Page 122 of Lady Killer

He looked at me expectantly.

“Kind of sweet?”

Clayton smiled, releasing me to drink his beer again. “Thank goodness, I was worried you would take it the wrong way. Some women love to jump to the worst conclusions about men.”

Forget Everest, Clayton Royal was going to have to worry about me soon.

Two and half hours, four beers, and three “vodka” sodas later, Clayton was drunk, and I was doing my best to appear to be equally intoxicated.

After he made a show about paying the bill, we were finally leaving. As we walked toward the door, he linked his arm in mine while I forced another giggle at whatever idiotic thing he was saying.

When we stepped outside, he stopped, reaching over to swipe a piece of hair from my face and nearly poking my eye out before tugging me closer.

“Want to come back to my place? It’s not too far from here.”

My eyes swept across the deceptively empty side street, catching on a singular figure lurking in the shadows halfway down the block. I’d know that rigid posture anywhere.

“Oh, I can’t, I mean, I don’t. Not on the first date.”

Clayton’s lips pinched, and I thought he would protest, but he quickly smoothed his features and gave me an indulgent grin. “I can respect that, a quality woman. Next time then?”

I batted my eyes and pretended to sway a bit. “We’ll have to see.”

Without warning, he leaned forward to plant a sloppy kiss on me.

He tasted like beer, and when his tongue probed tentatively at my mouth, I kept my lip sealed shut. It was difficult to make out anything over the wind, but I could swear I heard a muttered curse behind me.

Clayton pulled back with satisfaction written across his face.

“I’ll see you soon, Luzz,” he slurred slightly. “Text me when you make it to your dorm.”

And with that, he turned around and started stumbling away in the opposite direction.

I scrubbed my lips with the sleeve of my coat, trying to get the taste of him off me, before turning around to walk back to my dorm.

We had accounted for this, and I continued to walk slowly, as if in a drunken daze, in case I was being followed by someone other than my usual stalkers.

The Dagger and the Rose was in the part of Shady Harbor farthest from the coast, the part that dipped down into the woods that surrounded much of the university.

I meandered down a couple of side streets before coming to the paved path that led through the forest, complete with sparse, poorly working streetlights.

We all agreed that if Clayton didn’t try to bring me back to his apartment, this was the most likely place for the killer to make their move.

The wind whistled through the bare trees, and even though I could see the bright lights of the university at the other end, they seemed farther away than I remembered. The darkness was palpable, taking me back to the night I’d spent hiding in the woods from the sheep.

The lamppost nearest me flickered ominously and I didn’t like that I couldn’t hear the twins’ footsteps at my back.

Something rustled in the trees behind me, and I spun around.

No one was there.

Pull yourself together.

Forcing my attention back to meandering, I put one foot in front of the other, lackadaisically making my way through the narrow stretch of woods.

The wind shifted relentlessly through the trees, and I fought the urge to look behind me again one more time.

I had to play my part. Autumn depended on it.

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