Kings of Linwood Academy - The Complete Box Set: A Dark High School Romance Series by Callie Rose (sight word books .TXT) 📕

We grab our coffees and lean against the kitchen island, eating muffins left by Gwen and talking about stupid bullshit. Once he finishes off his second muffin, Chase dusts his hands together.

“So, what are we thinking for today?”

“I want to check out that room on the other side of the laundry room from mine. The one near the top of the west wing stairs,” I say immediately.

The two boys share a look and shrug, then nod.

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

Good. If we get an early start like this, there’ll be plenty of time to go through that room inch by inch and still cover other spots in the house by the end of the day.

We drop our mugs in the sink and head upstairs, lowering our voices as we go. Lincoln and River are still sleeping, and I won’t bug them unless it gets super late and they’re still not up.

Dax pushes open the door to the large guest bedroom and strides in confidently.

Of course. He’s been in here before.

Pushing aside the twinge of jealousy that arises at the thought—I don’t even know who the girl they brought in here was, and that was months ago, but I still hate her a little bit—I stride inside after him, glancing around quickly. I’ve been in here to clean several times, but it usually doesn’t take very long. The room barely gets used, so it’s mostly just upkeep.

“I think I heard Mr. Black having sex with someone in here,” I murmur softly, my gaze still tracking around the space. “A few months ago. When I snuck out to play poker after my first week at Linwood.”

Dax pulls a disgusted face, but both boys look around the room with renewed interest.

“Okay, so what are we looking for?” Chase tilts his head, stepping closer to the large bed set against one wall. “Do we think Iris signed her name on the headboard or something?”

“I wish.” I snort. “I’m not sure. Maybe she left a sock behind or something. Or jewelry. I don’t know.”

We spread out, poking through the dresser drawers and looking through the closet. It’s all mostly empty, although the closet seems to have turned into an overflow storage area for some of Mrs. Black’s clothes. There’s a small notebook stored in the bedside table, but it looks like several pages have been torn out of the spiral rings. There’s a scrap of one missing page still left in the front of the notebook, with looping, curved handwriting cut off by the ragged tear.

I can’t make out what it says, but it sort of looks like Audrey’s handwriting. Maybe she uses this room as a general storage area, dumping anything she doesn’t want in the master suite in here. Unfortunately, Iris left no damn socks behind—or if she did, it was long enough ago that Mom or the previous housekeeper snatched it up and washed it without realizing whose it was.

As I’m sliding the drawer back in, I hear a noise downstairs and glance up. Funny. I didn’t even hear Lincoln or River go down there.

It’s good that they’re up though. We can—

Before that thought fully renders in my mind, raised voices float through the open bedroom door.

“Dammit, Audrey, will you just stop?”

“You stop!”

My throat clamps shut, and for a second, my body freezes like it’s been suspended in time.

Fuck.

No.

Dax and Chase look at me, and then all three of us move at once, charging toward the door. We reach it at the same time and log-jam briefly before stumbling out into the hallway.

But we’re too late.

Mr. and Mrs. Black are already storming up the west-wing stairs. I can hear their heavy footfalls, and I know that as soon as they reach the top, they’ll be able to see us.

“Back! Back!” I hiss, turning around and shoving at the two boys behind me.

We scramble back into the room, and my heart beats a frantic rhythm inside my chest as Chase closes the door behind us.

But the pounding footsteps and angry voices don’t turn right at the top of the stairs, which would take them to the master bedroom. Instead, they turn left.

Toward us.

“Closet! Go! Go!”

We throw ourselves toward the open closet door, and a half second after Dax pulls it shut behind us, Audrey and Samuel Black burst into the guest room.

“Audrey! Audrey, for God’s sake, stop!”

“Get out!”

There’s the sound of a scuffle, and a heavy thud, as if she just tried to slam the door on him and he stopped it. Chase, Dax, and I are huddled in the nearly pitch-black closet, holding as still as we can. I’m sandwiched between the two of them, gripping their arms so tightly my fingers ache—and even though the space between their bodies normally seems like the safest place in the world, I don’t feel safe right now.

Not at all.

“God… dammit!”

There’s another loud thud as the bedroom door is shoved open so hard it slams against the wall.

“Get the fuck out!” Audrey shrieks.

“No. You’re the one who wanted to come back early. You’re the one who wanted to talk. So talk!”

“It’s too late, Samuel. I have nothing I want to say to you.”

Audrey’s voice lowers, becoming almost husky with rage. Usually, her tone is languid and a little airy, which only enhances the impression that she’s floating around in some drug-induced haze. But not this woman. This woman is stone cold sober. And she’s fucking pissed.

“Nothing to say, huh?” Mr. Black’s footfalls are heavy as he strides across the room. “Then what were you muttering about the whole time we were in Aspen? Jesus, Audrey, I’m so fucking tired of this bullshit. You’re checked out all the damn time—”

“I’m checked out? Who do you think made me check out, you fucking asshole?” She follows after him, her voice strained and taut.

Dax and Chase’s arms are like steel bands around me as we all hold our breath, listening. There’s a scuffling sound, and I