Page 45 of Wicked Lord

The laptop slid from my fingers and dropped back to the desk with a loud clatter as my attention jerked to the copper-haired guy with faint freckles across his nose.

What. The. Fuck?

Peter Dupont’s grinning face stared back at me from beneath the glass, his ocean blue eyes brimming with life.

The life I stole.

Did the Duponts move? I’d spent plenty of time lurking outside their house on a different street for over a year, wishing I could resurrect their son.

I snatched the frame from Lorelei as my heart slammed against my ribs, and the memories of that night crashed over me.

“Take another shot, Peter.” I threw my arm around his shoulders, the liquor bottle sloshing in my hand. “Don’t you want to be like us?”

The shy freshman swallowed hard, his face already green like he was on the verge of puking. “I don’t feel so good.”

“Hey, guys! I have an idea.” I released him and motioned toward the cliff. “Let’s make our little pledges jump.”

Killian laughed off my suggestion. “I’m not trying to commit murder tonight, Ax. And if these little bitches jump and don’t come up, I’m not in any kind of condition to save their asses.”

Gage and Slate weren’t even paying attention, counting out push-ups for the other two pledges.

“Nah, it’s a great idea, right, Peter?” I pushed him toward the edge.

As I returned to reality, I dropped the picture frame onto the soft rug beneath the desk and stumbled away from the desk. My legs gave out, and I crashed onto the leather sofa in front of an unlit fireplace.

“Axel, what’s wrong?” Lorelei hurried over, her brown eyes wide with panic. “Are you sick or something?”

Sick with guilt.

“It’s all my fault,” I muttered, barely seeing her even though she was right in front of me. “He’d still be here if I hadn’t been so stupid.”

Her brows furrowed, trying to make sense of my words. It wasn’t a secret that Peter had died during hell week while pledging our frat. Shortly after I was arrested, the police reports were changed to deem his death a tragic accident. The copious amounts of alcohol in his system were conveniently deleted from any written documents.

His family knew, though. So did my friends. So did the Serpents & Daggers.

And Vaughn.

That prick planned this. That was why he didn’t give me time to discover who owned this house before forcing me to break in. Did he even need this laptop, or was this all to fuck with me?

Lorelei disappeared, and the sound of running water filled the study, probably from the bathroom on the left. She returned with a cold cloth, dabbing my forehead and cheeks as she brushed the hair away from my face.

“You’re shaking, Axel. What’s going on?” Instead of pity, worry washed over her expression as she kneeled between my legs.

I’d never lost my shit like this in front of anyone except the guys, so I wouldn’t have blamed Lorelei if this freaked her out enough to send her running for the hills.

But she stayed.

As if she sensed what I needed, she dropped the cloth and pulled me into a tight embrace, her arms barely fitting around my torso. “You can talk to me, whatever it is, Ax. I won’t tell a soul.”

Somehow, I knew that if I spilled every dark secret, Lorelei Battenberg would take them all to the grave.

I pulled back and opened my mouth, needing so desperately to get it off my chest, but before I could speak, heavy footsteps sounded in the hall.

Ice crystallized through my veins. That gait was too loud, too forceful, to belong to the maid.

Lorelei’s eyes widened, fear streaking across the amber orbs. “Someone’s coming.”

CHAPTER 20