Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
“I’m done,” I say, and I grab my towel and march off to pull myself out of the situation before it blows up.
I’m not staying a second longer in this macho space.
Too much testosterone.
Too many killers in the same room.
And I’m not staying to find out who of us will be the next body.
CHAPTER 10
Aspen
The next day
With my freshly packed bag, I make my way to class, but the students in the hallway are all bundling up together as if something is going on up ahead, and I want to know why.
Because if any shit is going down at Spine Ridge U, nine out of ten times it involves my family.
I wade through the crowd to the front of the line, and I gulp the second a stretcher passes by with a white cloth laid over an actual person, a bloodied finger still visible from underneath.
A ghastly cold washes over me.
Audible gasps erupt in the crowd as the body is carried out of the school.
“Oh my God, what happened?” someone asks.
“I don’t know,” someone else replies. “I heard someone found him tied up in the girls’ bathroom with his wrists slit.”
Holy shit.
“Make some room, please,” the dean barks at the students, and they all move out of the way. “Get back to your classes. Nothing to see.”
As the students attempt to disperse on his order, I move in the opposite direction until I finally reach the dean. I grab his arm to get his attention.
“What happened?”
“Not now,” Felix hisses under his breath.
“Was that guy who just got wheeled out murdered?”
He abruptly stops walking and stares at me with intent, and I swallow back the nerves.
“Come with me.”
I follow him up the stairs to his office on the third floor, and he shuts the door behind us.
“What did you hear?” he asks.
“A girl said his wrists were slit.” I suck in a breath. “Who was it?”
“Derrick Vanderbilt. His parents have already been notified.”
“Do you know who did it?” I ask.
“No, and I don’t want any rumors circulating about his death. Don’t say a word to anyone.”
Too late for that.
I rub my lips together. “Got it.”
He grabs a cigarette and lights it up while staring out the window. I rarely see him smoke, if ever. This must be bad. “This school already has enough problems with law enforcement as it is. I’m sure Foley will be very fucking pleased with this.”
“Foley?” I mutter.
Someone knocks on the door, and Felix grumbles, “Come in.”
“Hello, Rivera.” A guy with tousled dark brown hair and plenty of tattoos waltzes into his office. “Nice to see you again.”
“Likewise, Foley…” Felix groans as he sits down at his desk.
So this is Agent Foley?
“Another murder on these grounds …” The agent scoffs. “Too many if you ask me.”
“The investigation hasn’t even started yet. Don’t make assumptions,” Felix retorts.
“He was tied up and his wrists were slit,” Agent Foley says.
“Self-inflicted, maybe,” Felix answers.
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. No one ties themselves up in the girls’ bathroom.”
“You don’t know that.”
Agent Foley snorts but doesn’t reply.
“I promise you, we will do everything we can to take care of this mess,” Felix says. “And we will provide the parents with whatever they need.”
“I’m sure you will.” Agent Foley taps his foot. “I want a few extra eyes on this campus. Just in case.”
“Unnecessary.”
“It’s a priority with students dying,” he says. “And I don’t want anyone to rest until the killer is identified.”
“There is no killer,” Felix says sternly.
Who is this guy?
He glances at me, and I feel caught listening to a conversation I shouldn’t be present for.
“Shouldn’t you be in class? Why are you even here?”
“She’s family,” Felix answers as he leans back in his seat. “And we were talking before you came barging into my office.”
“Anything more important than the death of a student?” he says.
“None of your business.”
“Right …” Agent Foley’s eyes narrow. “You know, with the death of your daughter, I’d assumed you’d want to take more care in preventing any further deaths.”
Felix’s fingers dig into the leather chair so deeply that it leaves indents. “Do not bring my daughter into this. Her death was a tragic accident.” He swallows as if to contain the rage from coming out like a breath of fire. “And I do not appreciate you questioning my resolve.”
Agent Foley stares him down. “I want to interview every student who saw his body. Next week.”
“Fine.”
“And my agents will keep an eye on this campus.”
“From the gates, and not a step closer,” Felix says, narrowing his eyes.
Agent Foley’s nostrils flare. “Fine.”
The tension between them is palpable.
“There’s a killer on this campus, and I will bring them to justice. Mark my words, Rivera.”
A killer on this campus?
All the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
What if it’s my Ghost?
“Two deaths do not equal a murderer.” Felix stands. “Have a nice fucking day, Foley.”