Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
MADELINE
Iwake up to the feeling of being watched. I don’t need to open my eyes to know who it is. Luke’s scent still clings to me. I kind of love it. This is going to sound insane, but I find it relaxes me and comforts me in a way I didn’t know I needed.
Slowly I flutter my eyes open.
Before they are even fully open, I know he’s there, Luke, propped on one elbow, staring down at me with an intensity that should be creepy but somehow isn’t. It’s adorable. His hair is messy, falling over his forehead, and there’s a softness in his eyes that I’ve only ever seen him give me.
He told me some about his childhood. It wasn’t a loving home. It was cold, and everything came with a price. Even his own parents treated him that way. He expressed how he felt it was the same now with the world he lives in: Everyone uses everyone.
Love and affection didn’t exist. Luke said it got worse after Bennett left to attend Kingmakers and then went off to college. His admission made me realize that I was right that something was strained between them, that they hadn’t always been tight. He said at times he felt abandoned.
That’s why he’s a jerk to everyone, at least that’s what I told him.
He doesn’t know how to let people in, and it’s easier to make sure they stay the hell away.
He’d done well at keeping everyone at a distance.
Hell, I’ve seen people in the hallways of school scurry to get out of his way when he’s coming down them.
Now he sees it doesn’t have to be that way. That not everyone is out to use you. There are still good people in the world. While it’s okay to be guarded, you also have to be open. If not, you’ll lose out.
The second my eyes meet his, he moves, pouncing and pinning me to the mattress, his body fully covering mine. He kisses me deeply and hungrily, like he hasn’t seen me in weeks instead of hours. I laugh against his mouth, the sound muffled, and he pulls back just enough to grin down at me.
“Morning, Buttercup.”
“Morning,” I breathe, my hands finding his shoulders, his skin warm under my palms. “How long have you been staring at me like a serial killer?”
“Not long.” He drops another kiss to my jaw, then my throat. “Maybe an hour. You drool, by the way.”
“I do not—”
“You do. It’s cute. You make these little snores too.”
“You’re full of shit.” I laugh, but it quickly turns to a small moan as Luke nips at my collarbone, and I arch beneath him, my body already responding to his like it has a mind of its own.
“I’m going to make you breakfast,” he murmurs against my skin.
“The frozen pizza we had at two a.m. isn’t cutting it. ”
Breakfast.
The word hits me like a rogue pigeon fighting for a french fry. “Shit.” I shove at his chest. Luke only raises his brows, not moving a millimeter. Seriously. “Shit, shit, shit. I’m supposed to have breakfast with my sister.”
Luke falls back onto the mattress with a groan, throwing an arm over his face. “I want to have breakfast with you.” I fight a smile, not wanting to encourage him.
I’m already scrambling out of bed, grabbing for my clothes from last night.
“She texted me yesterday. I completely forgot. She’s going to kill me.
Paislee hates tardiness. Probably why she became a teacher.
So she could punish late people,” I ramble.
“Not really. My sister might as well be a nun.” I love her to pieces, but she can be pretty lame in the best of ways.
She loves a routine and gets frazzled when shit is not in order.
“She can wait.” He sits up, reaching for me, but I dodge his hand, heading for his dresser.
“She’s my sister, Luke. I can’t just blow her off.” I pull on my sneakers. “I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”
He pouts, actually pouts, his lower lip pushing out in a way that would be ridiculous if it weren’t so effective. “Fine. But I get the rest of today’s meals. That’s the deal.”
“Deal.” I pull on one of his hoodies, inhaling the smell of him—fabric softener and something that’s just Luke.
“I’ll take you.” He climbs out of bed, pulling on jeans and a wrinkled tee from the floor.
We head for the door, me still wrestling my hair into some kind of braid, him barefoot and sleepy-eyed behind me. I reach for the handle, pull it open, and—freeze.
Paislee is right there, in the hallway, stumbling backward out of a doorway at the end of it.
Her hair is a mess, her shirt is inside out, and she’s clutching her shoes to her chest like she’s trying to hide them.
She’s in total disarray, and my mind is trying to catch up to the scene in front of me.
“Oh, fuck,” I hear Luke say from behind me.
