Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Callum
From my vantage point, I could see my mark. He sat on a park bench, trying his best to ignore the leggy blonde who just so happened to be sitting on the same bench. Hello, Captain Obvious.
Why did they always make it so damn easy? I snapped pictures from my vantage point. I knew my partner, Keith, was on the other side of the park, his phone recording the whole sordid thing. Our mark, Thomas Kincaid III, was a shitty husband—person. He was cheating on his very pregnant wife and his girlfriend with this very upscale working-woman. Her Johns paid through the nose for just an hour with her. This fool, she was bleeding him dry, and he didn’t even know it.
I was amazed daily by the sheer audacity—stupidity—of some people. This surveillance today was helpful to my client’s case and should ensure she got what she was asking for. A divorce, what’s due to her as agreed upon in the prenup, and anything else her high-price city lawyer could get a hold of.
I put my camera down, pulled the notebook I kept beside me open, and made notes for the file. This was a no-brainer for sure. I dropped the pen inside the notebook and closed it. Looking at my watch, I nodded to myself. I had enough time to grab something to eat before I went back and met the guys at the office. I used the earpiece we all wore to tell Keith, “We have what we need, man; back out and head back to the hotel. We can combine everything and send off the written report tonight, then head back in the morning.”
“You got it, man.”
I started to put my car in reverse when my cell rang. I snagged it from the seat beside me, and without looking at the caller I.D., I said, “Asher.”
“Cal, I—we—have a problem.”
I knew the voice on the other end of the line well. One of the few people in this world who could truly say they’ve known me my entire life, and he sounded worried.
That wasn’t like the stoic, unflappable Daniel McGee I knew.
My childhood best friend was a strait-laced, no-nonsense kind of fella. A professor at some hoity-toity, rich private college in upstate New York. He’d go out with the boys and never drink. He’d ensure we all got home safely. He was the first one to call when you needed help. Whether it was as simple as borrowing a cup of sugar or putting out a fire, his attitude never changed. We called him happy for a reason.
I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what he said next.
“Dan, what’s up?”
“It’s Kara. I think she’s in trouble.”
Kara. His sister. My heart. The ‘one’ who I’d let get away. She was in trouble? I sat up, prodding him for more information. “Explain.”
“I can’t.”
“You can. You will.”
“I don’t know anything, asshole. Just get up here. There’s some weird shit happening.”
“Like what?”
“Man, I’m not sure. She’s been acting off for a few weeks. I put it off as new semester stress, but?—”
“For fuck sake, spit it out, man.”
“A couple minutes ago, someone slipped a cryptic note under her room door. She ran off like a spooked horse and won’t tell me shit.” There was no need to ask if he was sure, his voice told me all I needed to know.
“I’m on a case. I need to wrap it up, and then I can head up that way. It’ll be early morning.”
“Thanks. I’d feel better if you could look around and see what you can find.”
“Consider it done. I may snag a few extra sets of eyes on the way.”
“Do what you need. I can pay?—”
“No, we got this. Just hang tight and keep an eye on her.”
“Will do.”
Two days of watching Kara from afar has done nothing to change my feelings for her. They’re just as strong today as they were when I left. I should have made it clear when I joined the Army that it wasn’t to get away from her. I didn’t want to leave, but it was the way my life needed to go at that time.
Long story, but I wanted to do more for my country and for myself. To give my inner demons something else to focus on.
It was selfish of me. I’d left her without telling her how I felt, and she’d suffered.
Now it was time to make amends.
I would do that by finding out who was messing with my girl.
“We have movement on the street. Black hoodie, face hidden.”
I pulled out my binoculars and watched the figure hurry up the street. The only distinguishing feature was the jacket they wore. Black with a red flame on the sleeve. The figure went up the stairs adjacent to hers and within seconds, was inside the duplex. Another dead end.
Dan has been watching her classroom and office for me. Until I could find a way onto the campus. Tomorrow morning, I’d be going in as a sub for the class next to hers. It took a little string pulling and calling in a few favors, but it was worth it. I could follow the instructions left by the teacher.
She had been more than happy to get a week’s paid vacation to let me sub her class. It paid to have friends in high places sometimes. My number one goal was to get settled in before Kara saw me.
After that, I would be on her like a trained K-9 was to his partner. I would make sure she was safe, and I would find out who was behind the notes and dead flowers. If she would have just told Dan about this sooner, we could have put a stop to it already.
“Professor Asher, thank you so much for filling in at the last minute.” I looked up to meet the dean’s kind gaze.
“My pleasure, sir. If someone could tell me where the classroom is? This is my first time on this campus; I’d hate to be late on the first day.”
“Of course, I will show you myself.”
“Thank you.”
I followed along beside him, letting his description of the school, the layout, and what wing each of the major classes were in settle into my brain. My main focus was the immediate surroundings. There were windows everywhere. Some waist high, some head height. A few were floor to ceiling. That would make for the worst places to try and defend the school from an outside attack. Does no one think about such things nowadays?
“Here we are. The English department has a lounge with private restrooms just down the hall. Here are the keys you will need. This one’s for the room, and this one is for the lounge. If you need anything, please just ask. Ms. McGee is in the class next door. Professor Oliver, Professor Leonard, and Mrs. Davenport are just across the hall. They each have a full schedule today, so they’ll be in. Doctor Kizer, the head of the English department, is out today, but I look forward to introducing you tomorrow when he returns.”
“Thank you, I do appreciate the help. I’m sure we will be fine. I was told the professor left me a full detailed schedule of what materials they are to cover.”
“Very well, classes start in one hour.”
I made my way into the room, looking around. In one hour, my new persona would be in full swing. Here goes nothing.
