Page 20 of Lady Killer

There it was, like clockwork. Nothing but predictable.

Shimmying in my seat, I cracked open one eye to see Locke frothing at the front of the class, standing at the bottom of the steps as if he was holding himself back from marching up here and confronting me directly.

“Is there a reason you are disturbing my class,Mr. Collins?”

Ah, yes, the emphasis on my name, the constant reminder that he was a true Blackwell, and I was not. I had known the fussy bastard for more than half our lives, and he was still using the same old insults.

Boring!

I toned down my humming but kept dancing in my seat, shaking my head in time with the music.

Locke took a breath, and his expression soured as if he were huffing vinegar.

“Then I must insist you cease making a spectacle of yourself and sit quietly, or else I will need you to leave the classroom.”

And therein lay his dilemma, the reason he had tolerated my presence here today as long as he had.

Unlike the professor, I was anything but predictable, and he knew better than most that there was no telling what I might do if he tried to make me leave before I was ready.

Stab a security guard? Probably.

Burst into showtunes and put on an impromptu performance ofChicagoin his classroom? Maybe.

Burn down the lecture hall? Not unlikely.

Would I get in trouble for whatever I did when he tattled on me to Lucian? Sure.

Would that stop me from doing it all over again? It hadn’t yet.

And at the end of the day, there was nothing Locke hated more than losing control and causing a scene that wasn’t of his own design.

Leaning even farther back in my chair, I spread my legs wide and stretched my arms out, careful to avoid Luz. Shewasn’t the touchy-feely type, and I needed to show her that I may be a psychopath, but I washerpsychopath.

“Sorry, Prof. I’m on security duty protecting this little lady here,” I said, adopting a Texas drawl as I jerked my head toward Luz. I liked to think I was giving off badass spaghetti Western vibes. It fit the wholeshowdown at high noonenergy that Locke and I had going on.

Luz paled. I was positively tickled with delight.

Buckle up, darling, this ride is just getting started. Yeehaw!

“Seems here, some ne’er-do-wells round these parts been causing this pretty thing some problems . . .” I continued, doing my best Matthew McConaughey impression. “And I don’t know about you, sir, but I don’t take too kindly to the sort of riffraff that be thinking they can take advantage of the fairer sex. Ya know?”

“Mr. Collins—‍” Locke tried to interject, but I kept going.

I was nailing this.

“Neither does the big man, if ya catch my drift, partner. You know who I mean—the head honcho, el jefe, the—‍”

Luz’s hand shot out to grip my leg just above my knee. She drove her perfectly manicured nails deep into my flesh, and the slice of pain she sent through me made mycock jump.

See, Mom was right. All I had to do was be myself.

The muscles in Locke’s cheek twitched as the vein in his neck started to pop, but he stopped speaking. I could practically see the gears turning in his head.

He was currently calculating the odds that Lucian had ordered me to protect Luz.

Unfortunately for him, Locke had been spending more and more time away from the family pursuing his academic thingamajiggers. He wasn’t as in the loop as he used to be.

“Mr. Collins.” His voice turned slick, oily, as if he, of all people, could cajole me to reason.

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