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And yeah, it bothers me too. Either he lost his temper like an idiot or he decided that she was too much trouble and never gave him anything, so he’d find another way. But still, murdering her?

“There’s something else,” Veronica says. “Is there any chance Elsie found out something about him? Or that they were working on something together for the society and he... I don’t know. Snapped?”

My throat goes tight. “I don’t know. Anything’s possible.” My fingers curl into a fist. “She never told me she was in the society, even though we talked constantly and I never would’ve said anything to anyone if she’d trusted me with it. Hell, she’d have sent me a photo of herself in the robe or something.”

Veronica lowers her gaze for a moment. “Any chance he was attending the same classes as her? Maybe they were chosen to join the society together, like partners? Then she could’ve probably guessed who he was.”

“Yeah, but he wasn’t Supreme back then, and I don’t think he could’ve known his identity would be so super important...”

“Okay, so maybe it’s a coincidence.”

“Or Supreme knows what happened to Elsie or he saw it happen.” There are many possibilities. “But first we need to figure out who he is. You said you cut his hand.”

“Yeah.”

“It was bad, right? I mean, more than just a scratch.” I glance at her. “He’s going to have to wrap up the injury for a while.”

Her eyes widen. “Oh.”

“We can actually use that.” My heart rate speeds up. “He still has to show up to class or not, and if he does, his hand will be wrapped up. And if he doesn’t show up at all, that’s a clue too.”

“Yeah, but people bandage their hands for all kinds of reasons,” she says. “Someone else could have their hand wrapped up too.”

“Sure, except we don’t have to look at the whole campus.” A smile stretches across my lips. “He’s a senior, since he was in charge when I joined and it should be his last year, so we only need to check seniors. I mean, he’d be gone already if it wasn’t like that and someone else would’ve taken over.”

“He’ll probably just skip class, and people skip classes from time to time.”

“Yeah, but skipping classes until his hand heals? I think we can figure him out.”

“Then let’s do it.” She grins. “But then what? Once we figure him out, we’ll just blackmail him?”

“Yep. If he doesn’t want to lose his spot at the top, he’ll have to leave us both alone and tell us anything we want to know.” And I wouldn’t let him go until he tells me everything he knows about Elsie and about what happened to her.

Veronica reaches over and wraps her fingers around my arm. “Okay. Then we have a plan.”

“We do.” I stare deep into her eyes. “You should get some rest.”

“I don’t want to be on my own tonight,” she says, her gaze locked on mine.

“Then I’m not going anywhere,” I blurt out before I can even think about it, but then again, I wouldn’t have left her alone no matter what.

I settle on the bed and she climbs on after me, her elbow catching my ribs and making me wince before she finds a spot against my chest. Then I put my arm around her, and she reaches down for the blanket, hauling it up over both of us.

“We’ll get him tomorrow.” Her fingers twist into the front of my shirt.

“Yeah, we will,” I murmur.

Eventually, her whole body relaxes against mine, her fingers still hooked in my shirt. My arm starts going numb, but I wouldn’t move for anything in the world, so I press my lips to the top of her head.

I’m so in love with her it’s embarrassing. And what happens after we’re done with Supreme? Because I’m sure we’re going to take care of him. I guess I’m not going to want Veronica any less when there’s nothing left to protect her from.

But I know one thing for sure.

If Supreme wants her, he’ll have to go through me first.

Chapter 36

VERONICA