Game Over (Whithall University Book 2)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  I stop her from turning the page, holding her arm. “So, he could have done it?”

  I didn’t like Christie, but she didn’t deserve to die. I’m not going to cry over her death, but I’m also not going to rejoice in the fact she’s gone, either. She was bitch and made Willow’s life hard after she’d been raped.

  She sighs, dropping the page she was about to turn. “I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense. Christie got away with a warning because she testified against them in court. But both Jamie and Logan had been sentenced before her murder. It still pisses me off that she got away with drugging some of the victims.”

  “He could have done it for revenge.”

  “But for what gain?”

  I bite the lollipop I had been sucking in the side of my mouth, thinking over her theory. “Okay, so let’s put him aside. I don’t want to rule that theory out just yet though. I asked my dad some questions about Logan’s dad, and according to him, his dad has lost his job, along with several judges, and is fighting a prison sentence in court himself.”

  Her eyes light up with excitement. I don’t blame her either. Logan’s dad had paid off the judge to dismiss Jordan’s sister’s case. “Really?”

  I smile at her expression. “Yep. Well-deserved too.”

  She nods, and I bet she’s dying to inform her sister. “What else did you find out?”

  “I’m going to talk to her roommate. She went back home for break, so I don’t know when she’ll be back. I also got a list of friends who were close with Christie. I faked an account on Facebook and added them. I think Christie’s page was opened publicly by her family because I was able to get on hers too. A lot of them had nice things to say, but I also noticed a few trolls commenting with nasty remarks. I want to check those people out, suss whether they’re involved or not. But now you have how she was murdered and the other little details, I can see if any other murders have happened with the same MO.”

  A look of pride flashes across her face. “Look at you. We’ll make a Nancy Drew out of you yet.”

  I laugh, taking the files from her and putting them in my bag behind the desk. “Thank you for doing this.”

  “It’s fine. Just don’t let anyone know you’ve got them, and when this is all done, burn them. I don’t need to warn you to not mention me if you’re caught with them, do I?”

  I giggle at her stern look. “No. Oh, and before I forget, we’re going to the cinema later with everyone, if you want to come. Rosie had a bad phone call with her parents the other day and she’s been a little more down than usual. We want to cheer her up and take her mind off things.”

  Her eyes fill with concern. She really cares about Rosie, and I know the two spend a lot of time together. Rosie still isn’t up to going out on her own just yet, not without Becca or Jordan. “What happened?”

  Not sure if I should say something or not, I decide to shrug, keeping my answer evasive. “You’ll have to speak to her about it. I’m not sure how much I can share. I don’t want to betray her trust. I’m sorry.”

  She gives me a small smile, but her attention is elsewhere as she takes her phone out of her pocket. “Let me know what time you’re going. I have to show a new girl around the English building, but I’m free afterwards.”

  “Okay.”

  Another small smile as she lifts her phone. “I’m going to call her. I’ve got a feeling I know what her parents have done. She said she was going to talk to them the other week about what happened to her, but I got the gist she didn’t want to. She looked scared. From what little I do know about them, they aren’t good people.”

  I scoff. “That’s putting it nicely.”

  “I’ll talk to you later. Good luck with all that,” she tells me, pointing towards the folder she gave me.

  I watch her go for a second before taking the folder and memory stick and putting them in my bag.

  “What you got there?”

  I jump, turning to face Alex. “Oh, my God, you scared the hell out of me. Don’t sneak up on me.”

  He grins sheepishly. “Sorry. Thought you heard me. What’s that?”

  I bite my lip as I consider what I should tell him. CJ wasn’t happy when I announced I was going to look into it, so I told him I’d just read the newspapers and stuff to get the information I needed. He doesn’t need to know how far into the case I’m looking.

  “Just some stuff I asked Jordan to get.”

  He looks at me closely, suspiciously. “What kind of stuff?”

  Shifting restlessly on my feet, I run my fingers through my hair. “It’s about Christie’s killer.”

