Lady Killer (Dead Girls Club #2)

20. Luz

Chapter twenty

Luz

“ . . . and then we’re going to finish the evening with cocktails at the Pierre, where we’re staying,” Autumn waxed almost rhapsodically about her upcoming date with Simone.

The two of them were heading to the city for Valentine’s Day.

Technically, the holiday fell on a Tuesday this year, so they were celebrating the weekend before.

“Do you think a carriage ride in Central Park is like too cliché?”

“Mmm, does Simone like the cold?”

Autumn rolled her eyes. “Not everyone is as cold-blooded as you, Luz. Simone knows how to dress for winter in NYC . . .”

“Cold-blooded?” I said, stiffening.

“Yeah, like, lizards and stuff. They’re cold-blooded, so they need to be in a warm environment to like, stay warm. Right? Yeah, that’s definitely right.” She turned to look at me, her brows angled as she bit down on her lip. “You know that I like, still know stuff. Just because I like clothes and TikTok and I speak in a way that feels natural to me doesn’t mean that I’m dumb.”

An icy sensation surged in my chest. “No, no,” I rushed to say. “I thought . . . I thought you meant that I was cold—frigid, heartless. . . Merde. Sorry, Autumn.”

Why was it this hard for me to get my words out?

“Oh.” Her expression shifted instantly. “No, of course not, Luz. Now, I feel like the jerk . . .”

I held up my hand to stop her. “How about we both stop apologizing and call it what it was? A misunderstanding.”

Autumn smiled and nodded before returning to painting her toes .

She had chosen a classic ruby shade to go along with the many Valentine’s Day themed outfits she’d selected for their celebration.

Whoever said gingers shouldn’t wear red clearly had never met her.

“What about you?”

I looked up from my own nails that I was painstakingly shaping. Autumn and I were doing a girls’ night in. Empire Records was playing on her laptop, and we were both wearing one of her expensive face masks and making our way through the large box of chocolates Simone had given her as a pre-Valentine’s Day surprise.

“What about me?”

“You know what I mean, Luz. Are you doing anything with either of the twins?”

The file veered off my nails, snagging on my cuticle.

“I told you, there’s nothing going on.”

She looked up at me like the cat that ate the canary. “And Simone and I are, like, just really good friends.”

I rolled my eyes, playing it off with a giggle.

It’s official. Peopling has made me a coward.

In the face of the Blackwells, I felt fierce. But when confronted with the possibility of disappointing Autumn, I felt real fear.

“It’s not like that. ”

Say it enough times and maybe it will come true.

“If you say so . . .” Autumn trilled with a wink, tucking her head back down to finish her paint job. “But me thinks the lady doth protest too much,” she whispered smugly.

She seemed happier these days, and I had to credit Simone.

We still hadn’t talked more about her parents, and I suspected not all was right there.

After Valentine’s Day . . .

I would deal with that then.

With my bestie off in the city, I had the weekend to relax by myself.

Guilt continued to eat away at me, my thoughts consumed by the killer and the missing girls.

The Virgin Sacrifice Killer was linked to my past. If I had never come to Hollow Oak, would those girls still be alive . . .

A knock broke me from my ruminations.

My brow furrowed, I scrambled to sit up.

Autumn and Simone had left a couple of hours ago, and I absolutely was not expecting—

“Open up, Starbright. You know I’m getting in one way or another.”

I hurried to the door, certain Everest was not above causing a scene.

Sure enough, I opened it to find him glaring down the hall, presumably at one of my poor hallmates, his favorite blade twitching between his fingers.

He wasn’t alone.

Alister’s broad frame shadowed Everest’s leaner one, and while he wasn’t staring anyone down with murder in his eyes, the tattooed giant didn’t exactly give off a welcoming energy.

With no other options, I grabbed Everest by his jacket and yanked him inside my room before he could start anything. Alister followed silently, the door shutting behind him.

“If you wanted to get me in your bedroom that badly, darling, all you had to do was ask,” Everest purred, pulling my body flush with his and snapping his perfect white teeth at me.

They must have just come in because the cold was still pouring off of him. Dressed in a thin knitwear set made up of shorts and a loose sweater, I shivered as I rubbed my arms.

Alister cleared his throat .

Shaking off Everest’s hold, I pushed my way out from between them, very aware of the two large men in my bedroom.

My desk was covered in notes and books, I desperately needed to do laundry, my bed was a mess . . .

“What are you doing here?” I said, going on the offense as I moved to hide my overflowing laundry basket in the closet.

“It’s Valentine’s Day,” Everest said, as if that explained everything.

“Tuesday is Valentine’s Day,” I corrected him, running a hand through my hair, wondering if it was completely wild.

“Exactly, so we’ll be needing to keep you company until it’s passed.”

“Pardon me?”

“You’ll be staying with us for the next week,” Alister said as though it was a given.

Slowly, I turned away from the closet to face them.

“Lo siento, I thought I just heard you saying you think I’m staying with you.”

