This was a bad idea. Very bad, considering I had just been warned to keep my nose where it belonged—my books.

But I had to listen to my gut.

There was something about my conversation with Miss Mercer that had sparked something in my mind. She said that Maggie and I were similar. And it made me curious about how deep our similarities might run. If there was a clue buried in plain sight, something that would make sense to me—something that everyone else would have written off.

There was only one person who knew Maggie well enough. Corey. Which was why I was sneaking around the back of the gym. I probably should have checked in with Roxie, maybe brought her along with me. That idea got scraped real quick. For a brief moment, I had considered tracking down Alec but he had made it clear he wasn't going to be involved anymore. Despite the mix up earlier, I knew he meant what he had said to me.

Plus, I had a feeling that Corey would be more resistant to conversation with others around. He had not seemed particularly fond of me, but I had gotten him to talk. So, getting him to talk to me again shouldn't be too hard. Or at least I hoped it wouldn't be.

It felt a bit dangerous going alone into this situation but I reminded myself that I was no longer just Mary-Beth. There was an otherness to me, with me at all times. As if my thoughts called it, a shiver rushed up my spine.

As I walked around the backside of the gym I spied a boy, dressed in all black posted up against the wall. There was a faint glow at the tip of the cigarette poised between his lips. How he was able to endure the taste of them, let alone the smell—I would never understand.

There was a subtle shake of his head as our gazes connected. I took it as a silent attempt to ward me off, which I completely disregarded. There were more important things to worry about than whatever anti-social bullshit he planned to spew all over me.

"Hey," I greeted him, not sure how to approach this topic.

"Heard what you did to Avery," he said, looking me over. "Where's lover boy?"

It was like being slapped. He definitely suspected that Alec was a weak point for me and that things between us couldn't be good after what had happened.

"Don't know. Don't care," I lied.

Corey's eyes narrowed as he looked away.

"You scared of me now too? Would you feel better if Alec were here?"

I knew that I was poking at him, but he had poked at me. His head turned slow, purposeful in my direction. His lips sat in a flat line, unimpressed by my attempt to get a rise out of him. Corey was definitely not going to let me get to him like I had the last time. He was smarter than I planned for.

"Just tell me what you want."

I would have to come from a different angle. "To help you."

He let out a stiff laugh and said, "You're the one who needs help. Running around with a Wolfe." Then he flicked the cigarette from the tip of his fingers. I had to step back quickly to keep it from hitting me. Anger sizzled through my veins. I swallowed it, the bitterness of it clinging to the back of my tongue.

My fingers curled inward, digging crescent moon shapes into my palms. "Cal is not a killer."

Corey arched a brow, crossing his arms. "Of course he's a killer. We're all killers."

"You know what I mean."

"Why do you think the Vanderville's run everything around here? It's because he killed his old man and sister then left town."

I blinked at that news. There was no way for me to verify if that was true. But what did Corey have to gain from lying about this? Nothing from what I could tell. He didn't have any loyalty to the Vanderville's or the pack. His girlfriend was murdered and there had been no closure to that crime. Which meant that he was probably telling me the truth, or what he believed was the truth.

"What? He forget to tell you that part?" Corey asked, smug grin snaking across his face.

I had no ground to stand on. So, I decided to lean on false confidence. "Maybe he did kill them, that doesn't mean he killed Maggie." God, I really hoped he hadn't killed his family.

"Or maybe you just can't accept the truth."

This was stupid. Despite anything and everything else, I knew that Cal didn't kill Maggie. I had spent the last couple of weeks with him. We had gotten a lot of one on one time. He wasn't some savage murderer. Sure, he was rough around the edges but it was clear to me that he cared about shit. Especially, his family and the people in this backwoods town. No matter how much they smeared his name through the mud.

"Or maybe you're just simpler minded than I originally thought."

Corey sneered at those words. He took a step towards me and said, "If he isn't the killer than who is?"

I replied in kind, mirroring his step forward. "I don't know. That's why I'm here."

I watched his brow furrow as my response settled over him. "What?"

"I think that you have the answer that everyone's been looking for, Corey. I think you know who the killer is."

A low rumble echoed out of his chest. "If I knew who the killer was, we wouldn't be having this stupid conversation."

I lifted my hands in a silent surrender. This was not the way that I had envisioned this going. I needed to have Corey on my side, because the answers were resting somewhere in his subconscious. He did know who Maggie's killer was, and if not—he could definitely point us in a clear direction.

"If I could just ask you a couple of questions about her. See if it stirs anything up."

"Go away. I'm not interested in whatever it is you're trying to do," he said as he reached into the pocket of his pants. Frustration clawed at my mind as I stood silently watching as he fumbled to light up the cigarette he had wrestled out of the half squished carton.

