Page 56 of Hellbound

Marian’s excitement morphed into confusion. “She works here?”

Green eyes threw his wet rag into a nearby sink and shot Marian a quizzical look. “You didn’t know that?”

“No, she just asked me to meet her here. I didn’t realize she—” Marian’s thoughts derailed and jumped onto an entirely different track. Why would Tori want to meet Marian where she worked? Surely that would have been a detail of her life she’d want to keep secret. Or was that Marian projecting her own logic?

Green eyes stared at her skeptically. Marian blurted out an explanation.

“We’re working on a project together.”

The apprehension on his face melted into a relieved smile. “Oh, gotcha. You go to Pomona, too?”

Marian forced some confidence into her voice. “Yep.” Tori was in school? Or was that a lie she’d told this kid? The devil worked hard, but Tori worked harder, apparently, holding down a job at a coffee shop, attending college, and exploring Hell for demons at the same time.

“How are you doing out here, Abe?” Ponytail chirped as she reappeared with a customer service smile plastered to her face.

Abe looked at Ponytail. “She’s looking for Tori.”

Marian smiled and hoped the expression didn’t look as fake as it felt.

Ponytail glanced at Marian like she was the most interesting person she’d seen all day. “Oh, neat!”

Neat. Sure. “So, Tori never showed up today? Is that typical for her?”

Abe frowned. “Not really, no.”

Marian frowned back. “Do you know where she lives?” Abe seemed to know enough about Tori to be useful. Maybe they were on friendly terms.

Abe looked like he was about to reply when Ponytail cut him off.

“Abe,” she said with a smile that didn’t suit the way her voice dropped. “We don’t talk about stuff like this with customers.”

Marian shoved her hands in her pockets in annoyance. “She no-showed on me, but it’s cool. Thanks for your help.”

She made a quick exit, chewing on her lower lip as she tugged her hat down and set off for her bus.

Great. What next? Sit around and wait for Tori to message her back?

Face it, she ghosted you.

Marian was halfway down the block, wrestling with a bundle of troubling thoughts when she heard someone run up behind her.

“Wait!” Abe called out.

Marian spun around as he jogged up. “My manager thinks you’re a creep, but I don’t get that vibe from you.” He reached into the back pocket of his black skinny jeans and pulled out a large, rolled-up paperback book. “Tori loaned me this. I’m moving tomorrow, and if I don’t get it to her now, I’m going to lose it. Thought maybe you could give it to her in class or something.”

Surprised, Marian took the book in a clumsy exchange, her knuckles grazing Abe’s as she nearly dropped it. When it was safe in her grasp, she unrolled it and read the title. Italian Architecture of the Renaissance.

A textbook?

“Do you go to our school?” Marian said while trying very hard not to sound like a liar.

Abe gave a dry laugh. “I wish. Don’t have the time or money. Tori loaned it to me after I said I was interested in old design. She’s so nice.”

Marian eagerly flipped open the cover, looking for any sort of clue about where she could search next. Right on cue, a slip of white paper fluttered out from between the pages. Marian grabbed it before it blew away.

“This yours?” Marian held up the paper.

Abe looked down at it and squinted. “No, I think that’s her receipt. I used it as a bookmark.”