The MORE Trilogy

by T. M. Franklin

  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.

  As for Caleb, their tutoring sessions continued, and she had to hand it to him—he really was a great teacher. Concepts that had confused and frustrated her now shifted into perfect sense, and she knew she had Caleb to thank for it. She’d managed an A minus on the last quiz and bounded to the library that evening to share her good news.

  Caleb had grinned at her proudly, and for a moment he seemed almost . . . brighter? Like a light bulb flipped on and back off again, he’d practically glowed. Ava had blinked her eyes, shaking her head internally at the strange thought, and when she’d opened them he was just Caleb again. Normal, nerdy, smart, sweet Caleb.

  He was quickly becoming one of her closest friends.

  Once in a while, she’d catch him looking at her, though, and she’d revisit her suspicions about his involvement in chasing her attacker away. She wavered between being certain he was her rescuer to feeling like an idiot for suspecting it at all. She couldn’t figure out if his Clark Kent exterior was for real, or if somewhere under there was a real live Superman.

  As if summoned from her thoughts, Ava spotted Caleb walking around the corner of the English building as she approached it. He smiled as he lifted a hand in a wave, and then stumbled a bit over his own feet. Ava grinned at his clumsiness, and walked over to say hello.

  “We’re still on for tonight?” he asked. Ava was working, but Caleb had agreed to come by the diner for a mini-tutoring session during her dinner break.

  “Yeah. Around seven okay?”

  Caleb nodded. “I might come by a little earlier to get something to eat first,” he said, fumbling with his backpack when it threatened to fall from his shoulde
r.

  “Beef stew special,” Ava said wrinkling her nose. “But I’d recommend steering clear of it.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Jake just dumps whatever’s around into it,” she confided. “Last time he threw in a can of jalapeños and some leftover ham.”

  Caleb pulled a disgusted face, and Ava laughed. Then, he stiffened, suddenly on alert, and his head snapped to the right.

  “What’s wrong?” Ava asked, following his gaze. She thought for a moment she saw a figure in black dart behind the communications building, but as soon as it appeared, it was gone.

  “Uh. Nothing,” Caleb said distractedly, dragging his eyes back to Ava. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tonight, okay?” He shuffled off without another word, and Ava’s eyes narrowed when she saw it was in the direction of the communications building. Caleb glanced back, and Ava wasn’t sure if she imagined the widened eyes when he saw her watching him. He lifted an arm and turned noticeably to the left.

  Strange.

  Ava climbed the steps into the English building, but instead of going to her class, she backed up against the wall, peering around the edge of the glass doors. Caleb looked back again, walking backward as he scanned the stairs in front of the English building, then turned to the right and headed back toward the spot where she thought she’d seen the figure in black. When he disappeared behind the back of the communications building, Ava came out from her hiding place and quickly headed outside.

  With a surge of adrenaline making her heart pound, she ignored the curious looks from those around her and ran to the spot where she’d last seen Caleb, ready to confront him and find out what in the world he was up to. But as she rounded the corner, she came to an abrupt stop. Caleb was nowhere in sight, nor anyone else for that matter. The storage area behind the building was completely empty, except for an old van and a couple of dumpsters. Shocked, Ava circled the van, then the dumpsters, her eyes darting around the paved area and out into the campus beyond. A few straggling students raced to class, but there was no sign of Caleb anywhere.

  More confused than ever, Ava walked to English class in a daze, with each step becoming more determined that it was time to get some answers from Caleb Foster.

  “Miss?” A frowning customer waved a hand in front of Ava’s face and she jumped slightly.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “What did you need?”

  “A refill?” he said, lifting his glass and rattling the ice. His irritation told her it wasn’t the first time he’d asked.

  “Of course,” Ava said, taking the glass and hurrying over to the fountain area, her eyes drifting once again to the front door of the diner. She’d been watching it like a hawk all afternoon waiting for Caleb to appear, and Jake had already chastised her a couple of times for being distracted. She tucked a hand in her apron pocket, fingering the scant tips she’d received so far. Apparently, the customers had felt a bit neglected, as well.

  Ava sighed, taking the drink back to her table and sparing the customer an apologetic smile before glancing again at the door, then the clock.

  6:15. Caleb had said he was going to come by early, but so far there had been no sign of him. Ava wasn’t sure what to make of it. The strange events of the afternoon still confused and intrigued her, and she felt like she was trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle without the picture on the box to compare it to.

  6:16. Maybe he wasn’t coming. Ava’s imagination had been running wild all afternoon. What if the dark figure she’d seen was her late-night attacker? What if he somehow got to Caleb? Not for the first time, she kicked herself, wondering if she should have called Nick and at least told him about her concerns. Sure, chances were he would have said it was nothing—and it wasn’t like he could have done anything about it, anyway—but doing something might have been better than this panicky limbo.

  6:18.

  “Order up!”

  Ava blinked, startled by the loud ding of the order bell. She piled a stack of plates across her arm, and as she turned to deliver them to her waiting customers, the front door opened and Caleb’s tall frame appeared. She suppressed an irritated where the hell have you been? and just shot him a quick nod in acknowledgement. He slid into a booth as she finished up with her customers, and Ava pulled her order pad from her pocket as she approached him.

