Reunion Mission (Rangers Under Fire)

by Virginia Vaughan

  She was touched by his determination to wipe out evil lurking in the hallways. They were both in the business of protecting kids, and she liked that. Again she felt that dizzying chemistry between them, bubbling and popping, readying for an explosion. She was glad he was leaving her classroom. She simply didn’t trust herself with her own emotions when he was around.

  She was so focused on Matt that she didn’t even notice Principal Spencer standing in the doorway until he cleared his throat and both Matt and Claire turned to him. She felt her face redden at being caught in what, to her, seemed like an intimate moment. There was no denying the attraction between them and she was certain even Principal Spencer could sense it.

  Thankfully, he didn’t mention it as he entered. “I’ve spoken with the superintendent and we’ve decided to hold a school meeting tonight as a way for parents to come and express their feelings about what’s happened as well as for us as school officials to reassure parents that their children are safe here.”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” Claire said. She knew the community was overwhelmed with worry and grief for their children. This forum would give parents the opportunity to voice their concerns and receive reassurances before sending their kids back to school tomorrow.

  “Six o’clock in the auditorium. I’d like for all teachers to be present.” He glanced at Matt. “It would be good if you could come, too.”

  Matt nodded but turned his gaze back to Claire. “If Claire is going, I’ll be there, too.”

  “Wonderful. Well, I’ll leave you two to get back to...whatever it is you were doing.” He quickly walked out.

  “Well, I guess we know what we’re doing tonight,” Matt said. “What do you say we get an early supper before the meeting?”

  She nodded. “That would be good.”

  “Well, then I guess I’d better let you finish what you’re doing. And I have a stack of background checks to dig through.”

  She watched him leave, then turned back to her prep work. She was glad Matt was nearby, but she had to remember not to let him get too close. Her heart simply couldn’t stand another of his rejections.

  * * *

  The school auditorium was packed that night. Claire caught the stares of her students’ parents. All she saw were angry glances and worried expressions. Claire was glad Matt was here with her as they walked together to the front of the auditorium and took a seat.

  Daryl Brown, another chemistry teacher, came and took the seat beside her. “These parents look ready to riot,” he said, and Claire agreed.

  “They’re worried about their children. I suppose it’s natural.”

  Daryl shook his head. “They’re looking for someone to blame. In the absence of a suspect, they’ll blame the most convenient person.”

  She realized where he was heading with his logic. “You mean me, don’t you?”

  He shrugged. “A female teacher meeting with a male student after school hours? You have to admit, it looks suspicious, Claire. If I were a parent, I would demand answers.”

  His blunt assertion surprised her, but she realized he was probably right. She glanced around again and suddenly felt the angry stares of hundreds of pairs of eyes boring into her back. She moved closer to Matt, and he stretched his arm across the back of her chair, not touching her but still giving her a sense of comfort and protection from the mass of people who might be looking to her for answers she didn’t have.

  Principal Spencer called the meeting to order and tried to maintain it as several of the parents jumped to their feet to express their outrage over the state of the school where they’d placed their kids’ futures.

  “How can we be assured our kids are safe when we send them to school?” one parent demanded.

  “Who is watching out for our kids?” another asked.

  Principal Spencer attempted to be heard over the outbursts. “We are working with the police to bring whoever committed this terrible crime to justice, but as you know the school was closed and the victim was on school property alone. I assure you we do everything we can to ensure the safety of our students while they are on campus. We’ve even gotten some help to overhaul our security measures.” He scanned the crowd, then pointed at Matt. “Agent Ross, would you come up here please and recount some of the security changes you’re implementing?”

  Matt glanced at her and she could see he wasn’t pleased about being put on the spot by Principal Spencer. But he stood and walked onto the stage. Principal Spencer handed him the microphone, then stepped away, giving him the floor.

  “I heard he was murdered,” someone shouted. “A murder in our school. And what have the police done to find the one responsible?”

  “What was she doing here?” one mother demanded, pointing to Claire. “Why is a female teacher meeting alone with a male student on the weekend? Is that the kind of business going on at this school?”

  Others joined in in attacking Claire verbally. She shrank under their gazes, then turned and saw Daryl’s I-told-you-so look.

  Matt tried to be heard above the outbursts, but even with a microphone it was difficult. Another parent called for her immediate dismissal and demanded Principal Spencer fire her on the spot. Claire got up and ran from the auditorium amid the deafening roar of parents screaming for her dismissal.

  She pushed through the double doors into the quiet of the hallway. She took a deep breath and let it out. All she’d wanted was to help Luke; now it seemed she was on trial. She knew parents were frightened, but why had this become about her?

  Lord, why is this happening to me?

  She was content to let the meeting go forward without her; it was obvious she wasn’t wanted there. She headed for the lab, where she could grade papers from last week while she waited for the meeting to end.

  The light was on in the lab, which surprised her. She pushed open the door and saw the janitor’s bucket in the middle of the room, but he was nowhere in sight. The supply cabinet door was ajar and she knew she’d locked it earlier.

