Page 243 of Blood & Betrayals

“Hm.” Alice waves her hand, summoning a large whiteboard that hovers in front of us. My eyebrows raise, surprised she knows a summoning charm. “I’ve been practicing,” Alice says proudly. She waves her hand again, and half the whiteboard populates with information about the murders, including quotations, theories, and evidence. She stands and grabs the marker, drawing a line down the center of the board. On the blank side, she writes, Stranger at the top. “Okay, what else? Tell me more about him.”

“He’s got big hands,” I say, squinting at the board and all the information she’s collected. I had no idea she had been tracking the murders like this.

“Big hands/dick,” Alice says and nods, writing it beneath his name.

I scowl at her. “I didn’t say his dick was big.”

Alice glances at me over her shoulder, looking exasperated. “You said his hands are big. Well, that must be to hold his massive schlong.”

“Alice.”

“Ask him,” Alice says, turning to face me and putting her hands on her hips.

“I’m not going to ask him if his dick is big, Al,” I protest. But I can feel the alcohol in my system urging me to do it. My instincts and good sense are screaming at me that this is a bad idea, but there is something so decadently tempting about it.

Alice crosses her arms. “Do it, or I’ll do it from my phone.”

I curse and pull out my phone, opening our messages.

I see that he reads the message, but there is a long pause. I am starting to get nervous when his reply finally pops up.

I pause for a moment.

Fuuuuck.

“Well?” Alice asks, sitting beside me and reading the exchange over my shoulder. I cringe when she squeals in my ear. “Ask about the piercings! Ask about the piercings! Ask!”

“No, Al, I can’t. I shouldn’t have even asked that,” I hiss, glaring at her.

Alice grabs my phone and throws herself to the side, typing frantically. I lunge for her and tackle her to the floor, but it’s too late. She has already sent the message.

Alice groans and goes limp beneath me, and I just stare at my phone in horrified disbelief as heat curls deep in my core.

“You sure you can’t get a hall pass from Connor?” Alice asks.

I snatch my phone back and throw her a furious look before climbing off her. She immediately springs to her feet and rushes to the board. She writes,MASSIVE DICK WITH FOUR PIERCINGS.

I look down at my phone, flushing.

I reply, trying to sound nonchalant.

Alice sits back down beside me, practically vibrating with excitement when she reads his message.

“Ask him what he is!” she demands, and even though I know I shouldn’t, I start typing.

He doesn’t reply immediately, and I can almost hear him considering the risk.

Alice pouts. “Call him.”

I frown. “Why?”

Alice shrugs. “Why not?”

I’m unsure if it’s because I’m inebriated or just plain stupid, but her reasoning makes perfect sense, and it seems like the best idea in the world. I tap on the call button.

The line rings once before there is a slight click, and the call connects.

“Are you all right?” he asks, his deep, unfiltered voice flowing through the phone and straight to my core.

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