Wicked (Somerset University #2) - Ruby Vincent Page 0,78

bed. Maverick sat at the desk. Sofia had the couch and coffee table, and at her feet, half-finished robots lay on the carpet.

“Miriam Brown,” I said. “Lives in Tacoma with her husband and kids.”

I crossed her name off the list.

“Same for Theodore Snyder,” Sofia spoke. “Well, not the Tacoma-and-kids part. He lives with his husband in New York.”

Social media made it scary easy to track a stranger down. Which is why it was suspect when we typed in a name that turned up absolutely nothing.

“No record of Ian Campos,” I told Maverick.

“I’ve got five Melissa Beckers,” Sofia threw in. “Can’t say which one—if any of them—dropped out of Somerset.”

“I’ll track them down,” Maverick replied. “Just keep the names coming.”

Our task took us well into the night. Sofia ended up crashing in the guest bedroom. I passed out on my notepad, fully clothed, and above the sheets. The crick in my neck the next day revealed how my body felt about that.

I cracked my eyes open, finding Maverick standing above me holding a mug.

“Chamomile tea. Two spoons of honey, just like you like.”

“Thank you, my love.” I stretched, arching my back off the bed and hearing things pop and crack. “Sorry I fell asleep and left you with the work.”

“You did all the work, Val. You got the list and convinced those people to give you the names. Now we can find out how many Teagans and Sawyers there have been over the years.”

“What does it mean if this has happened before?” I sat up and accepted my tea. “We’ve started back as far as 2006. Aiden and Leighton were children then. They can’t be responsible. If the disappearances stretch years, someone else has been snatching coeds and covering it up.”

The bed dipped as Maverick sank down. “We can’t forget what Ezra heard in the basement or who sent Sawyer to the van. Aiden didn’t do anything to Melissa Becker, but he’s involved. If this has happened before, the person has to be connected to the fraternity. Close enough to bring Aiden and his friends on board. Possibly close enough to trade Leighton Lewis a favor. Help me cover up Teagan’s disappearance and I’ll clean up your crime scenes.”

I shivered. “Who would trade a favor like that? How do you convince a normal college student to help you cover up the disappearance of their frat brother? Why would Aiden go along with that? And why is that smug bastard always walking around like he knows the bomb that’s about to drop and he can’t wait to see the look on our faces?” Letting out a breath, I dropped my head on his shoulder. “Sorry. I’m pelting you with questions when you’re just as in the dark as I am.”

“We’ll figure this out, Val. The answers might be somewhere in that list of names. If they are, I’ll find them.”

Chapter Nine

Jaxson

“J? You in here?”

“Of course, I’m here.” I poked my head over a stack of manila folders. “This is where I’ll die. You’ll file my corpse under J and then V, and then back to J when Meyer changes his mind.”

Levi Van Zandt, the most famous music producer of our time, stepped into my lowly file room. “Suffering that much?”

“No,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’m not complaining. Meyer’s got his ear to the wall waiting for me to say I can’t take it.”

Dad looked me up and down. It had been week since and as ordered, I showed up in the legal department wearing a dress shirt, ironed pants, shined shoes, and a tie.

A fucking tie.

Meyer sought me out every morning to make sure I was properly dressed. And smirked at me to start my day off desperate to punch him.

“You look ridiculous,” Dad deadpanned.

“It’s your words of encouragement that get me through the tough times.”

He laughed. “Like when you were a kid, sneaking into my closet and trying on my boots and hats. Just doesn’t fit, J.”

“No arguments here. So, what’s up?”

“I thought you’d want to know Serena is back. Fully recovered but taking it easy at home. She’s eager to finish the album but won’t play another concert or festival until we upgrade her security. A fair demand.”

“What are you going to do?”

“The police haven’t found the person responsible, so the threat remains until we know for certain they won’t try again. I’m arranging a security team for the band. Where they go, the bodyguards go.”

“Good. Serena fucked with my relationship and got into it with Val, but