I watched the door swing shut behind them, then pushed my chair away from the table.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Astrid.
I grabbed my phone and took off after them.
NOT AGAIN
I crept around the corner and into the small alcove and almost lost my two bites of salmon. Graham had his tongue so far down Missy’s throat he could probably taste that roll she’d snagged from me moments ago. Her back was mashed up against the wall and his whole body was flattened against her even as he tried to wiggle his hands between their chests to get a feel.
Okay, ew. I had to look away. This wasn’t right. But I couldn’t seem to make myself move. It was like watching a truly horrible American Idol audition. You felt for the poor sap crooning away, so off-key he could shatter glass; you felt for the judges as they tried in vain to stop cringing; the whole thing made you feel queasy inside, but for some sadistic reason you had to see it through to the bitter end.
Missy turned her face, smearing her lipstick across her cheek, and started to open her eyes. A sudden surge of panic hit me hard, and I was about to turn away before she could accuse me of being a creeper, but I was too late. She looked right at me, blinked, and then I swear she started to smile.
I turned, my heel catching on the ornate hallway rug, and stumbled around the corner. At that moment, someone’s gloved hand came down over my mouth and a strong arm locked around my waist. My heart hurtled into my throat and I tried to scream, but the fingers were clamped down too tightly against my lips as I was pulled roughly backward. I flailed and kicked and writhed, but nothing worked. My good arm flung out as my attacker dragged me toward the end of the hallway and for a brief, desperate second I was able to clasp the corner between the alcove and the hall, but with one jerk the guy freed my grip and we were all alone.
We were headed toward a back exit. A door that I knew led to the employee parking lot, which would be all but deserted, what with everyone working the banquet. My eyes filled with hot, angry, frantic tears.
This was not going to happen to me. Not again. Not without a fight. I whacked at my attacker with my cast as hard as I could and felt his grip give the tiniest bit. At that moment, Josh, Trey, and Gage came running into the hall. My eyes widened with hope as Josh turned and saw us.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?”
The guys sprinted toward me and my attacker let go, dropping me on my ass in the center of the hall. He turned and fled out the back door. Gage and Trey went gunning right past me and gave chase. Josh ran over and fell to his knees in front of me.
“Are you all right?” he asked, running his hand over my forehead and into my hair. “Who the hell was that?”
“You didn’t see his face?” I gasped, clinging to my broken arm, which radiated sharp pains up into my shoulder and down into my fingertips.
Josh shook his head. “He was wearing a ski mask.”
“Oh my God.” I leaned into Josh’s chest, my breath coming short and ragged as wave after wave of terror crashed over me. “I thought it was over. Paige is in jail . . . I thought . . . I thought I was safe.”
“I know.” Josh ran his hand over my hair again and again and kissed the top of my head. “I know. It’s okay. We got here in time. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
Suddenly Gage and Trey reappeared at the back door. They were out of breath and soaking wet. Apparently the skies, which had been threatening since that afternoon, had finally opened up. Gage doubled over as he clung to the door handle and I saw lightning flash through the sky behind him. He finally straightened up and let the door slam.
“Anything?” Josh asked.
“He took off in a black Acura,” Trey said as he fought for breath. He ran his hand over his close-shaven head, sloughing off the rain. “I tried to get the plates, but I only saw the first two letters.”
“Well, at least that’s something,” Josh said. He tipped my face up with his finger beneath my chin. “We should go to the police.”
I shook my head, tears streaming from the corners of my eyes. I felt like an idiot for going off on my own. For thinking this was over just because Paige was locked up. For not listening to MT. “I just want to go home.”
“But we have to report this,” Josh told me.
“So let them come to me for once,” I said, bracing my hand against the wall and struggling to my feet. All three of the guys—even Gage—made a move to help me, but I managed to do it myself. “Right now all I want to do is lock myself up in my room. And until someone figures out what the hell is going on around here, I’m not coming out.”