This was important, more important than old family feuds or keeping secrets. People were dead and people were going to keep dying if someone didn't do something. From where I was standing, it didn't seem like any of the adults were all that concerned with finding the killer. Everyone was worried about the wrong things. Anger rushed through me and I took a couple of steps forward, closing the small gap between us. I snatched the cigarette from between Corey's lips.

"What the hell?" he growled, pushing away from the wall. 

"Did you really love Maggie like you said?"

His jaw clenched tight at my question. "Why do you even care? You didn't know her."

"Because no one else seems to," I blurted out and he gave a pained wince. "You're the only one left to turn to."

A long moment of silence stretched between us. We stood staring at each other, almost in contest. "Of course, I loved Maggie."

"Then help me."

Another pause. Another couple heartbeats. A long sigh, followed by a whispered word. "How?"

Relief and determination washed over me. I held out the cigarette to him as a peace offering and he took it. There was still a hestiance in his gaze but the hostile atmosphere began to drift away. "Just tell me about her."

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything. Everything."

He nodded his head and took a deep drag before speaking again."Maggie was a smart girl. Too smart for her own good most of the time."

"What do you mean?"

"She just had this way of noticing things other people didn't. Or maybe it was that she just looked at the world differently than most. I don't know. But it had a way of getting her into trouble." I could tell that this was making him uncomfortable and I didn't blame him for that. I knew how painful it was to think about the people you lost, trudge up old memories.

Water collected in his eyes and I forced myself to look away. "Do you think that Maggie had figured out what you were?"

"No," he replied, voice thick with emotion. "She had started to get suspicious about things but I was a convincing liar." 

He didn't sound too pleased about that fact. I glanced back to him. "Not convincing enough if Alec still felt the need to "rat" you out to his father. Which means other people were concerned she might know something even if you weren't."

Corey sneered at my words. "Maggie was never a problem, no matter what anyone thought. She was a good girl. She knew how to keep secrets. Hell, nobody knew that her mom was a drunk who enjoyed beating Maggie in places no one would notice." His emotions bubbled over at this, anger and grief mixing together. Tears spilled down his cheeks, which were tinted a light shade of red. "She didn't deserve to go out like that. I should have been there. She trusted me and I failed her. She's dead. Dead."

My heart echoed his feelings. I knew exactly what he was feeling, guilt and grief and overwhelming loss. What if I had been there when my parents were attacked? Would that have made of difference? Maybe they would still be alive. Maybe everything would be normal and we'd all be happy.

But that wasn't reality. My parents were dead. Dead just like Maggie. That had to be why I cared like I did. I had failed my parents but this was a chance to fix it. Corey and I were the same.

"She didn't talk to anyone else about that stuff?"

Corey took shaky drag from his cigarette before tossing it. "No. Maggie was a really private person."

"Miss Mercer made me feel like maybe they had been talking."

"The school counselor?" He met my gaze. "She was seeing her a lot before that night, but I assumed it was about classes and college. Maggie had big plans. The biggest was getting out of this town and getting some fancy degree."

"But what about you?"

He arched a brow. "What about me?"

"Weren't you guys serious?"

Corey looked away from me, a sad smile lifting the corners of his mouth. "She really wanted me to go with her. We talked about it, but with the pack...it was all kind of a pipe dream, you know?"

My brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

He turned his face toward me. "You don't ever leave the pack. Not really. A couple years for college is accepted but you always come back. Maggie was going places way beyond this town. She was going to leave and never look back. And that just wasn't going to be me."

The confusion and frustration was mounting. There seemed to be no logical reason why anyone would want to kill Maggie. Maybe it was just some random attack. But even as I considered that my mind rallied against it. No. Maggie's death had purpose and the answers were right in front of us, they just were too jumbled to make sense. 

"I thought this would help but I'm just more confused."

Corey pursed his lips."I think I have an idea. It's stupid. Really stupid. But it might be the best way to get the information you're looking for."

I arched a brow. "Lets hear this stupid idea."

"We break into my Alpha's office. He has to have some kind of lead by this point right?"

"That is a stupid idea."

It was interesting to watch how deflated Corey got at my response. We weren't friends. We didn't have any real trust in one another. Yet, it felt like somehow we had bonded through Maggie and our desire to catch her killer.

I cleared my throat. "I said it was stupid. Not that we shouldn't do it."

His mouth lifted into a wicked grin. There was no way this wasn't going to end badly. But I was like a dog with a bone.

Or better yet, a wolf with a rabbit.

____________

So, lowkey...I got emotional writing some of this dialogue. 

But overall, I hope I surprised you with this team up. XD

What do you think is going to happen next?