Chapter 29
Shiloh
Monday afternoon, I opened the break-room fridge at Riverton Grade School to pull out my lunch leftovers to take home with me.
I’d had a pretty amazing weekend after Holden took me out for a second dinner date.
We’d stayed in bed most of the weekend, just exploring his limits—and mine.
Not even the pleasure of his first blow job could distract him from driving me crazy for long.
That man loved taking control of my pleasure.
I got lost in the pleasurable memories for a minute, staring into the fridge, my mind a million miles away.
“Hey, Shy,” Parker said, rudely pulling me back to reality. “Who were you filling in for today? I didn’t even see you.”
“Gym teacher.” I groaned as I straightened with my lunch bag.
“Might have overdone it on the sit-ups. And the pull-ups. Not to mention the push-ups.” I sighed.
I was in pretty decent shape for twenty-six, but apparently not enough to show off to a bunch of grade-schoolers without paying the price.
“One of the kids said I couldn’t do as many as Mr. Carney, so I had to prove that I could. ”
Parker laughed, and so did the art teacher, Shelly Lockhart, who was rinsing out the coffeepot at the sink.
“I can’t believe you fell for that trap,” Parker teased.
“I can’t believe they didn’t wrangle you into covering gym, Mr. Football Star.”
“Yeah, that ship sailed years ago. I’m probably softer than you.”
Ha. Not likely.
“But I could have covered your class,” I said with a playful pout. “Your kiddos love me.”
“Yeah, probably more than me,” he joked. “Especially because they had to do testing today.”
Shelly shuddered. “Ugh. Testing. It never ends.”
“That’s for sure.”
We grumbled about bureaucracy and school funding while we gathered our things. Parker walked into the hallway with me.
“You know, if you got hired properly, you wouldn’t have to cover gym class.”
“Anything to get out of gym,” I joked. “But, actually, I’m hoping to submit my formal application next week. I just have to make sure a few things are taken care of first.”
“Really? Don’t tease me now.”
“Yeah, I had to jump through a few hoops for licensing, but I should be ready.”
He grinned and yanked me into a hug, slapping my back. “That’s great!”
Thankfully, I wasn’t touch averse like Holden. Parker’s hugs were more like tackles. “Ow. Your friendship hurts, Park.”
He released me and stepped back, chuckling. “Sorry. You can take the jock off the field, but…” He shrugged.
I grinned. “Well, at least you didn’t smack my ass. Holden might have to give you a stern lecture.”
His eyes sparkled. “We wouldn’t want that.”
Just as we reached the exit, Parker stopped short. “Shit, I forgot my laptop bag. Catch you later?”
“Yeah, sure.”
He disappeared into the mass of students surging toward the doors, eager to get home. I turned and joined the flow, letting it carry me out the side exit where I usually met Holden.
His GTO wasn’t at the curb yet. Huh. Usually, he beat me here. I checked my phone. Sure enough, there was a text about a customer holding him up by a few minutes.
I crossed the school lawn, trying to find a spot that would shelter me from the wind and keep me out of the way as kids and parents came and went.
“Hey, Shiloh.”
“Oh, hi the—”
I lifted my head, expecting to see one of the teachers. Instead, Curtis and Brick—the two guys I never wanted to see again—were standing outside my school.
Curtis smiled at me, which looked scarier than when he glowered. There was a twist to his lips that wasn’t friendly in the slightest.
Beside him, Brick was rocking on his feet, grinning like it was his birthday.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” I asked, glancing around hastily.
There were enough people on the grounds they couldn’t hurt me. Not with all these witnesses. But how did they find me?
“What’s wrong? Feeling Shy?” Brick laughed like he was hilarious.
I turned, intending to walk away, but Curtis’s voice cracked out. “Aren’t you happy to see your old friends? We’re going to start thinking you’re avoiding us. But you wouldn’t do that, would you? Not if you don’t want to lose another teaching job.”
I turned back, tension thrumming through me. “What do you want?”