  “I was wondering if you were going to show,” she said, watching him closely for any signs of distress.

  Caleb smiled. “Why would you wonder that? I said I would be here.”

  Ava shrugged. “I thought . . . I just . . .” She hesitated, her suspicions and worries suddenly seeming a little ridiculous. “Never mind. What can I get you?”

  “Well, definitely not the stew,” he joked, looking at the menu briefly. “How are the burgers?”

  “Perfection.”

  Caleb grinned. “With a recommendation like that, how can I refuse?”

  Ava filled his order and hurried to take care of her other customers, her mind still racing. When she just couldn’t take it anymore, she hit Jake up for her dinner break and slid into the booth across from Caleb. He finished up his burger, taking a sip of his Coke as he shoved his plate away.

  “Ready to get to work?” he asked, digging through his backpack.

  “Uh . . . yeah, sure,” Ava said distractedly. Remembering she was supposed to be studying, she sprang to her feet, dropping Caleb’s dishes off at the bus station before grabbing her own backpack on the way back.

  “You okay?” Caleb asked, opening his notebook. “You seem a little . . . off.”

  “Yeah,” she muttered, glancing up at him nervously. She took a deep breath. “What were you doing behind the communications building this afternoon?”

  Caleb choked on a sip of his drink. “What? What are you talking about?”

  Did she imagine that little twitch at the corner of his eye?

  “After I saw you this afternoon,” she pressed. “You took off behind the communications building. I followed you there, but it’s like you . . . disappeared.” Ava flushed, knowing she sounded paranoid, but unable to resist the compulsion to get some answers.

  Caleb studied her for a moment, and Ava’s skin prickled. His gaze was intent, so focused Ava could imagine him looking right into her mind.

  More than a little unnerved, she sat back, crossing her arms over her chest. “Well?” she said.

  “Well, what?” he asked.

  “What were you doing?”

  Caleb blinked at her, unable to hide a flash of surprise. “Nothing,” he said after a moment. “I had to go across campus to meet a friend, that’s all. Why do you ask? And why were you following me, anyway?”

  Now it was Ava’s turn to stare. She searched Caleb’s face for any sign of deception, still getting the uneasy feeling that he was hiding something from her. “What friend?” she asked.

  “What?” Caleb stiffened defensively.

  Interesting.

  “What friend?” Ava repeated.

  “Why is that any of your business?” he asked, frowning slightly.

  He was right. It wasn’t any of her business. But she couldn’t stop.

  “I saw someone,” she said. All or nothing. Now or never. Caleb knew something, she just felt it in her bones. “I saw someone run behind that building right before you followed them.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You do, Caleb,” Ava said, leaning forward on the table and narrowing her eyes on Caleb. “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”

  “I don’t—”

  “Who was it, Caleb?”

  “I didn’t see anyone.”

  “You did,” she insisted, her voice rising. “Who was it?”

  Caleb squinted slightly. “You have something on your forehead.”

  “What?” Ava brushed at her bangs. “Don’t try to change the subject.”

  Caleb’s jaw clenched. “I’m not trying to change the subject, but you have some
. . .” He reached across the table. “Let me,” he said, his fingers touching her forehead lightly.

  Ava jumped at the contact, a rush of warmth tickling across her skin before settling into a dull, pulsing throb. Caleb’s eyes grew impossibly dark as they locked on hers, pupils blowing wide until only a sliver of color remained around the edge. Ava’s stomach dropped and her breath caught, a wave of dizziness causing her to sway in her seat, lurching toward Caleb as he pulled his hand back.

  “What?” she mumbled, blinking wildly. “What happened?”

  Caleb doodled on his notepad, glancing up at her briefly. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t . . .” Ava shook her head. “What was I talking about?”

  Caleb reached for her textbook, flipping it open. “Are you ready to study?”

  Ava rubbed her temples, unable to shake the fuzziness in her brain. “Yeah . . . I guess so,” she muttered. “I can’t remember.” She clenched her eyes tightly shut, fingers moving slow circles along her temples. “Something . . . happened,” she said quietly, searching her memory, but only catching a few cloudy images. “Something . . . I needed to ask you . . . something.”

  “I’m sure it will come to you,” Caleb said, an unreadable tone in his quiet voice.

  “It’s like it’s on the tip of my tongue,” Ava whispered, focused entirely on the whirl of thoughts in her mind. Dark, curling smoky images, shadowed and obscure, almost like they were hidden behind an opaque curtain.

  If she could just pull it back . . .

  Ava gasped as the memories once again came into focus, and her eyes flew open. “I remember now,” she said.

  Caleb’s jaw tensed. “Remember what?” Did she imagine the shock in his gaze?

  “We were talking about where you went this afternoon,” she said stubbornly. “Now who’s having the memory lapse?”

  Caleb swallowed thickly, his eyes darting out the window and down to the tabletop before drifting back to her. Ava didn’t understand why he seemed so nervous. Steeling himself, he took a deep breath.

  “Ava, I swear. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, holding his hands out, palms up. “I met an old friend from high school—his name is Michael, by the way, Michael Anderson. I met him for a late lunch because he was passing through town. We had Thai, if that helps.”