Tatch bent down behind her daughter. “And Nicole will be crushed.”
Ash sniffled, her questioning gaze landing on each person in the room. “Are you sure?”
“Are we sure?” Mom folded Ash in a hug. “We’ve all been awaiting this day eagerly, since the moment you two were promised. It’s one you both deserve after what you’ve been through. Don’t let this animal stop you.”
I felt my resolve swell. She was right. We couldn’t let this basswipe stop our day.
“And if I planned all of this for nothing—” Tatiana started, her glare fierce.
“Okay.” She lifted her hands in surrender. “You’re right. We need to stand up to him. Don’t cancel the wedding.”
The group collectively sighed in relief, but my mind was already spinning on how we’d find the guy. He was going to regret the day he messed with the mer.
TWENTY-SEVEN – ASH – May 30 – 7:56 a.m.
Monday finally rolled around, but I couldn’t stop myself from jumping in fright every time someone came up from behind. Walking through the halls, knowing this would be my last school week posing as a human felt surreal.
Posters announcing graduation Thursday night caught my attention. Even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t attend with it being in the evening. The swim meet fiasco, still too fresh in my mind anyway, was warning enough, and I could only imagine my reaction if I spotted Mr. White Van in the audience. Fin, my fearless bodyguard, had already decided I should dress up in my gown and take pictures with the family anyway, then he’d sing them a story of what happened that night instead — give them a good memory. Each time he had to do this, I felt like a part of my soul chipped away.
My focus had to be on surviving seven finals: two each day until Thursday when I only had one. Then I’d leave this place. Finally done. All with Fin by my side, of course.
Georgia ran up to me, a huge smile on her face. “Hey you two, can you believe it? Our last week?”
I shook my head and gripped Fin’s hand tight. “No.”
“It’s like the whole year zoomed by just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “I studied until my eyeballs fell out this weekend. How about you?”
I glanced up at Fin. I’d spent the weekend trying to calm down. Of course, her story might have been more exciting if she’d remembered Girra’s heroic rescue when she conked Mr. White Van over the head with a rock.
“Yeah. Let’s just get this over with.” I moved to follow her through the door to English when Fin dropped my hand.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I don’t think I should go in there.”
I scrunched up my nose. “Why?”
He peered inside, then ducked out of the way. “I’d rather wait out here for you.”
“Technically you’re still a student,” I whispered.
“Yeah, well… I’d rather patrol the parking lot for you-know- who.”
I smirked. For some dumb reason, I wanted him in class with me. The bell rang, and Mrs. Keifer told everyone to take their seats. What was he afraid of? It couldn’t be failing.
“Seriously?” I asked.
“No one is going to snatch you from your classroom,” he insisted. “Especially if I’m outside of it.”
“Ms. Lanski. Please come inside and shut the… Finley?”
“You didn’t see me,” he sang, then kissed me on the lips and darted down the hall.
“Fin!” I called, but he was gone.
When I turned around, Brooke was glaring at me with hateful eyes. I took my seat, ignoring her, but after everything that had happened, my nerves were once again rattled.
I finished my exam early, surprised at my recall. Actually, all my homework had been a cinch now that I had a near photographic memory — mer perks, I guess.
Waiting impatiently until someone else turned in their test first, my leg twitched. Enduring this week just seemed like a waste of time, but the plan was to continue on as normal, hoping to flush out Mr. White Van.
Mrs. Kiefer gave me a kind smile when I brought her my test, and something about it made me sad. Originally, I thought living out my human high school experience would prove something to the mer and free me in the process. Instead, it just felt fake. A tear welled in my eye as I walked out of the doors into the hall.
Fin wasn’t there like he’d said he’d be, upsetting me. I pulled out my phone and typed a text.
ME: Done. Where are you?
FIN: Already? Be there in a few.
My stomach growled fiercely.
ME: What are you doing?
FIN: Running an errand.
ME: You left?
FIN: I’ll be there soon.
I growled, glaring at my phone. After what happened, I couldn’t believe he’d left. I contemplated texting and telling him that I was starving. Of course, that would make him later. I paced the hallway, then leaned against my locker in the hall. What was taking him so long?
Someone stormed out of English, and I looked up, hoping it would be Georgia. Brooke’s scowl landed on me.
“You’re such a liar,” she said.
I crinkled up my brow. “What?”
She crossed the hall. “You said Fin wasn’t coming back to school, but he was here. I saw him.”
“I…” Did she not hear him sing earlier? My heart jolted, and I looked at her hand to double check if she had a promising tattoo. “He was just dropping me off.”
The sweet cinnamon smell of chai tickled my nose, and I turned to the double doors just as they swung wide. Fin sauntered in with a smile.
“Ginger Girl.” He held up a bag in one hand and a cup of chai in the other. “Look what I brought—”
A peace offering.
He slowed, seeing Brooke’s angered expression.
“Hey…” He chuckled nervously.
Brooke marched over, hands balled into fists. “Do you think this is funny? Lying to me, and showing up for finals anyway? I hope you flunk Biology, too.”
She raised her fists as if she’d hit him.
