The MORE Trilogy (10 page)

“Was what me?”

“Caleb,” she said firmly. “Last night. Was it you? I’m not going to freak out about you following me, you know. I just want to know what happened.”

“Following you? Ava, what are you talking about?” he asked, rubbing his eye underneath his glasses. “I was home studying all night last night.”

“Studying.”

“Yes. I do that occasionally,” he said with a grin. Was it Ava’s imagination, or did it seem a little forced?

At that moment, a crowd piled out of the library, and Caleb climbed the steps to gather his books, only to drop them again when someone bumped him from behind. He shoved his glasses up on his nose and picked up his scattered papers, losing his balance and falling to a knee. He winced, cursing slightly and rubbing his knee awkwardly. With a sigh, Ava bent down to grab a few pages before the wind blew them away. She handed them to Caleb, who smiled his thanks before tucking them into his backpack.

Suddenly, her suspicions seemed ridiculous. Caleb was a nice guy, but he was hardly the hero type. Caleb was . . . well,
Caleb
. She shook her head, flushing in embarrassment as she held out a hand to help him up. He stumbled slightly on the steps and gripped her hand to keep from falling again, almost taking her down with him.

“Sorry,” he muttered, stuffing the rest of his books in his pack with an embarrassed shrug.

“No. I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh. “I didn’t mean to come after you like that. I guess I was a little more shaken up than I thought.”

“It’s okay,” he said, his brow still creased with concern. “I’m just glad you’re all right. I would have helped, you know, if I’d been there.” He swung his backpack onto his shoulder.

“I know. Thanks.”

“Come on,” he said, waving toward the science building. “You’re late for class, and I need to get some paperwork done for Professor Andrews.”

Ava nodded, falling into step beside Caleb. She felt stupid, to be honest. Caleb was obviously a lot smaller than the guy who’d helped her the night before. The poor guy was so skinny she doubted he’d be able to carry her for a few seconds, let alone all the way back to her dorm.

“So, have you talked to the police?” he asked, holding the door open for her.

“Not yet,” she replied. “I’m going to head over to the station after class.”

“If you need someone to go with you,” he offered.

“No, no it’s fine,” she said, shaking her head.

“I really don’t mind.”

“It’s okay,” Ava said, embarrassed about involving Caleb in all of this as much as she had. “I’m just going to go give a statement. It’s no big deal.”

Caleb stopped in front of Professor Andrews’ office. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me,” he said with a smile, tilting his head toward the door.

“Thanks, Caleb. Really,” Ava said, heading toward the stairs. “I appreciate it. I’ll see you tonight at the library, okay?”

“Seven o’clock?”

“I’ll be there.” Ava ran up the stairs and slipped quietly into a seat in the back of the full lecture hall, avoiding the professor’s gaze. As she turned over the stapled pages lying facedown on her desk, all thoughts of her mysterious rescuer faded to the background, and she focused on her physics quiz, knowing she’d have to answer Caleb’s own questions later that evening.

After class, Ava made her way to the campus security office, swallowing nervously before walking through the swinging glass door. She scanned the large, empty room, from the cracked linoleum to the dropped ceiling, stained in the center from an obvious leak at some point in the past. Ava wasn’t sure if she should be reassured that there was apparently not enough crime on campus to require a more impressive police force, or worried that perhaps her situation might be better dealt with by the city police. She’d called them, though, and had been told the campus police had jurisdiction.

Ava approached the front desk, pressing the button on a small bell, the sharp ding echoing off the walls. After a moment, a uniformed officer appeared in the doorway at the rear of the room, wiping his hands on a napkin as he approached the desk.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “Lunch break. What can I do for you?”

Ava licked her lips. “I . . . uh . . . need to report something.”

The officer eyed her carefully, noticing her wringing hands, her shifting eyes. “Are you all right?” he asked kindly.

Ava nodded. “Yes. Yes, I’m fine. I’m just a little nervous, to be honest.”

The officer gestured toward the back of the room. “Why don’t you come back here and have a seat,” he said. “Then we can talk about what happened.” Ava smiled weakly, following him to a small desk in a corner. He fired up a laptop computer, inviting her to sit on a chair next to the desk. “Let’s start with your name,” he said quietly, tapping on the keyboard.

“Ava,” she said. “Ava Michaels.”

The officer smiled. “I’m Nick Simmons,” he said, holding out a hand. Ava shook it lightly. “Now, Ava, why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Ava took a deep breath. “I was attacked last night when I was walking home from work.”

Officer Simmons’s face grew hard, businesslike. “Let’s start at the beginning,” he said. “What time was this?”

Ava told her story, answering the officer’s questions and doing her best to remember any details. He tapped away on his computer, compassionate but grim, only interrupting occasionally to clarify facts or try to glean more information from Ava’s scattered memories. When she finished, telling him she woke up in her own room with no memory of how she got there, he frowned.

