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At first, I thought you wanted to destroy me, so I was going to destroy you first. But then I realized that you weren't here to destroy me at all. So now I'm going to protect you like you have protected me. Don't worry about me knowing what I know.
I won't let anything or anyone hurt you, and if anyone tries, I'll deal with them first. I know that you never knew the truth, and I don't hold it against you, but now I'm doing what I should have done all along.
I stare at the screen, trying to work out the riddle in front of me, and decide that rather than hiding it, I need to tell the others.
I grab the laptop and climb out of bed, heading downstairs and finding the guys sitting around the table in the living area, all studying like I was. Travis is the first to look up at me. I don't know what he sees on my face, but the first words that fall from his mouth are, "What's wrong?"
Instead of saying anything, I put my laptop on the table and spin it around so that they can all read the email. Sawyer curses under his breath and Cole slams a fist down on the table.
Asher spins my laptop toward him and does whatever it is that he does. "It looks like it's the same user as before. The IP has been bounced all over the world. We might need to send this to Bentley too."
"Bentley?" I ask, confused as Travis nods and pulls his phone from his pocket, tapping away on the screen before putting it down on the table.
"I’ve asked Bentley for some help. Stuff like this is literally what he’s trained for. If he's anywhere nearby, he'll swing by, I'm sure."
I frown as his phone pings moments later.
"You didn’t mention that Bentley knew about any of this."
"We needed help, Briar. And I trust him. I’m not stupid enough to not ask for help when I need it."
I open my mouth and close it again, because there isn’t much I can say to that without sounding like a petulant brat.
"Bentley is going to come by in the morning."
"Okay," I say, knowing it's pointless arguing with him. I grab my laptop and head back up to my room, fear gripping my heart because of the emails and what they could mean, but also because of the danger I’m putting the guys in.
I'm beginning to think that me coming to Serenity wasn't just the worst thing for me, but maybe for them too.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
BRIAR
After being back at Saints U for two weeks, people are finally starting to ask questions about when Professor Crawford's coming back. Nobody's heard from him since the email Asher sent to the dean, obviously, and there were whispers all over campus today about his disappearance.
It feels like everywhere I go whispers are haunting me, and I feel like I'm choking on guilt.
It’s as if everybody who looks at me knows what I did, and I've barely been able to focus all day because of it.
I even had my professor this afternoon on Reasoning and Rational Decision Making, talking with other staff inside the department about where he could have gone, and how he's fallen off the face of the earth.
Someone mentioned calling the police because nobody's heard from him, and ever since I heard that someone had been to his house and checked in, I’ve spiraled harder. Apparently someone had even called his parents and confirmed he wasn't there either.
So I am officially unable to focus on anything but getting back to the house, otherwise I know I’m going to fall aimlessly down the hole of despair and there will be no pulling me out of it.
I need to speak to the guys, because I have no idea what we're going to do when it comes out that he's not just missing.
What if people find out what I did?
What if people find out whattheydid?
And I've essentially ruined not just my life, but theirs too.
Maybe if we'd gone to the police when it first happened, I could have claimed self-defense. But once you dispose of the body, self-defense doesn't really fly anymore.
I burst through the door to the house and find the twins lounging on the couch with the dogs, Shadow rushing over to me the instant he sees me.
"Where's the fire, Beautiful?" Asher asks as I close the door, my breath catching in my chest. I lean down, fussing the puppy at my feet as I try to find a small piece of zen.
