Page 62 of Lady Killer

I looked at my watch and cracked my neck again, pacing back and forth in my office, before eventually I opened up my email and composed a quick letter to the dean.

There was a knock at the door, and I opened it up to see a sweaty-looking Stephanie standing in front of a man from Facilities.

I checked my watch. “Two minutes and twenty-six seconds.” I watched as a look of pure relief came over the frazzled receptionist.

“Two minutes and twenty-six seconds,” I said again slowly before continuing, “late.”

Firing Stephanie was supposed to improve my mood.

Instead, here I was, sitting in my study well after the midnight hour, still stewing, and avoiding Lucian.

It wasn’t hard. I kept to my own wing, with my own staff. Sometimes weeks could pass without us crossing paths, until I was summoned to his office.

Polishing off another drink, I slumped back and rested my head on the chair. Despite being aged fifty years and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, the exquisite Scotch still tasted bitter on my tongue.

At first, the path forward appeared simple.

Ignore it, it’s a childish prank.

The problem was, ignoring Everest never worked. The killer was deeply embedded in our family, in some ways even more so than me.

Exact the revenge he deserves.

If it were possible.

Despite his many . . . deficits, Everest was in some ways the purest soul of all of us. The man cared for nothing and no one, save for killing and Lucian. How did one strike back at a man who was ambivalent about everything save but death?

Then strike at the heart of the problem.

Lucian.

But a move against my cousin was a move against the Blackwells. Betrayal.

The girl . . .

I sat up and reached over to pour myself another drink.

There was a thought.

For the longest time, Everest had only one weakness—Lucian. Though that was like calling Conquest Death’s weakness.

But, for some unfathomable reason, it appeared as though the girl mattered to Everest. That she was still alive was a testament to that.

Before, Luz had been merely a pest, a contemptuous little creature who had burrowed her way into my world and needed to be eradicated. I assumed that either Alister or Everest would eventually chew her up and spit her out. Once she was down, I would be well positioned to deliver my killing blow, forcing her out of my class and out of Hollow Oak.

But now . . .

Everest has a weakness . . . and her name is Luz.

Chapter nineteen

Luz

Simone agreed to meet me for coffee at the Gentle Bean Café. It was a small, student co-op that charged an obscene amount for an ethical latte, but it was a price I was willing to pay to get some answers.

Autumn had, of course, my complete and unconditional support to love anyone she chose. I just needed to make sure Simone was worthy of being that someone.

And that she’s not a sheep.

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