  She opened it and noticed several open containers. Someone had been in here. She knew from experience that the other science teachers always locked this cabinet. They all knew that some of the chemicals could be dangerous.

  She closed the cabinet and secured the lock, but a sound behind her grabbed her attention. She turned and saw the mop was now on the floor. Had someone knocked it over? Or had it fallen on its own?

  She looked around and saw no one but realized coming here alone had not been a smart move. She should have stayed close to Matt. She headed for the door, planning to go back to the safety of the crowd of people in the auditorium. Before she made it out the door, someone leaped from behind a lab station and grabbed her. He wore a black ski mask so she couldn’t see his face, but he held a thick wire in his hand that she quickly realized was a power cord ripped from one of the microscopes on the lab station.

  “Got you,” he said, holding her secure so she couldn’t run.

  He pushed her up against the supply cabinet and wrapped the cord around her neck. She pulled at the cord as it tightened around her neck. He meant to kill her.

  She kicked and pushed at him, but his grip didn’t loosen. If only she hadn’t gone off by herself. Everyone was in the auditorium and she knew no one would hear her over the shouting even if she could scream.

  No one was coming to rescue her this time.

  THREE

  “This will teach you to meddle in my business,” her attacker hissed at her, tightening his choke hold and ramming her head against the metal of the cabinet several times for good measure.

  Blinding pain ripped through her and the room began to spin. She was going to lose consciousness and that would be the end of her...but she wasn’t going down without a fight.

  She pressed her hand against the cabinet and reached insid
e for the sodium metal. She felt the chunk she hadn’t yet cut up. If she could reach the sink and fill it with water, she could toss the sodium into it and let the reaction stun her attacker long enough for her to escape. But the sink was across the room and she didn’t think she would make it that far before losing consciousness even if she could wrangle free long enough.

  But she could make it to the janitor’s bucket and it was full of water.

  Instead of the sodium, she grabbed the lighter from the cabinet, clicked it on and jabbed the hot edge against her attacker’s neck. He grimaced with pain and knocked it from her hand, loosening his grip for a moment to do so. That was long enough for Claire. She shoved him, grabbed the sodium and tossed it, praying her target found its mark. He looked to see what she’d done and was rewarded with an explosion when the sodium contacted with the water. Her attacker screamed and covered his face where his mask was scorched by the explosion. Claire took advantage of his disorientation to push him and scramble away.

  She ran out of the room and down the hall, dragging the long part of the cord behind her. She tried to scream for help, but her throat was raw and nothing escaped her lips but heavy sobs.

  She spotted someone approaching and stopped suddenly, fear pulsing through her. Was it someone else coming after her?

  The man called her name and rushed toward her, and Claire realized it was Matt coming to find her.

  She fell into his arms the moment he was close enough. She couldn’t speak but sobs racked her body. He pulled the cord from her neck and pushed back her hair that had fallen in her face. “What happened? Who did this?”

  She took a deep breath and concentrated on forming words. “Couldn’t see face. Mask.” Her words were choppy and quick and it hurt like crazy to make the sounds come out, but at least she could speak. Another minute or two and she wouldn’t have made it out of that lab alive.

  * * *

  Claire passed out in his arms.

  “Call 9-1-1,” Matt said, and several people who had emerged from the auditorium ready to leave reached for their phones.

  He scooped her up and carried her to the couch in the teachers’ lounge. The mark on her neck from the power cord was thick and dark and already turning a deep shade of purple. Matt grimaced at the sight of it and fear rustled through him. What if she hadn’t been able to escape? What if the attacker had finished the job and killed her while he was trying to talk sense into a bunch of overindulgent parents justifying their overindulged kids? The idea tasted bitter in his mouth. He should never have allowed Spencer to lure him onto the stage. He’d let down his guard and Claire had nearly paid the ultimate price.

  He pulled out his phone and dialed Preston’s number. “It’s Claire,” he said when Preston answered. “She was attacked at the school.”

  Preston hesitated only a moment, then responded, “I’m on my way.”

  The police and ambulance were on their way and Claire would have to detail for the local police every moment from the time she’d left the auditorium. Was she up for that? She had to be.

  She began to rouse, groaned in pain and tried to sit up. “What happened?” she whispered, her voice hoarse and raw.

  He poured her a glass of water and handed it to her, then sat beside her on the couch. “You were attacked. Do you remember anything?”

  She rubbed at the place on her neck. “I didn’t see his face. He surprised me, but I did hear his voice. It sounded familiar but I can’t place it.”

  The sound of the ambulance siren outside the window ended his questions. The EMTs rushed inside and began tending to Claire, and Matt gave them room to work. Preston entered the lounge and stared at Claire, his face paling at the sight of her.

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “A little shaken up but okay.”

  He glanced at an EMT, who confirmed Claire’s condition. “Her vitals are fine and there doesn’t appear to be any long-term damage. I would like to transport her to the hospital for additional tests.”

