moving at the same pace as her classmates without embarrassing her by singling her out.”
Hardwick nods, apparently appeased for the moment. “Well… I’ll need you all to clear out of the room. When security gets here they’ll—take care of the body. Ah, Roman, I apologize, but you have to understand—what this looks like—”
“Of course. I do understand.” Roman frowns down at Trevor’s body, a worried expression clouding his face. “Someone’s clearly trying to set me up.”
“Yes, well, we can discuss that more in the morning. Everyone out, please.”
Roman continues to look troubled as we file out, leaving the dean alone with the dead student.
“Not being able to raise the body?” Asher whispers, leaning in close to my ear. “That’s a big deal. Someone must’ve done something to it so that the spirit couldn’t reveal who’d killed him.”
“That means powerful magic,” Dmitri mutters. “And not the good kind.”
“Miss Sinclair?” Roman comes up behind us as we enter the dormitory’s main hall. He grasps my elbow with a strong, long-fingered hand and tilts his head toward a shadowy corner. “May I have a word with you?”
I step to the side, allowing him to pull me away from the others.
“You okay?” I ask, my gaze tracing his face. Worry is eating a hole in my stomach, try as I might to deny it. If Dean Hardwick doesn’t believe me, if he accuses Roman of murder… what will happen to him?
“I’m surprised you care,” Roman says carefully. Not like he’s trying to insult me, but like he’s genuinely confused. His voice is quiet as he adds, “You’ve made it clear that this is… a purely sexual relationship between us.”
“Well—yes,” I stammer.
He’s caught me off guard. I mean, on a basic human level, of course I care. Roman’s a good guy, and there’s no way he should go to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. What kind of asshole would I be to not help him out? It’s just common decency, that’s all.
Right?
“Doesn’t mean I was going to let you get hurt for something you didn’t do,” I reply, realizing I’ve let the silence stretch on for too long.
Roman grunts softly in acknowledgment of my words. His penetrating gaze is locked on me again, and I really wish he’d stop doing that. It looks like he wants to say something else, but instead, he just nods once. “Well. I appreciate you sticking your neck out for me. You and the others.”
He glances over his shoulder, and I see that the guys are, in fact, hovering nearby protectively. Dmitri’s practically glaring at Roman, as if daring him to try something with me while the rest of them are here.
My ebony-haired professor turns back to face me, his expression smoothing out. “But it’s unnecessary. I don’t need your help.”
What?
His words hurt a little, and they worry me too. I don’t need this guy getting himself into serious trouble because he’s too proud to let me try to help. This isn’t about whatever is or isn’t happening between us. It’s bigger than that, with consequences that could possibly be far more dire.
“You sure about that?” I scoff under my breath. “Because it looks to me like you do. Someone in this school killed a student. They murdered him, Roman. And they tried to frame you for it.” I pull out of his grip, though I swear I can still feel his touch on my skin. Then I tilt my head up, meeting his gaze squarely. “You’ve got an enemy here. You need all the friends you can get.”
With that, I turn and walk away.
Chapter 18
The four of us—me, Dmitri, Cam, and Asher—head back to our dorm room in silence.
I’m not sure where Roman goes after we leave him, and I try not to think about it. The jumbled up mess of what the fuck between us is too much for me to handle right now. But I don’t care what he says, I’m not letting him get blamed for this attack if I can help it.
The silence only lasts until the door closes behind us. As soon as we’re safely ensconced in our room again, Dmitri rounds on me.
“What the hell was that?” he growls. “You just stuck your neck out for that guy—”
“So did you,” I shoot back.
“Only because you did.”
“Aww, I didn’t know you cared.”
“And because Roman’s a good professor,” Dmitri adds, defensive.
I snort. “Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“Guys, please,” Asher says quietly, his voice heavy and weary. “Whoever’s been attacking students just