Page 111 of River of Deceit

I’m surprised he gives in so easily, and that has me on edge. It’s got to be a trick of some sort. Nothing happens for free.

He must notice my distrust, because Blaze smiles. “What’s with that face? We’rebrothers, River. If this is important to you, we’ll help out.”

“I’ll try, too,” Asch says, and while he doesn’t smile, I don’t see anything in his expression indicating that he’s only humoring me. “Blaze has more connections, but if anyone around here knows anything about her, we’ll find out.” He eyes me. “Why are we looking?”

I take a deep breath, wondering if I can even say the words. “Because she’s dead,” I say after a long moment. “Someone murdered her.”

Asch glances at Blaze before looking back at me. “Was she a student here?” he asks.

I shake my head. “No.”

“So why do you think anyone around here would know anything about her?” Asch asks.

I’m bristling, but I can tell he’s not trying to be argumentative. There’s something too focused about the way he’s asking the questions, and I wonder whathisfuture is going to be with the Bouchard Syndicate. “Because she met someone from Dyschord before she vanished.”

“The school’s got a few thousand students,” Asch points out. “Not to mention the entire faculty and staff.”

“It’s not that many,” Blaze says firmly. “We can narrow it down, especially if you think it’s someone with Kappa Alpha. I can talk to the dean, too.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder and ruffles my hair. “Don’t worry, River. You’re one of us now, and I’m very good to my friends. Asch can tell you all about it.”

Asch’s smile is strange, but he nods. “He is,” he confirms. “But River…” He meets my eyes. “He’s also really, really not someone whose bad side you want to be on.”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “Yeah,” I say. “Noted.”

“Good,” Asch says, but I can tell he’s hearing the way I’m indulging him instead of really meaning it. Still, he doesn’t comment on it. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

My stomach grumbles, reminding me that I haven’t eaten yet. “Yeah.”

With any luck, Pandora won’t be waiting in the caf to find out what’s going on.

22

PANDORA

I resist the urge to scratch my chest and open up my scabs. I’ve already done it a few times, but I don’t think I want to cause drama by bleeding through my bright pink shirt.

Reaper might handle it well, but Carly probably wouldn’t.

The cuts would heal faster if I stopped poking at them, too. A few days haven’t been enough for them to heal completely.

Carly and Reaper are both standing in front of my snake enclosure, oohing and aahing over my cute little Echo. Okay, Carly is cooing, Reaper is standing there looking kind of grim—ha!—but clearly still interested.

“I can take her out and let you hold her,” I suggest from my seat on the bed. “She’s pretty well socialized, and even if she bites it won’t hurt much.”

“Much,” Reaper repeats. “Sure.” I think he’s scoffing at me at first, but then he looks expectantly at me, and I realize he was agreeing.

I hop off the bed and grab my keys so I can open the enclosure. Sure, it’s a little inconvenient to have to lock and unlock it every time, but I’m taking no chances. Nobody is going to steal Echo from me.

I’m already imagining my roommate finding out about Echo and letting her loose on purpose, and it makes my blood boil.

Echo tries to evade my hand and slither under one of the hides, but I grab her easily. She’s cool and smooth, and she immediately starts curling around my wrist.

Carly backs up a few steps, but she’s still smiling. “Very cool. And so tiny!”

“She’s still a baby,” I tell them. “Only a few months old. Blood pythons don’t get that big though, just very thick compared to other snakes.”

“Not that big? So, what, a foot long?” Carly asks.

I start laughing. “Sorry. They don’t get as big as anacondas or Burmese pythons. Average size is four to six feet. Echo’s mama is five and a half feet.”