“Yes and no.” I drag a hand through my hair, frustration hot in my chest. “The note never mentioned me specifically. But onthe card… I got asked if my fate would be the same.” I pause, the memory of that line sharp and sour. “So… I don’t know. Emilio doesn’t want to take any chances. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about me going to school today, but I reminded him that he won’t always be around to protect me. I have to be able to stand on my own, or there’s no point in him teaching me self-defense or how to shoot a gun. Besides, he can’t just abandon his job to babysit me. I’d rather he be out there catching criminals and looking for this killer than hovering over me every second.”
Marlena blinks, then quirks a brow. “He taught you how to shoot a gun?”
“Yes,” I answer, my lips twitching at the corners, “and self-defense. Although… the self-defense training was a lot more fun.” I wink.
“Oh?” she questions, but then her eyes light up as she figures the answer out herself. “Ohhh.” A laugh bursts out of her.
I nod, biting back my own grin, before laughing with her.
“The thrill was wondering if someone was gonna wander in on us,” I admit.
Her jaw drops, then she squeals, smacking my arm. “You did it in public, too?! You kinky bitch.”
“Semi-public,” I correct quickly, giggling with her. “It was during the overnight shift at the station. There weren’t a lot of people in at that time.”
Before Marlena can tease me further, the sound of my name cuts through the air.
“Miss Carson.”
I glance up, startled, and find Professor Henley standing only a few feet away. He moves toward us with that same deliberate stride I’ve come to expect from him—measured, controlled, as though every step has already been mapped out. His expression is calm, composed, but his eyes… his eyes are too intent.
He stops directly in front of us, and his gaze finds mine first. It lingers, steady and unblinking, and I shift uncomfortably on the bench.
“I wanted to offer my condolences,” he says, his voice even, smooth, carefully pitched to sound sincere. “I know Khloe was your friend, and I’m deeply sorry for your loss.” His attention flicks briefly to Marlena, acknowledging her presence, before returning to me with the same unwavering focus. “And Liam, Bailey… such senseless tragedies. I’m glad to see you back in class, despite everything.”
Beside me, Marlena stiffens, her fingers brushing my arm like she’s anchoring me to the bench.
“Um… thank you, Professor,” I murmur. My voice feels caught in my throat, paper-thin. He inclines his head, but he doesn’t step away right away. His gaze lingers, weighted, as if there’s more he wants to say but won’t.
Marlena squeezes my hand once more, the unease lingering between us as Henley walks away.
The library doors swing shut behind Tessa and me, and for the first time all day, the air feels bearable. It’s cooler now, quiet in that late hour way that makes every sound carry. We stayed way later than we planned—one hour of studying turned into three, most of which had nothing to do with studying and instead was spent talking to get our minds off the chaos that has erupted in our lives (or more specifically mine). Anything to stop thinking about everything that’s been happening lately—the deaths, the tension, the big possibility that a serial killer is hunting me.
I hitch my book bag higher and scan the courtyard. The broad lawn is mostly empty. Lamps cast pale circles across the brick paths, and the buildings sit dark except for a few classroom windows still lit. A patrol car idles near the edge of the quad, lights off, engine a low hum. The police presence has thinned now that the campus has emptied for the most part. Almost everyone has either left for their off-campus homes or returned to their dorms for the night, thanks to the new curfew the university set, because they’re convinced it will help.
A curfew will solve jack shit.
An officer stands near the library steps. I tip my chin; he sweeps the trees and the walkway, not us, and gives a distracted nod. Tessa falls in beside me, and we cut across the brick toward the student union. My boots scuff the brick, and Tessa’s sneakers whisper beside me. A couple of stragglers cut across the far side of the lawn with heads down, bags slung tight. The university banners hanging from the light poles snap once in a weak gust and then go still again.
“What do you want to pick up for dinner?” Tessa asks as we pass the alumni plaza and the shuttered food court.
“I don’t know, Mexican maybe? If the birria place is open, maybe we can get that,” I reply with a shrug.
“I’m pretty sure they are. I’ll call and place an order for pick up,” she says as she digs her phone out of her purse.
I nod, but my focus has drifted. The hairs at my nape prickle, and I slow without meaning to. Every few paces, I look back. The walkways behind us are empty—just the line of trees, the benches, the soft wash of light from windows where the lights were left on. No footsteps. No voices.
Still, the feeling clings.
I stop at the corner where the Greek houses start, the big porches and columns gone quiet for the night. I scan the sidewalk, the hedges, the shadowed gaps between buildings.Besides the cruiser creeping down the road with its lights flashing, I see no one. And that’s what bothers me. Whatever I’m feeling, it’s not like whoevermightbe following me would make themselves known.
Although now would be their chance.
If this fucker could take down two people in the middle of downtown without anyone knowing, I’m sure Tessa and I are no issue. But somehow I don’t think I’m on the menu tonight.
“Rae?” Tessa’s voice pulls me back. I blink and turn to face her. She’s already a few steps ahead, frowning back at me. “You okay?”
“Uh, yeah,” I say. “Just thought I saw… something. Probably nothing.”
