Heather looked as if she might pass out.
“Why were you down here last night?” Odin wanted to know.
“Because Dr. Prescott asked me to pull some old books for him.”
Clay.
“He didn’t have time, so I came down and grabbed the books for him. Didn’t think it was a big deal.” She swept her stare over the floor. Squeaked. “Seems like a way bigger deal now.” A bracing breath. “I’m going to find Sandy. I’ll tell him what happened and get him down here to help.”
“Excellent idea,” Odin muttered. “You go do that.”
She bolted.
Maisey waited a moment, then sidled closer to Odin. “What are you thinking?”
“That there was something in these files that the perp didn’t want us to see.”
“That’s what I was thinking, too,” Maisey admitted. Damn it. She’d been through those files. What had she missed?
A door slammed. Heather must have left.
Odin assessed the scene. “He scattered the stuff to throw us off. With it so disorganized, we’ll have a hard time figuring out what was taken.”
Yes, they would. Her gaze darted to the left, then to the right. To the towering shelves that surrounded them. Those shelves had been there forever. Or, rather, for as long as the college had been in existence. Some of the thick boxes and storage items were covered with a heavy layer of dust and some of them—
Were weaving?
Yes, yes, the boxes on the top of the closest shelf were weaving because—“Odin!” She shoved him, as hard as she could.
And it was like shoving a brick wall. He didn’t move. The boxes were tumbling down. The whole shelf was tumbling down, and it was too late. The whole thing was falling down on them.
She tried to scream even as Odin’s arms closed around her.
Chapter Fourteen
Maisey’s breath choked out. Another box hit the floor. Another shelf. She heard a terrible groan, like metal screeching, and then the pounding of more boxes. The shattering of glass. The sounds seemed to echo around her. Over and over. And then—
Thuds.
Not her heart. Not boxes falling. But…like feet. Running away?
“Baby…” Odin’s voice. His breath blew lightly over her cheek. “Are you okay?”
No, she was not okay. The shelves had come falling down, and he’d thrown himself on top of her. He’d covered her with his body, and not a single thing had hit her because everything had fallen on him. “Forget me—”
“Fucking never.”
“How are you?”
With a heave, he rose up, and she realized that he’d just dislodged a ton of random crap that had fallen onto him. Books, equipment, half a heavy shelf. “Fine,” Odin snapped.
Fine? He didn’t sound fine. He sounded pissed.
She scrambled to her feet.
“When I catch that bastard, he will pay.” Odin curled his fingers with hers. “Come on.” Then he was kicking his way down the aisle. Shoving whatever the heck was there out of his path as he gave chase.
He’d obviously heard the fleeing footsteps, too. He knew that their prey had been in that storage room with them. The jerk had waited and then shoved those shelves onto them.
Now their attacker was running, but he was still close. We can get him.
Odin threw open the storage room door. Then almost ran straight into Clay. A Clay who had just spun toward them.
“Maisey?” Surprise sharpened Clay’s voice. “What’s going on? What’s—ah!”
Odin grabbed him. Slammed Clay back against the nearby wall. “No more,” Odin snarled.
Maisey glanced down the hallway. Didn’t see anyone else. Wasn’t Jinx supposed to be keeping an eye on Clay? Hadn’t that been his one big assignment?
“Were you in that storage room?” Odin demanded of Clay.
“What? No, no, I was going in there. Had to return some books. But I haven’t been in there yet.” His voice was strained. “Maisey? What is wrong with your friend?”
Maisey saw books scattered on the floor. She realized Clay had dropped them when Odin grabbed him. Old psychology texts.
“Maisey!” Clay was insistent. “Call off the guard dog! Tell him to get his hands off me!”
She eased closer. “Someone just attacked us in the storage room. Shoved shelves down on top of us.” She could see scratches on Odin’s powerful arms.
“It wasn’t me!” An instant denial. “Look, I don’t know what you think is happening here, but I just arrived! I was bringing back some books!”
“I will fucking end you.” Odin’s voice was low and lethal. “Do you think I will put up with this shit? Do you think I am going to let you hurt her? Do you think I will let you touch her?”
The stairwell door burst open. Sandy stumbled out, with Heather hot on his heels.
“Get him off me!” Clay shouted. “He’s crazy!”
“I will show you crazy,” Odin promised grimly. “You hurt Maisey. You hurt my Maisey, and I will show you how crazy I can be. I will rip you apart. There won’t be anything left of you when I’m done. You think you’re so good at making people disappear? I will make you vanish.”
Clay stilled. Then…went wild. He heaved and twisted and punched at Odin. “You don’t scare me! You don’t scare—”
“Just wait, I will.” Odin held Clay with ease. The same ease he’d held Maisey with back at the condo.
But Sandy was fumbling and grabbing for his taser. “You two—break it up!”
Odin leaned in even closer to Clay. “Different when you’re not going up against them, isn’t it? When you don’t have a woman who is smaller and weaker than you are, it’s harder.”
Clay’s face went absolutely white.
Sandy’s fingers were shaking as he lifted the taser. He cast a desperate glance at Maisey.
“Why are they fighting?” A loud shriek from Heather.
Because we think Clay is a killer. And I’m pretty sure Odin is trying to scare a confession from him.
But, again, dammit, where was Jinx?
The shaking in Sandy’s fingers was getting worse. She was afraid he was going to accidentally tase Odin. Carefully, she edged her body between Sandy’s taser and Odin.
“I haven’t hurt anyone!” Clay yelled. The veins in his neck bulged. “If you’re talking about that bullshit story that used to circulate about me and my old girlfriend, you’ve got it all wrong. She left me. I didn’t hurt her! I would never hurt anyone!”
“Then you didn’t just shove those shelves onto me and Maisey?” Odin charged.
“No! But I wish I had shoved something on you—you are insane!”
“Push me more,” Odin dared. “Like I said, you’re not the only one who can make people disappear. You got away with it before, but it ends. You’re ending.”
Clay looked as if he might faint. “He’s threatening to kill me! Get the cops. Help. Help me!”
Maisey grabbed Odin’s arm when he drew back his fist to punch Clay. “Stop.”
His head turned toward her. She’d thought that he’d been deliberately pushing Clay, toying with him, but…