“Settle down.” I stood, my back cracking as I straightened myself from the chair. Whoever had purchased these torture devices should be tied to one for a week. I made my way to the front of the class, my hip leaning against the desk. “Who would like to read the next paragraph and tell me what the author tells you?”
“I’d love to!”
“Have at it then.”
Four and a half hours later, I was bored stupid. My day was almost over, thank God. Who knew poetry could be so boring? Though I guess that wasn’t a fair assessment of poetry in general. It was only boring to me.
To some, as evidenced by my classes so far today, many people enjoyed it. To the point where some of the students in the class almost came to blows over the meaning of this or that.
Save me from nerdy people.
I was giving a pop quiz, as instructed in the worksheets provided to me, when a blood-curdling scream from next door had me out of my seat. “Everyone, stay where you are!” I opened the door and bolted to Kara’s class.
She stood frozen at her desk.
“What happened?” I moved to stand behind her, my hands resting on her shoulders. Her face was buried in her hands, and there was blood everywhere. “Kara!” I spun her around and pulled her hands from her face.
With her this close, I could not only see this wasn’t real blood, but I could smell the sickly-sweet scent of flowers. There was a box on her desk, black roses lay under a bloody-looking—was that a rat? It was as fake as it could be. Why in the hell would someone do something like this?
“Kara, sweetheart, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“No…I—” Her gaze met mine, and she froze. “C-Cal?”
“Yeah, baby, it’s me. Tell me what happened here.”
Others piled into the room, and I held up my hand. I didn’t want them coming in and seeing what was in the box on her desk.
“Ms. McGee was just startled when a pen exploded on her. She’s okay; can you just give us a moment?”
“You want me to call Dan for you, Kara?”
“Please. I’ll need to cancel my last class since I’m a mess now.”
“Sure thing, dear.”
“Thank you, Professor Oliver.”
When the room was clear and the door was shut again, I pushed her back into her chair and dug in the drawers around us for tissues. “Can you please tell me what happened?”
“How are you here? Why are you here?”
“I asked first,” I said, snagging the box of tissues from her desk. I used the bottle of water sitting by the pen holder to wet a few. “Here, wipe off your face.”
“Cal…I…”
“I’m sorry, there’s a lot of things we need to talk about, but right now, this,” I waved a hand at her desk, “comes first.”
She wiped at her face with the wet tissues, her brows pinched in defiance. “Dan called you! Didn’t he?”
“He did. You’re being harassed.”
“I—it’s stupid.”
“This is not stupid, Kara. Look at this mess. That may not be a real mouse or blood…” I sniffed the concoction on her shirt sleeves. “It smells like fake blood or something made to be like fake blood.”
“This is ridiculous. I swear some men?—”
Her room door flew open. A man—tall, well-dressed—sauntered in like he owned the place. “Kara, sweetheart, are you alright?”
“Go away, Ian. And don’t call me sweetheart!” Her clenched jaw was tight enough to snap her teeth in half.
I stood, my body making a barrier between her and the intruder.
“You can go now, boy, I’ll take care of her. Come, Kara, let’s get you looked after.”
“I believe the lady said to go away. The door’s that way.” I motioned with my chin.
“I don’t believe I know you,” he replied, a bright smile on his face. He brought his hand up for a shake. “I’m Professor Ian Sterling. I’m on the board.” I wasn’t fooled by his actions; they didn’t match the anger in his eyes.
I crossed my arms over my chest. The sleeves of my shirt bulged as I did so. He stopped, his eyes narrowing when I didn’t return the favor to introduce myself.
“Ian, go away. I don’t need nor do I want you in here.”
He went to step closer. I moved into his space. “I don’t rightly care who you are; the lady asked you to leave. You can go on your own, or I will be happy to remove you.”
“She’s my?—”
“Nothing.” Her voice was laced with venom.
“Kara, really. Stop?—”
“She isn’t your anything, hoss.” My arms fell to my side as I got closer, pushing him back with my menace alone. He had zero claim on my girl. No one was having her but me. If that made me sound possessive; well, I was. My heart has always been hers. She has always been the girl who stole my heart with her big heart and sassy attitude. And this joker thought he had a claim on her?
Over my dead body.
“I don’t know who you are?—”
I cut him off mid thought. “I’m hers. She’s mine. Is that clear enough? You are not wanted here, so fuck off.”
“Cal, don’t.” Kara got between us, pushing me back, her hand on my chest. I let her. Taking a step back, I let out a long, frustrated breath. She pushed me back once again. I went, anything to get her away from him. “Please. Let’s just go.”
My gaze fell to hers. Those green eyes tugged at my heart, as they had for so many years. I watched the emotions dance in her beautiful eyes, sinking into her touch.
The asshole took advantage of my momentary pause to grab her arm. Kara spun and when she snarled out a ‘fuck off,’ it was followed by her fist slamming into his jaw. The door to her room opened, and Dan walked in just in time to see the asshole hit the floor.
“Well…that answers a few things.”
I met his gaze. There was fire burning in him, but for Kara’s sake, he stood, acting like nothing was wrong. I, on the other hand, was finding it hard to not pummel that bastard into sludge.
Kara grabbed her bags and stormed out of the room. I grabbed the box, the note that fell from it, and followed her. We would need to discuss what had just happened. Something told me that Ian and my little spitfire were not on the best of terms. Matter of fact, I was pretty sure just from her actions that he may be the one behind all of her troubles. Dan’s reaction too. That said a lot.
If that indeed was the case, I’d have to have a chat with good old Ian and make sure he knew what happened to anyone who fucked with my girl.
And I wasn’t as nice as she was.