Page 11 of Savage Seduction

My shoulders sag. “No, sir.” My face flushes hot. I hate being talked to like a child, but I’ll have to bite my tongue, do as I’m told, and not make waves if I’m ever going to be trusted again.

“What is your next move?”

“I’ll reach back out once I have something to report. Until then, I’ll start sniffing around, but softly so as not to rouse suspicion.”

“Don’t fuck this up,” my boss says before disconnecting the call.

I look at the phone for a second. Sure enough, he’s hung up on me. No matter. I need to focus on the job at hand. I unzip the large compartment of my backpack and pull out clean clothes. After getting dressed, I close my locker and sit for a few minutes on the bench. First things first. I’ll find the lead curator, get the lay of the museum, and then get better acquainted with Dr. Paul Austin. The brief interaction I had with him this morning was less than ideal when he saw the state of my clothes upon arrival at the museum.

I stand and start toward the door when something to my right catches my eye. I stop and look up at the top of the bay of lockers next to the one I was assigned. “What is that?” I step closer, stand on my toes, and peer up as far as I can.

Hmm. I step up onto the bench that runs down the center of the aisle, turn, and get a better view. A small, black box of some kind is secured with clear tape to the top of the locker. What the hell is that? I let my body fall forward, catching myself with one hand while I use the other to snatch up the box. The tape tears away easily under my weight and momentum. I jump down and turn the object over and over in my hand until I figure out what it is—a spy cam.

Shit. There are no wires, which means it’s being viewedremotely. I open my locker and shove the camera into my bag. There isn’t time to fiddle with it now, but I have some techy friends who might be able to determine who planted it there or where it’s sending the video feed. Things are going from bad to worse. Who knew I was going to be here and assigned to that locker? Was the camera placement a coincidence? Not likely. This little discovery ramps up the urgency I feel to find the guy I’ve been sent here to stop.

CHAPTER 6

Max

Ifind myself seated on a bench outside the University of Southern California’s Arts and Architecture building. The sun shines brightly above, warm and inviting, yet the shade tree I'm under rustles with a gentle breeze that provides a welcome respite. The kaleidoscope of light filtering through the dense canopy of leaves above dances in ever-changing patterns on the ground, a display worthy of any Master of the Arts, from today or any past era.

I flip open my notepad, searching through the pages for the list of eight Salvador Dali paintings I know will be on the test. Finding it, I close my eyes and begin ticking them off on my fingers. “The Great Masturbator, 1929. The Persistence of Memory, 1931. Lobster Telephone, 1936. The Burning Giraffe, 1937. Swans Reflecting Elephants, 1937. Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time, 1939,” I recite aloud, solidifying them into my retrievable memory. “Damn it, there’s one more.” Opening my eyes, I trace my finger down the list until I reach the one I’d forgotten. “Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man, 1943. How am I going to remember that?”

Frustrated, I hug the notebook to my chest and rest my eyes. The light breeze tickles the little hairs on my arms, but it feels wonderful. The sounds of students coming and going from the university swirl around me in a cacophony of indistinct voices and laughter. I take a few slow, calming breaths to bring down my heart rate and refocus on cramming for the exam. The shipment from last night took the entire shift to unload and get ready for the unboxing today. Some of the crates were moved to the main exhibit hall while others required further study in the laboratory. Had I remembered to put crate seventy-two in Dr. Austin’s lab?

“Is this seat taken?” a voice interrupts my thoughts.

I look up into the face of Benjamin Cooper, the disappearing ER doctor from the other night. His dimples punctuate each cheek as he smiles down at me. Dressed in a dark gray suit, white button-up shirt, and light blue tie, he looks undeniably handsome.

I close my notebook and narrow my gaze but feel relieved that I’d at least showered and brushed my hair this morning—something that wasn’t always guaranteed when scheduled for an early-morning final exam. “What are you doing here?”

“I hadn’t heard from you, so I thought I’d come and see you at school,” he replies.

Creeper. I start gathering my belongings to leave.

“Wait… I’m totally kidding,” Ben steps closer and puts out his palms. “Seriously, I’m not stalking you. I was joking.” He takes a step back. “I can see I need to keep my day job and leave the comedy to the experts.”

I stop shoving my notepad and huge Art History book into my bag and set it down on the ground in front of me. “How’d you know I would be here? I don’t think I mentioned anything about being a college student.”

“I had no idea I would see you here,” he says, pointing to the empty end of the bench. “Can I sit?”

I shrug.

“I’m here as a guest lecturer.”

Guest lecturer? Really? “Which class?”

“Anatomy and Physiology 201. Professor Kincaid was going to miss the last lecture before final exams, and he asked me to fill in for him. I believe his exact words were ‘if you don’t help me these idiots will all fail’… not that I should ever repeat that to a student.” He laughs.

I smile. “I guess you are a doctor after all. A&P 201 here at USC is probably a little beneath your paygrade?”

He shrugs. “Not really. The biology program here has really made a name for itself recently. Plus, I owe the professor a favor, so it’s pro bono. I’m actually kind of nervous if I’m being honest.”

“An ER doc… nervous?”

Ben’s neck grows red, starting at the collar. “I’m not proud of it, trust me. Give me an MVA with multiple injuries any day of the week over public speaking. It’s truly been my Achilles heel.” He shrugs. “And who knows? There may be a change for me in the near future.”

“Now that I know the superhero doctor’s kryptonite, I’ll have to learn to exploit it.” I wink and pat him on the shoulder. “Nah, I’m kidding. You’ll do great. Trust me. With finals coming up, they’re more nervous about passing their exams than you are about standing up there looking like a fool… not that you’d ever look like a fool.” I laugh.

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