Page 77 of The Devils' Darling

I take my phone out of my pocket and call Tino first. He doesn’t answer. “Fuck,” I mutter to myself.

My dad has already stepped out of the room, but I can hear him barking orders to people. There is no world where a body being discovered doesn’t mean bad news.

I try Mackenzie next, but, just like with Tino, the call clicks to voicemail.

Damn it. If they’re too busy to answer the phone, it probably means they’re fucking. I’ll kill them. Not because they’re fucking, but because now I’m frightened for them, and they’re too distracted by each other to ease my fears.

I try Kirill next.

He answers almost right away. “What’s up?”

He’s breathing hard, and there’s the clank of weights being lifted in the background. Music plays tinnily.

“Do you know where Mackenzie and Tino are?”

“I think Mackenzie went to her room. She was going to do some yoga practice.”

“And Tino?”

“No idea. Sorry. What’s going on? You sound worried.” Now he sounds worried too.

“I’m not sure, but the college is possibly going into lockdown. There’s been a body found on the side of the road outside of the grounds.”

“Shit. What does that mean?”

I glance toward the room my dad is in. “Not sure, but it’s not good. I want to make sure everyone is safe. I’m with my dad now, and he’s trying to find out what the fuck is going on.”

“Okay, you keep your ear to the ground. I’ll go and find Mackenzie.”

“I can go. She’s only a couple of doors down.”

“No, you ought to stay by your dad’s side so you can keep tabs on what the fuck is going on.”

I growl a little under my breath but then sigh. He’s right. “I suppose so.”

“I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

“And make sure Tino is, too,” I add.

I don’t know what any of this means, but I want to make sure the people I care about most in the world are safe.

Chapter 30

Kirill

I return the weights and use a small towel to wipe the sweat away from the back of my neck. My muscles are burning, and I swing my arms and pull my shoulder blades together, trying to ease the tightness.

Should I be worried about what Dom’s told me?

Maybe the body isn’t even connected to the college. I admit, that would be surprising, but it’s still possible.

Even if the body is connected to the college, it doesn’t mean it’s got anything to do with us four. There are plenty of people in this place who are just asking for trouble. I think of Insane Zane returning and wonder if the body has something to do with him. It wouldn’t be the first time the discovery of a dead person has been linked to him. When that girl ‘fell’ from the tower last year, everyone looked in his direction.

I leave the gym and move at a fast jog through the university. Dom said the place is on lockdown, but there’s no sign of fear or panic in anyone I pass. Everyone is acting normally. I assume it’s only the security guards who’ve been told about the body. Nataniele wouldn’t want to start a riot.

I try Mackenzie’s cell phone, but it goes straight through to voicemail. She often puts her phone on ‘do not disturb’ when she’s doing yoga flows. She needs to focus. I try not to let it worry me that she’s not answering, but after what we’ve both recently been through, it’s hard not to let those tendrils of fear wind into my heart.

I reach her room and bang on the door. “Mackenzie? You in there?”

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