“What we always want,” Curtis said flatly. “You return the money Jimmie stole, and we go on our way. Everyone’s happy.”
“I tried paying you,” I said. “You just wanted more and more. I’m not an ATM.”
“Just a thief,” he said.
“Jimmie’s the thief! I had nothing to do with any of that.”
“Aren’t we past these games?” Curtis said. “Look, let’s just cut to the chase. We know Jimmie gave you the money he stole.”
“What? No—”
“He told you to hide it for him,” Brick growled. “So give it up!”
My heart lurched with panic. “That’s not true!”
Brick stepped in close, making my skin crawl much like the way Holden’s must when his touch aversion triggered. I wanted this man nowhere near me.
“Jimmie told us you have the money, just like he told us where to find you. So stop fucking lying.”
Wait. What?
How did Jimmie know where I was? I racked my brain, but I couldn’t remember telling him anything on the video message I’d left for him when I checked in on his well-being. I’d only passed along the threat from Brick and Curtis and told him to watch his back.
“H-how—”
“You wore a school T-shirt when you talked to him, genius,” Brick sneered.
“Once we had the school name and mascot, it was easy to track you here,” Curtis added. “You can’t hide from us. Even if Jimmie hadn’t told us, we got a Google alert about that spelling bee you judged last week. We’ll always find you.”
Fuck. What could I do? I had a couple of thousand dollars saved, but I’d given up camming, and I was still paying for my apartment back in St. Louis, so I had nowhere close to the amount Jimmie stole from them.
Would I have to run again? Leave Holden?
My heart twisted in my chest. I couldn’t do that, could I? But if I didn’t, his whole family could be in danger.
“Hey!” Holden’s voice cut through the white noise in my head.
“Think about what we said,” Curtis said. “We’ll be back.”
They turned and strode off, rounding the corner of the building just as Holden reached me. I hadn’t even noticed his GTO pull up at the curb.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Who were those guys?”
I started to tremble now that they were gone. “They found me.”
“The assholes from St. Louis?”
I nodded jerkily. “They think I have the money Jimmie stole. And he told them how to find me. Fuck! I never should have wasted my time worrying about him. He’s a snake!”
“Yes, he is,” Holden said quietly. “You deserve better.”
“This is all my fault,” I said, voice quavering, “and now I’ll have to leave just when I—”
Holden pulled me into a hug. I clung to him, even though I knew I shouldn’t. He’d gotten more comfortable with me touching him, but full-body hugs weren’t in our repertoire.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “You can let go.”
“Shh.” His arms were strong as they held me against him. “I want to hold you when you need it, Shy. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
I took a shaky breath in, then out. In and out. When I’d calmed, I took a step back. Holden was a little tense, but calm. I hadn’t triggered a panic, then, by holding him too tightly.
My chest loosened. “Thank you for that.”
“No problem,” he said, even though I knew it wasn’t as easy as that. “Let’s get in the car. We can figure out how to fix this on the drive home.”
“I don’t think we can,” I said.
“We will,” he said determinedly, “because you’re not running anywhere. We have to put an end to this.”
I followed him to the GTO and slipped inside when he opened the passenger door for me. The thought popped into my head that he was a gentleman, even when I was bringing an ugly mess into his life, and I laughed at the absurdity of it.
Holden cast me a concerned look as he got into the driver’s seat. “You okay over there?”
I tried to stop giggling. I knew it wasn’t normal. “Just glad you’re opening my door for me when my life is about to fall apart.”
“Nothing’s falling apart,” he said sternly. “And you can always count on me to open doors for you. Or anything else you need, okay? I will always find a way to take care of you when you need it.”
I believed him. I really did. But I wasn’t sure Holden’s iron will was a match for the reality of two guys who believed I owed them a debt. He couldn’t just lecture them into leaving.
He pulled away from the curb. My head was spinning. I lost several minutes just doom spiraling, and before I knew it, Holden was turning onto the highway that would take us home.
Home. It really felt that way. And now I didn’t see how I could keep it.
