Free The MORE Trilogy by T.M. Franklin Page B

past few months. The last thing she needed was for him to dismiss her as a crazy person.
    “That escalates things,” he said gruffly, tucking the phone into the crook of his neck and typing on his computer. “If he’s been watching you, it lessens the likelihood that this was a random attack.”
    Ava’s skin chilled. “You don’t think it was random. You think he specifically targeted me?”
    “It’s too soon to know for sure,” he said. “But don’t worry. We’ll make sure you’re safe.” His attention turned to the phone. “Jerry. It’s Nick. We’ve got a situation on campus.”
    Ava’s stomach churned as she listened to the one-sided conversation. Because no matter how much she tried to convince herself of the contrary, she knew that Nick was wrong. It wasn’t too soon to know for sure.
    The attack was not random. The huge man had come after her, specifically.
    And she knew he would be back.

    Caleb stood in the shelter of a tree behind the campus police station, under a window cracked just enough for him to hear the conversation inside. He could have heard it even if the window was closed, of course, but this made things a little easier.
    Ava relayed the events of the night before, voice firm and strong, even though he knew she had to have been scared out of her mind.
    He’d seen it for himself, after all.
    When Ava confronted him, he’d nearly told her everything. He’d been so taken aback that she remembered the attack at all, let alone him being there, that he almost blurted it out before he thought it through. Fortunately, discretion won out, and he’d been able to focus enough to keep his guard up, making sure to tighten the Veil firmly around him.
    He’d been letting it slip too often around her, something that had never been a problem before. It almost made him wonder if the Council was right about her. If maybe it wasn’t him slipping, but her seeing through the image he chose to project.
    Caleb shook his head, focusing on Ava’s words instead. When the officer picked up the phone to dial the city police, he frowned. Ava shouldn’t remember enough to give a decent description of Tiernan, but she’d surprised him before. If his face showed up on posters stapled up across campus, the Council would have to act. He could try to blur her again, but she seemed resistant to that, as well.
    Caleb sighed, knowing that it was all spinning out of control, slipping through his fingers like so many grains of sand.
    Every step, every action Ava took would soon have repercussions. And Caleb was quickly coming to terms with the fact that those repercussions might be beyond what he could contain.
    Perhaps it was time for him to have a talk with Ava.
    Maybe it was time for her to learn the truth.

Chapter 5
    Ava frowned at the poster on the library bulletin board, shivering slightly. The police sketch artist had done a good job of re-creating the face of her attacker, and—even though it was in black and white—Ava could almost feel his mismatched eyes burning her in anger, feel the heat of his hissed breath against her face. She pulled her coat more firmly around her as she turned away from his twisted face and walked out the door and down the steps, heading to her English class. She paid no attention to the plainclothes officer waiting outside to follow behind her at a discreet distance.
    He, or someone like him, had been following her—watching her—for the past three days.
    It had a strange effect on Ava, putting her at ease and more on edge at the same time. It didn’t help that she felt eyes on her from every direction—not just from the detectives, but also from inexplicable sources.
    The dark-haired woman? The attacker?
    Caleb?
    Paranoia had become her constant companion, and Ava felt her skin prickle whenever she was out in the open. But just when she thought she might see something in return—a blur of motion, a pair of eyes focused her direction—it would vanish, and she was left