“You said you did!”
“I suppose.” A little gleam hits her eyes as she hurries, catching my stride. “More library time?”
“Definitely.”
Before we reach the garage, I make sure she has her healthy breakfast. And let her know the new rules. “And no attending Thriller Thursday next week.”
“What? ButOmega…”
“I don’t give a fuck. You think I’m risking Talon showing up and tagging you? No.” I’m already pulling out my phone to text my sister. Telling her not to expect my appointed to participate.
“Fine,” she says with a roll of her eyes.
I hold back a smug smile of victory. There would beno wayI’d let her attend Thriller Thursday. Talon or not.
Though I have a feeling he’s too scared to show up on campus.
If I were him? I definitely would be.
I can’t take a moment to find him without leaving Ashlyn’s side. That’s the only problem. Fortunately, I have a few initiates spreading the word. No one’s seen him…
Not yet.
Friday night,we roll up to a fraternity party like a typical college couple. Students spill out of the front door, even though it’s cold as a corpse outside. The frigid January has me pulling the collar of my puffy coat up higher, shoving my gloved hand deeper into my pocket.
It’s been years since I was in theBeta Kappa Etahouse. Or, as weThetaslike to call them,Beta Kap, no fap.
My cousin, Logan, is their secretary. And Ashlyn wants to ask Rowan about the vial found near Julien.
Her face buries into her phone, reading a text from Scout as I lead her inside with my hands on her shoulders. Angling her so she doesn’t trip over anyone’s feet. The bass of the speakers thuds from two crowded rooms. Cheap beer, cheaper cologne, and body odor permeate the air.
A fast-food wrapper entangles my boot, and I kick at an empty water bottle.Betas.Too busy studying to clean up their house, I guess.
“Barbiturates! Mixed with everything else that was injected.Heavy doses, she said. A pathology resident sneaked and got the records. Ran all the tests on Julien again.” Ashlyn halts, and I almost trip over her short figure. In a low, harsh voice, she says, “Part of hislungwasmissing. Like a biopsy!”
“Is that what killed him?” I ask, half scanning the great room of their estate house for Logan. Not sure why she’s whispering. It’s so crowded, I can hardly hear, unless I bend down.
“No. It was the combination of the drugs and something called CNS depression. I don’t understand most of the things Scout says. But it sounds like he couldn’t breathe.”
“Why would someone want a biopsy of his lung— Wait…”
Lungs. There were a lot of girls carved up on Terror Tuesday, too. Bodies all a mess. That was nasty. Was anything missing from Elowyn? Hmm, I didn’t stay around to check.
But on Massacre Monday… Yeah, for sure, there was a brain extracted.
Brain. Lungs.
It all seems…familiar.
“Hey, Aiden.” Logan pulls me in for a side hug.
“Logan, this is my everything, Ashlynsoon-to-be-Cardell.”
Logan smirks. Like he’s won some bet. “Hello, Ashlyn. We met already.”
“Yeah, we did,” she says. “I was hoping to talk to Rowan again.”
Logan nods toward the staircase. “Unfortunately, he’s back this semester. But he doesn’t look good. I was hoping the break from classes would help, but it didn’t. He’s up in his room, if you want?—”