again.
SEVEN
Hand on the gym door, Ethan paused. Darkness greeted him. He frowned, his gut shouting at him that something was wrong.
Had she canceled practice? The sign on the door said she had. He grabbed the handle and pulled. Locked.
Unclipping his phone from his belt, he sent a text to Marianna’s BlackBerry. “Are you having practice tonight? I’m at the gym and no one’s here. You okay?”
Anxiety caused sweat to bead on his brow. Should he call for backup?
But backup for what, canceled basketball practice?
The comfortable weight of his gun rested snugly under his left arm. He reached up and loosened the strap but didn’t pull the weapon out…yet.
Retracing his steps, he climbed back into his car and drove around to the girls’ dormitory, located within sight of the gym.
Several stood outside talking, signing fast, using a word every now and then that Ethan didn’t understand. Must be slang he wasn’t up to date on.
When they spotted him, the conversation ceased. Ethan looked around for a dorm parent and spotted her talking to one of the girls near the door to the building.
The girl she was talking to pointed to him and the woman turned, frowning. “May I help you?” she signed.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I was looking for Marianna Santino. I thought she had basketball practice right now, but there’s no one in the gym. Do you know where I can find her?”
One of the teens signed, “Basketball practice was canceled.”
Ethan signed back, “Did Ms. Santino say why?”
“No, just that it was canceled.”
That still didn’t sit right with Ethan. “You talked to her?”
The girl nodded. “On the TTY.” The telephone device used by the deaf to type messages back and forth. Just like texting, but the TTY used a landline, and the person could read the message as it was being typed out.
“And you’re sure it was Marianna?” he asked.
A shrug. “That’s what the person typed.”
Ethan touched the tips of his fingers to his mouth and brought his hand down, palm up. “Thank you.”
“Welcome.”
Walking back to his car, he checked his phone. No response to his text to Marianna. His gut tightened. Not necessarily alarming, but unusual. And in light of recent events…
Should he check her classroom or go back to the gym once more? Should he call campus security and see if they’d had any report of a disturbance?
He glanced at the gymnasium and thought he saw something move. Lights dotted the campus at night, lighting the walkways and streets, but there were still spots that remained dark, places someone could hide.
The movement caught his eye again, and he moved toward it, hand on the butt of his gun.
* * *
Marianna lay against the floor, not daring to move. Her fingers gripped the object her attacker had shoved into her hand before releasing her.
Slowly her senses returned, and she felt warm wetness flowing from the throbbing gash on her cheek, absentmindedly wondering if she’d need stitches.
Every muscle tense, she concentrated on the floor. About a minute earlier, she’d felt the person move away from her, fleeing feet pounding across the surface, the vibrations under her prone body growing fainter with each step.
Dare she pray it was over? How long should she stay there? Should she try to leave and get help?
A light flickered in front of her. The terror returned full force, and she scrunched down into a little ball, not wanting to move and take the chance on making noise that would draw attention to her.
The light passed over her. More running feet, headed in her direction. She scrambled to her feet, adrenaline flowing, anger surging. This time she’d fight back and with fists still knotted, tightly clenched. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her cheek, she tried to remember every self-defense move Joseph had taught her.
Then she was staring into Ethan O’Hara’s worried face as he turned the light on himself to show her who was there.
Her muscles wilted, pulling her back to the floor she’d just risen from, and she burst into tears.
* * *
Ethan had never felt such murderous rage as he did at that very moment. Not even toward the two teens who had drag raced in the high school parking lot, their irresponsible actions leading to his sister’s tragic death. Ashley’s death had been an unintentional act.
This, though, this attack on Marianna had premeditation written all over it. He sat on the floor beside the sobbing woman and gathered her into his arms. More beams of light entered through the door held open by the officers Ethan had called when he realized the lights in the gym didn’t work.
Campus security arrived and everyone began talking at once.
The young man in his mid-thirties who held the title of head of campus security, Kevin Manning, sat on his haunches, pushed his cap back on his head and asked, “She all right?”
Through gritted teeth, Ethan muttered, “Does she look all right?”
Kevin’s expression didn’t change although his eyes sharpened. He ignored Ethan’s question. “I’ll need her to tell us what happened just as soon as she gets it together.”
Ethan thought about putting his fist together with the man’s nose, but reined in the impulse. The guy was just doing his job. He had the safety of all the residential students and staff on his shoulders. Of course he would need information as soon as possible.
Marianna pulled away from him, and his arms immediately missed her slight form. Using the heel of her palms to swipe the tears from her face, she squared her jaw and looked at him. He flinched when he saw the gash on her cheek, the blood on her face, smeared and still seeping. He made sure his face stayed illuminated by one of the flashlights. She said, “I want this person caught.”
“Do you remember anything about him? Did you see him?”
“No, it was pitch-black. But I felt him.” She shuddered and the tremble went straight to his heart. Then he felt guilty. Once again, someone he cared about had been hurt. If only he’d come to check on her earlier; if only…
His fault…his fault…
Shrugging those memories aside, he told himself to focus. “Did you notice anything about him? Did he have on a mask? Come on, Marianna, give me something to work with.”
Overhead lights came on, slowly brightening in intensity as they warmed up. Flashlights flicked off, and