I stare at my sister. She stares back at me. We both continue to stare at each other in silence, and I feel my mouth hanging open, my brain completely failing to process what I’m seeing.
Paislee—my by-the-book, rule-following, straight-laced sister—just spent the night with the dean. The dean who is Luke’s brother. The dean who could get her fired.
Luke steps out from behind me, going completely still. “Bennett?” he says, his voice flat with disbelief too.
Bennett appears in his doorway, shirtless, his hair standing up in every direction. He looks between us, his face draining of color. “This isn’t—”
Paislee bursts into laughter.
It’s not nervous laughter or embarrassed laughter. It’s full, genuine, belly-clutching laughter that echoes down the hallway. She doubles over, her shoes falling to the floor, and I watch in shock as tears form at the corners of her eyes.
“I—” I start, but I have no words. I look at Luke, who looks at Bennett, who looks at Paislee, who is still laughing.
“This is fine,” Paislee manages, straightening up and wiping her eyes. “This is completely fine. We’re all adults here.”
I stare at her for one more second, my brain still catching up, and then I start laughing too.
It bubbles up from somewhere deep in my chest, unstoppable and ridiculous because this whole scenario is ridiculous!
Us falling into bed with brothers, and I’m pretty confident my sister has never been in any man’s bed before.
“Oh my God,” I gasp out. “Paislee. You little slut.”
“Madeline!” she gasps, but she’s grinning, her whole face lit up in a way I haven’t seen in years.
“I’m so proud of you.” I push off the doorframe and cross the hallway in three steps, throwing my arms around her. She smells like Bennett’s cologne and happiness, if that’s even a thing. “My little rule-breaker. My sister’s a rebel.”
“It all happened so fast,” she protests, but she’s hugging me back, squeezing tightly.
“That was not fast,” I hear Bennett whisper, and I’m guessing it’s to himself. No wonder she’s not pissed I’ve been MIA on her, but I was also giving her space to have her own life. Clearly, she got one.
I pull back and turn to look at Bennett. He’s still standing in his doorway, shirtless and looking between us like he can’t figure out if he’s in trouble or not.
“You,” I say, pointing at him. “You better be good to her. I know where you sleep.”
“Madeline,” Paislee laughs, swatting my arm.
“What? I’m serious.”
“She is. The first time I met her, she told me to be careful; she bites.” Luke wraps an arm around me from behind, above my breast to pull my back fully to his body.
“But also good for you. Really. You deserve to be happy.”
She bites her lip, her eyes going soft on me. “So do you.” I nod in understanding.
Luke clears his throat behind me. “Never seen you have the look of getting your hand stuck in a cookie jar,” he says, and he’s right. Bennett is always so put together and stone-faced. This is a softer side. Not the dean but simply Bennett, Luke’s brother.
“Because he did,” I say, grinning over my shoulder. “The cookie jar being my sister.”
“Jesus Christ,” Bennett mutters, but there’s no heat in it. He runs a hand through his disheveled hair, and I have never seen the two of them appear more alike.
“How about I make everyone breakfast?” my sister asks. Yeah, we should get out of the hallway. I link my arm with my sister’s and head down the stairs with her. Bennett says he’s getting a shirt.
“Do you know?” my sister asks. Her eyes are growing serious, and I know what she’s talking about.
“Yeah, Luke told me.”
Luke grabs a few things from the fridge as Bennett makes it back down to the kitchen. We all cook together. It’s light and normal. I could really get used to this. I haven’t been real sure about what I want to do with my life, but I do know I want this.
We take everything to the table and sit down together.
“So,” I start. Might as well because no one mentioned it while we were cooking, falling more into small talk.
“Announcement?” Bennett asks, already knowing where I was going. Luke drapes his arm over the back of my chair.
“The homicide,” I say. “It’s official today. Right?” I might try to see what information I can pull out of Bennett. I’m sure Luke knows what I’m up to.
Bennett’s face goes serious. “Yeah. The announcement goes out at noon. An alert should be going out now to students. A mandatory school-wide assembly.”
“Is that normal?” I ask, reaching for my orange juice. “A whole assembly for... this?”
