Page 92 of Midnight of Ashes
“Maddox. Have you met with them yet?”
No bullshit. Straight to the point. I admired that about Dean Robinson.
I nodded. “I did. They weren’t all that forthcoming.”
She huffed out a breath. “Of course, they weren’t. They’re disrupting my campus and scaring the hell out of my students. Paul probably just went on a bender.”
Before I could speak, Dean Robinson held up a hand to stop me. “I shouldn’t have said that. We should be doing everything we can to find him, even if he is an asshole.”
I choked on a laugh. “Fair.” The humor left me. “Have they told you anything?”
Dean Robinson shook her head. “Just that his wife reported him missing late last night when he didn’t come home.”
My brows hit my hairline. “Wife? I had no idea he was married.”
Her mouth thinned. “I don’t think Paul liked for that to be public knowledge.”
“Creep,” I muttered.
“You said it, not me.” Dean Robinson sighed. “I’ll need to find people to cover his classes and advisees.”
“I can take one of his classes,” I offered. “Just assign me one that fits into my schedule.”
She patted my shoulder. “You’re a godsend, Maddox. I’ll do that. And you know the Parrish girl, right?”
I stiffened. “Yes. She’s in my biology class, and she’s dating Knox.”
“Can you take her as an advisee? I’d like to place her with someone I know will be a good support after all of this.”
My gut twisted. More time with Hayden. But better a little torture than having her with an unknown. “Sure. I’d be happy to.”
“Thank you. I better go. Wouldn’t want to keep the cops waiting.”
Dean Robinson started on her way again, but I stayed rooted to the spot, wondering how the hell I was going to get through hours alone with Hayden without touching her.
47
HAYDEN
I curled into Cillian’s side, letting his scent wrap around me. I’d never thought of smells as especially comforting before, but that all changed when I met the guys. The smoky cedar filling my senses was like a balm to my soul.
Cillian pulled me tighter against him. “You okay?”
I nodded as Knox took my feet into his lap and began massaging them.
“She’s not okay,” Cáel growled.
I sent him a pleading look. “Even if I’m not, can we just pretend that I am? Can we just play normal for one night?”
“Sure, we can,” Cillian said and then paused. “What do normal people do on a weeknight?”
A laugh bubbled out of me and, God, it felt so damned good.
Cillian tickled my side. “Are you laughing at me?”
I squealed and smacked his thigh. “Stop it!” His tickling eased. “You have to admit, it’s slightly amusing that you guys have no idea what normal is.”
Knox kept kneading my foot. “Normal’s overrated.”