TECHNOLOGY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND
“So let me see if I understand all this,” Taylor said later that evening, pacing back and forth in front of my closet. Outside my window at Pemberly the storm raged, thunder growling and lightning flashing. The rain pelted the windowpane, sometimes so loudly it drowned out our words. Every now and then the lights would flicker and I just prayed we wouldn’t be left in the dark. That was the last thing my nerves needed right now. “This Sabine girl totally screwed with your mind via e-mail and text, then Noelle and her grandmother totally screwed with your mind via e-mail and text—”
“Um, hello? Sitting right here?” Noelle said, raising her hand from my desk chair like she was going to ask a question in class.
Taylor shot her a look that said “Let me finish.” Wow. Things had really changed.
“And now this MT person is screwing with you via text?” she finished.
“That’s the deal, basically, yeah,” I replied, leaning back into my pillows, which were propped up against the wall at the head of my bed.
I’d changed into my favorite Penn State sweatshirt and Easton soccer shorts upon returning to the dorm, and had just finished giving my statement about tonight’s incident to Detective Hauer, who had left with a promise to run the partial plate against the car’s make as soon as he got back to the Easton PD. While part of me would have loved to pass out and put this night behind me, I was far too wired to sleep, which was why everyone was here, keeping me company. Kiran leaned back against the door and Ivy sat at the foot of my bed, her back against the wall and her feet dangling over the edge of the mattress.
“Reed, I think you know what you need to do,” Taylor said seriously, crossing her arms over her chest. “You need to give up on technology.”
I snorted a laugh.
“She’s right,” Kiran put in, inspecting her fingernails. “Technology is not your friend.” Her eyes lit up and she pushed herself away from the wall. “Maybe you should move to, like, the African jungle or something. Become one of those women who lives off the land and studies the apes or something. Go completely off the grid.”
A bolt of lightning flashed so brilliantly I nearly jumped out of my skin. Taylor smirked and walked over to my dresser, piling her hair atop her head and checking out the effect in the mirror. While Ivy, Noelle, and I had gone casual, she and Kiran were still sporting their cocktail dresses, having come right back here with us instead of stopping by their rooms at the Driscoll.
“Yes, Kiran. That is so what I want to do with my life,” I said sarcastically as the thunder clapped just outside. “Why didn’t I think of that before?”
“Besides, we already decided. No running and hiding,” Ivy reminded me.
“So if we’re not gonna run and hide, I say we go on offense,” Noelle said, leaning forward in the chair. “Find out who this MT person is already and grill them about what they actually know until they snap.”
“But there’s no way to find out,” I told her, supporting my cast with my other hand. “Every time we try to text them it bumps back to me as unsent.”
“Oh, please. They’re probably just blocking you,” Taylor said, letting her hair tumble down around her shoulders again. “Any good hacker can get around that.”
I looked at Ivy and she sat up straight, pushing away from the wall. “Any good hacker?” I said. “Aren’t you a good hacker
?”
“How?” Ivy asked Taylor. “We tried texting and calling from my phone—”
“And mine,” Noelle said.
“But they came back too.”
“You just have to set up a program to run the numbers,” Taylor said, lifting a palm as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “There’s no way this person blocked every sequence. We find the right sequence, reprogram one of our phones, and we’re in.”
Ivy’s jaw snapped shut and she brought her hand to her forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that?” She shoved herself off the bed and grabbed her phone from on top of my dresser. “We’ll start with the most obscure area codes first.”
“Good call,” Taylor said.
Ivy started typing into her phone as Taylor leaned over her shoulder. Before long the two of them were whispering and pointing, debating and correcting. I glanced at Kiran and she shrugged in response.
“Got any good magazines?” she asked, dropping down next to me on my bed. “This could be a while.”
“Please. She gets Shape and Fitness and nothing else,” Noelle said, rising from her chair. “I’ll be right back.”
