Page 3 of Touch Me Not

“So, did you guys watch the news last night?” Janet piped up. “There was another woman reported missing.”

Lily had been watching the news, and it disturbed her. Three women had gone missing in the Boston area over the last three months. The bodies were recovered exactly a week after their disappearance. All three had been brutally raped, tortured, and severely beaten before being strangled. The police were finally admitting they had a serial killer on their hands. This latest disappearance, bringing the body count to four, had occurred six days ago. If the serial killer stuck to his pattern, the poor woman’s body would show up tomorrow.

Sue rolled her eyes. “Janet, you worry too much. We’re perfectly safe on campus.”

Lily wanted to roll her own eyes at the little blonde tart. Sue honestly thought they were safe just because of a college campus? Psycho killers could stroll through campuses as easily as they could through a mall. There was no major security when it came to monitoring who was and who was not supposed to be on campus. Colleges were just as open to the public as the local McDonald’s. Sue must have grown up in a bubble. She had no idea of the big bad wolves out in the real world, right in your own backyard. Stupid girl.

“Don’t worry, ladies.” Mike flexed his muscles. “We’ll protect you.”

Lilydidroll her eyes at that. Mikey, for all of his six feet, two inches, still behaved very much like a little kid showing off. It was one of the things Lily loved about him.

“All right, Michelangelo, I feel soooo much safer now.” Lily winked at Janet.

She and Mike had bonded overTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesreruns last year when Janet broke up with him. They were both addicted to theTMNTcartoon series, despite the fact they were technically adults. Who said adults couldn’t watch cartoons?

He smiled and threw a fist in the air. “Who else is gonna save your ass?”

“Campus security?” Lily asked dryly.

He stuck his tongue out at her. So mature. Lily turned her attention back to Adam, who was still nose deep into Sue. They looked so happy. It was one of the reasons she was so supportive. She didn’t really like her, but Sue made him happy, and that was all that mattered to Lily.

“Lunch?” she asked Adam pointedly.

A contrite expression appeared. Oh, no…the little Barbie struck again.

“Lils, we had something come up, and I have to go to lunch with Sue and her mom. Wedding plans.”

“No worries.” Lily laughed good-naturedly, even though she was cursing six ways to Sunday inside. “You go do what you need to do. We’ll get dinner or something later in the week.”

“You could always come with?”

Sue glared the promise of death at her from behind him. She was tempted to say yes just to piss her off but shook her head instead. “No, I’m good. I’m gonna go grab a bite then head to the bookstore to check on a textbook I’m waiting for.”

“You sure?” he asked again, a hopeful expression on his face. Lily knew for a fact he detested Sue’s mother. His bed, he could lie in it.

“Yeah, I’m sure. You two go make your wedding plans.”

“He’s a blind fool, Lils,” Mike whispered sympathetically as they watched Adam and Sue walk away.

Lily didn’t bother to deny anything was wrong. Mike knew her too well, almost as well as Adam.

Every time she was around Adam and Sue, she got so frustrated it was all she could do not to scream. She honestly couldn’t figure out what Adam saw in the little tart, aside from her being a blonde, blue-eyed, Barbie doll wannabe. Adam always had been a sucker for blonde hair.

There was no substance to Sue. All she cared about was herself. There wasn’t a kind bone in her body. She had even attempted to stop Lily and Adam from being friends, but that was where Adam had drawn the line. He’d told her in no uncertain terms that Lily was family, and if she pushed, she wouldn’t like the outcome. Sue had shut up, but she still did little things to try to separate them. Like lunch today. Lily would guarantee the emergency was nothing but a ruse to get Adam away from her.

Time for a change of subject. Thinking about Sue would just put her in a foul mood. She didn’t need that when she had to deal with an entire floor of girls in a few hours.

“What are we gonna do about that economics class of yours?”

“Did you have to remind me of that? You know I’m doomed, and I won’t graduate.”

That was simply not true. Mike was exceptionally smart. He just needed a little prodding in the right direction sometimes. “You know I’m not gonna let you fail if I got you through statistics.”

They both grimaced over that statement. Statistics and Mike were not things that should ever be said in the same sentence. Lily had almost given up on him before she found something that made sense to him. Thank God she had, or they’d both have failed. She’d spent so much time trying to teach him the basics, she’d fallen behind herself. It hadn’t even been a class she needed, as she was an English major. She’d only taken it to helpMike, but she refused to do that again. Her GPA meant too much to her.

“I’ll find you a tutor,” she promised. And she would. God help her if she’d let him fail after all the time and effort she’d put into him over the last three years.

“How was your summer?” Janet asked, bringing Lily’s attention back to her.

---