Page 148 of Devil's Bargain

TWENTY-FOUR

Nina.

“When does he go on break?” I ask Steph as she returns to the lunch table. Ben leans in closer.

April is not at home, she’s not at school, and no one has heard from her for days. Something is wrong.

“Soon! He’s clockwork according to sources.”

“I need him to go now!” I growl.

“I vote we skip the footage and just beat the shit out of him,” Ben says, stabbing at the food on his plate with his fork.

I agree with Ben. “Yeah, why not? Josh seems sure something is going on between them.”

Steph shakes her head. “No, we need to make sure first.”

“Where is she though?” I’m fighting tears. I’ve tried ringing her, but her phone is switched off.

No one replies.

I look over at Rick, wondering if he’s heard from her. Madeleine is all over him, batting her big lashes and flicking her hair. If April was here, she would shoot daggers at her.

“Right, let’s go.” Steph scoots her chair back. “Dallas, you’re to distract him if he returns early from his break.” She looks at Josh. “Do you have the tools?”

He holds up her hairpins. “You should know. You gave them to me.”

She waves him off. “It sounded good.”

“Can you be on your best behavior, please?” I plead with Ben as we leave the cafeteria.

He scoffs, his hands in his pockets, his gaze forward. “You make me sound like I have anger issues.”

“You kind of do!”

Dallas sniggers. “Yeah, I’m with Nina on this.”

He smirks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

We reach the security office. The guard is still inside, so we lean against the locker opposite and look casual. Or we try to.

“How long now?” Matt asks, scrolling through his phone.

“Two minutes.”

“Who said he’s like clockwork?” Josh asks, watching a cheerleader walk past.

I punch his arm just as Steph says, “Spongebob.”

We all nod as if that one answer makes perfect sense. It does to us. The guy is called Spongebob because of his love for underwear with the cartoon character on. The guy needs a belt, but the good thing about him is that he has a hand in everything. Drugs. Gossip. Whatever you need, he’s your guy.

We duck our heads, pretending to be on our phones as the door to the security office opens. The guard makes his way down the corridor, whistling a tune.

“Hurry!” Steph says to Josh, gesturing to the door.

“This was so badly planned!” he grumbles, scanning his eyes over the numerous students in the hallway.

“No one is looking,” Matt says and takes up position behind him. Ben stands on his other side. They’re big guys, so you can barely see Josh crouching in front of the door.

---