Jocking Jameson (Face-Off Legacy/Campus Kings 4)
I’m closest to Preston, mostly because my dad has been his mom’s best friend since childhood. They grew up in Chicago together, lived in the same foster home, and moved to Philadelphia together where they both attended Villanova University. Our parents are complete opposites in every way. But I know they both will agree we’re all fucked if we don’t figure out who’s writing this blog.
We look at each other, unsure of what to do, concern written on all of our faces. I can track down the owner of the website as long as this queen has left me a trail to uncover. Whoever she is, she’s going down.
Tucker tugs at the ends of his bleach blond hair in frustration and leans back against the chest of drawers behind him. “We need to stop whoever’s doing this.”
“I’ll call my dad,” Preston offers. “Maybe he can hire someone.”
Typical Preston move.
“Nah.” Tucker waves him off. “We’re not involving our parents. Our team is being targeted for a reason. You could be next. Any of us could be next. And who knows what this bitch is gonna say next. We need to take her down before it ruins our careers.”
“She’s got to be a student at Strick U,” Trent says.
“How do you expect us to track her down?” Drake asks.
Tucker points at me. “Jamie can find out.” His pale blue eyes find mine. “Right? Tell me you can hack into something and shut this website down.”
I love how they always assume I can do anything when it comes to computers. For the most part, they’re right. But I have a bad feeling about The Queen.
Laughing off his comment, I shrug. “I’m good but not that good.”
“Let Jamie sit there,” Tucker tells Trent, who vacates his seat in front of the computer for me.
I roll the chair into the desk and do a quick domain search. Of course, it’s private. I’d already expected that. No real shock there.
“The domain is private,” I say.
Tucker grunts, rolling his eyes. “So, we can’t find out who owns it?”
I shake my head, spinning around in the chair to face my friends. “No, but there might be another way. I can try tracking their IP address. But I’ll need more time.”
“Until then…” Preston’s tone commands authority, “… all of you need to stay out of trouble. Don’t do anything stupid.” He looks at Tucker. “Stay the hell away from the Delta Sig guys.”
Tucker pouts. “I’m not avoiding my friends because of one article.”
He practically lives at the Delta Sigma Phi house. Keeping Tuck away from those guys will be a challenge, even for Preston, who’s our team captain. He has a way with our team which makes him the perfect leader.
“Whatever.” Preston frowns. “But no more parties or pot brownies.”
Tucker rolls his eyes at Preston. “You sound like my dad right now.”
Eyes narrowed, Preston opens his mouth to speak. Shockingly, he doesn’t yell at Tucker. They go at it all the time, it’s like listening to a husband and wife bicker. All of us are sick of hearing them curse each other out over Tucker acting like an irresponsible asshole. His lack of caring has hurt our team this year. And with hockey season just starting, we’re already down Tucker and Trent for the first few games.
The doorbell rings which comes as a welcome relief.
I push myself up from the chair and head toward the door. “That’s probably Shannon.”
No one tries to stop me as I leave the room. Before I hit the landing at the top of the stairs, Preston is behind me. “Hey, wait up, J.” I turn around to look at him, and he continues, “Can you do something about this girl?”
I nod. “Yeah, I think so. Just because she was smart enough to pay extra money for private domain registration doesn’t mean she can hide her IP from me. Not unless she knows what she’s doing.”
“If anyone can find her, it’s you.”
Shrugging, I say, “I’ll do my best. Just don’t get your dad involved, okay? Give me some time to look into the website before you do something stupid.”
He snorts. “Telling my dad isn’t stupid.”
“You don’t have to run to him every time you have a problem.”
“I don’t,” he growls. “We’re close, you know that. I tell my dad everything.”
“A little too much.”
He snickers at my comment.
We descend the stairs, and I can hear Shannon’s sweet voice filling the air. Killian Kade—a right winger who lives in the house with us—is talking to Shannon about school. Apparently, they share a class. She knows everyone on campus. Most of the sorority girls seem to be friends with everyone, especially those in our inner circles. The Greeks and the jocks tend to stick together at Strickland University. We’re like one big clique.
Until last night, I had never thought about kissing Shannon. She’s beautiful and smart and sweet. I can always talk to her without judgment. She never shares what I tell her, and I like talking to her. But right now, I have no interest in anything serious. After everything that happened with Cece over the summer, I’m not ready for another relationship.