Page 110 of Lady Killer

Shoved away in the farthest corner was a familiar-looking white mask.

“Oh Clayton, you’ve been a baaaaaaa-d boy.”

“No.”

“Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?” I clasped my hands together, falling to my knees and doing my best imitation of begging.

“The answer is still no,” Lucian said sternly.

It was the following day at the estate, and I had just triumphantly delivered my evidence that Clayton was involved with the Virgin Sacrifice Killer, certain that he would soon be taken to Locke’s second office for interrogation, only to be denied by my love.

“But—‍”

“But nothing. The mask is certainly encouraging, but it’s not enough to justify kidnapping and murdering the son of a former senator. Not when you didn’t even find it in his office,” he said with a wave of his hand.

He’d been in a pissy mood since we’d shown up with Luz in tow, something that, I could concede now, may have been a strategic error on my part.

My Starbright was currently studying in the east library, in an equally foul mood at having been forced to come along under threat of losing her visits with the redheaded girl.

“Statistically speaking, it’s unlikely that it’s a coincidence,” Alister tried to argue. At least he was on my side.

“Except that he wasn’t found with it. Everest found it in a random cupboard in a shared office space that any number of students and faculty could have accessed,” Locke retorted.

My knife danced across my knuckles. The stuffy asshole didn’t need all his parts, did he? Like, who needed two ears, really? One would be just as good.

“Everest.”

Lucian’s deep voice broke me from my reverie. He shook his head.

Sigh.

He was too perceptive sometimes.

“If I didn’t know better, I might think you wanted the killer to roam free,” Alister said.

Lucian bristled. “Excuse me.”

“He is our best lead to stopping whoever is killing without consequence in our territory, and you want us to play it safe, big brother.”

I swore my girl’s pussy was magic because I had never seen Ali push back against Lucy like that. Consider me a fan.

“Locke doesn’t have to kill him, and the Royals are just one family. Whoever is working to undermine us poses a bigger threat if our credibility is compromised.”

“And I said no, or do you fancy yourself head of this family now, Alister?”

“He’s got a—‍”

“SILENCE!” Lucian’s voice echoed throughout the office. “Push me on this again and she is gone, am I clear?”

The knife embedded itself in the arm of the leather club chair I was seated in.

“You would go back on your word?” Alister said.

Lucian lightly shook his head. “I don’t have to kill her to make her disappear”—he adjusted his tie before turning to arch an eyebrow at me—“and Everest, you’re paying to replace that.”

Locke crossed one leg over the other and sat back with a grin. If anything happened to Starbright, his was the first blood I would shed, Blackwell or not.

“If I may.” Nixon had been uncharacteristically quiet during the debate, and my attention snapped to him to see what fuckery he was about to propose.

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