“Sweetie,” Kota said, “you’re bruised all over. Was this from last night?”
“Sort of,” I said, deflecting. Two nights in a row, the guys had done damage to my neck, and the results were in front of their faces. North and Gabriel had meant to keep it a secret, but now nearly everyone else knew, even if they didn’t know the full measure of it. Heat flooded over my face. I stammered to provide them with an answer, but doing so felt like a betrayal to Gabriel and North. I didn’t want to talk about it without them until I could tell the others. “But it doesn’t hurt. I’m fine.”
Kota glanced over at Silas.
But Silas’s eyes never left my neck. He inched closer. Kota backed away, giving him room.
Silas towered over me staring.
He knew what this was.
He wouldn’t say anything. He only stared. I couldn’t imagine what he was thinking.
Kota threaded his fingers through his hair. “Well, if you’re okay with it, let’s go look through your sister’s room.”
I nodded, glad for the distraction. I’d made it sound like I didn’t want to talk about it, and I was dying to, but wanted to talk to Gabriel and North first before saying anything.
Victor and Gabriel had a long drive ahead of them. They’d be able to continue the discussion about the kissing they’d started with me. Now Silas would probably ask some of the others what was going on. Maybe he even suspected this was North.
As we started up the stairs toward Marie’s room, I felt worse and worse about not being able to tell either of them. Secrets appear worse on the outside.
SKIPPING SCHOOL
WITH MR. BLACKBOURNE
An hour of searching Marie’s bedroom didn’t produce anything. No drugs or anything that looked like it.
But we did find cash, a wad of it inside a dresser drawer. It was a lot, to me. Kota had me check my money jar, but I didn’t know the amount that was in it before. It didn’t look like it had been touched anyway.
To be sure, he had me place the jar inside the attic. He left Marie’s cash in the drawer, and we left the room.
We got a call from Victor saying that Marie and Danielle were conscious, but neither one was talking. When they were asked about taking any sort of drug, they both said no.
Dr. Green wanted to keep them both overnight to observe. In the end, they had Danielle call home asking to stay at Marie’s house and go to school with her the next day. Danielle’s mother readily agreed. Danielle only agreed to it because she was already in trouble and knew it.
Mr. Blackbourne instantly called them out about lying and covering up something once he got involved. He spoke with each of them for a few minutes, but while he could tell something had gone on they wouldn’t talk about, he couldn’t figure out what happened.
For the rest of the day, Kota, Silas and I cleaned the kitchen and the rest of the house, taking turns looking out the window, watching Mr. Morris.
Later, Luke swung by and picked up Silas. Kota made a show of going home in the evening, but took the long way around and returned.
I should have been double-exhausted, but I wasn’t and couldn’t sleep.
Kota never asked me about my neck again.
♥♥♥
Two coffees and a microwaved sandwich got me out the door and moving toward the school Monday morning. Kota handed over cash from his own wallet for me to hang on to.
“Why?” I asked him, tucking it away with my phone.
“It’s a good idea to always carry some,” he said. “I should have thought about it before. Look what happened last time at the football game. We’re lucky you had some.”
I made sure to cover up my neck with makeup like Gabriel had shown me before leaving. Kota glanced at it once, but never said a word. I blushed, wishing one of the other boys had talked to him about it.
Once we got to school, I settled on a school bench before the first bell, leaning against Kota.
“Look what you’ve done to her,” Kota grumbled at Nathan. “She’s a wreck.”
Nathan shook his head. He’d spent the night in the hospital, and was brought in by Dr. Green. “Me? We took her to a dance club and tried to make her be lazy yesterday. You had her cleaning.”
“Sang,” Kota said. He snapped his fingers at me, forcing me to open my eyes. “If you don’t perk up, Mr. Blackbourne will notice, and we’ll all get grounded.”
I thought he would ground us all anyway. All of the guys slumped where they were sitting. Dark circles under our eyes were becoming a trend. I don’t think any of us slept well. We’d all be on sick leave for a month at this rate.
