Page 11 of Revere

“Nothing.”

Her eyebrow lifts. “That didn’t seem like nothing.”

“He’s insufferable, that’s all.”

“That’s all?”

When I look over at her, she’s grinning. “What?”

Her smile turns smug. “I think Mila might be right after all.”

“Don’t even say it.”

“A summer away… a hot professor.”

“I’m going to kill Mila for putting those ideas in your head.”

Violet giggles, not the least bit apologetic. Thankfully, she stops talking about it because the next thing I know, the warmscent of Jacob’s apple spice cologne fills my senses, and I realize he smells like a forbidden garden.

I should have known.

He pauses in front of me, handing me a stack of papers. The most lethal smirk ticks up in the corner of his mouth as I grab them from him. But when I try to tug, he tightens his grip.

“Patience Lancaster.” He says my full name, smiling in a way that is more of a taunt than anything. “Good to see you again so soon. Burning hot as ever.”

He releases the papers, and they crash against my chest from how hard I was pulling. My heart hammers as he continues down the row, passing out papers.

This can’t be happening.

It’s one thing to have these thoughts about an older, ridiculously hot stranger from the plane. But my professor?

His gaze finds me as he makes his way back to the front of the room, and I swallow hard.

I’m in so much trouble.

4

AN INNOCENT MAN

PATIENCE

Molly Irsite—

Case modified from suicide to murder.

The sentence sticks in my mind as I scan a book in my hand. The rest of the class is at the tables, digging through the case file, but I’ve wandered to the stacks to get some clarification before I do the same.

I’m still trying to figure out why we’ve been assigned such a simple case. This internship is supposed to be a challenge, and Professor Gray begins by handing us a case he solved in under twenty-four hours. On top of that, it doesn’t appear that anything was redacted. Unless he didn’t pull entire documents, the full investigation is in our packets.

The crime scene analysis. The toxicology report. The arrest warrant for Haven Matthews, the man who was sentenced for Molly’s overdose.

It doesn’t make sense for Professor Gray to turn over such a neat assignment, which makes me wonder what he expects us to find.

On the surface, the case is simple.

Molly was a twenty-one-year-old college student majoring in social sciences. Her social life was nearly nonexistent. Apart from studying and working, she spent most of her free time with her boyfriend, Ezra Stone.

He’s the one who found her body in the bathroom of their shared apartment.