Foul Play (Whithall University Book 1) (20 page)

And what kind of person does that make me?

“I guess so,’’ I murmur after awhile, playing with the ends of my hair.

Deep down I know that Cole is right; Logan is a master at what he does. It worries me just how good he is. If he can hide it from me and most of the people around him for all this time, then what is stopping him from spinning some other story to the police about what happened with me and his other victims? It sickens me to know there is a chance he could get away with this.

Although, if this blog can help us find more victims then maybe we can find a link, a way of finding out how he chooses the girls he attacks.

Rosie mentioned earlier that it was a game and that they slept with certain types of girls to get higher points. They can’t just pick girls at random, they must do their homework. For some reason I can’t see Logan being so careless to pick willy nilly. Granted, he’s cocky and thinks he’s untouchable, but something tells me they prowl all over for they’re pick of girls.

If we can somehow find that out then we can intervene before they can hurt anyone else.

“What are you thinking so hard about?’’ Cole asks, nudging my shoulder.

“I think I have an idea...’’ I tell him as I sit up straighter in bed. “Rosie said that all this was a game to them. It got me thinking, if we can somehow find out how they pick their girls then we can intervene before they get a chance to hurt anyone else,’’ I tell him, my mind running over so many other possibilities that another thought suddenly occurs to me. “What do you do when you’re keeping score? You keep a tally, a chart. They have to have some record, some chart that says who is in the lead, who they attacked that can prove that their guilty.’’

I can’t stop thinking about it. It makes sense. I’m kicking myself for not thinking of this sooner. We want to get proof and what better proof is there than a record of what they’re doing?

“You think they’ll keep proof?’’ Cole asks, sounding disgusted and mildly curious of the idea, like it could actually be a possibility.

I nod my head furiously. “Yes! Yes, I do. I think I might know where Logan will hide something as important and secretive as that too. He has this marble stoned, antique chest that his grandfather gave him before he died. There’s these gems imbedded into the stone,’’ I tell him, trying to remember what colours they were and which one opened it.

“How do you know it will be in there?’’ he asks whilst grabbing the remote and pausing the DVD so that he can pay closer attention.

“It has to be,’’ I tell him fiercely. “When we were kids he would hide everything in there. His dad’s alcohol, letters, his granddads watch, everything. The gems open it. We can finally put him away,’’ I tell him, feeling my eyes begin to water.

“There’s no way he’s going to have it lying around for anyone to stumble across, Low,’’ he tells me gently, taking my hand in his. I don’t protest, loving the feel of his warm hand wrapped around mine.

“No, he won’t. Although, if he has another party at his place we could snatch it up then since he’ll be distracted with guests.’’

“Yeah, because you turning up at his place won’t raise any flags. He’ll know straight off the bat that something is up and he’ll be on high alert,’’ he tells me and he’s right. He will be. We will need to be smart about it. All I can think about is revenge and I don’t want it clouding my judgement or risking what we’re doing.

“Then we give him a dose of his own medicine,’’ I tell him, taking a huge gulp.

His head whips to mine, his eyes holding a large amount of intrigue and suspicion, obviously wondering how far I’m willing to go with this.

“What are we talking about?’’ he asks, not seeming to dismiss my idea at all.

“We drug him with the same drug he drugged us with. We just need someone to go in undercover and make sure he and Jamie get what’s coming to them. No one else is going to be suspicious of us being there.’’

“Yeah, but who is going to drug them? They know you and Allie and they hate me and CJ just as much as we hate them,’’ he tells me.

I sigh, my shoulders slumping. “I don’t know. Allie and I don’t know anyone here yet. It needs to be a girl, though.’’

A knock on my door interrupts us. “Come in,’’ I shout out.

Allie pokes her head in, a bleak expression on her face yet, when she looks to the blanket her face changes, relaxing, a small smile touching her lips. “Can I come in?’’

“Yeah,’’ I tell her and blush when I realise that Cole and I are still holding hands.

“I’ve done some digging and found out who the blog girl is. Her name is Jordan. Turns out she isn’t allowed to post any story’s involving rape cases. She done some digging after a court order was issued, ordering her to take down the posts and found out it was ordered from a Judge Harper. Guess who Judge Harper is linked to?’’

“Logan’s mum. He attends their summer BBQ every year, I remember meeting him.’’

The guy was creepy as hell, always finding some way to touch me or leer down my top. I tried to stay as far as I could away from him.

“Yep. I asked her to send me what she had on Logan and she emailed me a bunch of blog posts that she had to take down. She also has some other posts that she can send over from recent months.’’

“I thought she couldn’t post them?’’

“She can’t but it didn’t stop her from writing them. She’s been trying to find a way to get them out there,’’ Allie shrugs.

“What did you find?’’ Cole asks and I feel his stare on the side of my face.