And sure enough, a message from Mr. Blackbourne appeared on my phone just after the third period bell rang.
Blackbourne: Report to Music Room B for fourth period.
I stood outside the door of Music Room B with Nathan. I stared at the handle and the faded white paint of the “B”, as if that would give me a hint of what kind of mood Mr. Blackbourne would be in.
“He’s going to know,” I said. “He’ll take one look at me and know.”
Nathan sighed. “Want me to go in with you?”
I shook my head slowly. “He’ll yell at us both. You should go to class. We have to appear normal.”
He glanced over his shoulder. In the shadow of the doorway to the music rooms, we were mostly hidden from the other students. He leaned in and kissed me quickly on my cheek, close to my ear. “Text if you need me.”
I was stunned for a second. The kiss was daring, but also a new turn. I hadn’t expected it. He’d seemed to distance himself since the club.
I turned to check, but he was already leaving. The moment he was gone, I wish I had been less eager to do this alone. I was so much braver when one of them was with me.
I tried to shake off the feeling. This was Mr. Blackbourne. He wasn’t going to kill me.
I waited for lightning strikes.
I opened the door, stepping inside the music room. The chalkboard had been recently erased, and the chairs surrounding it in a semi-circle were the only hints that another class may have used it earlier.
Mr. Blackbourne was leaning against the piano on the other side of the room. His arms were crossed over his chest, scrunching up the maroon tie that was tucked into the dark gray suit. The moment I was clear of the door, his steel eyes locked on mine. Unwavering.
He started forward at the same time I was heading toward him. He unfolded his arms from his chest as he marched. “Miss Sorenson,” he said, but even as he spoke, he continued his approach.
I took a half step back, trying to get out of his way. “Mr. Blackbourne?”
“Leave your things,” he said, heading for the door.
I hesitated. I’d expected so many things. Questions. Yelling. Having to defend the boys and the choices we’d made. I know I promised to relax and take it easy, but there had been circumstances far beyond our control. He had to have known. He’d been dealing with them, too.
He approached the door, and then stood aside with his back pressed to it, holding it open. He snapped a look at me with those eyes, and I jumped into action to obey the quiet command. I dropped my book bag into one of the chairs and started after him.
“Leave your phone, too.”
Alarm seized through me. There were few reasons why we’d need to leave phones behind. Volto being the primary suspect. “Is he back?”
Mr. Blackbourne’s eyebrows shot up for a brief moment, before settling again into an unreadable expression. “Please leave your phone and follow me.”
My face started to heat as I tucked my hand into the cup of my bra, drawing out my cell phone. I returned to my bag, planting it on top. Walking away from it felt like I was leaving something important behind, like leaving the boys out of reach.
I had Mr. Blackbourne. I needed to learn to trust him and his requests, if I expected him to trust me.
I brushed past Mr. Blackbourne and continued into the hall. The students had thinned out. The tardy bell
rang through the overhead speakers.
Mr. Blackbourne released the door and started up the hall at a fast pace. I started to trail behind him, like a student following a teacher.
After a moment, he paused in his stride and gazed back at me. “Miss Sorenson,” he said.
I quickened, nearly tripping to catch up and walk beside him. He didn’t like it when I walked behind the guys. I supposed he didn’t want me to do it with him, either.
I followed him out a side door, heading toward the parking lot. He took a long path around and I realized he was avoiding the administration office windows. The desire to ask him where we were going started on my tongue, but I bit it back when I figured out we were leaving school grounds and he didn’t want to be seen by too many people.
When I spotted his gray BMW, I started heading toward it, aiming at the passenger side.
“Not that one,” he said.
My eyebrows shot up and I paused before following him again. Why weren’t we taking his car?
Instead, he headed for a black Town Car, with tinted windows and an out of state license plate. If I had to guess, it was one of North’s many black vehicles.
