Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 160041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 800(@200wpm)___ 640(@250wpm)___ 533(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 800(@200wpm)___ 640(@250wpm)___ 533(@300wpm)
But it’s the note next to the crime scene that makes me narrow my eyes.
It’s the same handwriting as the notes sent to me.
I pull off the pin and snatch it off the board.
Let me help you.
I read the words over and over again.
This wasn’t meant for the police. This was meant for me.
CLICK!
I hold my breath and glance over my shoulder.
Someone’s here.
I peek out the door and look around. There’s a light on in an office up ahead, to the opposite side of the room I entered through. Someone must’ve come back to pick something up.
There’s no more time. I’ve stuck around far too long already.
I check the light one more time before I rush through the hallway without looking back.
“Hello? Is someone there?”
I bolt into the room and jump through the window feet first, right before they enter.
Adrenaline races through my veins as I hang onto the ledge and wait for the time to pass. I can hear their footsteps getting closer and closer, and I hold my breath.
One.
Two.
Three.
Finally, the footsteps ebb away again, and I let go of the breath.
That was fucking close.
And exhilarating.
I put my hook around the ledge again, slip down the rope, then unhook it and run out of the alley while taking off my mask and gloves, tucking them into my pocket before I make it to the main street. I unfurl my hair from the knot I made and put on a pair of glasses from my other pocket so no one will recognize me as I walk to my parked bike, get on, and race off.
Back to Spine Ridge University, where I will definitely grill the person responsible for leaving all those notes. Someone has been lying to me, and I know just who to stalk to find out the truth.
Orion
I pull my pen off the paper and take a sip of my wine, lamenting the days past. God, when Sunny ripped my notebook out of my hand and read it in front of her girl squad, I was about ready to die.
If only my heart had stopped right there and then, at least that would’ve been the perfect ending. But no, my godforsaken heart just started pitter-pattering like a downpour on an open sea.
I guess even my eternal death wish can’t beat the flustering hope she injected the second she told me my words were beautiful. Spoken like a true goddess.
Smiling, I take another swig before I settle the pen back down on the page again, invigorated by the memory.
Suddenly, a click near the window makes me look up. It’s dark outside, and I don’t see a thing with this desk lamp being the only light source in my room. Noise from a true Tartarus party downstairs makes it hard to focus. Maybe I imagined the sound.
Sighing, I turn back to my writing.
Only for my neck to be met by a blade.
Sunny.
“Move one inch, and you’re dead.”
CHAPTER 9
Orion
I can’t believe she’s here in my room … with a damn knife against my throat.
This is a dream come true.
I gulp. “Fuck. Do it.”
The blade pushes farther into my skin, forcing my head up, and I meet her gaze head-on. Wow, she’s beautiful, so damn beautiful to look at. It’s almost a pity I won’t ever be able to see her killer face again.
“Do you want to die so badly?” she asks.
“Only by your hand.” My fingers reach up to touch her face, but she pulls back. “Why can’t I touch you?”
“Because you haven’t earned the right,” she growls, retracting the knife.
Still, a droplet of blood rolls down my skin, and the mere rush of nearly dying exhilarates me.
She slaps a piece of paper down on top of my notebook.
“This.”
I frown, inspecting the words on the paper, but before I can even reply, she’s already snatched my notebook off my desk right underneath my nose.
I spin in my seat. “Hey—”
She raises a heel and shoves it into my chest. “Stay.”
A hot blush takes over my face, and I hate it, because red really isn’t my color.
She reads my words without speaking them out loud, her eyes scanning each sentence with great care, and I feel honored she’s putting in so much effort.
She lowers her foot and lays the note on top of the booklet, then checks it over and over, before turning the pages toward me. “Did you or did you not write this?”
Should I tell the truth or lie?
“Because it sure looks like you did.”
After all … if we both get what we want the most.
“I’ll tell you …” I say, leaning back. “If you promise to kill me.”
She stares at me for a moment, and I stare right back at her, her face slowly tilting down.
She chuckles. “This is a joke, right?”
I raise a brow. “I’ve never been more serious.”
She folds her arms. “You want to die.” She snorts again. “That’s ridiculous, and you know it.”