Chapter Eighteen #2
I turned to stare at him, shaking my head.
“What’s the point then? Don’t you think my students are going to be a little confused about the three of you in the room?
Not to mention the fact that this is an ESL class—English as a second language.
Don’t forget, a lot of my students come from countries where the very presence of police is a terrifying thing for them.
What kind of message would I be sending if I allowed them to feel frightened or intimidated by your presence?
They’ll feel they’re not safe in this country or that they’re being suspected of something or spied on. ”
“Well, that may be unavoidable, Mr. Calder, but these are my rules,” Sorensen said. “I want my agents in the room, or you won’t be teaching at all.”
“We don’t have to be in uniform,” Nash said, looking at his boss. “We can sit in the back of the room and wear street clothes.”
“That’s not a bad idea, Candy,” Miguel said. “What do you say? The kid has a point.”
My back went up at being labeled a kid, even though the agent probably hadn’t meant it to come out the way it did. I knew I looked younger than I was, but being called a kid still bugged me.
The captain stared at his men for a few seconds, seeming to ponder it before finally turning to me.
“Okay, we can do that, but I will be putting assault rifles in the classroom somewhere. They can conceal handguns beneath their clothing but there’s no way to hide the kind of firepower that will be needed if a cartel hit squad gets past our perimeter.
And by the way, you’ll all be wearing vests.
There’s no arguing that point, none whatsoever,” he said with finality.
I shook my head vehemently. “I can only assume you’re talking about bringing assault weapons into my classroom. That’s not happening for reasons which need no explanation.”
“We can hide them, boss,” Agent Way said.
I glanced at him before swiveling back to Captain Sorensen. “I’m not sure about that.”
“I’m certain we can hide them somewhere,” he said hesitantly.
“Maybe.”
He nodded. “Okay, show me where.”
As much as I hated the very idea of it, I figured this was the only way I was going to be able to serve my students.
I looked down at the blueprints, hating the fact that guns were being brought into the classroom.
I hadn’t even considered the possibility that men on the team would be sitting in the classroom, much less, armed federal agents.
The very idea of it made my stomach turn.
Maybe he was right and my insistence on teaching was being selfish and would put all my students at risk.
I’d been so focused on my own desires that I hadn’t even considered the possibility that a cartel hit squad could get inside the school, much less, scare the hell out of my students in this manner.
“Joshua?” Nash put his hand on my lower back, instantly bringing my thoughts back to the present as I looked up at him. “Where can we stash weapons?”
I stared at him for a second, almost chickening out and then wondering what the real danger was here.
Chances were that Captain Sorensen was deliberately trying his best to get me to back down.
I dragged my gaze back to the blueprints then pointed.
“This back wall away from the door has a row of floor to ceiling cabinets but I think they’re all crammed with stuff.
The school uses them for extra storage.” I ran my finger over the diagram.
“Okay, that will work,” Sorensen said, looking at Nash.
“You will sit up at the front of the classroom to be a first line of defense if anyone gets in the door.” He looked at Miguel, Raven, and Agent Way.
“You three will sit at the back near that row of cabinets. Find some room for the weapons inside. I don’t care if you have to empty one of them onto the floor. You will have weapons. Understand?”
The men nodded while Nash reached for my bicep. I turned to look at him. “Do you have a desk up front?”
I nodded. “Yes, at the front of the room.”
“Can I hide a rifle under it?”
I slowly nodded my head. “There’s a recess where I generally push my chair. I don’t sit at it when I’m standing at the whiteboard. I guess you could put it inside there. If you sit in the front row, you’d have quick access to it.”
He squeezed my arm. “Good. Hopefully, we won’t need it but at least it’ll be there if the worst should happen. You said the door locks, right?”
“Yesss…” I said, drawing out the word before hastily adding, “but for insurance purposes, the school requires those doors remain unlocked except in the case of an emergency.”
“Then consider this an emergency because you will be locking those doors as soon as all your students are inside the classroom,” the captain said.