Mr. Blackbourne slipped the key into the passenger side lock. He opened the door, and looked at me intently.
“Hurry,” he said.
I sat down and he shut the door. While he was walking around the front of the car, I managed to get my seatbelt on and leaned over to unlock his door so he wouldn’t have to use his key.
“Thank you,” he said as he wedged himself into the seat. He started the car, put on his seatbelt and pulled out of the parking spot.
I leaned forward in the seat, gazing out the window, wondering where we were going. He drove only a quarter of a mile down the road before he pulled into a shopping center. He angled the car into a parking spot and stopped, but left the engine running. He kept his eyes on the concrete in front of us. From where he parked, it was like he was waiting for someone.
“Who’s following us?” I asked.
He peeled his eyes from the windshield, turning his head to meet my gaze. It was the way that he pursed his lips and that stare that told me: Right idea, wrong conclusion.
My eyebrows went up quickly. “Who are we going to follow?”
The corner of his mouth slipped up a millimeter. Bingo. “Mr. Hendricks excused himself in the middle of a staff meeting, right before our class started. Before you arrived, I overheard him in his office on the phone telling someone he’d be there for lunch. I want to find out where there is, and who he’s meeting.” He lifted his wrist, checking a silver watch on his arm. “He should pass by in about two minutes.”
I inhaled a slow breath, my heart pounding. I understood his reason for leaving school, but why bring me along? Why wait for me at all if he had to hurry? If I hadn’t seen him in the music room, I would have sought out his office and been okay.
Not that I minded being involved. Maybe I didn’t look as bad as the boys had worried I did.
“There,” he said, putting the car into drive.
I followed his eyes to a blue sedan with tinted windows. It took the road in front of us, waiting at the light.
Mr. Blackbourne didn’t pull out of the parking lot until the light changed and Mr. Hendricks’s car was down the road. Mr. Blackbourne pulled into traffic, keeping a good distance and allowing other cars to pull in between us.
My heart was in my throat and I sat forward as much as the seatbelt would allow, trying to keep an eye on the car. From where I was, I couldn’t see the blue car any more. “He’s too far ahead.”
“We’re fine,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “Don’t worry.”
Once we were on the road, we followed Mr. Hendricks to an interstate heading into downtown Charleston.
We sat in silence nearly the whole time. Mr. Blackbourne stayed in the right-hand lane, getting further behind. I had my face nearly plastered to the windshield as different cars slid in between us at intervals. I was on the edge of my seat, silently willing Mr. Blackbourne to move faster, scared to death of losing Hendricks. Mr. Blackbourne was frustratingly quiet and calm, even adjusting the air conditioner and moderating the volume of an orchestral piece playing through the radio.
Before we hit downtown, Mr. Hendricks took an exit leading to an expressway. The signs said we were heading into Mount Pleasant.
“Relax, Miss Sorenson,” Mr. Blackbourne said. He adjusted the volume on the radio until it was a gentle hum. “We’ve got him.”
“Is he going to notice us?”
“He won’t notice if I stay behind him this far. Right now, he’s probably more focused on the car that’s right behind him. It’s been following him after he got onto the interstate.
I blinked, refocusing on the other car that was behind Mr. Hendricks. I didn’t recognize it. “Is that one of us?”
“No,” he said. “It’s just coincidence, but a handy one.”
“Why is he leaving during school hours? Won’t someone notice?”
“He’s taking advantage of the school hours,” he said. He drove with one hand, using the other to adjust his glasses higher along his nose with a nudge. “If we’re all in class, we can’t follow him here. For him, it’s the best time to conduct any business. Everyone else is occupied.”
“That’s why you had me leave my phone,” I said.
He inclined his head a fraction of an inch, but he remained focused on the road. “GPS positioning can be an asset or a liability. Part of Academy training is to know when to use it to your advantage.”
“They’ll notice I’m gone at some point. Isn’t class almost over?”
