Out of the Shadows (6 page)

As the priest took a seat in one of the two nearby chairs, it groaned in protest. He sipped from his cup before he asked, “So what are we talking about?”

Devin’s gaze pierced her, as though weighing how much further he could continue with the conversation while under surveillance. Finally, he said, “We were discussing a mutual friend of ours who has gone missing.”

“What a sad situation. I will pray for their swift and safe return.”

“Yeah,” Devin said, burying his words in the coffee. “Pray for his soul, Father.”

Lori stood. Her cup was only half-drained, and her mouth hypersensitive from the heat, but she didn’t want to stay any longer. Setting the coffee down on the desk, she politely thanked the priest and turned to Devin. “Nice talking with you,” she said, even though she meant nothing of the sort.

He jumped to his feet. “Leaving already?”

For the sake of the priest, she softened her voice. “I have nothing more to tell you. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’ll just have to look somewhere else. You said he frequented Underground?”

She’d said no such thing, but she nodded. “It’s where we met.”

“Did he have any friends there?”

“Not that I noticed. Goodnight Father, Devin.”

Seeming to realize they weren’t alone, Devin turned to the priest. “Forgive me, Father, for keeping you here so late. I’ll take my leave with Lori. Thank you for agreeing to stay.”

Her spine tingled at the thought of staying with him. When would he accept she had nothing to tell him?

Unless he suspected what had really happened.

With her head held high, she marched out of the church. Her stomach churned, likely a product of drinking too much hot coffee too fast, rather than a warning. But she couldn’t be sure. And then Devin pulled her to a stop.

She jerked free. “I told you, I have nothing left to say to you!”

The ferocity in her tone backed him up a step. Night had fully descended, so she could no longer make out his expression. He tucked his hands into his pockets.

“Be careful walking back to campus.” Turning, he walked away.

Lori remained cemented in place until long after she was the only one on the street.

Was that a threat?

Chapter 4

Lori held her breath as she heard a pounding on the door.

“Lori, are you in there?” Keri again.

No. Go away.

Eventually, the knocking subsided and Keri left. But even that didn’t ease the unbearably tight feeling in the pit of Lori’s stomach. Why had she ever told Keri about her abilities? No good could come of it. And now fate seemed to be regurgitating the past.

Lori stared at her phone. Daylight now, time for some answers. With shaking fingers, she punched in a number she knew by heart.

A thin male voice answered. “Hello?”

“I need your help.”

“Shade?”

Hearing her codename in the Order somehow punctuated just how off-kilter her life had become. Three months ago, she’d been nothing more than a gothic university student who moonlighted as a member of a secret organization. But her slightly eccentric lifestyle had been turned askew when their leader disappeared and a murderer targeted Lori and everyone she associated with.

Byte had been one of those spared, though his partner hadn’t been so lucky. In the Aka Druj Spenta Michos, an organization dedicated to protecting the Spenta Michos from evil-doers, nobody knew more than a handful of other members. Lori had known those in Shark’s circle–but when Shark had been killed, Byte just wasn’t take-charge enough to assume leadership. The Circle had collapsed, with everyone frantic to find the Spenta Michos and no one succeeding. One nineteen-year-old computer nerd had been left to his own devices.

Lori wondered how he’d coped with the collapse of his daily life.

“Yeah, it’s me,” she said into the receiver. “I need you to trace a number. Tell me who it belongs to, anything you can.”

“Sure thing.”

Lori rattled off the unfamiliar number the text had come from.

After a moment and the consistent clacking sound of a keyboard, Byte sighed.

“It’s unregistered, Lori. Prepaid. From the city, but that’s all I can tell you.”

Inwardly, Lori cursed. So whoever texted and left notes wasn’t just a crazy ex-girlfriend. They knew how to cover their tracks. Thanking Byte, she hung up the phone.

What should she do? Should she go to the police? Last night she had been on the cusp of barging into the station, but today she hesitated. Maybe now that she had cut ties with Devin, the threats would stop.

Yeah, and she would be named President of the United States.

Another knock sounded at her door. This time from the one leading to the hall instead of the door to the shared bathroom. “Lori, are you awake? Do you want to get a bite to eat?”

Andrew. Why was he here? While they were friends, he didn’t normally try to keep tabs on her. He was smarter than that.

He sighed. She could picture him perfectly: skinny frame, red hair, glasses, exasperation written on his face. She nearly laughed as she stood, ready to answer the door.

Her gaze landed on the trash can, peppered with torn up bits of an old flyer, on the back of which was her note from two days previous. Instead of seeing that letter, a different one flashed through her mind.
Are your loved ones safe?

Andrew. After all she’d been through, he’d managed to emerge without a scratch on his delicate skin. Could she really afford to jeopardize that?

Not until the threats stopped.

God, and she’d thought this was over. Pressing her hand to her mouth, she backed away from the door, trying to make as little noise as possible.

“Lori? Come on, I know you’re in there. Come out. Jen and Hailey haven’t seen you since school started. Heavens, I haven’t seen you for almost two weeks! You can’t just mope in your room all day. Night. Whatever. You need some human contact–and no, working on your thesis doesn’t count. Just come get supper with us–breakfast, for you.”