My heart ached not just for Holden, but for the family and sense of belonging I’d found there.
I’d miss Axel’s playful sarcasm, Bailey’s bratty snarking, Gray’s easygoing humor, Dalton’s steady, grounded presence.
But most of all, I’d miss Emory’s warmth and sweetness that made me feel I had a kindred spirit in the house.
Then there was Parker and the other teachers I’d befriended at school. Somehow, this little town in Nebraska had given me more family and friends—people I could count on to have my back, no matter what—than I’d ever found in the much larger city of St. Louis.
“I’ll call Dalton and see if he can do anything…” Holden was saying as he left the main part of Riverton behind us.
I glanced into the rearview mirror. There were two vehicles behind us. One was a dark SUV, the other an old, rusty sedan.
“Do you recognize the cars behind us?” I asked Holden, an awful thought hitting me.
“Uh, I don’t know. Why?”
“What if they’re following us?” I clutched at my seat so I wouldn’t grab him. I didn’t trust myself not to grip him too tightly in my panic. “We can’t show them where you live!”
“Where we live.”
“Holden—”
“Okay, I’ll call Dalton now.”
He placed a call to Dalton’s cell, using Bluetooth so Dalton’s voice came through the speakers when he answered.
“Hey, Holden, what’s up?”
“Got a problem,” Holden said tersely. “Those guys giving Shiloh trouble just showed up at his school.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s in the car with me. We were headed home, but Shy’s worried they might follow us.”
“Okay, go somewhere public. Where’s the nearest location to you now?”
“I’m not far from the pool hall.”
“Perfect. Pull in, go inside, and be around other people. I’ll head over and make sure no one’s tailing you, and if they are, we’ll take care of it.”
A wave of relief hit me. A sheriff’s car would spook the guys. They’d take off. They wouldn’t be able to follow us to Holden’s home. He’d be safe. His brothers would be safe.
Until I left, anyway. Brick and Curtis hadn’t driven all the way to Nebraska just to take off at the sight of a sheriff’s car.
They’d hang around, watch the school, and wait for their next opportunity to corner me.
If they managed to tail me to Holden’s place or asked around, then none of us would be safe.
“Thanks, Dalton,” Holden said as he flipped on the blinker and slowed to make the turn. “We owe you one.”
“It’s my job, Holden, but even if it weren’t, you’re family now,” he said over the car speakers. “I’ve got your back. That goes for both of you. You’re one of us now, Shiloh. We take care of each other, okay? I know you’re scared, but we’ll get through this.”
I wanted to believe him so badly. I just didn’t know if I should risk all the people I’d come to love. If I stayed, they could get hurt. And if I went, well, I’d be hurting for a long, long time.
I glanced at Holden as he pulled into the parking lot, that narrow-eyed look on his face that he got sometimes when he was pushing past his aversion. It was determination, courage, maybe a little rebellion too.
I didn’t see how I’d ever get over this man.
“I love you,” I said. “So much. I want you to know that.”
He shifted into park. “I love you too, but don’t talk to me like this is some kind of goodbye. I’m not letting you go that easily.”
“You might have to.”
“Absolutely not, Shy. Your problems are my problems. We will deal with this together. Because that’s what couples do.”
I sucked in a breath. “Even if I’m putting you or your family at risk? Even if it’s endangering Bailey?”
His jaw clenched. His baby brother was a soft spot. It had been cruel of me to poke it. But I needed him to understand what was really at stake.
“I don’t want anyone in danger,” he said. “I’ll fix it so none of us have to worry again. I don’t care what it takes. I’ll sell my car to come up with some cash or something.”
“You can’t do that. You love this car.”
“Not as much as I love you,” he said. “We’ll get them to back off, or we’ll pay them, but we’re getting your life back.”
He was so sure. I had to admire his confidence. And to be honest, I needed the reassurance. His loyalty, even as I brought a mess into his life, touched me.
“Okay,” I said softly. “Let’s go inside and have that drink while we figure it out.”