“Your things will be brought to my office. Anyone who thinks to track you won’t be surprised by this. It’s enough of a habit that anyone monitoring won’t find it too unusual. We had some incredibly good timing with Mr. Hendricks.”
I gazed back out at the blue car. “Is that why you didn’t tell me to be ready to go before now?”
“Do I need to mention that you’re really good at following surprise orders?”
I turned my head a little, hiding a secret smile.
Mr. Hendricks pulled off the expressway, driving down a country road that was surrounded by lush forest. Without any other buildings or roads winding off of the one we were on, it became more difficult to remain inconspicuous. Mr. Blackbourne let the distance between the two cars increase.
After another twenty minutes, we followed him down a second winding road. This one boasted signs of being the location of the Rivertowne Country Club. Mr. Blackbourne slowed to a crawl, allowing Mr. Hendricks to approach the gates and be let in.
“How are we going to get in?” I asked.
“Through the front gate.”
I bit my tongue to stop the questions. Trust.
Mr. Blackbourne continued his slow approach well after Hendricks moved beyond the gate.
Mr. Blackbourne tapped the button on his door to roll down the window. The security guard turned to us, but all I could see was a blue uniform and a security badge. Mr. Blackbourne pulled a black leather wallet from inside the breast pocket of his jacket. He selected a card, and held it up for the guard. The guard took the i.d. from him, wrote something down on a notebook inside the booth, and handed Mr. Blackbourne back the card.
The gate slid over, allowing us inside, and Mr. Blackbourne drove on. The freshly paved black concrete was lined with palm trees. The road had a graceful curve around occasional ponds filled with a variety of ducks and geese. With the speed limit being twenty miles an hour, it forced visitors into a leisurely pace from the start.
“How’d you know he would come here?” I asked.
“I didn’t.”
“You have a membership, though,” I said. “Is that how you get into places? Do you belong to everything?”
“We all have memberships to different clubs and elite buildings around town. If I were a member of every club in town, it may appear a little strange. Could you imagine North on a golf
course?”
I shook my head, although internally I was giggling at the thought. I couldn’t imagine North walking around a golf course. He’d scare everyone else away.
“Our team works well because we’re able to blend into a variety of different areas without being noticed. My area happens to include golf courses. Mr. Hendricks carries golf clubs in the trunk of his car. It’s only natural I should be the one to follow him if he takes off during school hours. There’s a strong likelihood I’ve got access to places he’s going.” He turned the wheel as the road curved around another pond. “Would you like to learn how to play golf today, Miss Sorenson?”
“Shouldn’t we keep an eye on Mr. Hendricks?”
“We’ll see if he’s just here for lunch, or if he heads to the course. Either way, we both need a wardrobe change. We’re not properly dressed for a country club.”
I couldn’t imagine how he thought we could change clothes here. Maybe he carried extra clothes in the trunk like the other boys. I smoothed my hands over the material of the ruffled skirt I was wearing. It was pretty, but the T-shirt top was informal.
We eventually came to the front doors of a wide white building. The walls had the appearance of smooth stone, looking like the building had been carved from it. Shrubs and small trees masked most of the building, as if to keep it hidden from the surrounding grounds. There were broad brick steps and two matching water fountains, one on either side of a walkway.
A man in a red vest dashed out from the open wooden doors and raced to my door, opening it. He concentrated on me and held out his hand.
I glanced back once at Mr. Blackbourne, who nodded his head quickly. I dropped my hand into the young man’s and he held it while I stepped out. He guided me to the sidewalk before releasing me. He ran around the car. Mr. Blackbourne was already out, the car still running. The man took over Mr. Blackbourne’s seat and drove away in the car.
I watched it disappear, sensing this was supposed to happen. Memories caught in the back of my mind about valet parking in a book I’d once read, but experiencing it was surreal. I had a split second instinct to be worried about someone stealing Mr. Blackbourne’s car right in front of us.