She wanted to smile, but the ache in her chest refused to allow that ease. Instead, tears sprung to her eyes. Today, this afternoon, she genuinely wanted to take him up on the offer. But her last wish was to endanger him.

So she waited until he sighed again and forged a retreat.

At last, he wasn’t hovering outside her door. She’d best leave, before someone else decided to seek her out. She dressed quickly, slathered on makeup in distraction, and scurried into the hall. When she reached outside unmolested, she paused to gulp in fresh air. But she still wasn’t far enough away to silence the growing hum of apprehension in her belly.

“Is something bothering you?”

Lori nearly yelped at the familiar voice. Trying to muster her cold, caustic demeanor, she turned around and glared at the intruder. Dark eyes met hers, but his question held no concern. She’d half-expected Terrence’s soulful blue eyes.

Unperturbed, Devin waited for an answer.

As she recovered, Lori turned on her heel. Too much to hope that Devin would simply go away. He fell into step beside her.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He didn’t sound interested, not really. A one-track mind, that man. Only room to speak of Terrence. She stopped.

“I told you everything I knew last night. I have nothing more to say to you, Devin.”

Unfortunately, her cutting tone didn’t hit home. From the corner of her eye, she noticed his smile remained firm.

“I never said I wanted to continue our conversation. We’re two human beings. Surely we can find other things to talk about, can’t we? Come have a drink with me. Or wait, it’s still early, how about something to eat? You do eat, don’t you?”

Lori rolled her eyes, facing him. “You and me, we’re not friends.”

“We could be, if you wanted to.”

“I don’t.”

Even the snide answer didn’t faze him. His hand ghosted over the back of her coat as he attempted to steer her. He pointed to the cafe just ahead.

“Look, how convenient. I bet they even serve coffee. And you must be hungry, since you haven’t eaten yet today.”

Her shoes grated against the sidewalk as he led her onward. Just how long had he been waiting outside her dorm? If the notes hadn’t been warning her away from him, she might be inclined to name him as her new stalker.

They reached a rut in the pavement and she stumbled. Devin stepped closer, touching her more firmly in an attempt to hold her up.

Sneering, Lori backed away. “Hands off.”

Holding out his palms in surrender, Devin said, “I got it. No touching.”

She would rather no talking, either, but she’d take what she could get. Turning, she marched into the cafe.

Could she use the notes as an excuse to sever all contact from him permanently? Unfortunately, if he was as bull-headed a man as she suspected, he would take the affront personally. And no doubt deem her under his protection. One overbearing man in her lifetime had been more than enough.

She ordered coffee, gratefully sipping the black, hot liquid as she contemplated ordering something more substantial. Devin had been right, after all. She hadn’t eaten yet today. She finally decided to order a sandwich. If she had to put up with his presence, she might as well fill her stomach at the same time. If she could keep the food down with the spastic mambo reigning inside.

Devin stared at her. He didn’t even have the courtesy to hide his steady gaze. Didn’t he know that was rude? Fixing a scowl on her face, she tried to pretend he wasn’t there.

Since that was akin to trying to ignore a drooling saber-toothed tiger, she didn’t succeed. Finally, she snapped, “What do you want?”

He tsked. “A temper, Lori?”

Grinding her teeth, she fought to restrain the urge to scream. Normally she was much more patient, even with persistent idiots. But those were days when she didn’t receive threatening texts from unknown senders.

“I told you everything about Terrence I know. Which is very little.”

“Involved–sorry–
friends
with a man you know so little about?”

“Yes,” she spat. She knew nothing of Terrence’s past, family, or friends, but she knew enough about his personality to bury the continental U.S.. He had been a good man. Relationships were built on less. Seething, she bit into her sandwich. The sooner she finished here, the sooner she could shake Devin’s annoying presence. He grated on her nerves.

And not, she assured herself, in the same way Terrence had.

“Do you always wake up at the crack of dusk?”

Lori glowered at Devin’s chipper tone. No doubt the smile was meant to be charming. “Yes.” She bit off the word.

“Well I suppose I see what Terrence found charming in you.”

Was that sarcasm? Even though her coffee was only half-finished, Lori fished bills out of her pocket as she prepared to leave.

Devin half-stood as she drew on her coat. “You’re leaving.”

“I told you, I have nothing more to tell you about Terrence. If you’ll excuse me, I have other things to do.”

“Wait.”

His hand clasped around her sleeve, holding her steady. If she’d wanted to, she could have easily broken his hold. But a new thought held her immobile.

“I’m sorry I mentioned him. Is it such a stretch of the imagination I might want to spend time with you, no strings attached?”

To be honest, it was. From the very beginning, he had pumped her for information on her former lover. When would that have changed? By his standards, she still hadn’t divulged what he wanted to know. She would give up her secret minutes before her grave, not before. If Devin didn’t already know of Terrence’s death, she wouldn’t enlighten him.

But… Again, the idea struck her. In the past two weeks, she’d been unable to get a vision from anything she touched. Around Devin, anger fueled her instead of grief. Maybe it would provide enough energy to draw a vision.