Lady Killer (Dead Girls Club #2)

5. Luz

Chapter five

Luz

“ A hhh!” Autumn shrieked, nearly shattering my ear drums and anyone else’s near us.

We’d both arrived back on campus a couple of days before classes started. It was her idea to head to one of our favorite coffee shops to exchange gifts and catch up after the holidays.

“It’s perfect, absolutely, perfect! I just knew it would be!”

She was right, of course, as she so often was when it came to matters of fashion.

The vintage off-white cable-knit sweater was from an obscure French label that had long since shuttered its doors. In flawless condition, it was exactly the sort of thing I would have picked out for myself if I’d been able to afford the luxury consignment stores that Autumn loved to shop at. It was a timeless piece, and as I held it up over me, I could already picture half a dozen outfits I could create around it.

“Thank you, Autumn, it’s stunning, honestly. I love it.”

Some people thought style was about always having the latest designer shoes or the newest handbag, but that was just consumption and peacocking. True style was about the power of image in creating a narrative, your narrative, and it transcended money and wealth.

“I’m afraid my present isn’t nearly as good,” I said, apologizing before she even opened it.

The end of term had been a flurry of exams, coupled with the unfortunate incident with Aaron, and I had completely dropped the ball on getting Autumn a gift. It wasn’t until she texted me during the break about how excited she was to give me my present that I realized we were exchanging anything at all.

Stuck in my hotel room, I’d been forced to shop online for the girl who already had everything. I’d considered buying her something outrageous and putting it on the Blackwells’ credit card, but something about that idea left a bad taste in my mouth.

“Oh my God, Luz, it’s from you. I’m going to love it no matter what.” Autumn scoffed. “Now, gimme,” she said, making grabby hands.

Sighing, I handed the carefully wrapped present over to her, nervous energy expanding rapidly in my chest.

Autumn ripped open the wrapping paper gleefully. “What’s this?”

Inside was a small women’s self-defense kit, including a miniature high-powered flashlight, 10-million-volt taser, and a panic alarm. All pink. All bedazzled.

“It’s not safe on campus right now,” I said hesitantly.

Aaron was gone, but there was still at least one other sheep, not to mention the Virgin Sacrifice Killer. Autumn was a likely target due to her friendship with me, and I needed her to be safe.

“It’s just a little self-defense kit . . .”

“Luz,” she said, giving me a watery smile. “Thank you.”

The air suddenly felt heavy. We hadn’t talked about Aaron’s murder yet, but the conversation was inevitable.

It was Autumn who broke the silence. “I can’t believe he’s really gone,” she began, her eyes downcast and brimming with tears .

I offered her a gentle grimace. “I know. I keep thinking he’s going to walk through that door right now and say it’s all a big joke.”

I didn’t like lying to Autumn, but I could hardly tell her that our so-called friend was a murdering rapist who deserved a worse death than what I gave him. Or that, if by some miracle Aaron walked through the door right now, I would do it all over again without an ounce of remorse.

Even I knew that making her an accomplice after the fact was pushing the boundaries of friendship.

“They’re saying his body was found like those girls, with his heart ripped out of his chest.”

Technically, it had been cut from his chest.

“That’s horrible.” I shuddered. “I just hope he didn’t suffer.”

“Yeah, same.”

“Did you see him again after I left that night?” I asked.

I knew she hadn’t, but it was better than her asking me when I had last seen him.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Everyone got so sick so quickly, Simone just wanted us to get out safely.”

“She sounds smart,” I said with a genuine smile. “I’m glad she was there to look out for you.”

A rosy blush swept across Autumn’s cheek .

If this was her response to the enigmatic Simone, I wondered how I had ever thought she had a crush on Aaron.

The jingly sound of the door to the coffee shop opening pealed through the small café. It had been quiet, with most of the students still off campus, and I looked up to see a familiar face entering.

Michael Schultz, my brilliant but dull Intro to Japanese instructor.

Tall and lean with dark hair, he always looked like the quintessential graduate student. Tired.

Looking around the coffee shop, his eyes caught mine, and he gave me a polite nod of recognition before shuffling forward to get in line.

“Who’s that?” Autumn asked.

“Oh, just one of my profs. Intro to Japanese.”

“Hmmm, he’s cute. Although I suppose you have your hands full with the Blackwell twins, don’t you?” she said with a devilish smirk.

I rolled my eyes and tried to change the subject. “Has Melody reached out to you?”

“No,” replied Autumn grimly, “but I think maybe she’s really messed up by Aaron’s death. They were super close, you know?”

I nodded along in false sympathy, although my mind was already calculating my next steps .

My texts to Melody had gone unanswered, and I’d hoped Autumn had heard from her.

“It’s just so horrible,” Autumn continued, her eyes still focused on the table in front of her as she continued to pick at her nails. “We were right there, Luz, we saw him that night . . . and now he’s gone.” She choked up.

Autumn was too kind for her own good. Still, I hated to see her so upset, especially over a dickhole like Aaron.

I reached across the table and squeezed her hand to try to keep her from tearing herself apart. “It’s so scary. How are you holding up?”

Friendship may have been new to me, but Mami had taught me that part of getting away with murder was pretending to mourn along with everyone else.

“Honestly? I have times where I’m really sad and I cry but . . .” She was hedging, weighing her words. “Most of the time, I feel guilty for not feeling worse,” she finally whispered.

