Page 11 of Dead Girls Don’t Forget

The wolves murmured among themselves, a low current of unease the smaller room could not swallow. Colt had been one of theirs. They knew the killer was still out there.

What they did not know was that the killer was sitting quietly in the back row, taking notes.

Sterling dismissed us a few minutes early. I slipped my notebook into my bag and followed the stream of students into the hallway.

Halfway down the corridor, the air shifted. Voices dipped. Heads turned.

The wolves reacted first. Naomi stopped mid-sentence and adjusted her posture, shoulders back, chin angled. The girls beside her snapped their attention forward.

Cassidy appeared at my side and bumped my arm. She followed everyone’s stare and let out a soft, impressed, “Oh. That’s him.”

Jackson Black.

He moved through the hallway with the kind of presence that did not need announcing. Tall, broad, heavy with muscle. People shifted out of his path without seeming to notice. The hallway felt smaller around him.

I watched him. Strong jaw, dark hair just long enough to tug. Well over six and a half feet. Bigger than I had pictured. My pulse kicked up before I gave it permission.

His gaze swept the hallway, casual at first, then sharper. When his eyes found mine, the world narrowed. The noise thinned. The crowd kept moving but I stopped registering it.

For one long moment, neither of us blinked.

Heat moved through me, low and unwelcome. A pull I could not name settled behind my ribs, steady and insistent. I had felt attraction before. This was different. Sharper. Heavier.

My cat went still, ears pricked, alert in a way that felt almost hungry.

That was new. And I did not like it.

Fear, resentment, and dangerous curiosity crashed through me all at once. Danger recognized danger. And this man was dangerous.

I inhaled slowly and forced my expression flat.

Naomi caught the moment immediately. Her face sharpened into something territorial and she stepped toward him, angling her body to cut off his line of sight like a shield.

The moment snapped.

I shifted my bag and turned toward my next class. Something made me look back. Our eyes collided again. I jerked my gaze forward, pulse stumbling.

I had not been ready for that. I had spent years learning to control every reaction. One look from him was enough to crack the control I had built.

I had known I would see him. The son of the man who had taken everything. I had not planned on the rest of it.

A few hours later, I walked into the cafeteria with a tray and claimed a quiet spot near the windows. I had barely set it down before Cassidy slid into the seat across from me, breathless.

“There you are.” She unpacked her lunch. “I swear, you walk fast on purpose.”

I did not bother pointing out she had followed me. She had decided we were friends. Annoying. Also kind of adorable. I was keeping her.

Cassidy stabbed a piece of fruit. “Okay. Tell me what you think.”

“About what?”

She gave me a look. “The murder, Harper. It’s literally all anyone is talking about.”

“What do you think?”

“It’s insane. Things like that don’t happen here.” She stabbed her salad. “Everyone’s freaked out. Colton was well known. Respected. And someone just…” She made a quick slicing motion. “In his own house.”

“Did you know him?”