Page 96 of Wicked Lord

The lie left a bad taste in my mouth, and I regretted hitting the send button moments after.

Lorelei: I’ll let you get back to studying then.

Still, no emojis.

I sighed and set my phone on the table, opening the removable drive before I could stall anymore. A video file was the only thing on it. After shoving in my earbuds, I reluctantly pressed play and wiped my clammy hands on my shorts.

All the blood drained from my face, and if I hadn’t gripped the edge of the table, I would have fallen out of the uncomfortable wooden chair.

The video, probably taken on a cellphone, showed the bluffs under a clear sky and a million stars. Familiar sounds echoed, and it took me a moment to realize this wasn’t one of my nightmares. The voices and laughter had goosebumps rising on my flesh.

“Don’t be such a pussy.” The cruelty in my tone made acid collect at the back of my throat, but the version of me on the video just laughed and took a deep pull from the vodka bottle. “You want to be like us, right?”

Peter’s sickly pallor was visible in the video. The kid could barely stand, and I just kept pushing him.

“You are such an idiot for pledging a frat, Peter.”

My heartbeats stumbled all over the place at the feminine voice on the video. Susanna had to be the one hiding in the shadows, recording us.

“But this video and the story I’ll write will be my first step to becoming the biggest investigative reporter and winning a Pulitzer Prize.”

Cold sweat soaked my t-shirt because I knew what was coming. While Killian, Gage, and Slate were busy delivering their own hazing to their pledges, the drunk, sadistic version of me on the screen laughed and shoved Peter toward the edge.

And he disappeared into the darkness.

Susanna’s gasp made me wince, and the footage became shaky as tremors raced through her hands at what she just witnessed—a fucking murder.

“Oh my God.” Her pants muffled the arguing between Killian, Gage, Slate, and me. “There’s no way Peter could survive that fall as drunk as he was. No way.”

I slammed my computer shut and ripped out the drive, the small device slipping from my sweaty grip a few times before finally shoving it into my pocket. My heart battered my ribs as my hammering pulse filled my ears.

This scene had played out in my memories and in my nightmares a million times, but watching it, seeing what a twisted fuck I’d been, had my stomach threatening to unload every bit of food I’d eaten today.

And confirming what I already suspected—that Susanna died because of me—made me want to dig a hole and bury myself alive.

The snake tattoo suddenly burned on my forearm as if the mark sought to remind me of who kept me out of prison. Susanna must have shown that video or spoken about it to the wrong person, and it got back to the brotherhood. They killed her to protect me.

Micah could never know any of this.

I crammed the laptop into my bag and marched through the library as my surroundings blurred out of focus. All I could see was me pushing Peter off the cliff over and over again. My shoulder bumped into a shelf as I turned a corner and then I ran straight into someone.

Her gasp yanked me back to the present, and I grabbed the woman’s arms before she fell on her ass.

“Axel?” Lorelei’s brown eyes peered up at me, slowly filling with suspicion. “Didn’t you just tell me you were at the Sigma Delta house?”

Fuck.I had to run into her, of all people.

I released her and gripped the straps of my bag so tight they threatened to break. “You’re not really my girlfriend, Lorelei. I don’t have to tell you shit.”

The words burst between my gritted teeth and hit the air like daggers directed at her.

Lorelei’s mouth parted at my callous tone. I’d never so much as snapped at her. But as soon as the shock wore off, her cold, heartless debutant façade slid into place, and she folded her arms in front of her.

“If you have a problem with this arrangement, Axel, we can end it now. Just say the word.”

Panic tore gouges in my chest at the thought of losing the warm, kindhearted Lorelei I’d come to know. I couldn’t handle her shoving me out and becoming the ice princess again.

“Fuck, I’m sorry.” I jammed my hands into my hair, the edges damp with sweat. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just dealing with something.”