“You have no idea who it was?” he asked. “Who saved you?”

Ava’s thoughts flew to Caleb for a split-second, but she shook her head. “No. I didn’t get a good look at him. Somehow, whoever it was got me home safely, but I have no idea who it was or how.”

Officer Simmons sat back in his chair, scratching his chin lightly. “I have to be honest, Ava. This is a little bit out of our jurisdiction. I’ll need to call in the city police on this. They have more resources at their disposal.”

“But I called the city police,” she protested. “They sent me to you.”

“Did you tell them what happened?”

Ava’s face fell. “Not specifically, no.” She felt the inexplicable prick of tears behind her eyes. Officer Simmons patted her hand sympathetically.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll catch this guy.” He picked up the phone, dialing the local police department and quickly explaining who he was and what he needed. “Did you recognize him? Have you seen him before?” He asked Ava while he waited on hold.

Ava hesitated. “I think I might have seen him once outside the restaurant where I work,” she said. She didn’t think it would be helpful to mention that he’d starred in her nightmares for the past few months. The last thing she needed was for him to dismiss her as a crazy person.

“That escalates things,” he said gruffly, tucking the phone into the crook of his neck and typing on his computer. “If he’s been watching you, it lessens the likelihood that this was a random attack.”

Ava’s skin chilled. “You don’t think it was random. You think he specifically targeted me?”

“It’s too soon to know for sure,” he said. “But don’t worry. We’ll make sure you’re safe.” His attention turned to the phone. “Jerry. It’s Nick. We’ve got a situation on campus.”

Ava’s stomach churned as she listened to the one-sided conversation. Because no matter how much she tried to convince herself of the contrary, she knew that Nick was wrong. It wasn’t too soon to know for sure.

The attack was not random. The huge man had come after her, specifically.

And she knew he would be back.

Caleb stood in the shelter of a tree behind the campus police station, under a window cracked just enough for him to hear the conversation inside. He could have heard it even if the window was closed, of course, but this made things a little easier.

Ava relayed the events of the night before, voice firm and strong, even though he knew she had to have been scared out of her mind.

He’d seen it for himself, after all.

When Ava confronted him, he’d nearly told her everything. He’d been so taken aback that she remembered the attack at all, let alone him being there, that he almost blurted it out before he thought it through. Fortunately, discretion won out, and he’d been able to focus enough to keep his guard up, making sure to tighten the Veil firmly around him.

He’d been letting it slip too often around her, something that had never been a problem before. It almost made him wonder if the Council was right about her. If maybe it wasn’t him slipping, but her seeing through the image he chose to project.

Caleb shook his head, focusing on Ava’s words instead. When the officer picked up the phone to dial the city police, he frowned. Ava shouldn’t remember enough to give a decent description of Tiernan, but she’d surprised him before. If his face showed up on posters stapled up across campus, the Council would have to act. He could try to blur her again, but she seemed resistant to that, as well.

Caleb sighed, knowing that it was all spinning out of control, slipping through his fingers like so many grains of sand.

Every step, every action Ava took would soon have repercussions. And Caleb was quickly coming to terms with the fact that those repercussions might be beyond what he could contain.

Perhaps it was time for him to have a talk with Ava.

Maybe it was time for her to learn the truth.

Chapter 5

Ava frowned at the poster on the library bulletin board, shivering slightly. The police sketch artist had done a good job of re-creating the face of her attacker, and—even though it was in black and white—Ava could almost feel his mismatched eyes burning her in anger, feel the heat of his hissed breath against her face. She pulled her coat more firmly around her as she turned away from his twisted face and walked out the door and down the steps, heading to her English class. She paid no attention to the plainclothes officer waiting outside to follow behind her at a discreet distance.

He, or someone like him, had been following her—watching her—for the past three days.

It had a strange effect on Ava, putting her at ease and more on edge at the same time. It didn’t help that she felt eyes on her from every direction—not just from the detectives, but also from inexplicable sources.

The dark-haired woman? The attacker?

Caleb?

Paranoia had become her constant companion, and Ava felt her skin prickle whenever she was out in the open. But just when she thought she might see something in return—a blur of motion, a pair of eyes focused her direction—it would vanish, and she was left wondering if it was all in her imagination.

She vaguely worried that she might be losing it.

She felt a little guilty pretending everything was fine when her mother had called the night before, but Ava had justified her little deception by telling herself there was no point worrying her parents when they were so far away and couldn’t do anything to help, anyway. On top of that, her father’s health was always a concern, and stress definitely made things worse. Ava figured there were few things more stressful than believing your child was in danger.

This was her problem, not theirs. They’d sacrificed enough for her already, and she wanted to handle this on her own. Well, with the help of Witteville’s finest, of course.