“We need to move,” I say. Taking my gloves off quickly before I pull Madeline toward the door. “Now.”
“What’s the rush?” Grant asks, though he’s already stepping back.
“Lana was here,” Madeline says, her voice tight. “Right before we came inside. She saw us.”
Georgia’s eyes widen. “Lana? What was she doing here?”
“Being a bitch,” Madeline mutters. “But she knows we were here. And if she tells someone?—”
“She won’t,” I cut in. “That would implicate her too if she’s even involved. We don’t know why she was here for certain, but we don’t need more people seeing us.” There is also the fact that Caleb and Lana have been hooking up off and on for a few years at this point. If I recall correctly, she’s hosted a few parties here too.
We file out the door, sticking to the shadows along the tree line. The lake is dark, the moon hidden behind clouds. Perfect night for hiding bodies. Perfect night for getting caught doing shit you shouldn’t.
“Where are we going?” Grant asks, keeping his voice low.
“To our vehicles,” I say. “Then we figure out what to do with what we know.”
“Which is what exactly?” Georgia presses. “That Coach Murphy is dead? That someone cut her up? That Lana was lurking around a crime scene?”
“All of it,” Madeline says. “And that we’re in way over our heads.”
I squeeze her hand to reassure her that everything is going to be fine. That expression of panic and the fear in her voice cut deep, pissing me off.
We reach the cars without seeing anyone else. I unlock the SUV and help Madeline in, then turn to Grant and Georgia. “Follow us back to my brother’s place. We need to talk somewhere safe.”
Grant nods, already heading for his truck. Georgia lingers, looking at me with something like suspicion. “You knew something about this. Before tonight. Didn’t you?”
I don’t answer. My mind is working on different possibilities, but I’m not sure yet. I just get in the car and start the engine.
Madeline is staring out the window, her reflection ghostly in the glass. “I don’t want more people to die. This feels like only the beginning,” she says quietly.
I pull onto the road, headlights cutting through the dark. “Then we need to find them first.” She turns her head back in my direction.
“And you want to help with that?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. I don’t want her to think I’m reluctant. If she knows I’m all in, she’ll keep me informed. I’m now on her team.
Though I’m still on teamthis isn’t our fucking problem, but if it’s a problem for Madeline, then I’m finding it’s a problem for me too.
Chapter Nineteen
MADELINE
The drive back is silent. Luke’s hand rests on the gear shift, close enough to mine that I can feel the heat coming off his skin. I should move my hand. I don’t. I want him to reach out and touch me, but he doesn’t. I’m sure that’s partly my own doing. I’ve been pushing him away.
This should make me happy, especially after all the comments Lana made and Luke didn’t rebuff. In fact, he brushed her off more. Normally he’s rude as hell to Lana, which I find odd since they’ve hooked up before. All of this should be at the bottom of shit that is on my mind right now.
What we know hangs between us. Coach Murphy is dead. Someone likely cut her up in that boathouse. And Lana was there, watching us, knowing we were there.
But that kiss, holy hell. The world could have burned down, and I wouldn’t have noticed.
Luke turns onto his street and immediately slows. Blue and red lights pulse against the trees, painting everything in strobing color.
“Fuck,” Luke breathes.
Three police cars sit in the circular drive in front of the dean’s house. Not just campus security. Town police.
My stomach drops. “They know. They know we were there.” How are we busted already?