  “What?” Alex pales, stepping forwards to grab my biceps, his nails biting into my skin. “Why are you looking into her murder, Allie? You need to stay away from that stuff. The newspapers are saying to be on alert.”

  I yank my arms from his grip. “I just asked for some details on the case. I need it for my English paper, and if I want to write a book about this, then I need to know the facts.”

  He scrubs a hand across his face. “It could be dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I’m not going to get hurt. For all we know, this has to do with Logan. He could have been getting revenge.”

  “That’s what I thought when we first heard about the murder. She wasn’t exactly a nice person, but still, you don’t know why she was killed. There’s a sick fuck out there walking free. It’s not safe until he’s caught.”

  I sigh, leaning back against the counter. “I know, I know. Can we keep this bit of information between us? I don’t want CJ to find out, or Willow, for that matter. She’ll only get upset.”

  He looks torn, but after a few painfully slow seconds, he nods. “Just be careful. Don’t go looking for trouble.”

  “I will be.”

  The sound of the door opening gains my attention. Turning, I notice a guy who’s in my English Lit class and possibly another, though I can’t think what one it might be—outside my circle of friends, I don’t really know anyone.

  “Sorry, we’re not open today,” Alex calls out over my shoulder.

  As the guy’s gaze nervously flicks between me and Alex, I try to remember his name, but it’s evading me. “I’m here to see Allie.”

  I sense Alex turning to me for answers but keep my focus on the guy in front of me. I don’t know what he could possibly want with me. We’ve never spoken to each other.

  “Can I help you?”

  He takes a hesitant step forward. “I’m Ian. I’m in the same English class as you. I was wondering if we could talk for a moment?”

  “Sure.” I glance over my shoulder to where he’s looking and notice Alex still standing there, watching him with the same interest. “I’ll come help in a minute,” I tell Alex, wondering why he seems so tense.

  He nods, walking into the back. When he’s gone, I gesture for Ian to sit down at the table. As I take a seat opposite him, watching as he continues to look around nervously, my mind tries to figure out what he could want from me. The only thing I can come up with is he needs some tutoring for our English class. I can help him; I don’t mind. But he might have to come into the library when I’m working because I don’t think I’ll have the time otherwise.

  “What can I help you with?”

  He jumps, like he forgot I was sitting here. Weird.

  “Our teacher said I need to get at least a B on our next assignment. I need to pass this course this year if I want to finish my degree. She mentioned partnering up with someone. I remembered you from class and was wondering if you wanted to—team up, that is.”

  Okay, not what I was expecting, and really, he shouldn’t have started by saying he needs to pass this course. It tells me he’s not applying himself, or he’s struggling, and teaming up with me, a straight A student, is a sure way to pass.

  “I’m sorry, I already have my assignment planned out and am in the middle of writing it.”

  “Already? We have six months to complete it.”

>   “I like to get a head start on everything. But if you want some tutoring, I’d be happy to help.”

  He looks around the room again, when there’s a noise at the door. I glance over my shoulder, not finding a reason for the source of the noise.

  “Would you?”

  “Yeah.” I smile at the relief in his expression.

  “Would you like to meet up tonight to work out a plan? We can meet up at Perk Inn on the corner of Green Street.”

  “I actually have plans tonight, and if you really want my help, I’ll only be able to meet you here when I’m working.”

  I hate letting him down—letting anyone down really. I see his shoulders sag and want to take back what I said, but I know I can’t.

  Since dating CJ and standing up to Logan, I’ve felt a new-found confidence, something that wasn’t there before. I’m more social and have started to speak up instead of being spoken down to.

  He keeps crossing and uncrossing his arms. “Cool, cool. What about―”

  “Cupcake! I’ve come to offer you my services. And in case you’re wondering, that’s my extremely well-endowed muscles.”

  I turn, a smile breaking across my face as CJ walks in. He frowns when he sees Ian, giving him a look that has the poor guy getting to his feet. He nearly trips over himself to get past me and CJ.

