Mr. Labeau’s face turns a violent shade of red, and you can practically see the steam coming out of his ears. I need to intervene now before anything else is said. Or worse, done.
“We are sorry,” I say, placing my hand on Odin’s chest to stop him from doing anything else stupid. “We will be heading to class now.”
I grab Odin’s hand tightly in my own and pull him away. Or try to at least. The man is strong and stubborn. I can see how he refuses to back down from the challenge he feels has been presented to him, but this isn’t the time. I don’t know what it is about Mr. Labeau, but something suddenly feels incredibly off, and I don’t want to stick around to figure out why.
Finally, Odin relents and wraps an arm around my shoulder as we walk down the hall towards our next class. I peek over my shoulder, looking at the man who is still rooted to his spot. His eyes are dark as he focuses on Odin’s arm. He mouths something, but I can’t make out what he is saying.
Our eyes met for just a moment, but it was a moment too long. In the depths of his gaze, all I could see was a promise. What that promise is, I don’t know.
And, I don’t think I want to find out.
Sitting in class seems almost mundane compared to everything that is going on. Math is the last class I want to be in, but I need to keep up with life.
It has been a couple of days since Mr. Labeau caught Odin and me in the supply closet, and there has been a suffocating tension ever since then. Odin acts like nothing happened, but I see the way he looks at our teacher. Like he is ready to pounce on him at any given moment.
Is it weird that I find that hot? The logical part of my brain says yes, extremely. But my libido says I like that much more than I should.
Why do possessive, protective men have to be so attractive?
I am barely paying attention as Mr. Labeau drones on about whatever we are supposed to be learning. He has been acting weirder than usual. He was out sick for a few days last week, and since he has been back, he has been odd.
I can’t describe how he is odd, but there is something different about him. His mood has been on a downward spiral. Snapping at anyone and everyone around for the smallest things.
Evie and I moved to the back of the class to be near Midas, Odin, and Zeus. They demanded that we do, wanting to keep a closer eye on me. I tried to reason with them that nothing is going to happen in the middle of a class, but they wouldn’t budge. It was a fight I wasn’t going to win, so I relented and sat near them. Evie, being the saint that she is, followed me. Sitting right next to me, so only one of the guys can sit on the other side.
The bell finally rings. Mr. Labeau doesn’t wait for anyone to get up from their seats before he is out the door, leaving all his papers on his desk.
Evie and I walk side by side down the hall with the Kings acting like sentinels behind us.
“Any plans tonight?” I ask.
“Uhm… My parents are going on a date. So, it’s just me and my annoying younger brothers.” She rolls her eyes, but there is joy there. Her younger brothers are the light in her life. She loves them more than anything, even if she won’t admit it out loud. It’s something you can see when she talks about them, or when she is around them. They receive her full attention when they are around.
I grab my stuff from my locker as I listen to Evie talk about her plans for tonight with her brothers. Pizza and movie night. She is complaining about the movie choice her brothers will want to pick versus what she would want to watch. As much as she pretends that she will put up a fight about watching another superhero movie, I know she will give them everything they want.
I slam my locker closed and slide my arm through my backpack. I walk with Evie to her locker before the five of us walk outside. Evie hugs me before rushing off to her car. I watch as she drives away before walking over to my car.
Michael dropped it off last night. His team did a full search of the car, finding nothing. Stalker didn’t mess with anything in it or add any bugs to track me with. To say a massive sigh of relief left me would be an understatement.
Midas is staring down at his phone, a scowl marring his chiseled face. “My dad summons our presence at the clubhouse.”
“We stick to the plan. One of us stays with Serena.” Zeus remarks. “You and Odin should go. Just tell them that my mom needed me for something. We know she will cover for me.”
This will become the new normal. Every time they are summoned to the clubhouse, one stays with me. If that’s not possible, Dante comes to pick me up. The only person who can’t stay behind is Midas. He keeps telling me that it would be too suspicious if he didn’t show up. He is the future leader and must always go when required. I wanted to argue against that thought, but he shot me down before I could utter a word.
It hurts that he is the only one who won’t spend one-on-one time with me, but I don’t know how to change that. I understand that he feels like he can’t say no or not show up. I also understand that I don’t know the first thing about being a part of the club, so I have to take his word that he can’t stay behind with me.
Midas looks at me. I can see the desire to stay with me, but he doesn’t budge. He nods his head to Zeus, signaling his approval. I huff out a breath, hating that he feels like he gets to approve everything, but fighting isn’t worth it now. I see the stress he is under, and I refuse to add to it.
We still need to figure out how Zane is involved in everything that is happening to me, and the best way to do that is to stay close to him. Midas has the best chance of finding anything out.
His father has taken him more under his wing than before. I don’t know the details, Midas won’t tell me any, but I can see what it is doing to him. He hates every second of it.
There is a long game that we have to play to get the answers we want, but it still hurts me to see him like this. I can see the pain in his eyes every time he is forced to go there. He may not like his father, but that’s still his dad. The one parent who stuck around and raised him. It’s hard for him to think his father could stoop as low as this.
I walk over to Midas and wrap my arms around him, hugging him close. Hoping he knows that I appreciate everything he is doing for me. His body is stiff for a second before relaxing in my embrace. He leans down and places a peck on the top of my head before holding me tight against his muscular chest. The scent that is purely Midas, woody with a hint of citrus, invades my senses.
Midas doesn’t say anything as the mask he wears around his father slowly slips over his face, and he walks to his bike.
