Mercy (Somerset University #3) - Ruby Vincent Page 0,2
front of Val, head cocked and nose scrunched like she didn’t understand the question.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Val.” I went to her side, sliding a protective arm around her waist. “What’s going on?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” she said. “Teagan, you disappeared.”
She made a low noise in her throat. “I know. I totally vanished off the face of the earth. I didn’t want to leave school but my mom passed away and then—” She turned away, eyes bright. “I just couldn’t deal, you know. With anyone or anything.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Val said.
Teagan frowned. “What?”
“I’m sorry about your mother. Of course I am. I understand if that’s what took you away, but that’s not the story I heard.”
“What did you hear?” she asked slowly.
“That you were kidnapped.”
The blunt statement flared Teagan’s eyes.
“You were taken by a ‘they’ who then told the Sallys and Sams what to say to cover your disappearance.”
Teagan scoffed, throwing me an incredulous look screaming “what the hell is she talking about?”
“Valentina, I don’t—”
“My boyfriend overheard Aiden Connelly in his basement saying that you had to be taken. And the guy you were just snuggling with—the one who swore he didn’t have a clue who you were after you disappeared—was the next to go just like Aiden said he would. In his case, my boyfriend saw him snatched and driven off in a van. I’ve been looking for both of you for months and I couldn’t find anything. Not a tweet. Not a working home number. Nothing to prove if you were alive or dead. So, I ask again, Teagan, what happened to you?”
Teagan’s jaw hung open. She stared at her with confusion and disbelief etched into the lines marring her smooth face and I was studying her every twitch and blink.
Seems like she truly doesn’t know what Val’s talking about... and that’s proof enough that something is very wrong here.
“Nothing happened, Valentina. I wasn’t— wasn’t taken!” she cried. “I left because I was grieving for my mother.”
“Why did Sawyer Burn swear he didn’t know anyone named Teagan after you left?” I couldn’t help asking.
Teagan turned on me. “Maybe because I ended things with him abruptly and he was upset. When I felt better, I called him and we got back together.”
“What number did you call?” Val asked. “Because Ezra and I tried every number we could find and couldn’t reach Sawyer.”
“He got a new phone.”
“Teagan.” Val stepped forward, dropping her voice. “I’m not accusing you of anything. I know something happened to both of you. Something that I believe has happened to other people who left the Sallys and Sams and were never heard from again. You can tell me what’s going on,” she whispered. “I’ll believe you. I’ll help you.”
Teagan shook her head. “If someone kidnapped me, the first thing I’d do with my freedom is go to the police. Not a charity dinner. Now, I came here to have fun and hang out with my friends who I haven’t seen for a long time.” She sidestepped us. “I’m done with this bizarre conversation.”
We let her go without a word. What else could we do?
“Do you believe her?” I asked.
“No, Maverick. Something’s wrong. Very wrong.” The words settled like lodestones in my stomach. “I was digging. Asking too many questions. Then Jade unearthed those two and presented them to me with a self-satisfied smirk she couldn’t contain. Just like that, we’re the crazy people shouting about disappearances and that’s exactly what people will believe if we don’t let it go.”
“Val, what are we supposed to believe?” My gaze trailed Teagan through the crowd. She secured Sawyer in a hug and dropped a kiss on his smiling lips. “Those two aren’t missing. There isn’t a scratch on them and Teagan is repeating the same story you were given. They don’t look like victims of a sinister fraternity plot to me.”
“If they’re not the victims... maybe they’re a part of it.”
“A part of what, Val? What in the hell is going on here?”
“Whatever it is has to be connected to that hidden file on Aiden’s computer. Are you closer to getting in?”
“It’s encrypted like I’ve never seen before. They haven’t invented the means to crack it, which is why I will. I’ll figure out how to open that file, but, Val.” I turned her to face me. “Whatever is in that file, it’s not Grandma’s secret banana bread recipe. He went through extreme lengths to protect that file and extreme measures might be taken