“If anything happens, the delay in getting through a locked door, will give my men the few seconds it will take to get to their weapons and get your students on the ground. It’s the way we’re going to do things, or this won’t be happening at all. Is that clear?”
The way he was looking at me, told me there’d be no use in arguing.
“Yes, sir.” I glanced at Nash who was looking very sure of himself and the captain’s plan.
When I breathed out a sigh, the corners of his mouth turned up in a tiny smile…
bastard. He knew I had no other choice but to accept the captain’s terms or give up teaching my class.
I glanced at my watch. “Well, we’d better get moving if I’m not going to be late. ”
“Let’s move,” Sorensen said, striding to the door, and heading out to the drive. Miguel and Raven followed him but Agent Way stopped on the porch to wait for Nash and me to lock up the house. I turned and the way he smiled, in a shy, almost sweet way at me, made me smile back.
“Thank you, Agent Way. You and the captain have been very good about everything,” I told him as we walked toward the large BearCat parked on the drive. He walked with me as Nash muttered, “One minute,” and jogged to catch up with Captain Sorensen.
“It’s fine. Anyone on our team would do the same for someone as important to Nash as you are.”
“What?” I nearly stumbled as I turned to look at him. “Wh-what makes you think I’m important to Nash, Agent Way?” I sputtered.
“Call me Mickey,” he said. “You don’t think you’re important to Nash?
Because I can tell you right now—” He pointed to Nash.
“That man is a smitten kitten.” He grinned.
The expression was so genuine, I couldn’t do anything but shake my head in disbelief, moving my backpack from one shoulder to the other as I felt my face flush.
“I’m not so sure about that. I’m an assignment…I mean, I know he likes me, but I am just an assignment.” Even as I said it, I wondered about earlier when Nash had said, ‘Me too.” But had he meant it the way I had?
He laughed. “You are not just an assignment, Joshua. Trust me, I’m his best friend. I’ve seen him on and off the battlefield and when I say battlefield, I’m not talking about our military service.”
I almost swallowed my tongue. “What do you mean then?”
“I’m talking about how before meeting you, he went through the bars like crazy, never settling down, and never looking at any man the way he looks at you. Trust me when I say this…that man is crazy about you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
He dragged his gaze away to look at his best friend who was gesturing for us to join them, wearing a frown on his face. We shut up and started toward them. The captain’s arm was down by his side, gun in hand, and it was only then that I noticed Nash also had his at the ready.
“Let’s move,” Sorensen said as we all fell into step behind him.
Agent Clifford grinned as he stood at the open back doors, gesturing for everyone to get inside.
He greeted me as he held out a hand, boosting me into the vehicle.
Nash followed with Mickey before the doors closed.
The others slid in beside me on the padded bench and we were off, with Agent Clifford and the captain up front.
We said nothing as we drove to the school, which would take us about forty-five minutes through sparse freeway traffic, from our refuge in Ventura.
The lights were on inside the truck, and I was relieved because it allowed me to look through my assignments and familiarize myself with the work my students had turned in last week.
With everything that had been happening, I hadn’t even taken the time to correct the stack of tests in my bag.
We’d been driving about a half hour when Nash stood and began pulling something out of lockers. I realized they were bulletproof vests. Mickey took one of the vests and put it on over his black uniform shirt. I watched as they put on button up shirts to conceal their vests.
“Your turn,” Nash announced. “Pull off your sweater.”
I hurriedly shoved the tests back into my bag and stood as he held the vest and waited.
Thankfully, he’d said to wear a sweater, and I’d pulled on a thick cable knit one which I really liked.
I preferred to dress warmly since the school kept the air conditioning on for evening classes so their students would be comfortable.
Nash stepped close after I’d pulled off the sweater, and I couldn’t help but inhale, catching the slightest trace of the sandalwood soap he used.
I was instantly comforted by it, lifting my face to his as he stared back at me with those gorgeous hazel depths I wanted to fall into every time I looked at him.
He smirked as if knowing what effect he had on me.
Had Mickey not been in the back with us, I would have made a comment about how conceited he was.