Lost Wolf (Curse of the Moon Book 1) (24 page)

We grumbled about our professor until we reached his car.

"Your car's at home, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. Sorry, I hope it's not too far out of the way."

"Nah. And if I show up late, Dad has it coming after the jerk he's been lately." His phone rang. "Speak of the devil."

"When do I get to meet him?"

Carter flinched. "You want to meet the scum bag?"

"Um, not so much when you put it that way."

"Trust me. I'm protecting you. Besides, he's really busy and thinks he's too important to meet my friends."

"Oh, okay." It seemed strange, but I pushed aside those feelings.

When we reached the Waldensian, he got out and held my door open for me. He stared into my eyes. "I'm going to miss you tonight." He pulled me close and gave me a long, sweet kiss before climbing into his car and speeding away.

I went inside, my heart fluttering. People said hi as I passed, but I barely noticed. Now I understood what it meant to have my breath taken away.

In my room, I tossed my backpack onto my bed before digging through my closet for some fresh clothes.

Sasha came out of the bathroom and gasped and squealed. "Were you…?"

"What?" I pulled out some dressy slacks and a lavender silk top—my wardrobe had improved dramatically since working at the Jag.

She gave me a once-over. "Same clothes as yesterday. Gone all night. Your handsome prince?"

"Wait, it's not what you're thinking."

"Girl, we have to talk!"

"Seriously, I got sick after the power outage and—"

"What power outage?"

"His place lost power during the storm."

"You
were
at his place." Her eyes widened.

"I. Got. Sick." I took a deep breath. "Look,
nothing
happened."

"Where'd you sleep?"

"In a guest room."

Her expression drooped. "Oh. Hey, where'd he sleep?"

"He was busy taking care of me. I have to get to work. Seriously." I took off my clothes for the second time that morning.

"Where'd he sleep?"

"Nothing. Happened." I put on my new clothes and went into the bathroom to style my hair.

Sasha followed me in. "Well at least you've forgotten about the professor."

I froze, holding the hot flat iron on my hair.

"You're going to burn your hair!"

I put the iron down. "What do you mean?"

"You've been so mopey since your math instructor vanished. I can't even think of his name."

"It's plastered all over town."

"I know, but I haven't paid attention in a while."

Sighing, I picked up the flat iron and continued straightening my hair. "His name is Professor Foley, and I wasn't moping over him."

She gave me a knowing look. "Anyway, I'm more interested to hear about your night at Carter's. Did you remember to get any pictures yet?"

"Just some selfies of the two of us."

"Before you got sick, right?" She arched a brow.

"Precisely." I put the iron down, fluffed out my hair, and fixed my mascara.

"Your lipstick is smudged." Sasha threw me a playful smirk.

I fixed it. "He did kiss me," I admitted. "But that was it."

She sighed dramatically. "You're either the most boring person alive or the most exciting, and totally holding out on me."

I sprayed some perfume and spun around. "I gotta get to work."

"Details. Later."

"Okay. I'll tell you all about us doing homework and making hot chocolate."

"Boring. Well, if you want your secrets, I can't blame you. But I'm going to use my wild, vivid imagination. Your choice."

"Texting my boss now."

Victoria: On my way. Hope I'm not late.

She was so formal with everything, I even had to properly spell out my texts.

Yurika: The wedding party is having lunch. You have an hour.

Victoria: Thanks!

Yurika: Carter said something came up, but please be on time.

Victoria: I will. I promise.

Sasha pouted. "Are you sure you don't have time to spill just one juicy detail?"

"Sorry. I gotta go." I grabbed my purse, hurried to my car, and then parked on the side of the road near campus. My mind was racing, and my conversation with Sasha hadn't helped.

One of Toby's missing fliers hung loosely on a pole. I climbed out and stared at the faded picture.

Someone bumped into me. "Sorry. You know what I heard?" He glanced toward the flier.

"What?"

"That his cult chopped him up and put the pieces into stew."

"You're disgusting."

He shrugged and kept walking.

I clung to the paper and got back into my car. It wasn't until I tried starting it that I realized I was shaking. I took a few deep breaths and finally drove to the Jag. I put on soft instrumental music. There was no way I could afford a repeat of the day I'd spilled nail polish on that lady's dress.

By the time I pulled into the Jag's lot, my mind had calmed down. I waved to the doorman as I entered ahead of the line.

Yurika shot me a grateful expression when I arrived. "A couple of the girls are already here. I'm going to start them with pedis. When the next ones get here, start them with facials."

"Do we have any help?"

She nodded. "Lucy and Julia will be here after their break."

"Oh, good."

"Tell me about it. We're going to need all the help we can get today."

And I was going to need all the focus I could manage. My mind kept wandering to both Carter and Toby, and when I was at the spa, I always found myself hoping Carter would pop in and surprise me. He rarely did, though, because his father kept him busy when he wasn't studying.

But it didn't keep me from wishing.

Chapter 26

Victoria

I rubbed the last bit of cream on the bridesmaid's face. "Just lay there and relax for a few minutes."

"This feels so nice."

"Good. Is the music okay?"

"Perfect."