“Same M.O as Willow’s and Becca’s attacks. The only one that doesn’t match is Rosie’s but we know why that is. I hope you don’t mind but I filled her in on what’s happened and some of what we have planned and she said she’s game. She’s wants to see Logan and Jamie put away for a long time.’’

“Can we trust her?’’ I ask, not wanting everything we’ve got going to be for nothing if she blows the whistle on us.

“I had CJ do a background check on her. Did you know I had to promise him a full English breakfast for it? I mean, I thought we were team players and he goes and blackmails me,’’ she scoffs, shaking her head, furious.

“Allie,’’ I giggle, thinking how adorable she looks when she’s flustered.

“Yeah, anyway, he looked into her and it turns out that her step sister is also a victim. She pressed charges in two-thousand-and-fourteen against Jamie and the charges were dropped. It seems Logan is using his parent’s connections to protect Jamie too.’’

“How the fuck have they not been put away?’’ Cole booms.

“I don’t know but my guess and Jordan’s is that he has cops on his payroll,’’ she winces.

“We need to get to that chest,’’ I say urgently, my eyes flicking to Cole’s.

“What chest?’’ Allie asks, looking lost.

We quickly fill her in on what we know and she seems deep in thought. “I suppose you or CJ can find out when the next party is and I think I know someone who will go in for us.’’

“Who?’’ Cole asks.

“Jane, a girl who works with me at the library, she’s a drama student. She’s always up for an acting job.’’

“Um, she’ll need to drug someone,’’ I remind her, not seeing someone willingly drug someone.

“That’s the best part, she’s a feminist. According to Alex she’s always doing rallies around the University for women’s rights and other stuff. Last year she did one for rape, fighting for the University to make the surrounding area’s safer for students to walk home at night. I’m sure if I explain everything to her, she’ll be up for it.’’

“I think we can pull this off,’’ Cole says, startling me. I honestly thought he’d try to at least talk us of it or something, not to actually agree.

For the first time I feel hope. I’ll finally be able to rest easy knowing he’s behind bars and I’m sure all the other girls will too.

Cole ends up calling CJ to come over. A pizza is ordered and plans are made and for the first time in a while I sleep through the night, whether it’s because I feel that hope or because I fell asleep wrapped in Cole’s arms, I’ll never know. I’ll take whatever peace I can get. It feels like years since I felt it, when really it hasn’t been long at all.

Now all I have to do is pray that this plan works. Nothing can go wrong, otherwise we’re screwed.

We’ll only get one shot at this, after that, its game over.

After spending the rest of the week cooped up inside the flat it’s nice to finally be out, even if it is pissing it down with rain. Nothing could have stopped me from coming out today.

Because, today’s the day I finally get to see Cole in all his glory. He and CJ have a friendly game of rugby and invited Allie and I on Wednesday when we stayed up all night making our plan. Cole had called CJ to come round and what was meant to be a quick briefing, turned into pizza and planning.

“Can they still play in this weather?’’ Allie asks, frowning at the mud all up her wellies.

“Yeah, they can but Cole did say that if it gets too much for us to go home,’’ I shiver, thankful that I remembered to bring my gloves with me.

“I’m alright. It doesn’t seem like anyone else is bothered by the weather either,’’ she says and gestures to the crowds of people standing around the field, some bringing their own chairs with them. “I thought this was a friendly game?’’

“It is but some guy from Wales is coming to watch them play. He’s some hot shot in the rugby world or something. To be honest, it felt like Cole was talking another language when he was trying to explain everything to me. I didn’t realise just how complicated this shit could be,’’ I giggle. When Cole had proceeded to explain who this Wales bloke was and the game to me, I literally just nodded my head and smiled.

Allie laughs. “Must be why CJ has talked a mile a minute anytime he’s seen me. He’s even text me a million times to make sure I’m coming to see him play,’’ she tells me, rolling her eyes.

“You have to admit that all this is exciting. I might not have the slightest clue about rugby or what’s so special about this guy, but I have to say, I’m pretty pumped up to cheer them on today.’’

“Seems you’re not the only one,’’ Allie teases, and with a flick of her head, she gestures to a group of girls that just arrived at the main gates.

Glancing through each girl, my body freezes when my eyes land on Christie. Something about seeing her doesn’t feel right and my palms begin to sweat and my body begins to heat all over.

“She’s the girl that went to school with Alec,’’ I tell her, leaning in closer so I don’t have to shout. Christie’s presence has me feeling on edge and for some reason the urge to flee grows stronger by the second.

“Hey, what’s wrong?’’ Allie asks, seeming to read my discomfort. She steps under my umbrella, shaking hers out before putting it away.