Alister grunted. Everest waggled his eyebrows.

“Pack for pillow fights, Starbright.”

“Get out.” I pointed to the door.

“Playing dumb doesn’t become you, diablesse. ”

“Nor you, Ali , so I’m certain you understand that I’m not going anywhere with either of you. The last time I did, you stuck me in a hotel for two weeks and I have—?”

Everest clapped his hands. “We’re going to have a sleepover at Ali and Nix’s.”

“Absolutely not.” I marched over to the door to show them out.

Alister’s arm banded around my waist, holding me in place. “The last time we left you alone like this, you wound up chased by freaks in sheep masks, not to mention what happened in the woods a couple weeks ago.”

“Plus”—Everest’s voice came from my closet, and I spun around, still in Ali’s grasp, horrified to find the cheery psychopath digging through my closet—“there’s the whole heart element to their work. Valentine’s Day is the perfect time for them to make a statement.”

I had come to a similar conclusion myself, not that I planned to concede the point.

“Trust me, darling, most serial killers are totally drama queens for shit like this. Speaking of which, I’m still dying to know if Aaron was your first. He wasn’t, was he? You never did tell us.”

My mouth went dry. I could practically feel Ali’s eyes burning a hole in the back of my head as I left Everest’s question hanging .

Distracted, I didn’t realize that he had found a piece of luggage until clothes started flying through the air and into it.

“No,” I choked out.

“No, Aaron wasn’t your first kill?” Alister said, keeping me close.

“No, I’m not coming with you.”

“What about Cassandra and the other missing girls?” he pressed. “What happens when the Virgin Sacrifice Killer catches you, the object of their obsession? What do you think will happen to those girls if the killer comes for you on Valentine’s Day and succeeds?”

“I don’t need you to babysit me,” I said, casting a disdainful look at him over my shoulder.

Alister snorted as Everest continued to pack my suitcase, humming to himself as he worked his way to the bathroom.

“And what happens if you’re not alone when they come, Luz? What happens to Autumn? We know there is at least one more sheep, likely working with the killer. Could you honestly take them both on and protect your friend if it came to it?”

His words pierced me, the blow to my pride a visceral pain in my chest .

I’d wanted to argue with him that I could take care of myself, that I was safe on my own. But as soon as he said Autumn’s name, he had won.

“Fine,” I said, no longer pushing against his hold. “I’ll stay with you, but only if you promise to keep Autumn safe. I want someone watching her.”

“Done,” Alister said without hesitation.

“And I won’t be cooped up. I still need to attend my classes.”

“Of course.”

“And I’ll be packing my own bags, thank you very much. Get that man out of my toiletries before I do.”

Alister chuckled, a low deep rumble that I could feel in my own chest.

“My pleasure, petite diablesse.”

The distinctive chanting of Daddy Yankee’s “Rompe” blasted over the sound system of the Range Rover.

Guess who chose the music?

“When the fuck did you start listening to this shit?” Alister complained from the driver's seat.

“A bop is a bop,” Everest stated with a sniff.

He was seated next to me in the back, his arm wrapped tightly around my shoulders.

“You don’t speak Spanish.”

“And what better way to learn than through muuuusiiiccccc .” He threw his head back and sang as we drove the short distance to the twins’ place.

From the outside, the brick townhouse looked almost innocuous.

“Bring her in while I park the car in the garage.”

Alister and I had been circling around each other for months. Now there was nowhere left for either of us to run.

Everest let us in, and as we padded through the front hall, I was struck by how quiet it was.

“Where’s Nixon?” I asked, certain that if he were here, I would be able to sense his noxious energy somehow.

“He’s out at some party,” Everest replied with a wave of his hand. “Now, let’s show you to your room. I voted for you to stay with me, but everyone else vetoed the idea . . .”

I followed the still-talking blond up the narrow staircase that led to the upper levels of the townhouse.

“My room is on the second floor, Alister’s and Nixon’s are on the third, and the fourth floor is where your room is along with Nixie’s studio.”

“Studio? ”

We had reached the top floor, and Everest came to a stop in front of one of the two doors on the landing. It was the same guest room Alister had taken me to that first day.

“Ugh, yes. Nixon also fancies himself a bit of an artist, but like a real one .” He scowled, and I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but before I could, he kicked the door open, slamming it into the wall with a bang.

Once again treading in his wake, I stepped into the room.

It was transformed.

The formerly cold gray walls were now a warm, creamy white. Thick sage-green curtains hanging from aged brass fixtures shaded the floor-to-ceiling windows. To my left, a large four-poster with simple lines sat against a wall, covered in layered sheets of linen with stacks of vintage pillows and a simple yet elegant cream quilt.

“Everest, it’s gorgeous,” I whispered, as though it were a confession.

He beamed. “I’d like to take credit for it, darling, but it was Sir Stoic.” He winked.

“Wait, what—?”

“So, what do you think, Starbright, are you ready?”

“Ready? For what?”

“To have a little fun.”