Page 34 of Lady Killer

Which meant there were only four people who knew precisely where Aaron really died.

Soon to be five.

In the aftermath of Melody’s murder, the boys had made it clear that there was still no trust between us, forcing me to take matters into my own hands.

Never rely on a man to do something you cannot master yourself, mija.

I hadn’t needed their help to take out Aaron, and I didn’t need it to catch the killer.

Unfortunately, my attempts to bait the killer had been unsuccessful since then.

The text I sent from the townhouse, shortly before Alister mauled me, had gone unanswered.

I didn’t like it.

They were supposed to be spiraling further out of control after Melody’s death, not showing restraint.

If at first, you don’t succeed . . .

When I woke up this morning, I received a text from Alister informing me that he, Nixon, and Everest were away until the afternoon and telling me to stick to my dorm until then.

Not one to waste an opportunity, I slipped into my running gear and immediately headed out for the woods.

There was a good chance they still had one of their lackeys watching me, who would no doubt report to Alister the instant I left Jackson College House.

The cold must have deterred a lot of the usual Sunday crowd as the trails were quiet, and save for a small group who had been exiting out the main path as I headed in, I hadn’t seen a single soul.

When I reached the familiar bend, I paused to rub the burning skin of my thighs.

The killer had stopped texting me, and I hadn’t found a sticker since the one when I’d returned from break.

The sensation of being watched never fully went away, though. And while I knew the boys kept eyes on me, something about this felt different.

The body remembers what the mind forgets.

Glancing around, I looked for any signs that I’d been followed but found none. The winter had thinned thevegetation, making it that much harder for someone to hide in the woods.

Not impossible though.

Still, without a visible tail, there wasn’t much I could do but forge ahead and hope my plan worked.

The familiar sound of frozen leaves crackling underfoot greeted me as I stepped off the main trail and headed for the old oak tree.

Nary a trace of what had occurred that night remained, despite how hard I looked for any evidence I’d left my mark there.

A twig snapped in the distance, and I spun around to face the trail.

Empty.

Shaking it off, I returned to stand in front of the tree and raised my phone to take a selfie.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

My phone fell to the forest floor as I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Dressed in all black, from his military boots to his knit cap, Alister looked every bit the killer he was.

How had he tracked me without me knowing?

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