Dial Em for Murder (24 page)

Sebastian's low, “Why am I not surprised?” filled the momentary silence.

“It's almost one in the morning.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I have school tomorrow. Scratch that, I have school
today
. I need to get up in less than seven hours.”

Ignoring Sebastian's knowing smirk, I concentrated on my best friend. “Look, I know it's a lot to ask, but I
need
you, Aud. So—”

“Promise me there will be coffee. Lots of it.”

I made no attempt to hide my smile. “Done. I'm sending a car to pick you up right now.”

Audrey's disbelief traveled through the phone. “Um, who is paying for
that
, Emmy?”

“Sebastian St. James,” I announced with relish.

“Well, in that case, I'll raid the minibar.”

Audrey disconnected, probably so that she could grab every piece of equipment that might theoretically come in handy, leaving me supremely aware of the fact that I was still in Sebastian's bedroom. Oh, and that the boy in question was scowling at me from his very large, very appealing bed. His high thread count sheets probably felt like a cloud of unicorn hair.

Audrey wasn't the only one who desperately needed a caffeine boost.

“Care to share what you volunteered me for?” Sebastian didn't sound particularly concerned. If anything, he seemed amused, like I was a crappy infomercial trying too hard to sell him something that he didn't want.

“You're going to ask Force to drive Audrey. Right now.”

He shook his head with mock regret. “I don't do favors for Audrey Weinstein. Ever. That's nonnegotiable.”

“Because she caught
your
friend stealing her phone? That makes sense.”

Sebastian's eyes iced over. “I don't help people who hurt my friends.”

If the situation was reversed I'd be equally protective of Audrey or Ben, but I didn't have the luxury of caring about his personal reservations. He needed to get over them. Now.

Because there was nobody
I
trusted more to have my back.

“How badly do you want to help your grandfather?” I said, bluntly. “He gave that Slate to me and I'm a package deal with Audrey. So here's my first lesson for you: Sometimes you have to work with people you don't particularly like in order to get what you want.”

Sebastian's mouth twisted into the distant cousin of a smile. “Alright, Emmy. We can play this out your way—for now. Just remember, if anything goes wrong, it'll be on you.”

Yeah, I didn't need any reminders on that score.

Audrey's arrival shouldn't have felt like a big deal.

We'd seen each other at least five days a week—usually more—for the past seven
years
. Even though my math skills left a lot to be desired, I figured we had clocked in well over ten thousand hours together. So it shouldn't have felt like my birthday and Christmas and New Year's all wrapped into one explosion of awesome when a familiar black town car pulled up to the manor house and Audrey climbed out of the back seat. Except it did.

The force of my hug nearly tackled her, as she tentatively patted me on the back. “You okay, Em?”

“Never better.”

“Uh-huh. Okay. Well, you're starting to cut off my oxygen—”

I laughed, releasing my stranglehold to affectionately swat at her arm. “It took you long enough. Did Force take you sightseeing or something?”

Audrey glanced apprehensively over her shoulder at the very tall, imposing figure of a man who still looked fully capable of cracking my head open like a walnut. He didn't smile at me, but his wooden expression no longer disconcerted me. Maybe because Force ranked significantly lower on the list of the people who had reason to hate me than my dance teacher.

“How's it going, Newton? Stab anyone lately?”

Audrey gasped, clutching on to my arm, and making a futile attempt to drag me away. There was no way Force could have missed Audrey's reaction, but his expression remained calm.

“Not yet. It's still on my to-do list.” He nodded once at Audrey before heading off into the darkness, ostensibly to take care of whatever outranked “murder” on his agenda.

“Do you have a death wish?!” Audrey hissed the instant she thought he was out of hearing range. “
Stop. Provoking. Strangers.
”

I shrugged. “Force thinks it's funny.”

“Um, are we talking about the same guy? The silent behemoth who drove me here isn't a stand-up comic. I'm not sure he even knows how to
smile
.” Audrey's grip tightened. “Just because
you
think something is funny, doesn't mean you should say it!”