“Whoa!” I ran and put myself between them, my talons just about to break the surface.
Her fierce glare darted between the two of us, then she chickened out and ran for the restrooms.
I swiveled toward Fin. “What was that about?”
The cinnamon goodness wafted from the bag, diffusing my anger over Brooke’s rage.
“She came over last week wondering where I’d been.”
Fin offered the bag, and I tore inside, ravaging the huge hunk of coffee cake. My eyes rolled backward when the sugar and butter hit my taste buds. Heaven.
I stopped chewing when his comment hit my newly fed brain cells. “She what?”
“Yeah.” He held out the drink to me. “Don’t choke.”
My cheeks burned with the memory of almost finning out in the cafeteria, which I hadn’t told him either. I would have hoped he’d mention Brooke, though, considering she came to his house. “And what happened?”
“Nothing. I told her to leave… mer-mojo style.”
“Fin,” I whined.
“So… I guess she flunked.”
I continued to devour the muffin and eyed the bathroom door. Even though she’d made my life a living hell for the past four years, I suddenly took pity on her. “If she flunks, she might not graduate.”
“And how’s that my problem?” Fin pulled me under his arm and headed to the double doors.
I lifted my gaze to his. “Can’t you do something?”
“For your nemesis? I think not.”
I let out a soft sigh as he pulled me outside in the crisp morning air. “Yes, but… you were supposed to be her partner.”
“And?”
I stopped him. “And maybe… you should sweet talk Mr. Wellington on her behalf.”
“You said I shouldn’t sing.”
“Yeah, well. You sang when she came over, besides it’ll give you something to do during my history final.”
“I have
plenty to do.” He gestured I sit on a bench outside.
I refused, putting my hands on my hips. “Like?”
He gritted his teeth. “Like figure out who sent you that text. Okay?”
I stopped for a second, then realized where he’d gone during my final. “That’s why you left.”
“I just stopped in the cellphone store on the corner after I picked you up a snack, but they don’t have access to the main files. I need to go to the corporate offices. They’re in Reno, of course.”
The bell rang and he walked me back inside. Students began filling into the hallway, some anxious, some excited. Brooke darted out of the bathroom, head down, eyes rimmed in red.
“Just smooth things over with Mr. Wellington, for me, okay? And, if you want to go to Reno, I’ll catch a ride home with Georgia if you’re not back in time. I think finding that creep should be a higher priority than babysitting me. He’s not going to dare show his face with all these students around. I’ll be okay.”
He eyed me suspiciously. “Are you sure?”
I pulled out the pepper spray hiding in my pocket. “I’m armed.”
“Where’d you get that?”
His mother had given it to me, but I wasn’t going to give up my source. “I have my ways. Now go!”
Fin gave me a quick kiss before heading toward the double doors.
I snagged his hand and redirected him in the opposite direction. “No, handsome. This way.”
I pointed to Mr. Wellington’s room down the hall. He rolled his eyes but grinned all the same. “Okay, okay.”
“Thank you.”
Though letting things stay the way they were was what Brooke deserved, today I felt gracious. And deep down, I didn’t want this situation to ruin her grade point average.
I needed to score points with the universe because you know what they say about karma. Yeah, I typically wasn’t superstitious but I needed all the help I could get.
TWENTY-EIGHT – FIN – May 30 – 11:47 a.m.
After I had sweet-talked Mr. Wellington to give our group project a passing grade, I left the campus and pressed the pedal to the metal on Ash’s car. But no matter how hard I hit the gas, the thing wouldn’t pass fifty-six, making me wish for my Jeep all the more.
The drive to Reno took a half an hour longer than expected, and I finally pulled up to the customer service building. The entrance brimmed with people of all walks of life, drifting in and out, most of them not looking up from their cell phone screens. I followed a girl in her twenties, completely oblivious to me, and slipped in behind her without needing a keycard.
“Who can tell me the source of a blocked cell phone?” I sang to her.
Her head lifted upward. “We don’t have that information.”
“Someone must.”
She turned, eyes unfocused. “Try the IT department.”
A placard on the wall listed that the Information Technology unit was on the fifth floor. Jackpot.
I ran up the stairwell and bounded out of the doors. A blonde at the reception desk startled at my entrance. She studied me through her large black-rimmed glasses. “Can I help you?”
“Yes,” I sang. “I need to figure out who sent someone a text.”
Her eyes drifted off to a spot off to my right. “I can’t do that.”
“Someone must. Do you know who could?”
“Who could what?” I guy in a suit approached, eyeing the secretary’s behavior questionably. He didn’t look like the typical nerdy IT type, more like management material, but I didn’t care. He was breathing.
“I need to know the source of a text,” I sang.
His eyes zoned out like normal, and my gut twisted. This was so not me.
“Do you have a warrant?” he asked.
“Yes, but you don’t need to see it.”
“Let him in,” Suit Guy told her.
The blonde buzzed me in, and I followed Suit Guy to the nearest cube. He shooed aside the occupant sitting in the chair. “Let me drive.”
“Yes, sir.” The cube dweller turned and frowned at me.