  “I’ll, um, talk to you, um, later,” he stutters over his shoulder, before rushing through the doors.

  CJ raises his eyebrow at me. “What’s his deal? And are those his friends outside giggling like little kids?”

  There are people out there?

  “I didn’t know anyone was out there. He wanted to work together for our English Lit project.”

  He looks taken aback. “What? But you wouldn’t work with me!”

  I laugh at his expression. “I’m not working with him, either, but… I did offer to help him with it. And I said no to working with you because you wanted to write about real life BDSM experiences.”

  He scoffs, straddling the chair Ian vacated. “It’s a valid lifestyle, but is it classed as domestic or just kink?”

  I feel my cheeks heat—no doubt they are bright red. “It’s BDSM.”

  “Yes, but with that porn movie out, there’s a lot of controversy over the subject.”

  “What? You’re still going to work on it?” I squeak. I thought he had been joking when he brought it up in class.

  He looks puzzled for a moment. “Um, yeah. I told you: it would be a good thing to look up. Are you still going with the murder at the university?”

  I look away, my mind going to the folder in my bag, before turning back to him. “Yeah, I think so. I do have a backup plan if all else fails though.” I give him a coy grin, which sparks his interest.

  “Oh yeah, and what would that be?”

  “I’m going to put my name on yours.”

  I start laughing at his shocked expression.

  “Miss goody two shoes is going to cheat?”

  I smack his arm lightly. “I’m kidding. I was going to write a piece on the effects of dirty water in Africa.”

  He grins, tipping the chair forward so he can kiss me. I kiss him back, loving the feel of his soft lips. When his tongue flicks against mine, I moan at the taste of peppermint.

  He pulls back, his eyes filled with heat. “I missed you.”

  I giggle, leaning into his touch. “You saw me four hours ago.”

  He sighs, like it’s a hardship. “I know. We should make sure we see each other every hour.”

  “Yes, because we wouldn’t want you to miss me,” I tease.

  “No, we wouldn’t want to do anything to upset me.” He pouts, winking at me before looking around the room. “Are you trying to see how many books you can fit on the table before it collapses?”

  I look over his shoulder to the table in question and giggle. “Yep. We’re up to four hundred.”

  He snaps his head back to me. “No shit?”

  Laughing, I shake my head, watching him slump over with resignation.

  “Are you going to help―Oh, hey, CJ. I didn’t know you were here,” Alex says, coming to a stop.

  CJ gives him a bored look, leaning back in his chair. “Yeah, I missed my girl. I thought I’d come help out since she said there was loads to do. I can see she was right,” he says, giving the pile of books a distasteful expression.

  Alex chuckles. “Only because she refuses to help me carry the books back here.”

  CJ jumps up from the chair, kissing me on the nose before turning to Alex. “Lead the way, my man. Let’s put these beasts to work.”

  I stifle a giggle and a roll of my eyes when he flexes his biceps. I watch him leave with Alex and admire his arse the entire way.

  It should be a crime to have an arse like that. It’s perfectly round and plump, and even though I’ve not seen him naked, I have seen him in boxers, and boy… he has a nice arse.

  He turns to face me before he rounds the corner, winking at me. “I’ll send you a picture, babe, that way you won’t miss staring at my arse.”

  With flaming hot cheeks, I narrow my eyes at him. “Do some work, would ya.”

  He laughs, and it echoes around the library as he leaves with Alex. I shake my head. I should have learnt my lesson by now to not stare for more than five seconds. Anything longer and it’s like he can feel it. And instead of being the good boyfriend and ignoring it, he makes sure to call me out on it.

  With a huff, I get up from the table and walk over to the mounds of books waiting to be sorted into their piles. If I want to get back home today and have time to look over what Jordan brought me, then I need to get a move on.

  CHAPTER THREE

  It’s Saturday, a day I promised myself I would sleep in and enjoy not going to work or class. CJ, on the other hand, hates me. He must do, because once again I wake up to him determined to be slaughtered like a pig.