I squeezed her hand again. From what I’d read, that was fairly common. Sometimes grief was all-consuming, but just as often it came in fits and spurts.

“I think that’s okay,” I said. “I think it’s normal to be sad and I also think it’s normal for your brain to keep the sadness at a distance, you know, to protect you. ”

Autumn exhaled, looking reluctant to accept my absolution.

“I miss Aaron too,” I lied, “but life requires us to keep on going, to survive. You should honor your sadness when you feel it, but beating yourself up for living won’t bring him back.”

She smiled and dabbed around her eyes to carefully wipe away her tears.

“I suppose you’re right.” Blinking, she shook her head suddenly. “Here I am being, like, totally selfish. How are you holding up, Luz?”

I considered lying to her. It wasn’t as though I was feeling any sense of sadness over Aaron’s death.

But I was feeling . . . something.

When I’d returned to my dorm, escorted by the driver foisted on me, there had been another sticker heart, this time exactly where the pig’s heart had been nailed to my door. The killer still had eyes on me, and I hadn’t heard from Melody yet.

“I’m okay. I’ve been better and I’ve been worse.”

“I totally get it.”

I hoped she didn’t. Autumn was too pure to handle murder. But I appreciated her support, nonetheless .

We walked back across campus to Jackson College House after exchanging our belated holiday gifts, full of coffee and baked goods.

The weather had been mild in Connecticut over the break, and most of the snow on the school grounds had melted.

I hadn’t returned to the spot where we’d left Aaron’s body, but I wondered what, if anything, remained there after the police had conducted their investigation.

The image of his blood against the crisp whiteness of the snow that night was forever etched in my mind. While I didn’t consider killing to be an art, like Everest, there was an element of visceral beauty to it that I appreciated.

Just as we were about to enter the dormitory, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I still hadn’t heard from the killer, and I hurried to fish it out, more nervous than I wanted to admit at what I might find.

Alister: Need to talk. Meet across the quad in five minutes.

I hadn’t seen any of the Blackwell men since the twins had dropped me off at the hotel at the beginning of the winter break. When the time had come for me to return to campus, they’d sent a driver for me, an excruciatingly uncomfortable experience .

Now, apparently, I was supposed to hurry along at their command like a good girl.

Alister: If you are late, I will send Everest in to get you.

I wasn’t sure if Alister was a mind reader or if he was spying on me again, but his threat worked. Anything to keep Everest out of my dorm and away from Autumn.

Me: Fine.

Making up another lie, I told Autumn I needed to run to the library to pick up a book and promised that I would grab her for dinner that evening. Once she’d disappeared into the building and out of sight, I marched across the marshy quad, finding Alister leaning against one of the old oak trees near Gabriel College House.

He looked as unrepentantly handsome and impassive as ever.

His dirty blond hair was swept cleanly back, and he wore his usual dark colors—an oversize black woolen moto jacket paired with a charcoal knit turtleneck, dark jeans, and black boots. With one foot propped up against the tree and his hands in his pockets, Alister looked like he could be a model for European menswear.

The Blackwell boys may have been monsters, but they knew how to dress.

“What do you want?” I wasn’t interested in playing any of his games today .

Alister scowled before quickly schooling his features. “You would think saving your life would entitle me to a warmer reception, Luz.”

“Considering that it’s your brother who wants me dead, you’ll forgive me if I feel less than gracious.”

He pushed off the tree, his dark blue eyes bearing down on me. “Would it not be wiser to be kind to the man standing between you then?”

“Lucian and I have a deal. Are you saying that your brother is not a man of his word?”

“I am saying none of us are the type of men you want to push, petite diablesse.”

“Please,” I said, not bothering to hide the fatigue and frustration in my voice, “just tell me what you want, Alister. I spent the break hiding out like you wanted me to, I’ve agreed to work with you to find the killer, so just tell me what you want so I can be on my way.”

Yes, I was conveniently ignoring the kiss we’d shared last term, and what I suspected about Melody, but I couldn’t allow my attraction to him to influence me. My to-do list for the term was long enough that I didn’t need to add Play games with Alister .

“What I want . . .” He scoffed before stopping, his lips pursed .

Huffing through his nostrils, he pinched his eyes shut and I swear I could hear him slowly counting to ten in his head before releasing a slow breath.

When he opened his eyes, any trace of the previous emotions he’d been experiencing were wiped from his face, like a blank slate.

“I’m here to warn you,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Everest will be back on campus tomorrow, and now that you’ve been formally introduced, he’ll be much less . . . restrained around you.”

“Fantastic,” I muttered under my breath. It was one thing to text the self-proclaimed serial killer; it would be another to explain his presence to Autumn.

Alister opened his mouth to say something before snapping it shut and thrusting a USB into my hand.

“What’s this?”

“Everything I was able to find on Aaron and his friend Melody.”

My mouth hung open. “Why did you—?”

“Best of luck,” he said curtly before stalking away, leaving me confused.

As I watched his back, the smallest part of me felt guilty about upsetting him, but the rest of me quickly squashed those thoughts down .

Still, something shifted uncomfortably inside me as I rolled the small device in my palm.

Everything I knew about the Blackwells, Alister included, said they didn’t do feelings . That this was about catching the killer, nothing more.

Even Everest’s IOU was more of a joke in my mind.

And yet, Alister had just gifted me the thing I knew he valued most.

Knowledge.