Page 46 of Duke
My eyes bug out as they land on the pieces of paper Officer Ford holds up. I startle, and Lennon winces. “Where the fuck did these come from?” There are a few different photos. Lennon from every damn angle. My chest heaves as I hold out a hand. “May I?”
“Of course.” The detective takes them from Ford and hands them to me, a curious smile twitching at her lips.Fuck.I don’t like this lady. It’s almost as if we amuse her, like we’re here for her entertainment.
Officer Ford finally speaks up again. “We were contacted by campus police this morning to assist them because these papers were tacked on every bulletin board, door, and light pole on campus. They were even inside classrooms and littered throughout the stadium.” He rubs his hand over his face. “Just a real mess to clean up, never mind the content of the images, which they found disturbing enough that we were contacted to step in. We, of course, needed to find out who we were dealing with.”
Detective Simms holds a hand up. “And before anything else is said, Lennon, I’m going to need to speak to you alone, please.” She presses her lips together. “Do you have an issue with that?”
Lennon pulls away from me and turns around. I can tell she’s steeling herself for whatever questions she’s about to be treated to. “No, I’m good with that.”
Officer Ford tilts his head and beckons to the rest of us. “I’d like to speak to the rest of you. Come with me, please.”
Before we get a chance to move, Lennon turns toward us, swallowing. Duke cups her cheek with his hand. “Just answer honestly. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
She exhales, nodding. “Yeah. Okay.” But then she clutches at him, staring into his eyes. I sense it’s an apology of sorts passing between them. They’ll be fine. Honestly, their relationship is more solid than any of us would have thought it’d be, considering the crazy path they’ve traveled together. They’ll have to kiss and make up later, though.
As Duke lets her go, her eyes flick to Mason’s. He looks like he’s going to throw up whatever he ate for lunch. I can guess why. The detective is going to want to know who drew on her and who the fuck took those photos. So, even if he isn’t responsible for plastering them all over campus… I’m going to assume the rest of it was all him, though whether she knew he took them or not is up for debate. I have no idea. I rub my hand over my jaw. It’s hard to say what the cops are going to have the most issue with here.
She’s an adult, though, so as long as she doesn’t say he forced her to do that—which she won’t—then he should be in the clear. I mean, maybe not withherbecause of the photos, but at least they shouldn’t be dragging Mason to the jail this afternoon. They’d better not be. I can’t imagine what that would do to him.
Mason pulls her close and whispers something that sounds a whole lot likeI’m sorrybefore brushing a soft kiss over her cheek and reluctantly letting her go.
* * *
It’s beena solid forty minutes that Lennon’s been in the office with the detective. Arik and Pierre are home now, both having brought copies of the photos with them, waving them around like the dickheads they are. I’d snatched those fucking things out of their hands so fast, and smacked Pierre upside the head, his established place in the brotherhood in serious jeopardy. That little weasel Arik managed to dodge me at first, but one hand to his chest sent him flying through the air to land on the tiled floor. Knocked the wind out of him. He was still lying there five minutes later, grumbling about unfair treatment and how flyers posted on campus are fair game. I’ll show him fair if he doesn’t shut up about it. Eventually, the jackass will learn Lennon is off limits. I would have thought that’d been well-established, but maybe he’s just not the brightest crayon in the box.
Most of the guys have now taken turns talking to the officer and, for the most part, they’re grumbling way too much for my liking. Fucking assholes. Like this isn’t a thoroughly entertaining Thursday afternoon for all of them.
Warren slips in last and sidles up to me, gesturing to follow him. We cross the room, away from everyone else, and he gives his bag a brief shake. “I have a shit ton of those flyers in here. I couldn’t leave them up. Felt like a creeper putting them in my bag, but I swear I meant well.”
His gaze is earnest, and I think he’s telling me the truth. “Thanks, man.” I glance in the direction of Ford. “They’re probably going to want to ask you a few questions. If you could just leave those in your bag for now, we’ll pull them out later and get rid of them.”
Warren tugs at the back of his neck, eyeing Mason and Duke where they’re standing across the room. “Is she, um…” His brows furrow hard, leaving a line right down the middle of his forehead. “I just want to make sure—”
He’s gotten awkward all of a sudden. Who the fuck knows who is responsible for tacking those papers all over the place. He could have put them up this morning and taken them down this afternoon. I let out a sigh, eyeing him and how his face is turning red the longer he stares at me. Then it dawns on me. The poor guy is worried that Mason drew on her without her permission.
“It was consensual. Is that what you’re after? Lennon let him do it. That’s all you get to know unless she wants to tell you more.”
“Okay.” He exhales harshly. “Yeah, okay. I didn’t mean to pry. I just worry about her sometimes.” He moves away from me just as the door opens, and Lennon comes out, making a beeline for me and tucking herself against my body.
Detective Simms catches Mason’s attention. “Mason Mikaelson?”
He exchanges a look with Duke, then runs a hand through his hair. He’s the only one Officer Ford hadn’t gotten to yet besides Warren. I don’t know if that was done purposefully or if it’s just a coincidence. I cross my arms over my chest. Duke did encourage her to tell the truth, so I assume she did—which has led Simms to believe she should speak to him. Probably texted Ford to leave him for her to question. Mason’s chest fills with a deep breath before following the detective into the office.
Duke watches until the door shuts behind Mason, then comes over to join us, standing close to Lennon. Most of the other guys have taken off, with the exception of Warren, who’s at the kitchen table with Officer Ford.
“I hope she’s not going to give him a hard time. I had a tough time explaining to her that I told him he could draw on me like that.”
“Lennon baby, where did those photos come from?” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to understand what we’re dealing with.
She grits her teeth. “Well… when I first saw them, I thought there was a camera in the attic. Video. But”—she looks first at me, then at Duke before answering—“Mason actually took them. He confessed that to me before we came home. He had me close my eyes, and he must have taken them then.”
My brows dart together while Duke’s raise. I’d imagine it’d be funny if anyone were watching our reactions. “Fuck. So, you didn’t know he took them?”
She shakes her head, and Duke lets out an aggravated sigh, eyeing me before dragging a hand through his hair. “Mason told me how it went down while we were waiting for Lennon and you were talking to Warren.” He grimaces. “He wasn’t hiding it, he just hadn’t had a chance to say something.”
Lennon is quick to come to Mason’s defense, too. “Mase always takes photos of his work because sometimes he gets a little weird about them and—”
I hold up a hand to stop her ramble and nod, my eyes crashing shut for a moment. “Like he did that one night I went up and the canvases were all broken.” I take a breath and expel it loudly. “Fuck.” My jaw works to the side, a very unwelcome thought hitting me. “If this is all true…”
