“Okay, that’s not good,” she murmured.
“Exactly.”
She blew a raspberry, rolling her head in a massaging motion. “Have you reported to the authorities?”
I shook my head. “Not yet.”
“Which book are we talking about anyway?”
“Um….” I thought for a moment. “The Physics of Emotions: Attachment and Abandonment.”
“Hmm.” She tapped her chin like she was thinking. “Doesn’t sound familiar.”
I raised my brows. “You can’t possibly know all the books in here, can you?”
Her lips curled into a faint grin. “You’d be surprised, my dear.” She put her glasses back on and faced her computer on her desk.
Helen Brown had been the school’s librarian for almost a decade. So I guess it’s possible she was familiar with most of the books they had here.
After a quick search on her computer, she raised her head and looked at me. “Yep. We don’t have that here.”
My brows knitted in confusion. “That’s strange.”
“Itisstrange,” she answered. “But the good news is, you’re off the hook since the book doesn’t belong to the university.”
“Right,” I mumbled under my breath.
Things were starting to feel stranger by the minute as a myriad of thoughts flooded my mind. If the book wasn’t property of the school, then how did it get here?
I had a feeling the man from yesterday was involved in the vanishing of that book. I knew deep down in my heart that he was the one who stole it, but I just couldn’t prove it.
It all made sense now. The book had been left there for him to find. No wonder he didn’t want to let go of it at first. The encrypted messages, the location, the dates and times—they were all for him.
If that man had somehow broken into my room, I should consider myself lucky to still be alive. Being in my space would mean he must have seen my scribbles and everything I was able to decode.
I had access to information that wasn’t meant for me, and as a Bratva member, he wasn’t supposed to have left me alive. Yet here I was, hale and hearty. He didn’t destroy my findings, nor did he tear out the pages where I’d decoded the messages.
What the hell was going on?
I left the library more confused than I had come, and even while in class, my mind kept returning to the mystery man and the strange book. Throughout the lecture, I was distracted, my eyes constantly flicking between the professor and the half-deciphered message on my notebook.
A part of me wanted to let it go, especially because it involved the Russian Mafia. However, the more I thought about it, the more my curiosity spiked. I needed to know for sure what was happening; it was the only way I could be at peace.
Later that evening, despite my better judgment, I decided to take a quick trip to the warehouse by the docks. I knew it was a dumb move and might only land me in more trouble. But I needed answers.
The plan was to satisfy my curiosity—to know whether the messages truly meant something. I wasn’t going to waste so much time; I’d just visit the location, check it out, and then I’d be on my merry way. Easy peasy.
By the time the Uber driver dropped me at the docks, it was already sundown. I stepped out into the night, the cool breeze brushing against my skin. The air was thick with the smell of salt, seaweed, and diesel.
After the Uber driver drove away, I flipped my hoodie on and headed down the gentle slope. The wharves were deserted at that time of night, with flickering streetlamps casting long shadows across them. The sound of overlapping waves and the occasional creak of a ship’s hull filled the night.
Quietly, I moved among the shadows between rows of cargo containers, careful not to make a sound. Not long after, I spotted a warehouse looming ahead of me, with dim lights visible through the window.
I hurried over there with silent footsteps while stealing nervous glances over my shoulder. When I reached the entrance,I hid with my back against the wall. This was because I’d heard a noise from inside when I tried to grab the door handle.
From where I hid, I could hear the muffled voices of men talking behind the closed door. I ducked and crept to the window for a clearer look.
Nothing could’ve prepared me for what I witnessed next.
