Fallen 2. Torment(75)

behind her like a heavy rope. "Are you as freaked out by all this as I am?"

Luce patted the bed for Shelby to scoot down and sit next to her. Still in her thick

red flannel pajamas, Shelby slid onto Luce's bed, bringing two giant bars of dark

chocolate with her.

Luce was going to say she couldn't possibly eat, but as the scent of the chocolate

wafted to her nose, she peeled back the bronze foil and gave Shelby a tiny smile.

"Hits the spot," Shelby said. "You know that thing I said last night about Dawn

making out with some greaseball? I feel really bad about it."

Luce shook her head. "Oh, Shel, you didn't know. You can't feel bad about that."

She, on the other hand, had plenty of reason to feel sick over what had happened to

Dawn. Luce had spent so much time already feeling responsible for the deaths of people

near her--Trevor, then Todd, then poor, poor Penn. Her throat closed up at the thought of

adding Dawn to the list. She wiped a silent tear away before Shelby could see. It was

getting to a point where she was going to have to quarantine herself, to stay away from

everyone she loved so that they could be safe.

A knock on their door made Luce and Shelby both jump. The door opened slowly.

Miles.

"They found Dawn."

" What? " Luce and Shelby asked, sitting up in unison.

Miles dragged Luce's desk chair over to the bed and sat facing the girls. He took

his cap off and wiped his forehead. It was beaded with sweat, like he'd come running

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across campus to tell them.

"I couldn't sleep last night," he said, turning the cap in his hands. "I was up early,

walking around. I ran into Steven and he told me the good news. The people who took

her brought her back around sunrise. She's shaken up, but she's not hurt."

"That's a miracle," Shelby murmured.

Luce was more dubious. "I don't get it. They just brought her back? Unharmed?

When does that ever happen?"

And how long had it taken whoever they were to realize they had the wrong girl?

"It wasn't that simple," Miles admitted. "Steven was involved. He rescued her."

"From who?" Luce practically shouted.

Miles shrugged, rocking back on two legs of the chair. "Beats me. I'm sure Steven

knows, but, uh, I'm not exactly his first choice for pillow talk."

The idea made Shelby hoot. That Dawn had been found, unharmed, seemed to

relax everyone except Luce. Her body was growing numb. She couldn't stop thinking: It

should have been me.

She got out of bed and grabbed a T-shirt and jeans from her closet. She had to

find Dawn. Dawn was the only person who could answer her questions. And even though

Dawn would never understand, Luce knew she owed her an apology.

"Steven did say that the people who took her won't be back anymore," Miles

added, watching Luce worriedly.

"And you believe him?" Luce scoffed.

"Why shouldn't he?" a voice asked from the open doorway.

Francesca was leaning up against the threshold in a khaki trench coat. She was

radiating calm, but she didn't seem exactly happy to see them. "Dawn is home now and

she's safe."

"I want to see her," Luce said, feeling ridiculous standing there in the tattered Tshirt and running shorts she'd slept in.

Francesca pursed her lips. "Dawn's family picked her up an hour ago. She'll be

back at Shoreline when the time is right."

"Why are you acting like nothing happened?" Luce threw up her arms. "Like

Dawn wasn't kidnapped--"

"She wasn't kidnapped," Francesca corrected. "She was borrowed, and it turned

out to be a mistake. Steven handled it."

"Um, is that supposed to make us feel better? She was borrowed? For what?"

Luce searched Francesca's features--and saw nothing but levelheaded calm. But

then something in Francesca's blue eyes changed: They narrowed, then widened, and a

silent plea passed from Francesca to Luce. Francesca wanted Luce not to show what she

suspected in front of Miles or Shelby. Luce didn't know why, but she trusted Francesca.

"Steven and I expect that the rest of you will be quite shaken up," Francesca

continued, widening her gaze to include Miles and Shelby. "Classes are canceled today,

and we'll be in our offices if you'd like to come by and talk." She smiled in that dazzling

angelic way of hers, then turned on her high heels and clicked down the hallway.

Shelby got up and shut the door behind Francesca. "Can you believe she used the

term 'borrowed' to refer to a human being? Is Dawn a library book?" She balled her hands

up. "We have to do something to take our minds off this. I mean I'm glad Dawn's safe,

and I trust Steven--I think--but I'm still thoroughly creeped out."