An hour later Kiran, Noelle, and I were noshing on Godiva and pawing through the latest issues of Vogue, InStyle, and W, while Ivy and Taylor sat on the floor bent over Ivy’s phone. It wasn’t exactly the party we had originally planned for the evening, but it was darn close, and they were all there with me, which was the best gift I could have asked for. The thunderstorm had passed and the rain had let up a bit, dulling itself to a persistent drizzle, the sound of which was far more comforting than the raging we’d endured earlier. Suddenly Ivy leaned back on her hands, a self-satisfied smile on her face.
“And . . . done!” she announced.
“Done?” I asked dropping the heavy Vogue issue aside. “You got through?”
“Yep,” Taylor said happily.
“Finally,” Kiran groused.
“What did you say?” I asked, getting up from the bed and wiping my palms on the back of my sweatpants.
“We wrote, ‘Enough with the mystery. I want to know what’s going on. We need to meet,’” Taylor replied.
“To the point,” Noelle conceded, tipping her head.
“Do you think he’ll write back?” Kiran asked, sipping bottled water through a straw.
I sighed. “We’ll just have to wait and—”
Ivy’s phone beeped. My heart dropped. We all froze.
“Is it MT?” I asked.
Ivy hit a button and nodded, as Taylor leaned in so close her hair fell over Ivy’s shoulder. “It says, ‘Come alone. One hour. Directions attached.’”
“Holy crap,” I said, a rush of excitement flooding my veins. “It worked.”
“Come alone. Yeah. Like that’s gonna happen,” Noelle said, lifting her thick hair over her shoulder.
“We’re going with her?” Kiran asked, a tad fretful.
“Of course we are,” Ivy snapped.
“Don’t worry, Kiran. MT has proven he . . . or she . . . is a friend,” I assured her.
“Then why does he want you to come alone?” Taylor asked. “What’s with the blocking the number and all the mystery?”
“Well, clearly he’s trying to protect himself,” Ivy replied. “Whoever’s after Reed means business if they’re going to try to kidnap her from a crowded event.”
Kiran bit her lip. “Yeah, but—”
“All right, enough,” Noelle snapped. “We’re all doing this together. There’s safety in numbers right? If we all go together, everything will be fine.”
The five of us looked around at one another and I felt this odd mixture of fear and hope. By the end of tonight, I might know who MT was, and I might even know everything he or she knew about this latest attack. But I also knew that ventures like this one didn’t always end up the way I expected. And sometimes they didn’t end well at all.
SPY-FABULOUS
“I don’t like this,” Josh said, standing in the center of Ketlar Hall’s common room. All along the walls, guys were hunched over their computers at the study carrels, typing furiously or reading over papers and notes. The couches and chairs were laden with last-minute crammers, trying to get in every minute of good study time before tomorrow morning’s exams. Everyone had changed out of their suits and ties and into worn T-shirts and comfy shorts, and there were bags of junk food and cans of energy drinks and soda everywhere. Suddenly I felt very lucky to not have a final at 8 A.M. tomorrow. “What happened to locking yourself in your room and not coming out?”
“I know,” I said. “But this texter person isn’t the enemy. Think about it. He warned me not to go tonight, and he was right. I shouldn’t have gone.”
“Okay, well, if he’s such a friend, then why are you bringing along Charlie’s Angels over there?” He lifted his chin toward the doorway, where Ivy and Noelle loitered, ignoring each other and waiting for me. They did look sort of spy-fabulous in dark jeans, heeled boots, and black jackets. A dripping and colorful Coach-logo umbrella dangled from Ivy’s wrist, while Noelle had propped her plain black version against the wall.
“Because they have nothing better to do?” I suggested, lifting one shoulder.
“I should come with you,” Josh said, reaching for my hand.
“No way. You have to ace AP bio tomorrow,” I reminded him, as if he needed reminding. “I’m not gonna let you screw up your entire future just to do this with me. Especially when I already have enough backup.”
