Page 26 of Prey

“You need to get out more,” Gunner mumbled, still staring at his phone as if reading my mind.

“True,” I replied, just as Petra Black, led by Betty, left the floor, disappearing from view, and my heart sank. I needed to see her close up. “I’m just going to check on Betty.”

“Yep,” he replied, eyes still glued onto the screen, barely flinching. “Oh, and…call your mom, for fucks sake, bro.”

He groaned, and I knew as I left that he’d find some excuse not to call her. That’s fine. I’ll call her later. I rushed down the hallway, past our offices, to the stairs, and ran down the red carpet onto the casino floor. Following their tracks to the same door, they went through and swung it open to be greeted with the faces of smiling, flirting girls waiting to be interviewed.

“Hi Ronan,” a blond spoke and batted her eyelashes, recognizing me as the boss without realizing that Mikael, theactual boss, was back. He wouldn’t tolerate her flirting with the staff, let alone the manager.

I acknowledged her without saying a word as I weaved through the group, searching for Betty’s tall frame. The room behind the reception counter was empty, and then I maneuvered back through the crowd of candidates and through the doors that led to Betty’s office to find it empty. When I stepped back into the hallway, a girl with glasses walked past, hugging her folded new uniform and smiling proudly as if she had achieved some great feat. She didn’t seem to notice me as she walked under my nose, as I inhaled the scent rising from her hair. It was her.

My hand naturally reached for her, turned on by her sweet perfume and funny little chatter – talking to herself like she did in the forest, like a loner, a girl without friends. But I pulled back, dangerously close to touching her, and allowed my eyes to do the touching, running down her back, butt cheeks, and legs covered in jeans.

Then she was gone, and I suppressed the urge to follow her, knowing it wouldn’t be long before she returned.

“She starts training next week,” Betty said as the sensation of her penetrable stare drilled holes into my skull.

“Good,” I replied, holding a tone of authority to remind Betty who was in charge here.

“She doesn’t seem like your type,” she added, stepping away to deal with the next lot of candidates.

“She isn’t,” I mumbled, returning to my office to review my class schedule and book checklist. This was my last year at Gotland, and I’ll be pleased to see the back of assignments and exams so I can dedicate my attention to our businesses full-time.

14

Iwas running late to meet Judith, the police overseer of the Witness Protection Program I was under. The meeting was at an unfamiliar address at a restaurant in Gothenburg city center, so I had to map my bus routes before I left. Breathing a sigh of relief at being offered a job at that swanky Savile Gentleman’s club that my money woos will soon be over, even though I don’t start until next week

I found it odd that Betty, my soon-to-be boss, barely asked me any questions at the interview before ushering me out the door, and I was convinced that she could tell that I was underage using a fake ID. Then, out of the blue, she called me and asked me tocome back to pick up my uniform to start next week, and still no questions asked. But at least I’ll be paid a regular wage, although the wage of a kitchenhand was not that high, but perhaps I could climb up the ranks and one day sit up in the top office, overseeing the entire club.

Oh, but the dilemma was that I applied for the job under the fake name of Petra Black, so climbing up the ranks might not be possible.

Speaking of fake, I walked briskly past the Student Job Search in the admin boulevard, and who did I spot? Cheetos, my twin, is waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting student who needs a fake ID to apply for a job or to enter a bar or club—the perfect place for Cheetos to lure business. If I had time, I would’ve stopped to chat with her, but I bet she’d run away because she was more antisocial than I.

Anyway, the job was done. I got what I wanted and thanked her later for it, but I did fear that I would dig myself into a deeper hole by having a fake name to cover my other fake name. Jeez, I might need to hire a personal assistant to remind me which name I should use at any moment.

The bus rolled down the road just as I arrived at the stop, and I clambered on with about twenty other students. When I found my seat, I reviewed my work schedule at Savile: four shifts from 4 PM until 8 PM to cover the restaurant's busiest time. I didn’t see the restaurant, bar, or dance area, but Betty walked me through the casino hall, returning memories of the club in Larsson that the Kaisers owned.

My phone beeped, a message from Scream Creep flashed up, and I scolded myself for being both pleased and annoyed that he had contacted me. Yep, I was desperate for connection and company, and I’d take even this stalker guy, who might be Shaun or one of the other boneheads he associated with.

Scream Mask Freak: Where r u going?

A shiver snaked down my spine, and I discreetly looked behind at what looked like mostly students filling the bus seats, heads down, scrolling on their phones. It’s impossible to get a good view of everyone, but he wasn't making it obvious if he was on the bus with me.

Three guys in the back seat looked like freshmen, chatting quietly but more interested in what was on their phones than me. This was a guessing game for me and a taunting game for Mask Freak, or maybe I should change his name to Stalker Freak.

Me: Where r u?

I carefully scanned the bus and pricked my ears, waiting for a notification indicating that Freak was one of the many people on the bus and had just received my message. My heart coiled when a loud peep came from the bus's back. I glanced over the back of my seat, trying to catch someone opening a new message, but it was impossible to tell since everyone at the back end of the bus had their heads down scrolling.

Then my phone beeped, and I jumped out of my skin. Carefully, shaking my hands, I swiped open the message.

Scream Mask Freak: Watching u.

There was laughter at the back of the bus, and I turned back to see if they were collectively playing tricks on me, just for fun. There’s nothing more fun than scaring the shit out of a lone woman. Assholes. If Gunner were here, he’d sort this out by chasing down the stalker freak-masked dickhead and turning his head inside out. I’d seen Gunner do that before, beat the crap out of a boy who harassed me every single damn day. He was in oneof my classes, and every day, he'd pull my hair or send me lewd notes.

Then, one day, he cornered me in the narrow space between the sports stadium and the locker rooms, and…he tried to finger me. Gunner caught him in the act, and it was like a dangerous predator emerged from my foster brother that I hadn’t seen before. His pupils dilated, nostrils flared, fists clenched, and when that right hook slammed into the guy’s face, blood splattered over the wall of the stadium. One punch was enough, but Gunner kept pummeling him repeatedly with brutal strength under a dark spell.

It was me who had to pull him away from that guy, and it was Mr. Kaiser who had to pay for the guy’s medical bills and plastic surgery after Gunner mangled his face.

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