“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I yell back. “This is an after school assembly and there are no teachers here named Chase.”
“Come on,” one of them shouts back. “We got pictures from someone inside! We know he’s there! Five hundred cash dollars!”
“Who the fuck says ‘cash dollars’?” I ask Jessica, and she chuckles behind her hand. This is why she came to find me and not one of the other teachers. I’m nice when I need to be, and a complete hard ass when it calls for it. “Jess, go find the resource guy. He’s supposed to be here for the event. Tell him to get his ass back out here and do his damn job, but in nicer words.”
I’m not calling the cops yet because this is Los Angeles, doing that could lead to someone innocent getting arrested or shot. But if we’re paying a resource officer for the campus, his ass better get to work. I wait for Jess to get around the corner and yell out to the press, “Get away from the gate. This is a goddamn school and there are laws against you idiots being allowed on campus. Not one of you is getting in, so if this guy you’re looking for is here somewhere, you’ll have to wait till he leaves.”
Grumbles and more yells come from the twenty or so of them at the gate, which makes me think others are sneaking around trying to find a way in or looking for windows. “We’ve called the police. They’ll escort your sorry asses off the property as soon as they get here.”
“Damnit, Renate!” The distinct huffing and puffing of the school cop jogging up sounds from behind me—clearly, I’ve disturbed his evening. “You can’t be yelling at people like that!”
“Oh, put a lid on it and get these people the hell away from here. I don’t care what Miley told you, they can’t be on campus and you can’t just ignore them to get publicity for the school.”
I turn to Jessica, who’s only now catching back up to us. “We need to cover the windows on the doors to the gym in case someone gets in. I swear, these people are vultures.” I rub my temples, feeling a migraine coming on. This was supposed to be a nice, easy, after school art class and now, it’s a zoo.
This is what I get for trying to help. Fuck.
* * *
When asked how Chase’s appearance could have leaked to the paparazzi, Miley invents one excuse after another.. He ends up being the coward I know he is, blaming it on a parent. I would bet goodcash dollarshe’s the one who leaked the pictures. On top of that, Miley’s been up his butt all night. I’ve had to send teaching aides to Mr. Cooper’s rescue on more than one occasion just to give him a break. Miley thinks that they’ll be best buddies, and Mr. Cooper will visit here for more talks and boost the school ratings or something. Idiot.
“You know, I read in a magazine he’s single again,” Marta whispers and nudges my arm as we pack the supplies up. There’s a handful of parents still hanging around James, trying to get their kids into the program and a few in other little groups discussing whatever they need to discuss at nine thirty at night.
I glance up to where Marta is gesturing and see Cooper in the last row of the bleachers with four or five kids who are still waiting for their parents to come pick them up. It never fails that there ends up being a few stragglers, and even though it means we have to stay later, I understand the situation. One mother is a nurse and her ex is a complete dick about picking their kid up when she needs him to. Another of the kids in the bleachers is living with his grandmother. The interesting part is Chase doesn’t mind at all. He’s laughing and joking with the kids, showing them how he did a few stunts, and acting like a normal human being. He’s been up there all night, watching signing the toys as he stays out of James’s spotlight. It’s kind of sweet.
“You should go talk to him,” Marta presses again.
“Mrs. Rodriguez,” I huff with a smile, so she knows I’m teasing. “What in the world would a man like him be doing with a woman like me?”
“I can sure think of a few things!” She giggles menacingly.
“Marta! You’ve been spending too much time with the older kids and your romance novels.”
“I got those books from you, Renate. What can I say? I’m old, not dead. And if I were younger?—”
“And not married?” I tease back. “And be real. Why would I want to deal with that crazy lifestyle? That man lives in a big house with a pool and people who cook and clean for him. I’ve got a two-bedroom house that I share with my sister and my mother and we can’t even afford for the neighbor kid to mow our lawn.”
“Ren, it’s California. That strip of land you call a lawn is dead already, or will be in a few months.”
We both cackle, because she’s right. We finish packing up so we can call it a night as soon as we can. Tomorrow morning is going to come far too soon, and at this rate, we’ll be lucky if we’re out of here by eleven.
I hoist up one of the bulkier boxes of paints, trying to make sure Marta doesn’t lift anything too heavy, even though I shouldn’t either. I head down the dark, empty hall toward the art department. No matter how long I’ve been teaching, there’s something just a little creepy about an empty, dark school at night. My sister makes me watch too many of those horror movies that end up with the killer stalking someone down a school hallway. I remind myself that those aren’t actual schools, and even if they were, it’s always in some rural area where no one is around to hear them. If you set off the alarm in this school, you’d have an entire neighborhood here in minutes to see what’s happening—not to help you, but because they’re all nosey.
I heave the supplies onto a table in the art room, and that’s when I notice a familiar box sitting in the back of the room. I walk to the back and lift the lid to see a dozen or more Chase Coopers staring back at me. I’m sure I can guess who stashed these here, and that he’s planning on scooping them back up after we all leave so he can them for a fast buck. Unfortunately, we didn’t install any cameras down this hall since there’s no expensive and irreplaceable equipment, so he would have gotten away with it if I hadn’t seen the box. With a heavy sigh and several curse words, I grab the bobbleheads and head out the door.
I’m going to regret all of this lifting in the morning, assuming I can sleep.
I fish my keys out of my pocket as I walk back to my classroom. As I turn the corner, there’s a giant figure in the dark, startling me half to death. I can’t stop and end up running straight into him. I drop the box, my keys, and damn near pee myself from the fright. I also scream.
“I’m sorry! Shit! I’m so sorry!”
My head snaps up to meet the eyes of my would-be killer, and I’m ready to grab my keys and jab them into his neck. Instead of a spree-murdering psychopath, I’m eye to eye with the prettiest blue I’ve ever seen before—the ones I’ve been seeing all night from a distance. They’re not like a normal sky blue, but darker, with a pretty rim around them that almost looks green in this light.
I’ve got to stop watching Dani’s horror movies.
I realize I’m staring at him eye to eye because he hunched over, trying to pick up the toys and muttering apologies as he does. He looks back at me, a toy in each hand, and I swear he’s peering into my soul. He wets his lips and my entire body tingles. This man is dangerous in all the right ways.
“I, uhm, hi. I’m, uhm, I’m…”