“Backup? Sure.” He scoffed. “What are they going to do if you get jumped again, whip out a nail file?”
I leveled him with a glare. “Would you want to go up against Ivy and Noelle when they’re pissed off?” He sort of gulped and paled and I had my answer. “Besides, Kiran has a stun gun. She went back to her hotel to grab it and change her clothes.”
“She has a stun gun?” Josh asked, his eyebrows popping up.
“She said it’s just good sense when you’re a high-fashion model,” I replied. “Apparently, the guys in Italy are all about the groping.”
Josh was silent for a moment, pondering. Then he dropped my hand and groaned in frustration, plopping down on the nearest leather couch. He blew out a sigh and looked up at me imploringly.
“Are you sure you don’t want to just go to the police with this?” Josh asked, extricating his phone from the pocket of his cargo shorts. I’d forwarded him the text with the attachment and he still had it up on his screen. “Give them the directions and let them figure it out?”
I sat down next to him and knocked the side of my knee against his. “How about this? If you don’t hear from me in two hours, send in the SWAT team, the dogs, the helicopters. Whatever.”
Josh knocked his fist against his mouth a few times but finally gave in. “Okay, fine. It’s a plan.”
I threw my one good arm around him and squeezed. And even though I hadn’t exactly come here for his permission, I whispered a quick “Thank you,” because it was important to me that he believed in me and wouldn’t be sitting here terrified the whole time I was gone. Then I kissed him and got up, my ponytail swinging behind me. Josh rose as well, turning to watch as I joined my friends at the door.
“Ready?” Noelle asked, glancing at her phone to check the time.
“Ready.”
“Hey, guys?” Josh called out in full voice, earning some annoyed glances from the studying hordes around him.
“Yeah?” Ivy said.
“Take care of her, okay?” Josh told them.
I wasn’t sure whether I should be offended that he thought I couldn’t handle myself, or pleased that he cared. But then, I supposed I did have a broken bone and a track record for getting into trouble, so I kept my mouth shut.
Noelle, meanwhile, looped her arm over my shoulders and squeezed. “Always do.”
DÉJÀ VU
“Raccoon!” Taylor shouted, pointing toward the windshield from the center seat in the back of Kiran’s rented Escalad
e. Noelle slammed on the brakes and we were all flung forward for a second before the massive SUV came to a complete stop, its tires squealing on the wet pavement. My hand flew to my heart as the raccoon paused for a moment, gave us a withering stare, and continued loping across the road.
“Okay, why are you driving my car again?” Kiran demanded, glaring at Noelle from the front passenger seat.
“Because my car was too small and we all know your driving’s for shit,” Noelle replied, slowly rolling ahead again. The windshield wipers thwapped violently back and forth, sending sprays of water into the night with each giant arc.
“Yeah. And clearly you’re way better,” Kiran complained, resting her elbow against the top of her door and her head on her hand.
“Well, maybe if any of these damn streets had streetlights,” Noelle shot back.
“Guys. Can we stop sniping for a second and focus?” I asked, gripping the back of Kiran’s seat with my free hand. “Where are we?”
“We have to take the next left,” Ivy said, her phone aglow in her lap, casting a white light over her already pale features.
“Does anyone see a next left?” I asked, squinting into the night.
“There!” Kiran pointed at a street sign that was half hidden by a low-hanging tree branch. Noelle cut the wheel and we all screeched as the car skidded around the corner, veering into the far lane.
“Next time, I drive,” Ivy muttered, her hand braced against the window.
This road was even scrawnier than the last, and clouds of fog rose up from the pavement, gathering around the car as we cut through. I turned and gazed out the window to my right, trying to see anything in the dark—a house, a business, a barn, a gas station—but all I saw were trees, trees, and more trees. An ancient but well-maintained stone wall loomed into view, terminating at the base of a driveway with a tall iron gate. The house beyond wasn’t visible from the road, either because of the fog or because the driveway was so long, the house was hidden by trees.