Killer: A Dark College Romance (Hillcrest University Book 5)

by Candace Wondrak

  But you know what? I didn’t care. I loved Will, and I’d be damned if I let the fact that a whole bunch of strangers were here investigating stop me from making sure Will knew it, too.

  His arms were slow to wrap around me, though I noticed he didn’t touch me with the stained hand. Just his left hand, just the clean hand. His palm and fingers curved with my lower back, and he leaned his head down, breathing me in. Inside his chest, a steady thrumming of breath echoed, and through it all I could hear his heart.

  I turned my nose, burying my face in his neck, letting his warmth seep into me and envelope me. For a rapid, fleeting moment, it was just the two of us. No police. No Declan and Travis. No corpse inside his apartment. Just me and Will.

  “I’m so sorry,” I muttered, hugging him harder. “Are you okay?” Of course he wasn’t okay. He’d just killed his father. There was no coming back from that, no undoing it. There was no way Will was okay right now.

  Will was slow to let me go, giving me a morose, solemn look. “I’m alive, which is more than I can say for my dad,” he whispered, trembling only a little. If Declan was in his shoes, he’d be a mess, but Will seemed pretty put-together, considering. Then again, Will didn’t like his dad much, so there was that.

  Declan stood near us, looking like he wanted to be sick.

  “What happened?” I asked, setting my hands on Will’s shoulders, feeling his tense muscles beneath his shirt. I couldn’t blame him for being a bundle of nerves, not after what happened. Killing your own father…that had to leave a lasting mark, it had to hurt, even if he didn’t like the man.

  “His lawyer must’ve pulled some strings, got him out,” Will explained. “I think he came straight here, to me. He…he blamed me for everything. He thought I framed him.” He paused, swallowing hard and looking utterly remorseful for what he did. My heart broke for him. “He thought I did all of this.”

  Will. Poor Will. Out of all of my Hillcrest boys, Will was the one who least deserved this mess. He’d been stabbed, for God’s sake. Couldn’t life give him a break? Couldn’t it slow down, at least for him? Me, I could take it. I could take whatever life threw at me, even if I complained along the way, but Will deserved some rest.

  But now his hands were red, both literally and metaphorically. Will was a killer.

  “I didn’t,” Will said, glancing at Declan, who only turned paler. “I didn’t do this. I know Dad and I didn’t always get along, but this…I never wanted this.” The emotion was plain on his face, in his voice, and that little box in my chest hurt for him. If I could take away his pain, I would in a heartbeat. I would bear every cross I could for these guys, including Will.

  Will’s shoulders started to shake, and I brought his head down, hugging him again, resting his head on my shoulder. A bit hard to do with the height difference, but he didn’t seem to mind. Declan said nothing, his eyes a bit more watery than they should be, as he moved toward us, wrapping an arm around me and hugging my other side. Declan leaned his head on my free shoulder, and I did my best to comfort them both.

  One thing was for certain.

  These brothers’ lives weren’t going to be the same. This day was a turning point for them both. Luckily for them, I wasn’t going anywhere. I would be here for them, I would never run again. I would be their rock, their safe haven, their reverie and their respite…even if it killed me.

  Eh, probably not the best time to make a statement like that.

  The legacy of Hillcrest University began with a body, and it would end with a body…just not this one.

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  Be on the lookout for book 6, Liar, coming soon!