Page 35 of Medusa

Augustine nodded, looking relieved. “It had been a while before that, so no doubt it was you. But it was not you last night?”

Maddie shook her head. “I saw him at Valhalla’s Throne yesterday evening, but he was still there when I left.”

“Then he would have come home.” Augustine rubbed his jaw. “I have a fight in two hours. Would you like to come with me, see if you can find anything out?”

“That’s a great idea.” Maddie played with the end of her hair. “You wouldn’t happen to know a way I can hide this, would you?”

Augustine smiled. “I have just the thing.”

* * *

The walkto the fight club was silent. Maddie wasn’t sure what to say to the giant man beside her. He would pause and sniff the air every once in a while. She didn’t want to ask why. It seemed like a rude question to ask of someone she’d just met.

Instead, she fiddled with the ends of the black scarf Augustine had given her to hide her hair. She’d wrapped it around her head like a hijab. Hopefully, she wouldn’t run into those same men again tonight. It was a different time of day, too, which might help as well.

Augustine led her through the back entrance, hesitating only when he got to the door of his ready room. “Can you find your way from here?”

“Why don’t we see if his bag is still in there first?” she suggested.

“Good point.”

Maddie held her breath, half hoping to see Jaden asleep in a chair, but the room was completely empty when Augustine unlocked the door. “Rats.”

Augustine smiled grimly. “My sentiments exactly. See if you can find Odin. He has security cameras at the doors. Maybe they recorded which direction Jaden went when he left.”

“I’ll try.” Maddie wondered what Odin looked like, or where his office might be.

“He is hard to miss. Just look for the larger than life God with grey hair and a parcel of women trailing behind him.” He chuckled at her shocked look. “His office is down the hall on the right.

“That’ll help.” Maddie resisted the urge to giggle. “Good luck with your fight tonight.”

“I do not need luck,” Augustine replied with a slight bow. “But I thank you.”

Maddie wandered down the hall, hoping to spot the correct office. She was in luck. Not only that, but Odin was in his office. She knocked on the open door and smiled when the big man inside turned away from his computer.

“How can I help you, little lady?”

“One of your fighters, Jaden, didn’t return home yesterday. His brothers and I are worried about him.” Maddie wrung her hands.

“You’re not the cops.”

It wasn’t a question, but Maddie shook her head anyway. “We’re not that concerned yet.”

“And he was last seen here?” Odin turned back to his computer, fingers clicking away on the keyboard.

“Yes, sir.”

A video of the back door popped up on screen, and Odin used the mouse to navigate through the reel. “When did he leave last night?” Odin mumbled to himself.

“He said he wanted to workout after his match yesterday,” Maddie supplied helpfully.

Odin nodded acknowledgement and skipped ahead. Several people left, their movements jerky in the fast-forwarded video. A cart pulled up to the door, and Maddie almost ignored it, assuming it was there to pick up the garbage, but then four people exited the building, one of whom was being dragged by two others. They deposited the dragged person in the cart, and then it pulled away, the three men following it.

“That was him!” Maddie exclaimed. “Who were those men?”

Odin paused the video and rewound. Right after Jaden had been put in the cart, the largest man looked right at the security camera with a smirk.

“It’s like he knew we would find this,” Maddie hissed. “Do you recognize him?”

---