“I dunno,’’ I admit, shakily. “I don’t know what’s going on but my whole body is on fire and I can’t stop shaking. It’s because of her, though, I just can’t figure out why,’’ I tell her, beginning to feel a panic attack coming on.

“Willow, take a deep breath. Everything is going to be okay, I promise. It’s probably a trigger, seeing a familiar face, reminding you of Alec.’’

“Yeah, probably,’’ I agree, yet, the dreaded feeling doesn’t leave me. I just pray like hell that she doesn’t see me and that I manage to keep out of her sight. With that thought, I pull the umbrella lower, covering my face from view.

“There they are,’’ Allie gasps and I turn my head towards the changing room building and gasp myself.

Holy, shorts!

Cole is wearing red shorts that show off his thick, muscled legs and until now, I didn’t realise just how big he truly was, they’re like tree trunks, his thigh muscles thick and on show. His t-shirt clings to him like a second skin, every muscle, every curve and every ridge shows through the thin material. He looks like a God, his trim waist, bulging arms and wide shoulders; nothing could over-power him.

My body heats all over, all flustered and flushed, liking him way too much in his rugby gear.

Even his bright red mouth guard doesn’t deter his good looks, it just makes his jaw look stronger, more defined. His messy hair is soaked and the second he runs his fingers through it my knees knock together.

“Oh my,’’ I breathe, feeling faint for a whole other reason.

“This game just got a whole lot better,’’ Allie whispers and from her tone, I don’t think she intended to say that out loud.

I don’t realise I’m staring so hard until the chest I’ve been staring becomes larger. “God, he’s getting bigger,’’ I murmur in amazement.

“That’s what she said,’’ CJ chuckles and I shake my head, my face heating when I realise Cole and CJ have walked over to us.

Gulping, I look up, staring into the deep blue eyes I’ve come accustomed to. “Hey,’’ I whisper, my voice croaky.

Cole’s lips twitch, seeming amused. “Hey. Glad you could make it,’’ he tells me.

“Glad you could make it too,’’ I say then shake my head. “I mean, I’m glad I’m here too.’’

He chuckles lightly. “We need to get back. We just wanted to say hi before we start,’’ he tells me and I nod my head, still too stunned to say anything else. He smells so good, mixed with the scent of rain, I can smell him, and as always, Cole smells good, intoxicating, and riveting.

“Have fun,’’ I tell him lamely.

“We will. Cheer for me, cupcake,’’ CJ winks at Allie.

She scoffs, trying to look pissed and put out for being dragged here. Not that she was dragged, she practically skipped. “I think you’ve got enough cheerleaders cheering you on,’’ she bites out and I turn to see what has her knickers in a twist. That’s when I see the girls we saw earlier move closer, all of them staring at CJ and Cole with dreamy expressions, one even licks her lips. I roll my eyes.

“None of them are you, cupcake. I only want to hear one voice when I’m out there,’’ he grins, and moves so quick to kiss Allie on the cheek that she doesn’t have a chance to move out of the way.

“Go get smashed to pieces,’’ she snaps, her tone holding no conviction. Even her cheeks have reddened and it’s not from the cold. It makes me giggle and from her glare I turn my attention back to Cole, who’s staring at me with an intense expression, causing me to smile shyly.

“See ya,’’ he waves, grinning and slaps Cole on the back as he runs back onto the field. Cole takes one more look at me before jogging a few steps backwards before turning and running full throttle onto the field, catching up with CJ and the others in seconds.

“Wow,’’ is all I manage to get out after a few seconds of non-stop gaping.

“You can say that again,’’ Allie breathes dreamily and I grin, shaking Cole from my thoughts.

“You like him, huh?’’

“Who?’’ she asks, not looking at me, yet she knows exactly who I’m talking about.

“CJ. You like him,’’ I tease.

“I do not,’’ she scoffs. “And what about you with Cole? Every time he’s around you both go all googly eyed at each other,’’ she giggles, wiggling her eyebrows.

“No we don’t,’’ I scoff, denying her admission.

“You so do,’’ she laughs, finally looking at me. “It’s so cute. I’ve never seen you look at anyone like you look at Cole. Even the first day we arrived here, I noticed you looked at him differently. You really like him,’’ she tells me, not asking.

My mind mulls it over and I can’t say I don’t have an undeniable attraction towards Cole because I do. Do I have feelings for him? I guess, but that could just be because of everything he’s done for me. With everything that has happened I can’t trust my feelings or judgement, no matter how much I trust Cole and care for him. The fact I’m also damaged, still getting over my attack doesn’t help. I can never start anything up with him, not now anyway, everything is too raw.

“It’s not like anything can happen. I’m damaged goods,’’ I whisper, feeling my throat tighten.

