dusty windows. Toby had never actually felt like prey before in his life.
Until now. The new guy shouldn’t be more frightening than the scowling Viking, but even with his faded jeans and beat-up T-shirt, this guy screamed power. He also fit the Unsolved Mysteries profile for most serial killers.
Toby gulped.
“Who sent you?”
New guy also had intimidation tactics out the wazoo. The Viking stepped back as the other guy leaned in and propped his hand casually against the roof Toby’s car. It didn’t look threatening per se, but the hair on Toby’s arms raised. His heart pounded in his chest. His hands actually shook as he turned to grab the folder where he’d stashed all the paperwork regarding his interview. He was going to become a statistic. Or an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. Probably both.
Before he could lift the folder from the passenger seat, the driver’s door opened, and he was not so gently jerked from the car. His back crashed against the metal frame with a thud. His groan of pain was cut off by incredibly strong fingers around his throat.
“What the—” Toby choked out the words as the hand tightened its grip.
“Jedrek, hold.”
The Viking named Jedrek kept him pinned against the back door with his hand around Toby’s neck. The other guy leaned in and grabbed the folder. He read over the papers for a long, long, long minute.
“Let him go.”
“What?” Jedrek asked.
The two men shared a glance, and the Viking let him go.
“Sorry about this,” Scary New Guy said. “You aren’t on my calendar. I’m very protective of who I allow on the property.”
It took a second for Toby to process. “Wait… you’re the headmaster? You’re Nick Smith?”
Nick held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Toby.”
Toby wasn’t sure exactly what happened, but he suddenly wasn’t afraid anymore, even though his heart still pounded faster than a jackrabbit’s and his neck ached from Viking Jedrek’s grip. He carefully placed his hand into the offered one and shook. “It’s… um… nice to meet you too?”
“Come on, let’s head inside.”
“Nick—” Jedrek said.
“I got this,” Nick the headmaster said, cutting off the still-scary Viking guy. “Hop in, Toby. I’ll ride with you.”
Toby slowly got back into his car. He distinctly remembered locking the doors when he rolled up the windows and didn’t know how the doors had come unlocked. He tested the mechanism again, and it worked perfectly. Pushed it again, and the lock opened.
Nick gave him a look. Toby started the car with a nervous laugh and stared at the gate, which had begun to slowly open.
The entire day had been too weird for words so far, so he chalked it up to one more thing to add to his journal before bed. He waited until Nick settled into the passenger seat and the large, wrought iron gate swung finally finished opening.
“Pull up there to that stone thing,” Nick said. “Jedrek’s going to go on up, but security needs to check your car.”
They took security very seriously at this school. Toby couldn’t help but wonder exactly what kind of students they had. Or, more accurately, exactly who their parents were.
Probably famous people.
Or aristocrats.
Or tech CEOs.
He also wondered why they’d found him on the internet for a job opening instead of going to some Ivy League school. He squashed that thought, though. He was very well qualified, and if something shady was going on, he didn’t have to take the job. He’d interview and find out more.
If his spidey senses continued going off, he’d politely decline, no matter that this was triple the salary he could get anywhere else. He hadn’t gone into teaching for the money, although being able to pay off his student loans sure would be nice.
After Toby stopped next to what looked like a pile of rocks, two men dressed in all black emerged from the woods like scary soldiers and began searching his car. They had… no.
Toby shook his head with his eyes squeezed shut, then opened them again. His eyes hadn’t deceived him the first time. Scary soldier guys actually had swords strapped to their backs.
What had he gotten himself into?
They finished their inspection of his car, without unsheathing a sword, and then looked at Nick before fading back into the shadows.
“How do you feel about walking? I’ve been cooped up all day. We can leave your car here. It’s not far.”
Toby glanced over at the headmaster and sighed. He honestly didn’t know what to make of this entire situation. Between the enhanced security