  “If you don’t remove your hands from my arse, I will knee you in the balls.”

  I feel rather than see him grin against my neck. “Cupcake, you love my balls. They’re special cargo; you can’t go mishandling them. Unless… If that’s what you’re really into, then—”

  I elbow him in the stomach, smiling when I hear him grunt. “Enough about your balls. Let me sleep.”

  “Nope.”

  I scream into my pillow before rolling over to glare at him. “Why? What could you possibly want me up for? I don’t have work or class.”

  He waggles his eyebrows as he slips him arm over my waist, tugging me closer, so I’m pressed against his front. “Because, Cupcake, I promised my mum we would go see her.”

  I must still be asleep because I’m pretty sure he just said we were going to see his mum. A mum he dotes on, adores, and loves more than his food. A mother who loves her son more than anything.

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  He rolls his eyes at me. “I told her we’d be over today for lunch. It’s already eleven.”

  My eyes narrow because there’s no way in hell it’s eleven. I don’t feel rested enough to have slept in late.

  And he wakes me up with the news of meeting his mum for the first time.

  “I can’t meet your mum,” I blurt out.

  A flash of hurt passes through his eyes. “Why?”

  Hearing the doubt and hurt in his voice, I place my hand on his broad shoulder. “Because I haven’t had time to get an outfit ready or figure out what to say to make her like me.” A growing panic burns inside me. There’s no way I can meet his mum. I just can’t.

  What if she hates me?

  He laughs, kissing the tip of my nose. “She’s going to love you. Trust me. She doesn’t have a nasty bone in her body.”

  “I didn’t say she was nasty, but she is a mother. You’re her only son, so of course she’s going to hate me. She’s not going to want you to have another woman in your life.”

  “And what made you come to this conclusion?”

  When he starts laughing at my re
action, I slap his chest lightly. “It’s a fact. I swear, you guys don’t have to worry about this stuff. You had Willow’s mum wrapped around your finger the second you met her. You had it easy.”

  With a cocky grin, he leans forward. “That’s because I’m fucking awesome. And I was nervous about meeting your dad, you know.”

  “We weren’t dating when you met my dad, though.”

  “No, but I knew we were going to.”

  I rear back a little, raising my eyebrows. “Did you now?”

  He grins, showing his pearly whites. “Fuck yeah, I did. I knew the minute you stood staring at me awkwardly in the hallway that you were going to fall in love me.”

  That earns him another eye roll. “Your ego is amazing.”

  “I know.”

  “I was being sarcastic,” I mutter dryly.

  “I know that too. Now, get up. I really did promise Mum I’d bring you over. She wants to meet you. She felt bad she couldn’t come over before now.”

  I bite my lip nervously. “What if she really doesn’t like me, CJ? It will come between us and I don’t want to lose you.”

  His face turns serious, the joking side of him gone as he runs his fingers across my cheek. “Cupcake, she isn’t going to hate you. She’ll love you. I was even going to warn you about her being touchy feely. She loves to hug people, so be prepared. And nothing will ever come between us, ever. I’ve been in relationships before, and not once have I brought a girl home to meet her. You mean something to me, Cupcake. What we have I don’t take lightly, and I’d fight to keep you. You’re pretty fucking special.”

  My eyes burn with threatening tears. Sometimes I wonder if he has a serious bone in his body, but then he has these moments where he drops the cool boy act he loves to play and speaks from his heart. He did it the night Willow learned about my past with Logan. He found out what happened, and he was here. He stayed with me until I told him he had to go. The next morning, he came barging in, demanding I tell him everything that Logan did.

  I’d never seen anger like he showed that day. I didn’t think he possessed the emotion; he’s so laid back. It was scary, but behind that anger I saw pain, turmoil. I knew he wasn’t just feeding off what happened to me, but something that had happened to him. That’s when I told him everything, and before I knew it, he was telling me everything about himself: how his mum was raped, and he was the product of it.