“Oh.” Officer Franklin’s head sags with the reality he’s walked into. Accusing a girl of murder, after her own sister disappeared from a brutal crime scene, isn’t exactly going to earn a badge of honor. This mother fucker knows it, too. His eyes soften enough to prove me right when he lifts his head to address her. “My apologies, Ms. Weston.”
“Why don’t you four head out of here?” Officer Striker escorts us away from the opening. “We don’t want to corrupt the scene anymore than we have. You’ll cross paths with a detective.” He pushes the side of his radio and alerts them of our exit so we don’t surprise anyone. “Give your statement to the detective, and don’t say anything. We don’t want her family to find out before we can alert them.”
Breaker leads the way with Delaney behind him. I step in front of Palmer and offer my hand, which she takes. Her body is weak, and shock must have settled in after everything.
“You good?” I ask as she looks over her shoulder, focusing on the receding body. “Palmer, come on, let’s get you back.”
We spend the next hour with the detectives. They separate us, undoubtedly to see if our stories align to their liking. We explain why we were out in the woods, and I manage to avoid knocking the teeth out of the young deputy whose attention is far too focused on Palmer’s chest while I explain what we were doing in the woods before the body was found.
Once everyone is happy with what we share, we are allowed to leave, under the same strict instructions Officer Striker had given us.
In silence, we ride back to campus. Palmer’s head rests on my shoulder, and I run lazy circles over her thigh, hoping to calm her nerves. Somehow, her emotional meter is directly affecting mine.
“I’d say this was a good night, but . . .” Delaney says, opening the passenger door when Breaker pulls in front of their dorm. She drops a kiss on Breaker’s cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Come on, Palmer.”
“Actually, I’m going to stay with Marek tonight,” Palmer whispers.
“You are?” I sit up a little straighter.
“You are?” Delaney echoes my disbelief.
“Apparently, she is,” Breaker adds, never able to keep his mouth shut.
Palmer sits up. “I mean, if it’s okay. I just don’t think I can handle being alone tonight. After seeing Julia earlier, and now this. It’s too much.”
“The freshmen were whispering all over campus today. Julia’s just another tragic story of a good girl getting mixed up with the wrong crowd,” Delaney explains. “You can stay in my room, if you need to. I know this is all fucking with your head.”
I’m half-tempted to push her ass out of his SUV to shut her up.
“You two, sleeping in the same bed?” Breaker’s grin is bright under the overhead light. “Would clothes be optional, or is that only in porn?”
“You’re a pig.” Delaney shakes her head and rolls her eyes, feigning annoyance, but she’s eating the shit right out of this dude’s hands.
“Oink, oink, baby.” He winks, pulling out every ounce of his charm for this chick. “Now that I think about it, I can think of a couple of ways I could make you squeal.”
“How can you joke like this when we just found a girl dead in the woods?” Palmer shakes her head.
Her third degree makes Breaker uncomfortable enough that he squirms in his seat. “If that makes you upset, baby doll, then you’re hanging with the wrong crew.”
“Delaney, I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” Palmer turns away from me to climb out of the back seat.
My hand wraps around her wrist. “Come on. He didn’t mean anything by it, right, Breaker?” I break my stare from her to glare at him. Why am I so desperate to have this girl sleep next to me, is the better question.
He turns and catches on to his slip-up. He collects himself and fixes his face, softening everything for her sake. “He’s right. I’m sorry, Palmer.”
“It’s probably not a good idea, anyway.” She kisses me on the cheek and flings the door open to escape.
“Well, then, I’ll come with you.” I open my own and step out to catch her before she can hide behind the doors of her dorm.
“Whoa! This is bullshit.” Breaker puts the vehicle in park and jumps from the driver’s side, catching us on the sidewalk. “How did you just squeeze your big ass into the