Kendra grinned at her. “I think that might be possible,” she said, making them both laugh. Then she became serious. “Okay,back to business, I just need to take your picture, I already have your badge put together and ready to go.”
Ten minutes later, she was the proud owner of a badge with a horrible picture of her. “Are you sure we can’t try it one more time?” she pleaded. “Look at me, I look awful.”
“You do not, I’d let you retake if you did,” Kendra said. “Now get out of here, go stand by the gate and send everyone my way when they get here. They’re all bound to be a little worked up by all this. I think seeing you will calm them down.”
“Yes, ma'am,” she said, giving her a salute, a smile on her face. “Is there anything else?”
“I’ll need a refill on my coffee,” Kendra said, grinning back at her, then added. “Hey, you asked.”
“I’ll send one of the interns,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I believe that falls under their job description.”
CHAPTER 10
***COOPER***
Cooper cursing himself as he ran toward the old stadium and the ruins. He’d overslept, snored right through his alarms, and he was going to be late on one of the worst days possible if what Stephanie had predicted came true. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but it wasn’t the crowds gathered around the chain-link fence staring at the entrance to the tunnel as if something was going to happen, or the people gathered in small groups chatting about strange topics with words like shifter, vampire, and witch standing out as he passed by.
It was the atmosphere that surprised him the most, people laughing, talking, eating, and drinking as if they were at a party. Several groups had set up lawn chairs and were eating a quick fast-food breakfast, and there was even a food truck parked on the dirt road that cut across the back of the property. Making his way to the gate, he had to elbow a few people out of the way, but they didn’t seem to notice; they were all trying to get a look at Stephanie, who was standing behind a very angry-looking security guard.
“Unless you want me to call the police and have you removed, I suggest you stand back,” the man cautioned. “Dr. Warner isn’tgoing to answer any more questions this morning. Go home or to work where you belong and leave us in peace.”
“You heard him,” he bellowed from the middle of the crowd. “You’re all on private property and unless you want to be arrested for trespassing, I suggest you move on now.”
The crowd backed away, and he stepped up to the gate. “I’m Cooper McFarland, I'm supposed to be here,” he said. “I think my name is on a list or something.”
“It’s okay, Frankie, you can let him in,” Stephanie said, stepping out from behind the guard. “He’s the last one for today.”
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he said, slipping inside when the guard stepped back. “I slept through my alarms. I didn’t sleep very well last night, but I shouldn’t use that as an excuse; you probably didn’t either.”
“That’s an understatement, I think I got about two hours,” she said. “We’re both going to need a nap later, Kendra is already planning to sneak off later this morning.”
“Are you inviting me to take a nap with you?” he asked, grinning at her. “Because if you are, I accept.”
Her cheeks turned an inviting shade of pink. “Cooper, behave yourself,” she chided. “Someone could be listening.”
“Are we telling secrets again?” a voice he instantly recognized asked. “I so love a juicy secret. Of course, it appears the good doctor isn’t very good at keeping secrets, that is, if you believe this insanity.”
He whirled around, barely suppressing a groan of annoyance when he saw Sebastian grinning at him, several of his frat buddies backing him up. “Sorry, Sebastian, we’re not sharing today,” he said. “Maybe you should run along to class, you wouldn’t want to be late.”
“We’ve got the morning off, thought we’d come take a look at the ruins,” Sebastian said, walking over to the gate. “That wasa wild story on the news last night. All that talk about shifters and stuff has us curious, you know, something like this doesn’t happen very often.”
“That was all just talk, there’s absolutely no proof that any of it is true,” he said, hoping that Sebastian really was just curious and hadn’t connected the ruins with the old stories. “Nothing has changed since Dr. Warner made her statement to the press yesterday. You and everyone else here need to move on.”
“I’ll move on when I’m ready to,” Sebastian said, taking one more step toward him, but Frankie stepped in his way. “Can’t fight your own battles, McFarland, I should have known. Is he one of yours? Did you have to call in reinforcements?”
“Let it go and move on, Sebastian. Your intimidation techniques won’t work, and you can’t make me angry enough to do something stupid,” he said, stepping in front of Frankie. “I don’t need anyone to fight my battles, but you might, especially considering how your last little skirmish turned out, or have you forgotten? Would you like me to say hello to Taylor for you? I’m sure he’d love to hear from you.”
“This isn’t over, McFarland,” Sebastian hissed at him, then leaned closer. “I figured out what this place is, and I’m going to get in there. I want to see it for myself. There has to be incredible power in there, and if you think I’m going to let you hog it all for yourself, you’re wrong, so you’d better share or get out of my way.”
“Is that what you think is in there?” he asked, then laughed. “Of course you would, that’s all you ever think about. Well, I’ve got news for you, there’s no power, just a bunch of empty houses with no clue to who used to live there. Sorry to burst your bubble. Now move along, you’re not getting in today.”
“I’m no fool, and neither is the council. You’re hiding something, and I’m going to find out what it is,” Sebastian spatat him, then turned and stomped off, his minions following behind him.
When they were gone, he stepped back behind the gate. “What was that all about?” Stephanie asked. “Who was that?”
“That was Sebastian, it’s a long story, but let’s just say he’s not a stellar citizen,” he said. “He belongs to our rival fraternity. He tried to mess with Taylor a few weeks ago, but it didn’t end well. I think he’s going to be a problem, but I’ll handle it.”
“What kind of problem?” Stephanie asked. “And don’t lie to me, Cooper.”
