Wicked Business

where to find her. Wulf, on the other hand, seems to be connected to her in some way.”

We crossed Wheelock, walked past the Hopkins Center, The Hanover Inn, and turned onto Main Street. The Gap was on the left.

A couple heads turned when we walked in.

“Looks like you’ve been hiking the Appalachian Trail,” one of the salesgirls said.

“Yeah, we slipped and fell in the river. We’re shopping for dry clothes.”

“Happens all the time,” the girl said.

I gathered together everything I needed, including a purse, and carted it all to the dressing room. I caught my reflection in the mirror on the way and my legs went rubbery. I looked worse than I’d imagined. New clothes would be a drop in the bucket. My face was filthy and my hair was freakshow.

Fifteen minutes later, Diesel and I walked out in nice dry clothes, our old clothes stuffed into plastic Gap bags.

Diesel was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a dark green cotton crew neck sweater with the sleeves pushed up.

“I like this look on you,” I said. “Casual and rugged but civilized.”

“I like your look, too,” he said. “Pretty. And I can see the outline of your nipples.”

We stopped in midstride on the sidewalk.

“Did I just say that out loud?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t want to tell you what was left unsaid, but ripping your clothes off is part of it.”

“It’s the Lust Stone,” I said. “Where’s the stone?”

“It’s in my jeans pocket.”

“That’s probably not a good location. Maybe you should put it in my new purse.”

He took the stone out of his pocket and handed it over. “It might not be the stone. I’ve been thinking these thoughts ever since I met you.”

I was glad he was attracted to me, but I was trying not to be overly flattered. I suspected Diesel wanted to rip the clothes off lots of women.

“What are we doing next?” I asked him.

“I thought we’d drop the bags off at the car, beyond that I don’t know. I feel like there are too many loose ends. I don’t like Anarchy wandering around above or below ground with the tablet.”

“And Wulf?”

“I think it’s odd he walked away from Hatchet when he knew Hatchet most likely had the stone.”

“Maybe he’s hurt. Maybe he got stung by a bee, or chased down the street by a bear, or crushed by a garbage truck.”

Diesel smiled.

“Or maybe he had a run-in with Anarchy and came out the loser,” I said.

“Wulf is a lot like me physically. It’s not impossible, but it’s very hard to do real damage to us. It’s hard to imagine he’d come out the loser to Anarchy.”

“She has the advantage of being crazy.”

“I’m not convinced Wulf is entirely sane.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

We dropped the bags in the car and walked back to the Sphinx. Hatchet was there, circling the building like a kid looking for his lost cat.

“No sign of Wulf?” Diesel asked him.

“I didst look everywhere. I fear the worst. His car hath not been moved.”

“Maybe I can track him,” Diesel said, walking away from the back of the building.

“I’m staying here,” I told him. “Pick me up when you’re done.”

I sat on the steps to the Sphinx and watched the students. I’d never had the college experience. I’d gone to culinary school after high school, and I don’t regret my choice. I love being a pastry chef. Still, I wondered what it would be like to be part of a college community.

The Sphinx steps weren’t all that comfortable, and the students weren’t terribly interesting. I stood and stretched and paced. I walked up the hill a little, looking for Diesel and Hatchet. No sign of either. I returned to the Sphinx, and when I passed by the back door I noticed that the tip of the sword was missing and the door was ever so slightly ajar.

I tentatively approached the door and opened it enough to see a crack of subdued light. I listened for movement inside. No sounds drifted out to me. I opened the door wider and peeked in.

“Hello?” I said. “Anybody home?”

I entered the building and recoiled at the sight of the body in the middle of what appeared to be a large kitchen. My initial reaction was confusion and horror. It was Wulf, and he was hog-tied. His body was bent backward at an extreme angle. His hands and feet were shackled and chained together. There was a rope wrapped around his neck and attached to the chains. He was blindfolded and there was duct tape across his mouth. And it looked to me like he was wired to a bomb that was also chained to a massive table.

I rushed to Wulf and ripped the blindfold and duct tape off him.

“Don’t touch me,” he said. “If I move, the bomb will go off.”

“It has a digital clock attached,” I told him. “It looks like it’s set for a timed explosion.”

“How much time do I have?”

“Almost five minutes.”

“Leave. Get out of the building.”

“What happens if I pull the wires off you?”

“If you do it in the right sequence you might defuse the bomb or at least free me from it. If you do it wrong the bomb will go off.”

“What’s the right sequence?”

“Only Anarchy knows that. And she’s so insane, she might not even know the sequence. You need to leave now.”

I looked at the digital display ticking away seconds, and I felt my scalp prickle. “The wires are color-coded. Does that mean anything to you?”

“No.”

Damn! I looked at the open door, and I looked back at Wulf. I blinked back tears. “This really sucks,” I said to him.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You need to leave and get as far from the building as possible.”

“Can’t do it,” I told him.

There were two wires. Red and green. I ran to the counter, found a pair of shears, and ran back to Wulf.

I could feel sweat collecting in a pool between my breasts and rolling down the side of my face as I bent over Wulf and the wires. The time was ticking away. I had to make a decision. I pressed my lips together to keep from whimpering, said a small prayer, and slipped the strap to my shoulder bag over my head so the bag hung down my back and out of my way.

“Here goes,” I said. “Go with green. I’m cutting the green one first.”

I held my breath and snipped the wire. No explosion. My heart was racing and my nose was running. Some sweat dripped onto Wulf. “Sorry,” I said. “I’m really scared.” I had two minutes left, and I was working hard to keep my hands from shaking. I cut the red wire. Wulf was completely detached from the bomb, but the clock was running. I cut the rope attached to his neck, threw the shears away, grabbed the chains attached to Wulf, and dragged him to the door.

“Jeez Louise,” I said, putting my weight behind it. “How much do you weigh?”

I managed to get to the door. I gave one last tug and we tumbled out. I yelled for help, and Diesel came running.