Chapter 8 #2
“You invited me with your bullshit curfew,” I spit back. “Don’t think I don’t know it was you.”
He picks up the black cap where it floats on the surface and tosses it back onto the deck before he hauls himself up out of the pool.
His black shorts fall a little higher than mid-thigh, showing off muscular legs and every curve of his ass. As he walks to pick up a towel, I let myself look, taking in his narrow waist and toned and tanned skin from head to toe.
Fucking piece of shit…
He turns, rubbing his towel over his hair. “What could a philosophy teacher be doing out past midnight anyway?”
“An adult can do whatever they want.”
I don’t owe him an explanation.
But he says, “Mr. Ames.”
“What?”
Reaching down, he plucks a grape and pops it into his mouth. “You’ll address me as Mr. Ames here.”
I straighten my spine, almost choking on his fucking ego. Another reminder that the grace of the good boosters of this school pays my salary.
I glance over at the girl, but I do a double take. Amy Chandler, Clay and Krisjen’s former high school friend, bobs her foot to the music as her robe spills off her shoulder, just the straps of her bikini visible from here.
Does he know I had her?
I’ll bet he does. He seems well informed.
“The curfew isn’t unreasonable.” He tosses the towel down, speaking calmly, as if I’m really just a teacher and he’s my boss.
“We’ve had some break-ins in previous years, and this protects everyone from the weather and the empty houses from burglars.
” He sits down on the couch, facing me as he adds ice to a glass.
“You shouldn’t be inconvenienced, all the way over in Sanoa Bay. ”
I take a step closer, keeping my voice down. “What happens if we’re caught here after hours?”
“Well, what happens to anyone who breaks the law?” He peers up at me in between scooping up some green-powder shit and adding it to the ice water. “There’s no telling how long you’d sit in jail, what with Judge Conroy on vacation for several weeks.”
He swirls the liquid, mixing it up and watching me as he takes a drink.
I keep myself from grabbing him and slamming him into the fucking tile.
Unable to keep the disgust from twisting my lips, I pull off my soaked shirt and squeeze both fists around it, ringing out the water onto the pool deck.
“Some of our people work late in St. Carmen,” I tell him, bending over and swiping up my hat. Fitting it on my head backward, I lift my eyes to him. “Mr. Ames.”
“Then let them sleep in the beds they worked in.”
Motherfucker. Charging over, I close the distance between us and grip his fucking neck, pinning him to the back of the couch.
He doesn’t even flinch.
He doesn’t laugh at me, and he doesn’t struggle, simply raises his eyes and locks them on mine. “Officer Grady?” he says.
I narrow my gaze.
“Yes,” I hear someone say.
I follow the sound, finally noticing the cell phone sitting on the side table.
Callum’s chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm, and he’s propped his arms up on the back of the couch, his voice not even faltering. “How’s it going tonight?” he asks the man.
The cop has been listening this whole time?
“We’ve caught two,” he tells Callum through the speakerphone. “Mr. Santos and Mr. Torres.”
Goddammit. That’s our muscle, the closest thing to friends Macon has.
Callum sees my panic, however small. The shake in my chest, the flex in my jaw…His mouth doesn’t move, but he’s smiling. I can see it in his eyes.
“Do you need me?” Grady asks him.
“Stand by,” Callum instructs, his eyes dropping to my mouth. “There are still some lawbreakers out and about, and they’ll have to head home at some point.”
I push off, standing up straight. Fucker.
He reaches his hand over to the phone. “I’m going to put you on mute for a minute, okay?”
“Okay.”
Callum taps the screen and fixes his attention back up on me.
“Is this about Iron?” I ask. “He just did almost four years. You really think he’s going to risk it?”
We all did shit back in the day. Even Callum Ames.
But we never stole anything from their fucking houses. Maybe a car. A boat. But that’s it.
“We don’t need the money,” I bite out, “in case you haven’t noticed.”
“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t do it for the thrill.”
Then, just put him on house arrest.
If they’re only worried about my convict brother, why not tag him instead of enforcing a citywide curfew?
But I don’t want that, either, so I keep my mouth shut.
Drinking his green-healthy shit, he leans back on the couch.
“How do you have so much money all of a sudden?” He takes a sip, peering up at me.
“I mean, you hide it well. The outside of the house still looks like shit, and you still don’t know how to dress, but the renovations, the infrastructure, the new homes, your education…
” He sets his glass down. “I’d almost think those stories about pirate treasure being hidden in your cemetery were true. ”
I fix a tight smile on my face. Everyone knows the tales of graves filled with old loot instead of the dead.
But why would I tell you anything?
Glancing at his phone, I see the call is still connected.
What’s he going to do if I leave right now? Does he really want me arrested?
I cock my head. “You’d take away your sister’s favorite person, Mr. Ames?”
For the first time, annoyance seems to flash in his eyes. “Stepsister,” he corrects me. “And you’re not that good of a teacher.”
Oh, come on, Nero. You still have some lessons to learn.
“Amy?” I bark, keeping my attention on him.
I see her head pop up, and she removes her headphones. “Hey,” she says in a sexy voice. “How are you doing?”
“Good to see you, honey.”
The girl has bubbles in her head and vinegar in her heart but an ass like a breadbasket. She was fun.
“Did you ever do with Callum what you did with me?” I ask her, watching his face for a reaction.
“You mean,” she taunts, “what I did with you and Iron?”
I grin at him. “Yeah, honey.”
“No.”
“Would you if he wanted to?”
Callum doesn’t take his gaze off me as he taps his fingers on the back of the couch.
She laughs, a light, tinkling sound. “I’m a good friend, I guess.”
Have they done it at all? Ever?
Back in high school, he responded. He reacted, but now…
I’m barely fazing him. I can’t get a read.
“And I was a good teacher?” I press next.
Again, she lets out a little laugh, and Callum will have to wonder if he’s better in bed than me.
He glances between us. “Well, I’m not sure I believe it,” he taunts back. “Why don’t you show me?”
I arch a brow, knowing exactly what he’s daring me to do.
“It’s time for your performance review,” he tells me.
Lifting my chin up an inch, I don’t move otherwise. You think you’re powerful?
But then he taps his phone screen, telling Officer Grady, “Dallas Jaeger is at—”
I swipe the phone off the fucking couch, cutting him off.
I could break his neck before the cops reach him, but he’s not going to provoke me into ruin.
He wants to humiliate me? Let him try. I invented this game.