1. Kai
One
Kai
Being on forced leave is bullshit.
Complete.
Total.
Grade-A, USDA-certified bullshit.
I should be working.
For the first two days, I tried to pretend I was on vacation.
That didn’t work.
So now, I'm sitting in my truck across from Our Lady of Grace Academy, watching a bunch of six-year-olds get dropped off by parents who probably have their lives together.
Meanwhile, I get suspended.
Perfect. Just perfect.
Noel Kane, our team leader over at Sigma International Security, calls it administrative leave.
I call it bullshit.
I drum my fingers against the steering wheel and glare at the school.
This is all her fault.
Okay, fine.
Not Mary specifically.
But the rich asshole who thought cornering a woman in a hallway was a good idea—yeah, this is definitely that fucker’s fault.
I sigh.
Okay.
Maybe it’s not his fault either—not the part where he touched her when she said no.
He’s a complete dick for doing that—not one single doubt about it.
But maybe my suspension is my fault.
Because I didn't have to punch him.
I mean, I wanted to.
I did.
And it felt great at the time.
But…
I could have used words.
Warnings.
Restraint.
All those things Noel keeps telling me to use.
But then again...
That fucking guy had his hands on her.
And the second I saw that look on Mary's face?
The fear.
The disgust.
The way she was trying to get away without causing a scene?
Yeah.
The punch just kind of happened.
Justified.
No regrets.
Maybe a few consequences.
But still, no regrets.
My phone buzzes.
It’s Ego.
Of course my idiot brother would be bugging me right now.
I consider ignoring it.
But I know he'll just keep calling.
“Yeah.”
“Are you stalking the teacher now?”
I hang up.
The phone rings immediately.
Asshole.
“Seriously, Kai. This is getting weird.”
“It's not weird.”
“You're sitting outside a Catholic school.”
“I'm observing.”
“You're stalking.”
I hang up again.
This time I silence the phone completely.
Problem solved.