Page 4 of The Devils' Darling

The three of us exchange a glance. Who would be messaging Mack’s phone?

“It’s probably Lola wanting an update,” Tino says.

I release a breath and nod. He’s right. Mackenzie’s friend from back home will be worried about her as well. She knows we have Mack’s phone, as we talked to her on it. It’s only normal that she’d want to check in to find out what’s happening. I’d given her my number in case she remembered anything important that the professor said to her, but she might have forgotten.

I pick up the phone and check the screen.

I almost drop the phone in shock as I stare down at the message, my heart thundering. I don’t understand. If he’s the one who’s taken her, why would he message her phone? He must know she doesn’t have it.

“What does Lola want?” Tino asks.

I continue to stare down at the phone, trying to piece together what this means. “It-it’s not her.”

Kirill gets to his feet and takes a couple of steps closer. “Who, then?”

“It says it’s from Pax, which I assume to be Paxton, but…”

Tino frowns. “Paxton? As in the professor? What does that mean?”

“I’m not sure. I mean, if he’s taken her, he’s already with her. Why would he tell her he’s going to see her soon?”

“Maybe whoever has taken her works for him,” Tino suggests. “Maybe the son of a bitch sent them ahead to snatch her, and they just haven’t told him that she doesn’t have her phone?”

But Kirill shakes his head. “Not possible. If they let her keep her phone, the professor would know she’d just use it to call for help. No, he’d have instructed them to destroy it. It means he can’t know she’s been taken.”

Understanding sinks in, and I swallow hard. “So, that means the professor isn’t the one who has her. Fuck.”

Is this good news, or bad? I honestly don’t know.

“What’s the number on the phone?” Kirill asks.

Finally, I tear my gaze from the screen. “It’s blocked. I wish it wasn’t. I’d call the fucker back and tell him exactly what I think of him.” Something else occurs to me. “If the professor says he’s going to see Mack soon, then it means he must be close to Verona Falls.”

Tino chews at the inside of his mouth, considering this. “How does he know where she is?”

I try to remember what Lola told us. “Something about finding her mom’s car, and a branded pen. He obviously has his contacts, too.”

“Shit, so we need to watch out for him as well? What if he finds her before we do?” Kirill tears his hand through his blond hair. “If he doesn’t have her, who does?”

I don’t even want to think about that. “There was always a possibility the professor wasn’t behind her going missing,” I say. “Mackenzie’s mom had Mack’s dad killed because he’d brought bad people into their lives—people who’d threatened Mack’s safety. It was part of why Lucia got back in touch with my dad.”

“Your dad knows who these people are, is that right?” Kirill asks.

The planes of his face are sharp like glaciers, the blue of his eyes glinting. His fists are bunched at his sides.

I nod. “Yeah, he should. It would make sense. If they are part of our world, then they’re aware of the university, so they’d know where to find her. Maybe they followed us to the spa?”

Tino presses his knuckles to his lips, still pacing. “But if her mom and your dad paid Mack’s dad’s debt, why would they still come after her?”

I take a breath. “Maybe they just took a liking to her? Decided they wanted her, no matter what.”

“Fuck. This can’t be happening. This. Cannot. Be. Happening.” Tino lashes out, his fist connecting with the wall. Pieces of plasterboard crumble.

His knuckles are bruised and grazed. It doesn’t help anything, but I know exactly how he feels. I’d tear down the entire building with my bare hands if I thought it would bring Mackenzie back again.

“We need her,” he says quietly, his voice like distant thunder. “I need her. It’s like someone has torn out a piece of my soul. I keep tormenting myself with what she might be going through. What if someone is hurting her?”

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