The twitch of Elodie’s body against mine suggests she’s suppressed a wince.
The younger Raith grimaces at the same time. “I don’t think we should go around hurting anyone when we’re not sure who’s involved.”
“I’ll keep prodding as much as I can using my connections,” Worth says. “Maybe I can find out more about the Hearsts’ joint business venture too, see how closely the families were working together.”
Professor Raith nods. “I should be able to access more details on Kenneth’s changing school performance—I just need to be discreet about it.”
I exhale in a huff. “Come on. These are homicidal criminals we’re talking about. We’ve got to step up our game before they come at our match again.”
Professor Raith’s gray gaze fixes on me, hard as steel. “This is a different kind of criminal situation than you’re used to, Mr. Cosgrave. And it requires a different approach than rushing in guns blazing.”
I have never run anywhere shooting wildly, but I do have a reputation to uphold, so I keep quiet about that. My mind leaps to Elodie’s investigations yesterday.
I glance at Worth and the younger Raith. “Can either ofyou come up with an excuse to get into Kenneth’s house? If he left evidence, that’s the best place to check.”
The professor smacks a hand on the desk. “The last thing we should be doing is making overt moves that tie us to his disappearance. Weren’t you the biggest advocate for covering that up?”
I’d like to take an advocate and shove it up his ass.
Worth answers my question anyway. “Kenneth and I barely talked… And while he’s missing rather than known to be dead, we can’t even express condolences without it being suspicious.”
I restrain a growl. “So we’re going to sit around hoping something useful falls in our laps?”
“I’ll keep pushing for more information too,” Elodie says. “I’m around my friends all the time—I’ll have lots of opportunities to watch their behavior.”
Before I can say anything else, the professor stands up. “All right. It sounds as if we have a plan for the next few days at least. We can discuss where we’re at next week.”
He flicks his hand, dismissing us. I glower right back at him as his brother and Worth obediently trot out of the room.
Elodie disentangles herself from my arms but keeps her hand on me to tug me toward the door. She stops at the threshold, ignoring the professor watching us from the other side of the room.
When her deep green eyes meet mine like that, it’s hard to remember there’s anyone else in the world.
She grasps my hand, twining our fingers and making me wish I’d taken off my glove so I could feel her skin to skin. “I know you want to protect me—and you have no idea how much I appreciate that. But I don’t want you putting yourself in any unnecessary danger, okay? This woman is obviously very good at going under the radar and manipulating other people. It could take a while toget the full picture. We’ll all just be careful in the meantime.”
She holds my gaze, waiting for my agreement. For a promise not to take any risks to keep her safe?
A queasy sensation forms in my gut. How badly have I screwed up with this woman, not just in the way I touched her in the condo yesterday but with everything, that she doesn’t even trust me to have her back?
I’m not part of the same world as her or the rest of them. She doesn’t think I can handle this kind of menace.
The sting to my ego is chased away by a surge of resolve.
I’ll show her. I’ll show her I can wait to have her all the ways I want to and that I can crack this fucking case with methods her other matches wouldn’t even think to try.
“I know,” I say, because I do know how she feels. “I won’t do anything I don’t need to.”
Only our definitions of what Ineedto do are somewhat different.
Elodie smiles and even bobs up to offer me a kiss that makes me feel a twinge of guilt along with a whole lot of good things. She ducks out ahead of me, and I aim a smirk at Raith that earns me yet another glower.
When I set off down the hall, I’m already spinning through the possibilities in my head. We need to get right to the bottom of this conspiracy, of Kenneth’s murderous intentions and his strange allegiances…
I’ve already pointed out the most obvious way to get there.
I veer toward the main doors rather than the cafeteria.
No one will be surprised by Salvatore Cosgrave skipping a few classes. It’s practically a requirement for a man of my stature.