“No you’re not. Don’t ever say that again, Willow. I mean it. You’re anything but damaged goods and Cole knows that. I understand you not wanting to start up anything after everything that has happened but it doesn’t mean you need to stop your life completely. Be friends; get to know each other because if I know Cole as well as I think I do; he will wait as long as it takes. I’ve seen the way he looks at you and I believe he’d move heaven and earth to protect you.’’

“Can we not talk about this here?’’ I ask, feeling self conscious over everything she’s said. I can’t lie and say I’ve not thought about being with Cole because I have, more than once, but at the moment I don’t know where my head is at and until everything with Logan has been sorted out, I don’t think I’ll be able to move forward with my life.

“Sure. Just think about what I said,’’ she tells me gently, looking back to the field.

“I will,’’ I agree, my eyes drifting to the field, my mind still lost in thought.

*** *** ***

“They’re definitely gonna have bruises,’’ I gasp in horror as Allie and I make our way back to the car. We waited on the field for Cole and CJ to finish getting showered as long as we could, but then decided to wait by the car when it began to rain harder and hail.

“I know. Did you see that hit Cole took? I didn’t think anyone could knock the beast off his feet,’’ she tells me, something I already know.

I wince at the memory, hoping he’s okay. He got back up and carried on playing but when it comes to an athlete that means shit.

“He’s got to have a broken rib or two,’’ I shiver. “I can’t believe he got straight back up and played.’’

“It’s not football. If they get tackled or they trip over they lie on the floor for ten minutes pretending they’ve just been hit with Thor’s hammer. I guess in rugby they have to fight through the pain so they don’t look like incapable pussies.’’

“True. It’s why I’ve never been a fan of sports. When I was younger mum made me watch it. I’d remember thinking ‘get up you big baby’ I’ve had bigger boo boo’s than you,’’ I tell her. After I kept complaining, mum said I could do my own thing and never forced me to watch it again. I’ve been thankful ever since.

“Remember when it was the world cup and your mum tried talking me into watching a game with her?’’ Allie asks.

“Yeah, how did you manage to get out of that?’’ I ask her, remembering the time mum had won tickets to watch the game live at Studio Bar, one of the highest priced bars in our area.

“I didn’t need to do anything but read the conditions. You had to be eighteen or over,’’ Allie laughs.

“Look who it is,’’ a voice snarls and immediately my vision begins to cloud over and my breathing becomes laboured.

“Excuse me?’’ Allie asks, her voice gentle and polite as usual.

“Not talking to you, skank,’’ the voice bites back and I want to say something, to stick up for Allie, but my body is frozen and I’m seconds away from being sick.

“Oh God,’’ I wheeze, my hand to my chest as I try to breathe through my panic attack.

“Willow,’’ Allie shouts panicked, reaching for me, however, she’s not quick enough. I fall to the muddy ground in a heap, trying my hardest to catch my breath.

“You really are the world’s best actress,’’ the same voice snaps, yet, I can detect slight concern in her voice. That can’t be right.

“Go away,’’ Allie shouts, not at all like her. She hates any sort of conflict especially with girls like Christie.

“Whatever, bitch needed to be brought down a peg or two. Dirty fucking liar,’’ she bites out before I hear her walking off, her friends following.

“LOW,’’ Cole shouts, his voice panicked and distant.

“Allie,’’ I wheeze, clutching her arm. I can’t breathe and it only becomes worse the harder I fight the memory that badly wants to escape.

“No, Willow, stay with me,’’ Allie shouts, before everything turns black.

*** *** ***

Why do I feel so weird? Where am I? I don’t recognise this place. My eyes move around the hazy room, blinking rapidly when a few figures come to light across the room.

I move quickly trying to reach them, but the faster I run the further they move away from me.

“Stop!’’ I scream. “Where am I? Help me!’’

“Slag,’’ a girl shouts from close by, making me jump. I struggle to open my eyes to find out where the noise is coming from. My head spins along with the room and my body and when I’m steady, two shadowed figures come in focus, both sitting on the couch.

Oh my God! That’s me.

“Move, Willow, move!’’ I shout at the top of my lungs and everyone begins to laugh, turning to look at me.

When I do a shadow of a slim girl stands in front of me, the
me
on the sofa, her stance is defensive and unfriendly and I scrunch my eyes together, trying to figure out where I’ve seen her before.

“You talking to me?’’ I ask from the couch, my body pinned against Logan’s and tears begin to fall down my cheeks.

Why isn’t anyone helping me?

I know her. The girl who insulted me, her name is Christie, Alec’s friend.

“Yeah, you! First Cole, then Alec, and now Logan? You really do get around you slut.’’

“Christie, leave,’’ a voice is boomed, filling the air around the room and shivers race down my spine.

*** *** ***

“Is she okay mom? Why hasn’t she woken up yet?’’ I hear Cole ask someone just as two warm hands touch my wrist gently.