“Oh!” Chase’s eyes shoot open as he pulls away and starts looking through his pockets, still struggling with the sling. He pulls out a thumb drive and lays it on the tray next to me. “Mills got that back from the cops. He said there’s no charge for impersonating a teacher, so you could have this back?”
I pick it up like it’s made of the finest glass, holding it in front of me and feeling my lips pull into a wicked grin.
“Renate?” Chase asks when I smirk at him. “You’ve got that look in your eye, and neither of us is in any shape for anything that usually follows that look.”
“Chase, my love?” I swear he melts when I call him that. It’s better than Puppy. “I need a computer.”
* * *
Marta tries hard to bite back her smile when she comes by the hospital to check on me. Which means my plan worked. She greets everyone, blushing a little when she gets to Chase. When she gets to me, she drops a newspaper in my lap.
Once Beloved Principal Fired for Pornography, Harassment, Indiscretions
I can’t hold back the snort in my laughter, even though it hurts like hell. “Beloved? Who in their right mind would ever call him that?”
“Did you do it?”
“I sure as hell didn’t call him that!” She cocks an eyebrow at me, and I feign innocence. “Did I do what, Marta?”
Leaning in closer, she whispers like she’s in a spy movie, “They say in the article that someone emailed a video of him to numerous outlets. The same outlets that he and Luis sent those images of you.” She points to the picture on the front page. “That’s his office, Renate.”
“Would it matter if I did it? I don’t work there anymore, and whoever sent in these images and videos probably just wanted to protect the teachers and students from a man like him. He’s wicked and cruel—he had it coming.”
“What am I going to do without you, Renate?” Her shoulders slump as she smiles through a pout. “You were my best friend in that school!”
“You’ll have to come visit me sometime, or maybe I’ll get you a new job. I have an offer waiting for me at a private school. Why don’t you take it?”
“A private school? Why don’t you want it?”
“Because Chase is taking me on an adventure. We’re going to take some time. Together. When I’m back, we’ll see about teaching.”
“Oh, those private schools are so?—”
“Not always. This one had a different approach.” Chase says as he moves to sit on the edge of the bed. He pulls out a business card and hands it to her. “No snotty rich kids and trust funds there.”
“Not yet, anyhow. And they won’t be a problem, because I’ll give every one of them an earful once they get home.”
Marta stares at me, and I watch the gears spinning. “Oh my sweet baby Jesus, are you saying?”
“Not yet, but I’m pretty sure we’ve decided on it.”
“Pretty sure?”Chase teases, squeezing my leg and giving me a mischievous wink. “Oh, it’s my mission now. Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
“I haven’t, Puppy. Don’t worry.”
Marta giggles and tucks the card into her purse. “You know, Mr. Cooper, I tried to tell her to talk to you that night you came to the school. She told me you wouldn’t know what to do with a woman like her. I’m glad someone has finally proved her wrong.” Chase blushes as he laughs so hard his shoulders shake. “You are a good man, so stay that way. Treat this woman like the princess she is.”
“Oh, she’s not a princess, Marta. She’s my queen.”
Marta cackles so loud, I expect a nurse to come in and hush her. “Ren, you better treat this man here like a king. You two are cute together. I’m going to go talk to your mother.”
As soon as Marta sits beside my mother, the pair gossip in Spanish. Sometimes they forget that, while I don’t speak it often, I understand them. Chase asks me what they’re talking about, but I just smile and pat the space next to me on the bed. He doesn’t need to know that every woman in this room thinks he has a cute butt.
His arm wraps around me as I nuzzle against his chest, feeling drowsy. He’s changed since that night and the visit to the police station. He hasn’t told me what happened yet, but he’s not fidgeting and nervous. Like he let go of something that had a chokehold on him. When I ask, he tells me it’s something for another day.
“Do I want to know what you did with that thumb drive and the computer?”
“No. You do not.”