Yurika ran in, her eyes frantic. "We're running out of nail polish remover. I thought we were fully stocked."

"Do you want me to get some more?"

"Yes," she snapped.

"Where is it?"

"Ugh. You really don't know?"

I shook my head. "It's always been in the cabinet."

She threw her hands in the air. "If I had time, I'd get it. It's in the big utility closet in between the kitchen and Master Jag's office suite. You know the one?"

"I think so."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Yes, I'll find it."

Yurika ran out of the room.

I turned to the bridesmaid. "I'll be back in a few minutes. The cream will be fine—it's working to both cleanse and moisturize your skin. If you need anything, just ring this bell here." I took her hand and guided her to the tray with the bell. "Julia's in the next room. She'll hurry over."

"I'm too relaxed to move."

"Sounds like it's working." I adjusted the warm blankets around her body and hurried out of the spa.

A line of people carrying what looked like a truckload of flowers walked by. There was no way I was going to get around them, and when Yurika was rushed, so was I.

I darted down a different hallway, hoping I was headed for the kitchen.

By the time I'd gone down a few turns, I realized I was lost. It was just a maze of dimmed halls, and I wasn't sure which one had brought me where I was.

Conversation sounded down from my left. I thought I heard the word wolf. Something inside me perked up. I pressed myself against the wall and listened.

"…supposed to find out if he's dead."

I gasped. Someone was dead in the Jag?

"Did you hear that?"

I covered my mouth.

"No. Did you check him?"

"I haven't."

"Stupid. When the boss says jump, you do it."

"I've never seen a dead body."

"So? Check the dungeon."

"Won't you do it for me? I'll owe you all my vacation days or something."

Somebody sighed. "What's his name?"

"Foley."

"You mean that guy who's plastered all over town?"

"Right. He's down there."

A cry escaped my mouth.

Footsteps sounded.

I glanced around. There was a door a few feet away. I had no other choice, so I ran inside and closed the door fast and as quietly as I could. Clothes hung all around. I darted behind some and pressed myself into a corner.

The door opened, lighting up the closet full of suits just like the waiters wore in the restaurant.

I held my breath.

"No one. Are you sure we heard something?"

The door closed.

I breathed again and slunk down to the ground, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure they could hear it out in the hall. I gasped for air and tried to listen for the men outside the closet once I calmed down. I waited a full five minutes, counting out the seconds, before I dared to open the door.

The hallway was empty.

I smoothed down my hair and went down the way the two men had been talking about Toby. There were a few doors, and I checked all of them. Most were utility closets, but the one at the very end opened to a dark staircase.

If there was a chance Toby was down there—locked in a dungeon—I had to see. Especially if they thought he might be dead. Tears stung my eyes. My insides felt like they were jumping around.

I clung to the rusty railing as I descended down the staircase. It was steep and narrow. Water dripped somewhere. When I got to the end, I came to another door.

Barely breathing, I opened it. I came to a hallway, and it was better lit. There were a few doors off to my left. I pressed my ear against the first one, but didn't hear anything. I opened it anyway.

It appeared to be some kind of cellar. Old, dusty canned food sat on shelves. Underneath them were brown bottles. Some were labeled moonshine.

This place was as old as Prohibition?

I opened the next door and found another closet full of old food and drinks. When I got to the next door, I fully expected to find more of the same.

Instead, it was a mostly empty room with chains hanging from the ceiling and the walls. It smelled of bile and urine.

Someone jumped out from behind the door, positioned to attack.

I screamed, my voice echoing around both the cell and the hallway.

"Victoria?"

I stared at the man. It took me a moment to realize it was Toby. And he was naked.

My eyes shut and I turned my head. "Toby! What are you doing here?"

"They're trying to kill me."

"We've got to get you out of here, but first I need to get you some clothes."

"There isn't time."

"You want to run through the Jag like that?" I exclaimed. "I know where some clothes are. Stay here."

With my eyes still closed, I spun around and ran up the stairs. He called after me, but I ignored him. I made sure no one was in sight, ran to the closet, and grabbed a suit.

When I got back down to the dungeon, Toby was standing outside his cell. I looked down at the ground and handed him the clothes.

"Thank you."

I turned around and tried to pretend he wasn't naked. "So, do you need anything?"

The sounds of him putting the clothes on echoed all around us. "To get as far away from this place as possible."

"Have you been here all this time?"

"Right in that room."

"What happened?"

"I'll explain later. Someone could come down any minute." He walked over to me.

I covered my eyes.

"I'm dressed now."

"Come on. We'll get out of here." I opened one eye, and sure enough, he looked like a server. Only the clothes barely hung on and his face was bloody and bruised.

"What did they do to you?" Instinctively, I reached for his face. "You poor thing."

"Let's go. The way I came in is pretty secluded."

"Because that worked out so well for you?"

"That wasn't where I was caught."

"Where—?"

"Come on." He grabbed my arm and led me up the stairs. I followed him down the maze of halls until we neared the kitchen. He took me down another turn. We passed a line of mops and then he opened a door, which opened to the outside.

Toby glanced around and then ran for the woods.