Page 6 of Mending Fate

Lumen

I would’ve askedmyself if today could go any worse, but I was scared of how the universe might respond.

Soleil was still missing, and I’d been out until well past midnight looking for her. I would have stayed later if I’d had anywhere else to look or if I’d gotten another lead, but I’d exhausted more than just myself. Not only had Soleil not been at any of the places I’d looked, but no one there had seen her. I hadn’t even gotten the slightest hint that anyone was lying.

I showered after I’d gotten home, hoping that it’d be enough to relax me into the right frame of mind to sleep, but I’d still laid awake for most of the rest of the night, which meant when my alarm went off, I’d been just as tired as I had been when I’d gotten into bed.

Things just continued downhill from there.

I’d spilled coffee on my skirt and had to change, but my only clean skirt didn’t match my blouse. By the time I finished changing, I’d had to practically run to the bus stop, and there hadn’t been any seats available, which meant I’d had to try to carry all of my things under one arm while keeping the other locked around a pole that had something unidentifiable and sticky on it.

Vice Principal Cornelius Harvey had been waiting for me when I arrived, which had turned the need for me to wash my hands into a good thing because I’d been able to offer a legitimate excuse to rush to the ladies’ room. By the time I’d gotten back, enough other teachers had been around that he’d had to keep his distance. It hadn’t stopped him from making comments under his breath regarding his theories about why I looked so haggard, but I’d ignored him.

Then there was Alec. I hadn’t heard from him since we’d parted ways yesterday afternoon, so I didn’t know if his silence was out of anger toward me, concern for Evanne, or him dealing with the aftermath of what Keli had done. Or a combination of all three of those things.

A part of me had optimistic hope that Evanne would walk in for class, and I’d know at least one of the two girls I cared about was safe. Well, safer, anyway. I believed what I’d said to Alec about how Evanne was at least safe with Keli. Yes, there would be things that Alec and Keli would have to deal with because of how Keli had handled things, and Evanne might have some confusion and difficult emotions to deal with, but the odds of Soleil’s disappearance ending with her safe and sound went down with every passing hour.

I held on to that hope for several minutes after the first bell rang, but Evanne’s seat remained empty. A part of me wished that I could call Alec and ask if she was back and he’d just kept her home to recover from the ordeal, but even if I’d been able to step away from my class to make a personal call, I doubted he’d want to hear from me.

“Good morning.” I greeted my students with a smile and focused on getting through the day.

Fortunately for me, my class had music halfway through the morning, and after I walked them down to the music room, I went back to my classroom for a bit of peace and quiet.

Except Harvey was waiting for me, the scowl on his face saying I’d somehow managed to do something that displeased him. Unsurprisingly, I couldn’t muster the energy to care much.

“You have a visitor waiting for you in the staff room.”

I frowned. “Um, okay.” I turned to go back the way I came.

Unfortunately, he came with me.

“You really should keep your personal life out of the workplace.”

“Who’s the visitor?” I figured that was safer than a straight-up denial since I had no idea if the person was actually connected to my personal life. I suddenly wondered if it was Soleil, but before I could get too hopeful, Harvey answered my question.

Sort of.

“Some guy. I didn’t get his name.” He scowled. “Big guy. Red hair. Ugly scar on his face.”

My eyes widened. “I have absolutely no idea who that could be.”

I could think of exactly zero people in my life who fit that description.

“Maybe he was a former…client.” He gave me a sideways look. “You probably didn’t see much of his face.”

I gritted my teeth and swallowed a retort. Ever since he’d learned that Real Life Bodywork was a massage parlor, he’d stepped up his harassment. Verbally, anyway. He, at least, kept his hands to himself. I could handle the not-so-subtle hints about what services I could provide him with and questions about what services I had provided to other men. If he touched me, however, the mood I was in right now, I might knock out a few teeth, job be damned.

When I stepped into the staff room, all thoughts of whether or not I knew this guy flew out the window because I was staring at the scariest looking man I’d seen in a long time. A lean six-and-a-half-foot frame that looked strangely familiar. And a scar that ran from his temple to just under his mouth.

Shit.

“Um…hi?”

“Are you Lumen Browne?” His voice was as rough as his appearance.

“Yes.” I still had no idea who he was or why he was here.

“Teacher to Evanne McCrae?”