Page 17 of Shielded Secrets

“Fuck,” I whispered, rotating my arm and testing out my range of motion. That was three times I’d uttered that word, but it really was all that could sum this situation up.

Fuck this asshole for chasing her. I wanted to know why he had, if it was another case of someone wanting to drug her again or if there was another danger lurking near her.

And I was fucked for chasing her. In the time I was distracted by the need to protect her, I almost missed the starting time of this meeting the Boss expected me to spy on.

One more glance in the direction of where Kelly had escaped showed me nothing but a cool, calm night. No one was walking by. Kelly was nowhere to be seen. Not a single sound of a footstep reached my ears. She was gone, hopefully to safety, and I wouldn’t have the time to follow up on her now.

I groaned lightly as I turned. Leaving this man unconscious under the tree, I had to surrender him as a source of answers. If I didn’t have to go to this meeting and spy, I would’ve dragged him somewhere private and secure. Then I’d wake him and torture him until he explained why he was targeting Kelly like that.

I broke into a jog away from him, though, duty bound to listen in on this damn meeting. As soon as it was over, I’d hurry back here and see if this asshole was still lying out in the cold. And after that, I could go to Kelly’s apartment and make sure she had entered and was safe.

Aggravated to run further from her, I hurried just to get back to her again. Being torn and pulled in two directions wasn’t ideal, but I had no other options at the moment. I had to get to this meeting, then focus on Kelly from a distance.

I reached the tall, castle-like building soon, and I slipped inside to locate the wing where the dean’s office would be. That was the intel we’d received, that Marcus and Eric were in cahoots with the dean, Owen Nolan, and this meeting would be hosted in his office after hours.

Oleg wondered if they would determine who could distribute what on campus. Lev suspected they were calling the meeting to shop around. Either way, the Baranov organization would benefit to stay one step ahead of their enemies and have this knowledge.

Sneaking along the corridors gave me more time to catch my breath. While I hurried to follow the arrows to where the dean’s office was, I steadied myself emotionally from the rush—from seeing Kelly in danger, from wanting to kill that scrawny asshole who’d wanted to get her. I tried to get my head straight and lock down on how I missed Kelly, but telling myself to wait for her wasn’t getting any easier.

It isn’t like this meeting can last that long.I doubted anything would be decided today, and I could be in and out of here quickly.

Finally reaching the area near the dean’s office, I slowed down and moved cautiously. A glance at the clock on the wall showed that I was five minutes late to when this thing was supposed to start. The lack of voices concerned me.

Did I miss it?

Then, someone, a woman, spoke up.

“I’m not going to wait around all night to see if they show up.”

I hurried to pressrecordon my phone, capturing whatever was being said around the door I hid behind. The place was empty, and no one was around except for me.

“Jessica,” someone argued lightly, “Marcus will be here. Just wait.”

“No. I’m outta here.” She huffed.

“Yeah, me too,” another man said, speaking with a slangy drawl. “I ain’t got time for this shit, just waiting around and whatever.”

I tensed, ready to retreat and hide around another corner before I could be spotted spying.

I backed up further as heels clacked over the floor.

Oh, shit.

This Jessica woman wasn’t patient. She wanted to gonow.

I just barely had the time to get out of sight as she exited, striding out and down the hall.

“Well, fuck. If she’s leaving, I am too,” a man said.

I stayed back, still recording, as a tall man left. I couldn’t step forward to get a better glimpse of him as he left, and the range of my camera on my phone wasn’t enough for me to capture who he was.

That settled it. The meeting seemed to be canceled now. I was off the hook. Nothing could hold me back from going to check on Kelly again.

Ending the recording, I locked my phone then put it back in my pocket. After waiting a couple more minutes while the others inthe room bitched about how hard it was to find a time for this meeting, I eased out of my hiding spot and left the building.

The air seemed colder now, even though I’d only been inside for a few minutes. It had felt like much longer since every second away from Kelly was becoming unbearable. Just how much could a man want a woman and be denied before he went crazy? I was testing out that theory on myself. As I jogged in the direction of where her apartment building was, I ignored the misty chill and worried about why that man had been after her in the first place.

If she had been drugged again, she wouldn’t have had anyone else to rely on. I caught a brief snippet of her fake call to a boyfriend, knowing it was a ploy because she’d held the phone slightly away from her cheek and it had been in the lock mode, not on a call.

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