“What’s the phone number?” Suit Guy asked.
I told him Ash’s number and the date and time of the text. He typed in something, and her record popped up. Then he scrolled through a list of numbers.
“Hmmm,” he said.
“What does that mean?” I asked. “Did you find it?”
“Yeah, I have a number, but there’s no information tied to it. Must be a burner phone.”
“A burner?”
He turned and sneered at me. “One of those pay and dump phones you buy at drug stores. There’s no contract, so I can’t help you.”
He stood to leave.
“But don’t you know where the text was sent from? Like a GPS location?”
“Not at the time of the text, no.”
I scrubbed my hand through my hair. This was going nowhere.
“Are you sure?” I sang.
He pressed his hands to his forehead. “I can see where the phone is now, that’s about it.”
“Now?” My throat tightened. “Then show me.”
Suit Guy returned to the Cube Dweller’s seat and pulled up another screen with a map of green dots. A red dot stood out in the middle of them.
“These green dots are cell towers. The phone is somewhere in this vicinity.”
Suit Guy zoomed on the buildings surrounding the red dot. My heart nearly dropped to my shoes. The red dot hovered over the top of Ash’s high school. I’d left her thinking she was safe. And he was there the whole time. Watching.
Hands shaking, I pulled out my phone and dialed Ash. The phone started to ring, then rolled over to voicemail.
“Is that all you needed?” Suit Guy asked, annoyed.
“No. I…” I had to warn Ash somehow. “Can you look up a cell phone even when it’s off?”
He sighed, then nodded.
“Then look up this number.” I gave him Ash’s number again.
“Kenny, go ahead and do it,” Suit Guy said to the Cube Dweller. “I have a meeting.”
“Sure.” Kenny took a seat and typed in the phone number. An additional red dot lined up with the first one. “They’re in the same area.”
I gripped onto the edge of the cubical.
“You okay?” he asked.
I couldn’t think beyond the fear. What if he had her already?
“He’s… he’s stalking my wife.”
Kenny yanked his head backward. “Do you think she’s in danger?”
My eyes zeroed in on the pair of red dots. If the cops got involved, things would just get more complicated. In all actuality, I knew my mistake. I should have never left her alone. What we needed was an experienced mer there — my dad.
“No…” I pinched my eyes shut to center myself. “I need the cell records of that first number. Who the person texted, what was said, the recipient’s info.”
“I can’t give you—” he started to say.
“Give it to me!” I sang.
“All I have is the numbers with dates and times.”
“Fine, whatever.” I dialed Dad while I was waiting for him to pull up the info. Of course, it rang four times, then rolled over to voicemail, too. “Dad, call me. It’s an emergency.”
Within minutes, sheets of numbers and data poured out of Kenny’s printer sitting next to the monitor. I continued to redial Ash’s number, continuing to get voicemail.
Once the printer stopped, I snagged the stack and ran for the stairs.
“I was never here,” I sang.
Within moments, I was in Ash’s car and pulling out of my parking spot. Once I made it to the main thoroughfare, traffic ground to a halt. I laid on the horn, my hands shaking.
“Get out of my way!”
Imagining the worst, I swerved around traffic while my foot hit the gas, breaking every law in the DMV manual. I’d screwed up again. Who was this guy and what did he want?
My phone rang. Dad’s name highlighted
the screen.
“What’s going on, Son?” he asked when I picked up.
“The guy is at Ash’s school! You need to go over there now and make sure she’s alright!”
“Wait. Where are you?”
I honked my horn and tried to edge around the vehicle stalled on the road. “I went to Reno.”
“Reno?”
“Ash’s final was going to take two hours, so I decided to check on the cell records.”
“In Reno?”
“That’s where the main office is,” I said, exasperated. “Please. We’re running out of time!”
“I’m on it!” Dad moved the phone away from his mouth and yelled, “Badger!”
“Just don’t scare her, okay? Just… don’t let her know he’s there.”
Dad blew out a breath. “Next time, you need to let me know what you’re up to. You should have never left her there alone. I said I’d take care of the phone records.”
Yeah, when? I wanted to ask. Seriously? He was going to lecture me? I ground my teeth together. He was the one procrastinating, not me.
“Badger!” Dad yelled. “Get Jax and Jacob. We need to get to the school.”
I blew out a frantic breath. “Just get there.”
“We’ve got it taken care of.” He hung up, but my heart wouldn’t stop pounding. The phone chimed with a text.
ASH: I’m finished early. Everything okay? I saw the missed call.
I picked up the phone and dialed, working hard not to sound panicked.
“Hey, you. I’m starving.” The smile in her voice made me a million times thankful, but the urge to vomit was still there.
“Hey, I won’t be there for a bit. Where are you?” Birds sang in the background, and I gripped the phone tighter. “Are you outside?”
“I figured I’d see if you were in the parking lot. Are you hiding?”
“Ash,” I said sternly. “Listen to me. Turn around and go inside.”
“What?”
“Turn around quickly, and go back inside.”
“Fin, you’re scaring me. What did you find out?”
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