AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Shit,” the man cursed. “Damn it, Eagan. Ever think about knocking?”
“On the spa? No. It never occurred to me.”
Clara froze. That voice. It was the man from the kitchen. The one who’d touched her. The one with stormy eyes. They reminded her of the sky before it rained.
“No. I can’t say it ever occurred to me.”
“Well, maybe it should occur to younext time.”
“Maybenext time, you should get a room.” There was a loud hiss and then Eagan laughed. “Just saying.”
“What are you doing in here?” the horny guy—Renner?—asked.
“I heard something. Just thought I’d check.” He sounded disturbed, and Clara realized he’d probably thought the noise was her.
“Oh no,” the woman murmured concerned. “Was it the thief again? Have more things gone missing?”
Clara’s stomach cramped. The thief. They were talking about her.
Eagan with the stormy eyes hesitated. “Nah. No, I’m just keeping my ears open lately. You guys see anything?”
“No,” the woman said. “Nothing since the meeting last week. Magic said we should watch out, but everything seems normal around here.”
Clara couldn’t breathe. He’d lied to his friends about her. Why? Why hadn’t he given her up?
“Do you…” the horny guy began, sounding confused. “Do you scent…doe?”
Shit. The hunting attractant was useful as long as she was in and out quick. But trapped in a room…
“Oh, uh… yeah,” Eagan laughed. “It’s this notebook.”
Notebook. Clara scrunched her face up. The shit just kept hitting the fan.
Please don’t let it be mine.
“It smells like a deer?” the woman asked, skeptically.
“Yeah. Weird, huh?”
The other man grunted. “What is it?”
“Something for the lost and found,” Eagan muttered. “You guys locking up or what?”
“Yep,” the woman said. “Let’s go.”
There was some rhythmic electronic beeping and then the door clicked shut and Clara could hear their fading conversation down the hall. She counted to ten, just to be sure they were gone, and then rushed to shrug her bag from her shoulders.
Please, oh please…
But right away her fears were confirmed. The thin material of her backpack was gaping on the bottom right corner. She’d caught it on something. Or maybe it ripped when the cook grabbed her.
“Damn it,” she breathed and then smacked her palm over her mouth. No talking. Not even a whisper. She didn’t know if the cat-man had super hearing, but she couldn’t chance it. And with the purring and talk of scenting… maybe they were all cat-men. And women. Maybe she’d stumbled onto a different realm. Like The Labyrinth or something.
Stop it. Stop thinking crazy. You aren’t crazy. Being alone doesn’t make you crazy.
Clara nodded to herself. She wasn’t crazy. She knew what she saw.
Digging in her backpack, she found one of her notebooks. But sure enough, the other was missing. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, and her hands shook as she peeled back the cover to see which one she’d lost.
