Dragon’s Curious Cop (Dragon Secrets of Parkhurst College #2)
Prologue
Eyes gritty from lack of sleep, head pounding from exhaustion, Steven Proctor sat waiting for the phone to ring, dreading the conversation he was about to have with Marcus Reynolds, one of the clan elders.
Nothing had gone right since he’d been promoted to Dean of the college, a job he’d wanted even less than the one the clan had guilted him into taking over three years before.
Not for the first time, he wondered how he’d let his life get so far out of his control.
It had all been simple enough for the first few years.
Watching over the boys had fulfilled his obligation to the clan and allowed him to continue on his own path, but all that had changed when the former Dean had been exposed as a criminal, throwing the school into chaos.
When he’d been tapped to succeed the corrupt man, he’d tried to turn down the position, knowing that the elders wouldn’t be happy with him moving up, but the Regents wouldn’t listen to any of his flimsy excuses, and in the end, pressured him to take the job.
Now he was stuck between the two and trying to make everyone happy, which was proving impossible, especially when it became clear that a clan war was slowly developing on campus.
His cell phone ringing on the desk in front of him made him jump and he quickly reached for it, desperate to silence the high-pitched notes emanating from the little device and making his head pound even harder.
There was little question who would be on the other end of the line, but he answered as if he had no idea who would be calling him in the middle of the night.
“Proctor, you’d better have a good explanation for what’s been going on around there,” Marcus Reynolds barked into the phone.
“I just spent an hour on the phone with someone from the Syracuse Clan. They claim that you’re letting the students run wild, that Diego’s breakdown was your fault, and that you are demanding death duties from the clan. ”
He was too stunned to speak for a second but finally found his voice, “You’ve got to be kidding!
He bombed the stadium, he defaced the science building, and then tried to blow it up.
He threatened other students! Jackson was only doing what he had to do, he would have killed Abby, and we both know it,” he said, his head beginning to pound again.
“I can’t believe you’re even listening to that… ”
“Steven, relax. We’re not taking any responsibility, but neither are they.
” Marcus interrupted before he could go on.
“They’re trying to push the story that Diego was working completely on his own.
They’re claiming that they had no idea what he was doing.
His fraternity brothers haven’t been any help, either.
They’re all sticking to the same story, that they were just following orders, they didn’t want to be involved, but he threatened them. ”
“So, all the blame falls on Diego, and he’s not here to defend himself. That’s a bunch of bull…” he said, then let out a long sigh. “They’re lying and we both know it. This won’t end with Diego.”
“I have to agree, but I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do about it,” Marcus said. “That’s why I need you to handle things from your side. We can’t let the Syracuse Clan get to the boys; they’re our future. I hope I don’t have to explain to you again why this is so important.”
“I’ve heard enough about the dream team to last me a lifetime,” he said, running his fingers through his hair.
“I still think the whole thing is a mistake. All these secrets we’re keeping are going to catch up with us one of these days.
If you were just honest with the boys, it would make everything easier. ”
“You know that can’t happen. We have a plan, and we’re going to stick to it.” Marcus said, a hard edge to his voice. “Just do your job and leave the details to us.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he said. “You’ve made that more than clear as well.”