Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Double-check that Royal isn’t enrolled at Howison College.
I sent the text to Wilder. He’d probably be insulted that I was questioning, him but I had to know.
She’s not. But give me a minute, and I’ll break into their system and check the records.
He was never wrong. And I knew that, but if she was going into college classes, then, well, it was gonna fucking change the way I was trying to look at her. I’d tried to focus on her being several things. A con artist, a liar, drug dealer, but not someone who wanted to learn even if they didn’t get credit for it. That required something more, and I didn’t want her to have it. Not if she was going to let me down in the end.
She is not in their enrollment, but the boyfriend is. I’ve already given you that information though. If she’s on campus, it’s to see him. You need to stay on that. See what they are doing.
No shit. That was why I was here. But he was right, I had to go inside.
I am.
Sticking my phone back in my pocket, I headed for the entrance to the history building. If she was in there with Merce, then it would make sense. I had been letting my hidden hopes that she wasn’t what we thought she was start to take over. Maybe Dad should have sent Wells. I clearly couldn’t look past her looks to keep focused on her actions.
The inside of the old building smelled like pine and lemon. I looked around, and the halls were empty, but there were several closed doors. This was just the first floor. I was going to have to check every fucking room until I found her. I should have followed her inside. Luckily, most doors had a window to see inside. I started with those.
When I reached the end of the hall, I hadn’t found Royal, but I did find a lecture hall. There were hundreds of people inside, and it went up to the second floor with an entry up there as well. I stepped back and headed for the stairs I’d passed earlier. She’d been in the building for almost thirty minutes at this point, and I knew I had at least forty-five minutes left before classes started to let go. The second floor was similar to the first, but had fewer doors with viewing windows.
I slowly opened the door to the lecture hall and slipped inside, staying against the back wall to scan the place without being noticed. It didn’t take me long to spot the familiar blonde head, as she sat near the back on the opposite side, writing in a notebook with a serious expression as the professor continued to speak.
Every few minutes, she’d pause and glance up, appearing to be entranced by whatever the man was saying about Colonial America before going back to her note-taking. She looked like a student. One who was diligently trying to get all the information she could. There was no sign of Merce. She wasn’t sitting near any guy at all for that matter.
Taking a seat where I had a direct view of her, I decided to stay and watch.
One hour and thirty minutes later, she walked out of the door closest to her. She didn’t speak to anyone, nor did she notice the heads that turned to watch her when she passed. I followed her to the mass communications building, and I let a few people go in behind her before I, too, went inside. She was entering a class when I spotted her, and I decided to stay back and wait out here this time. I paid close attention to everyone else who also went inside the room, but none of them were Merce. Once the hallway emptied out, I headed back outside and found a less obvious location so that I could watch the door.
Dancastle has a Political Theory class in two hours.
I read the text Wilder had sent and figured that was what I would wait for. See if she went to him then.
One hour and twenty-three minutes later, she walked out, talking to a girl on her left with glasses and short brown hair. They seemed to be discussing something from class, and Royal talked with her hands animatedly. I wished like fuck I could hear what she was saying. There was no sign of Merce, and if he was on campus for his upcoming class, he hadn’t come here, looking to find her.
The brunette waved and walked away as Royal started in the direction of the parking lot. Moving to her far left, I placed a row of cars between us so that I’d reach mine by the time she got to her Vespa. Her lack of awareness continued to bother me. She didn’t even glance my way when I pulled out onto the street behind her. Since she was dating Merce, she needed to fucking pay attention to her surroundings. Especially if his father was messed up with what Stellan believed he was.