“No, this is the first murdered teacher or student, so I’m not sure what normal would be, but we’re not a normal high school.” I nod in understanding. That’s true. You wouldn’t be able to call an assembly on a Sunday at most other schools.
“There’s more,” Luke says, his hand tightening on my shoulder. “I can tell.” I glance over to Luke to see he’s staring at his brother.
Bennett sets down his fork. “This isn’t the first time,” he says quietly, “that this has happened in Charming.”
I see my sister tense across the table. “What do you mean?” she asks.
“Twenty years ago,” Bennett says, “before my time, before any of us, there was another death. She’d been chopped up too…” He trails off, shaking his head. “There were similarities. Things that didn’t add up.”
“Not to sound ominous, but don’t lots of killers cut up bodies?”
“Are you sure you want to go there while we’re eating?” Bennett asks in warning.
“Yes,” I blurt out.
“The similarities to the way they were cut up. Normally a person cuts at the joints. This person was cut in random spots. That is abnormal. We had a meeting last night in town with the mayor and sheriff...”
“There’s something else,” I say, and three pairs of eyes turn to me. “Emily.” Bennet’s brows pull together; I’m sure he’s searching his memory bank.
Luke goes rigid. “Madeline—”
They gave us information. I want to do the same. She could be in danger. “She’s in town, and she has history with Coach Murphy.”
“Emily?” Bennett repeats her name.
“Phipps.” His face flashes with recognition.
Bennett sits back in his chair, his breakfast forgotten.
“She lodged a complaint a few years ago about her. Right as I was taking over as acting dean,” he says quietly.
“I had a counselor speak to her, thought a woman would be better, but she recanted everything.” I can tell he hadn’t been happy about that.
Paislee reaches across the table, finding Bennett’s hand. He grips it like a lifeline.
“She wants to talk to me,” I say. Okay, maybe she agreed to talk to me.
“You think that’s a good idea?” Bennett asks. Luke gives a quick no, but Bennett keeps going. “This can’t be a coincidence.” I nod in agreement.
“See?” I elbow Luke.
“Then the cops should talk to her,” Luke grumbles out.
“No, an authority figure had her recanting her story. A coach crossed lines with her. I’m sure she lacks some trust. I am not threatening. I’m a student and a girl.” I half plead for him to see reason, wanting him to know I have to do this.
“You are not going alone,” Luke says, his voice flat and final. He looks at me, jaw set, eyes hard. “If you want to talk to her, fine. But I’m coming with you.”
“Luke—”
“No.” He leans forward, elbows on the table, pinning me with that stare. “That’s the deal, Madeline. Take it or leave it.” I don’t want him to scare her away. I mean, his reputation is that he’s an asshole.
I open my mouth to argue, but Bennett cuts in. “He’s right. You shouldn’t go alone. If Emily has information about Murphy, if she’s connected to this somehow—”
“She’s not dangerous,” I protest, having a gut feeling.
“Maybe not,” Bennett says quietly. “But whoever killed Murphy is. And if Emily knows something, she might be in danger too. Her telling you would also put you in danger.”
“Madeline,” my sister says softly. “You always want to see the best in people.”
Luke reaches over, taking my hand in his, his grip possessive. It always is, and I don’t hate it. “I’m not trying to control you,” he says, and I give him a look. “Okay, maybe a little, but I’m trying to keep you safe.”
I look at him—really look at him—at the fear underneath the anger, at the way his thumb is tracing circles on my palm like he needs the contact to breathe. He’s terrified. For me. Because of me. He didn’t grab my hand because he thought I needed comfort; he needs it. That breaks me open.
“Okay,” I agree. “You can come. But you have to let me lead. She’s trusting me, not you.”
He nods, relief showing on his handsome face. “When?”
“Today,” I say. “After the assembly. I’ll text her.” I want to be at the assembly so I can read people’s faces.
Luke sits back, his arm going around my shoulders again, pulling me close. “We stick together until then. No wandering off.”
“Deal.”
Paislee clears her throat, looking between us. “Just... be careful. Both of you.”
“We will,” I promise her.
Luke’s hand gives mine a tight squeeze under the table.
And I hold on because right now, he’s what’s keeping me grounded.