Page 58 of Lady Killer

I moved to stuff my belongings into my backpack as fast as possible, but everyone else had the same plan, and I was stuck trying to exit the room at the same time as the other 130 students in the class.

When I made it out of the lecture hall doors, an oddly familiar voice called out my name from the crowd.

“Luz, Luz . . .”

How does Clayton Royal know my name? And why is he calling it out in front of the entire class?

I turned around slowly, not sure what to expect.

Weaving his way through the masses, using his easy smile to beg for forgiveness as he gently pushed students out of his way, Clayton made his way to stand in front of me.

“Sorry, about that,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck as students were forced to walk around us.

“Can I help you with something?” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral.

“Yes, I think. It is Luz, right?” he said, the confident gleam in his eyes belying the tentativeness of his words.

“Yes, it is.” I resisted the urge to ask him if I knew him. He was the one chasing after me.

“I thought it was you.” He smiled. The man had two perfect dimples. “You, ah, probably don’t know me, but we have a mutual friend. You know Melody Thomson, right?”

The air around me suddenly felt hot and staticky.

Melody had finally been reported missing by her parents a couple of weeks ago.

According to the news, her parents had noticed her acting strangely while she was home for the holidays, but they didn’t think much of it when they didn’t hear from her after she returned to school.

But when three weeks later they still couldn't get ahold of her, they sounded the alarm.

Unfortunately for them, their daughter was long dead at that point.

“Yes, uh, I do.”

My tongue felt like leather in my mouth, but the words flowed from me effortlessly as I painted a sympathetic but still confused expression on my face.

Melody’s body had yet to be found. However, given the number of missing girls and bodies turning up, the general consensus was that she had fallen victim to the Virgin Sacrifice Killer.

“It’s terrible what’s happened, isn’t it? I keep hoping it’s all a big mistake and that she’s going to pop her head into the lab any day now,” he said with a sad shake of his head.

“Sorry, how did you say you know Melody?” I suppressed the urge to shift back and forth on my feet.

The memory of the sheep from the forest earlier was fresh in my mind. They had been tall and broad shouldered.

Like Clayton Royal.

“I assumed you put two and two together,” he said.

The room was starting to empty around us, the last couple of students making their way from the hall.

“Melly and I are both research assistants to Dr. Reed on the cardiac inhibitors project. She’s an undergrad assistant, of course, but we all work together. That’s part of what makes it such a great opportunity.”

“Oh, yes, yes. Sorry, I forgot. I’m just a bit of a mess with her . . .” I allowed my words to trail off before ducking my head down and biting my lip.

He put his hand on my shoulder, and I almost twitched beneath his touch.

I couldn’t feel the familiar sensation of Blackwell eyes on my back, but that didn’t mean one of them wasn’t lurking out of sight.

If it was Everest, Clayton was going to lose a hand.

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