of my knee, causing it to fold.

I glare at him but pull back, allowing the elevator to continue its ascent to our penthouse.

“So, you and Deer?” Parker rocks back and forth on his heels.

I ignore him.

“Oh, come on, mate. You’re not going to give us anything?”

The elevator doors open, and I grab my bags, exiting first.

“You can’t seriously tell me that after the last seventy-two hours there’s nothing going on,” he calls out.

There’s nothing for me to say because I’d never gotten a chance to talk to Deer about it; because of everything that had just gone on, there had been no time.

“Stevie said they’re fake dating.”

“Fake? That is not fake. That is territorial wolf mate shit.”

He’s right. This whole fake-dating thing is hanging on by a thread. A very thin gossamer thread. It didn’t have much of a leg to stand on in the first place, and now everything seems so much bigger than it.

She’s mine, no question about it.

I stop short of my room and toe off my sneakers, picking them up and carrying them and my bag inside, shutting the door behind me. I toss the duffle on the ground and then place my sneakers in their proper spot on my sneaker wall.

Maybe Deer has the right idea; the last few days have really zapped my energy. I collapse onto my bed, staring at the ceiling for a moment before pulling out my phone and tossing her a text.

ME: How’s the rotting?

DEER: Commencing shortly. I had to prep first

ME: u have to prep?

DEER: duh

DEER: blankets, games, food, drinks, the works – all within three feet of me

DEER: if I have to leave my bed at all, I’ll cryyyy

DEER: THAT’S A JOKE BTW

ME: lmao well if you need any room service…

DEER: oooh what’re u offering?

ME: what do u want?

DEER: ;) I can think of a few things

ME: naughty girl

DEER: :P

There’s a knock on my door.

I stare at it curiously. Parker doesn’t knock. Aleks would knock, but then he’d walk straight in, not even waiting a beat after warning me.

“Yeah?”

“Come out, we need to talk.”

Phoebe?

I sit up and quickly change into a more comfortable pair of sweatpants before opening my door. She’s not standing there, so I head into the main area of the apartment.

Aleks is sprawled on the couch, and Phoebe is leaning against the wall next to the TV with her arms crossed. She doesn’t look mad, just bored.

Parker is pulling an HP energy drink out of the fridge, and he gestures to me. “Want anything?”

“Seriously?”

“None of this is the drink’s fault.”

I sigh, taking my place next to Aleks.

The man who has been accompanying Phoebe this entire time seems to materialize out of thin air, rounding the corner as he continues to survey the apartment. Strange dude.

“Parker, hurry the fuck up.”

“Chill, sis.” I hear the cracking of the can before Parker takes a loud sip.

He takes his sweet time walking over to the couch and sitting on the far end, tossing Aleks a bag of chocolate pretzels in the process.

“You may proceed.”

She rolls her eyes at him, letting out a deep huff before standing straight. “After thinking it over, I figured it was best to wait to give you all this news separately so as not to alarm the girl.”

That doesn’t sound good.

“There was mirroring software on all of Deirdre’s devices.”

“What?” Parker sits up.

“Yes, I had my people go through her belongings after Sydney handed them over, and they found traces everywhere.” She tsks. “I mean, really, it was quite a pathetic show.”

“So, you think this is linked with the drugging or the swatting?”

“I’m not one hundred percent certain because when we tried to track the malware, we ran into issues, and I can’t exactly push the boundaries more than I already have without it becoming flat-out illegal.” She sighs, like this whole situation is a giant inconvenience. “But it’s my best guess that it’s all linked.”

I clench my teeth together as my fists ball up at my sides. Phoebe follows the movement but doesn’t show any change in her emotions.

“So, what does this mean?” Aleks leans forward.

“Well, while the local detectives are still looking into that girl from the expo, I already found her. I mean, I guess it’s better to say he did, but, same-same.” She throws her hand to the side, signaling to the man who has been following her like a shadow. “Anyway, we’re going to do our own deep dive into her—but it seems she’s been brought into the whisper network of Deer Hunters, based on what we’ve found so far.”

“Fuck,” Aleks sighs. “How many people are there?”

Phoebe tilts her head to the side, a slight wince pulling at her lips. “A lot. That’s why it’s taking a little longer to get to the bottom of it without it being, well, really illegal. Paige keeps reiterating that the evidence needs to be clean to convict once we find the instigator.”

Paige Covington, the middle child and softer sister, is one of the top lawyers for the Covington conglomerate.

“So, where does that leave us, Pheebs? What do you need us to do?” Parker has that serious glint in his eye that he rarely lets out, the one that makes you realize why he was the original Covington heir.

“I need you to keep acting normal. The closer I get to the head of the snake, the more likely it is to retreat. We don’t want to tip them off.”

“You want us to do nothing? Fuck that,” I bite out.

She must be joking. Does she expect me to sit here and listen to how the Deer Hunters are a much larger threat than I ever imagined and then just go about my daily life? As if my girl’s life isn’t in danger?

Yeah, right.

“I contemplated not even telling you.” Phoebe’s eyes cool as they slide back to me.

“Her life is in danger, Phoebe,” I growl.

“And this apartment complex is well fortified; my little brother made it so. Plus, we’re adding extra security personnel downstairs.”

“You want to keep her trapped in the building until this is dealt with? She’s not fucking Rapunzel.”

“I mean, she’s the stubborn one who is determined to keep her identity a secret.”

“Don’t put this back on her.”

The corner of her mouth kicks up in a smile. “You really like her, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do.”

She nods her head, that smile widening. “Cute.”

“God, you Covingtons are all the same.”

Phoebe moves forward and perches on the edge of the coffee table, crossing her legs at her ankles and leveling with us. “Look. This is messy as fuck, and I have other things my time would be better spent on. But I’m doing you a favor because that little knobhead over there is one of two people in this world I can’t say no to.”

Parker blows her a kiss.

“I’m handling it, and I’ll work with Sydney to make sure things stay clean, but I came here to warn you to be extra vigilant. I know you can’t keep her locked in this building—although I wouldn’t be surprised if she did that willingly, looking at her track record—so just stick with her and help her through it.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

“Good.” She stands up and makes her way to the bar cart opposite the kitchen and pulls out a bottle of whiskey, pouring herself a good three fingers.

“Hey,” Aleks shoots up. “That’s my good stuff.”

“That’s why I’m drinking it.” She takes a sip. “Ah, that hits the spot.”

My phone buzzes.

DEER: I’ve thought it over

DEER: i wouldn’t mind some room service brownies

DEER: preferably chocolate-raspberry flavored

DEER: 3 3 3

I’ll protect this woman at any cost.