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But, as I expected, she ignored me. And when she looked at me, I knew her smile was sincere. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“Huh?” Where did this come from?
“I knew something wasn’t right.” Bianca sat back in her seat and raised her finger. “And we’ve solved the mystery.” The mood shifted, and she looked away suddenly as her cheeks darkened. “We make a good team.”
“Well, enough,” I agreed, glancing around the food court. “This stakeout is missing only one thing.”
“Isn’t the stakeout over?” she asked.
I shook my head. I had to distract her before she came up with a plot to corner Cory alone and confront him. “It’s technically not over until we leave the scene,” I explained. “And your date was cut short so you’re out of your lunch. Want to eat?”
There was no hesitance in her reply, and her melancholy demeanor dropped. “Okay.”
Monday was the first day of prom week, so it’d been nearly impossible for me to corner Cory alone. As a candidate for Junior Prom King, which was apparently a very big deal, and his sports activities, his presence was constantly in demand.
And it was for that reason I was stuck outside during study hall—our second to the last period of the day—as I watched Cory pose for a photo outside of the school building. He was avoiding me on purpose too. It was obvious by the way he’d look at me, smirk, and turn away.
Asshole.
Was it my imagination, or were his muscles even bigger?
“Cory…” I began as he finished with his fans and moved past me, ready to return to our classroom. “I need to talk to you.”
“Not now.” He literally waved me off as he shouldered open the front door. “I need to get going. It’s hard to sit still.”
I could imagine. I hunched my shoulders as I trailed along after him. I’d rather be anywhere else than here. “About that—”
“Did Bianca tell you about our date?” he asked, not pausing his long strides through the building.
“What is there to tell?” I’d seen—or heard—it all anyway. Or rather, an elaborated commentary. “It’s not like it’s going to happen again. But that’s not what—”
We’d arrived back at our classroom, and he turned to me, smirking in that way that made me want to punch him in the face. “Wanna bet?”
It was getting harder to force myself to help him. “You—”
But he interrupted me again, this time by turning away and swinging open our classroom door. Study hall was ending, and everyone was in the process of dragging their desks back into their proper places.
Well, that was a waste of time.
“Oh, Mr. Abernathy.” Mr. McCarthy—our homeroom teacher over the last eight years—was stepping out as he prepared for his break. Travelling professors visited our classrooms when we learned more specialized subjects. “Can you please check on Miss Brosnan?”
Bianca?
I looked past him, noting that her seat was empty. My blood turned cold. “Where is she?”
“She went for a drink a few moments ago,” Mr. McCarthy said. “Mr. Collins must have left, without permission, shortly thereafter. I only just noticed. Neither have returned.” He shot me a knowing look. As a fae man himself, he also distrusted wolves.
But he didn’t know half of what I did.
“I’m going to check near the fountains.” The balding man inclined his head to the left. “It’s probably nothing. But…”
“I’ll look.” I rushed in the opposite direction than him before I knew I’d moved, and as I turned in the hallway, the sick feeling I’d been suppressing grew stronger. It only grew as, with every long corridor I passed, I didn’t see her.
I ran, no longer unable to ignore the warning ringing in my ears. My shoes skidded across the floor, and I fell forward, grasping at the lockers as I rounded the corner.
The hallway was empty, and my heart pounded in my ears as the raging feeling only grew worse.
‘Should I look elsewhere?’ Kiania offered, but…