  “I’m not going to the hospital,” she insisted. “I’m fine.”

  Preston raked a hand over his face, then sat down beside her. “Tell me what happened.”

  She recounted going to the lab, having the cord wrapped around her neck and tossing the sodium metal into the janitor’s bucket to cause the explosion and running as fast as she could toward the auditorium.

  “I couldn’t see his face because of the ski mask, but he said this would teach me not to meddle in his business.”

  Preston asked a few more questions, then stood. “I’ll have my officers secure the lab. I’m going to go take a look at it. I’ll check on you later,” he told her before walking out.

  Matt caressed her cheek, thankful to see her color was returning. “I’ll be right back,” he said, then stationed a security guard at the door and followed Preston to the lab.

  Chairs and equipment had been knocked over. Water was spilled on the floor and the janitor’s bucket was across the room under the window. But the most notable feature was the new blackened area on the wall by the supply cabinet. He remembered her explanation to him earlier in the day of the combustible nature of sodium metal.

  Preston shook his head in disbelief, but Matt grinned, proud of the way Claire had fought against her attacker. “That ought to teach them not to mess with a chemistry teacher,” he said proudly. Claire had always been a fighter and he was thankful to see that hadn’t changed.

  Preston flashed him a look that warned him this was no laughing matter.

  By the time they returned to the lounge, Preston’s agitation had grown. He turned to Claire. “I hope this attack shows you how dangerous it is for you to be here.”

  Anger flashed in her eyes and she unsteadily stood to face him. “I can’t let these people win, Preston. Yes, they’ve threatened me and tried to hurt me, but they’ve also threatened my students. I won’t back down until we uncover who is doing this.”

  Matt had never been more impressed with this woman’s tenacity. He couldn’t help but think she would have made a good ranger given her stubborn determination and persistence. She didn’t give up.

  And neither would he. He would find whoever had attacked Claire tonight and he would make them pay.

  * * *

  Claire shivered in her seat as Matt drove them back to the hotel.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, reaching to adjust the heater.

  She shook her head. It wasn’t the chill in the air that bothered her as much as the realization that someone had meant to kill her tonight. Before, she could wave the threat away, insisting she wasn’t a target, but now there was no doubt. Someone had followed her to the lab and tried to end her life.

  Matt parked the car at the hotel, then shut off the engine. “Maybe you should have gone to the hospital.”

  “There’s nothing they can do for me. I’m fine. I just want to feel safe again.”

  “I know this is difficult, but I promise you I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”

  She was thankful for his supporting arm as they walked to their rooms. But suddenly she felt Matt tense as they approached the rooms. He stepped in front of her, but not before she saw her hotel room door ajar.

  He reached under his jacket and pulled out his gun, ramping up Claire’s tension.

  “Wait here,” he said, his voice husky and tense.

  He pushed open the door, his gun drawn and his stance alert. She followed him inside and saw her clothes and belongings strewn across the room. Matt checked behind every door and into every cranny. He moved into the bathroom and she saw him pause, then glance her way.

  “What is it?” she asked. Something was wrong. She saw it in his expression.

  He put away his gun as she stepped toward the bathroom. She saw the color on the glass before she even entered.
In lipstick, a message had been written across the mirror. Don’t get another student killed.

  * * *

  Claire gasped, then turned away, right into Matt’s arms. He felt her shiver again but this time knew it wasn’t from the cold. He’d promised to keep her safe, yet in just the past few hours she’d been attacked and nearly choked to death and now had her room broken into and threatened.

  One thing was for sure. They weren’t safe here.

  “Pack your things,” he told her. “We’re not staying here.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “I’m taking you to my parents’ house. My dad used to be a cop, remember? It’s the only place I know you’ll be safe.”

  Her eyes lit up briefly. “To your parents’ house? Do you think they would mind?”

  He had no doubt his family would be thrilled to see Claire again. His mother still hadn’t forgiven him for not marrying her. “They’d love to have you.” He wasn’t so certain they would be thrilled with him, though, since they didn’t even know he was in town.

  “I would feel safer there,” Claire said.

  “Good, then it’s settled.”

  He left the adjoining door open while they both packed up their belongings. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his parents’ number. He would have a lot of explaining to do, but he would shoulder it if it kept Claire safe.

  * * *

  Claire caught her breath as Matt turned the car into his parents’ driveway. She suddenly felt seventeen again. How many hours had they spent hanging out at this house? How many times had she imagined his family were her family and dreamed about a future where it all came true?

  The oldest of four kids, Matt came from a large, close-knit family. Growing up as an only child, Claire had missed the warmth and familiarity of the Ross household. Her parents were both professionals who worked long hours, and Claire was often left on her own in the evenings. She’d fallen hard for Matt, but she’d fallen just as much in love with his family. So when he’d left her, she’d lost more than just the love of her life and hopes and dreams for a future. She’d lost family, too. Now she only saw them casually around town or at church and they spoke only in pleasantries, too much painful history separating them.