Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
I moved from my spot in the entry three times to hit the dining room buffet table, bypassing amorous couples grinding and making out in every corner of the house. Despite Katie’s insistence that the Royals had higher standards, every college party was about dancing, booze, and hooking up—not necessarily in that order. By those criteria, our party was a success. Especially since ours came with the bonus of half-naked coeds. Katie decided the pillow fight champion would receive a trophy and the losers would strip. Everyone accepted those rules easier than I thought.
Katie peeled herself off of Dean, running out of the fort up to me. “Lu-Lu, these walls are handcrafted by French masons. They don’t need you to hold them up.”
I laughed. “I’m just hanging out, drinking my martini clear of the flying butts and elbows. I’ll rejoin the fun in a second.”
“This party is my fucking masterpiece. Saylor called me yesterday and lost her mind, bitching me out for not inviting her for a full five minutes before I hung up.” She posed for the imaginary cameras, gorgeous in her blue babydoll nightgown and matching heels. “I’m a genius.”
“For letting me plan all this for you? Yes, you are.”
“Oh, honey.” She bumped my hip. “Who gets the credit? The underling who succeeded? Or the boss that saw their potential and hired them?”
“The underling.”
Katie rolled her eyes like I was hopeless. “Ugh, whatever. Let’s dance.”
She tried tugging me away, but I stood firm, bringing her back. “Doesn’t any of this seem weird to you?” I asked. “Partying and getting drunk when yesterday, a student was murdered on campus.”
Katie’s smile melted away. “Luna, of course it’s weird. They shut down campus. After Owen was hung from the ceiling, Dean Simmons installed cameras in the café. They’re going through the footage to try to find who did it, but I heard from someone in administration that it’s hopeless. Too many people swarmed him. You can’t even see Ashton on the tape, and there was so much chaos, no one saw who did it.”
She glanced around. “I’ll be honest, the reason you’re not seeing anyone bawling their eyes out in a corner is because people didn’t like Ashton. He was weird, aggressive, and creepy around girls. The kind of guy your instincts say to stay away from.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” I said flatly.
“If he really did all of those things—writing those lies about you, blowing up cars, poisoning people, then it’s further proof we were right to stay away from the guy. Still, no one wanted him dead.
“We are all freaked out knowing that someone we go to school with every day is a killer. Half the people here called their lawyers before coming, because the cops are going to interview them. My parents are cutting their trip short. Between the bombing, Annika, and now this? Mom is supposed to be resting and it’s just been one fucking thing after another!” Katie sucked in a deep breath, clutching her forehead. “We all get how serious this is, Luna. That’s why we deserve one night— just one where we have fun and forget, because nothing will be the same from this point.”
I squeezed her arm, feeling bad for her and her mom, though I felt none for Ashton Scott. Katie spent the last year facing the reality that life was short, and time with the people you love isn’t guaranteed. She wanted to enjoy her college years, and more importantly, for her mom to spend the precious time she got back happy and relaxed. There was little chance of that with a stabber running around Regalia U.
But which one of them did it? My mind drifted back to the question as it did every ten seconds since Wilder told us the news.
My suspicions landed on Levi. The guy was accused of mutilation, arson, theft, and murder in those truth lists, and if he thought Ashton was behind it, why wouldn’t he resort to violence when he’s done it so many times before? But even though he was most likely in my eyes, it was a big risk to stab him within that mob of people. Anyone could’ve seen and confirmed rumor as truth.
Would he put his life and freedom on the line? Levi was a violent sociopath, but he planned all his other attacks. He planned the trick that got my sister beaten up. He may or may not have done something to his grandfather that can’t be proven, and never will be. He’s been smart and careful before. Does a person like that snap and plunge a knife in someone amid dozens of witnesses?
If not him, then who?
The reason I wanted to know wasn’t because I planned to yell, berate, or bring the full force of the law on him. Owen, Levi, Giovanni, or Wesley—whichever one of them killed Ashton... did exactly what I wanted them to do.