I wanted to point out that Force was probably sick of people tiptoeing around him, and that if he hadn't appreciated my teasing he would've put an end to it. There's no way you get the nickname “Force” without being able to kill an unwanted topic of conversation. Since he hadn't scared me witless with a death glare, I was inclined to say that we were friends.

Sharing that wouldn't make Audrey feel any better about my personal safety, so I took her advice and kept it to myself.

“C'mon, let's get you that coffee.” I ushered her inside the manor house, which looked even more regal now than it had my first night. The gray stonework, the high cathedral arches, the intricate stained glass windows that were swallowed up by the darkness but which didn't need to be seen in order to be felt. The entire structure dominated with a sense of its own self-importance.

“Holy crap. This place is
insane
.”

I grinned in total agreement. “The weirdest part is that everyone thinks it's totally normal for a school to be a few flying buttresses short of a Gothic church. Well, okay, Kayla appreciates the absurdity, but that's only because she's also here on a scholarship.”

Audrey stiffened but her pace never slowed as we moved through the manor house. “Right. Kayla. Are we meeting up with her?”

“I think she's sleeping.” I stared in amazement as the tension in Audrey's body began to ease. “Wait, are you actually
jealous
right now?”

“Don't be ridiculous,” she said quickly. Too quickly. The same way she had assured me that she was fine the first time I spent the night at Ben's without her. Even knowing that her parents never would've been comfortable letting me crash on their couch in order to avoid my mom's new boyfriend, it had still made her feel excluded. As if we'd somehow shoved her out of the inner circle. It had seemed ridiculous to me, but that didn't change how it had made
her
feel.

“If there's ever a zombie apocalypse—”

“You mean
when
there's a zombie apocalypse,” Audrey corrected.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. You'll still be the first person I call.”

Audrey shook her head and laughed. “There are so many problems with that statement, I don't even know where to begin. Telecommunication will be down, for starters, and the subway system will be an all-you-can-eat zombie buffet. I love you dearly, Em, but you won't last an hour with the zombies.”

“Hey!” I said indignantly. “I'm being stalked by a ninja assassin right now and I'm still alive. That's got to count for something, right?”

Audrey groaned. “No, it doesn't. This—right here—this is why people want to kill you.”

I pushed open the door leading out of the manor house. It was the fastest way to reach the enormous grassy lawn that was surrounded by all the most important buildings, including the computer lab. And I wanted to actually
talk
to my best friend without disturbing Kayla in the process. Audrey didn't stop twisting and craning her neck so that she could get a good look at everything we passed. If Emptor Academy was the kind of place that gave tours to prospective students, the picturesque cobblestone pathways and manicured lawns would be a strong selling point. Except the sight of Peyton, even without her minion horde, lounging on the steps of the girls' dormitory would have sent the smartest kids scurrying for the nearest exit. I had no idea what Peyton was planning at two in the freaking morning, but I had a feeling that Sebastian was involved. Either she was going to warn me away from him or she was lurking around on his behalf. I couldn't get a read on that relationship, but if they were ever cast as the protagonists in a novel it would be the kind of story that ended tragically for everyone.

She straightened, tilting her finely pointed chin into the air when she spotted us.

I tried to act calm. “On a related note, there's a soul-sucking monster headed our way.”

“Zombies don't suck souls, Emmy. They either eat people or infect them with their bite.”

I didn't think my lack of zombie knowledge was our most pressing concern, especially since Peyton was sauntering toward us with malice in her eyes.

“Oh good, you've brought a friend to help you pack.” Peyton gave Audrey a once-over, noting the lack of designer anything before turning back to me. “Don't let the door hit you on the way out.”

Great. So apparently she was waiting on the steps to chase me away. Good times.

“Wow, okay. I take it this isn't Kayla.” Audrey scanned the lawn as if expecting my roommate to pop out at any minute, which wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. “Can we skip to the part where I get coffee?”

