Page 123 of Lady Killer

By the time I made it to the other end and onto the university grounds, my nerves were raw, and I was still very much alone.

Where are they?

Looking at the woods, I was almost disappointed not to see a sheep staring out at me.

Refusing to give up, I continued to bob and weave all the way back to my building.

Nothing.

I stood in front of my dorm, waiting on Alister and Nixon who emerged from the shadows from different directions a couple minutes later.

Alister was unreadable, and for once, so was Nixon.

“Did you see anything?”

They shook their heads, and a deep, aching sense of disappointment set into my bones.

We had nothing.

Chapter thirty-four

Luz

The blade slammed down into the antique oak dining table at the Blackwell Estate, where I was spending more and more of my time.

“He kissed her, Lucian.” Everest seethed, unwilling to see reason.

My devoted serial killer had returned from California, initially elated at the lack of harm that had come to me. That was, until Nixon gave him the details on my “date” withClayton.

“Ever, it’s fine, really,” I said, placing my hand on his arm.

He turned to face me, adoration written in those ice-blue eyes. The smile that he brought to my face was completely natural.

“He put his hands on you, Starbright. He put his lips on you.” Everest’s head snapped to face Lucian. “At the very least, let me remove those. For her collection.”

He really was remarkably thoughtful for someone with such poor impulse control.

Lucian massaged his brow. “No. No lips, no hands, no fingers. I don’t want to hear about you removing so much as a toenail from Clayton Royal . . . and take your dagger out of the table, now.”

Everest slumped in his seat with a scowl but yanked the blade out.

“So, we’re back to nothing,” Locke said.

“Royal could still be involved,” Alister argued. “He just didn’t make his move that night.”

“And we will continue to keep an eye on him, but we need to start considering other avenues,” Lucian said before cutting into a piece of steak and chewing contemplatively.

Easy for him to say. His life wasn’t on the line.

“Have we considered serving her up to the killer on a platter?” Locke chimed in casually.

Everest’s dagger flew across the table, nicking the other man’s ear before embedding itself in the wall.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” the professor roared, clasping his ear as blood seeped out from between his fingers. “It was a fucking joke!”

“You, of all people, don’t have the right to joke about Starbright.”

Alister suppressed a smile, while Lucian said nothing. Even Nixon smirked.

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