“Absolutely. The computer lab is right this way.”

Peyton stepped forward, blocking our path. “Let's clear something up first. If you screw with Sebastian, I won't hesitate to mess with your permanent file in Gilcrest's office. Got it?”

That
caught Audrey's attention. “Whoa. Did I miss something?”

“Not a thing.” I spoke a touch too quickly to be convincing.

“And that's
exactly
how it's going to stay,” Peyton hissed.

I raised my hands in the universal “don't shoot” gesture. “Hey, I don't care about whatever weird thing you've got with Sebastian. If you have a problem, take it up with him. Just leave me out of it.”

Something flashed in her eyes—anger or hurt, maybe—but whatever it was she banked it before I could get a good look. Still, for a second it made her seem almost human.

“I'm
Peyton McQueen
,” she stated as if she expected me to genuflect or dip into a curtsy. “I don't have problems, only fleeting annoyances.”

Instead of contradicting that obvious lie, I concentrated on pulling Audrey toward the pathway. She craned her neck for a parting view of Emptor Academy's most intimidating student. “But—”

“Don't stop moving!”

“But what did she mean about Sebast—”

I rubbed my forehead, which did nothing to abate what would undoubtedly become a full-blown migraine. “I'll explain later.”

Audrey looked like she wanted to protest, but seemed to think better of it. “Fine, but you better not hold anything back, Emmy. I want details. All the details.”

“I'm telling you, nothing happened.”

“All. The. Details.” Audrey said with such finality that I knew nothing except the sudden appearance of Benedict Cumberbatch would distract her for long.

“Oh, will you look at that! We're here.” I pulled out my ID card and swiped us into the building before she could pry anything else out of me.

“Don't think that I'm—” Audrey's voice trailed off as we both entered the computer lab. It looked like an enormous truck from Slate's headquarters had driven to Emptor Academy, discovered that they had the wrong address, and decided rather than hauling it away they'd leave it for the school administration to sort out. Everything in the room was sleekly modern; red furniture provided the only pop of color to offset the chromatic gray displays. The stylized Slate logo of a book with a claw emerging from the pages extending across the room.

“I'm in heaven,” Audrey finished. “Do you think anyone would notice if I moved in? I wouldn't take up too much space. I'd stay right here.” She trailed her fingers lightly across a keyboard. “Hello my precious. Aren't you a sight for sleep-deprived eyes.”

“I promise, I'll get you coffee.” I handed her Frederick St. James's most prized possession. “Now what can you tell me about this?”

She studied it carefully, flipping it over a couple times. “It appears to be a Slate.”

I stared at her. “That's all you've got?”

“Without coffee? Yes. That's all I've got.”

I rolled my eyes, resigning myself to a quick trip to the cafeteria while she stared lovingly at the equipment at her fingertips. I was startled when the door swung open and I found myself looking straight into Nasir's dark brown eyes. Right behind him, like a particularly unwelcome thundercloud, stood Sebastian.

My hands automatically flew up to block their entry. “No. No way. This is a hostility-free space, which means you need to turn around and—”

“Save your breath,” Sebastian's mouth quirked in amusement at his own unintentional reminder of our time together in the girls' locker room. “I already tried to talk him out of this.”

“Tried and failed, apparently,” I muttered, darkly. “Figures it would be the one time I actually
agree
with you.”

Nasir ignored us, circumventing me with all the smoothness of a professional basketball player moving into position to take his shot.

“Hey Audrey. It's good to see you.”

She smiled back politely but her posture was rigid, her hands clenched into fists, probably so that she wouldn't twirl the ring she always wore on her right index finger.

“Yeah, uh . . . you, too.”

The awkwardness was so thick it was palpable, and it tasted sharp and bitter on my tongue. It was all my fault. Not their breakup, of course. I fully intended to blame Mr. Nasir “Lightfingers” Rashad for that one, but this confrontation? This was because of me.