In Walked Trouble (Under Covers)

by Christina Elle

  She’d ruled Luke out as a suspicious guy the moment he brought up his mom. After all, how could he be involved after the tragedy he endured as a child because of drugs? She couldn’t fathom it.

  “You don’t sound fine,” her dad said. “You sound heartbroken. I should get on a plane and come out there to give that man a piece of my mind, hurting my girl the way he did.”

  She wanted to laugh, only because they both knew her parents couldn’t afford for him to come out here, even to confront Daniel. Her sister’s medical bills had taken a massive toll on their family’s finances. Her parents had sunk most of their savings into making sure Meredith had the best care available. If Dad flew out, they’d have to hire a nurse to help her mom, which would strain them even more. He’d feel guilty about not only leaving them, but also adding to their debt.

  “I’m seriously fine, Dad.” She opened the empty drawer next to hers that used to hold Daniel’s T-shirts and didn’t even flinch. She kept waiting for the pain in her chest, but it didn’t come.

  She’d initially felt a pang of sadness. Feeling inadequate wasn’t something Cass enjoyed. Who did? Knowing he’d gone to another woman all those nights while Cass sat at home was difficult to accept. But the more she thought about it, she realized she and Daniel weren’t well suited. Maybe they never were. They’d met in college. Started dating. Got swept into the excitement of graduation and entering adulthood, and just figured they’d move into that next phase together—then one day marriage and kids. Or maybe that had only been Cass’s plan. They’d never talked about what the future held. He’d hinted at forever, but he never actually came out and said it.

  “I’ll be fine,” she said again as she transferred some of her own shirts into the drawer so it didn’t look so bare. “I’m more concerned about you guys. How’s Meredith?”

  “Much better,” he said, his usual response. “Still excited about your visit. Won’t stop going on about it.” He chuckled. “We’re all excited. Your mother planned a welcome home dinner for you. She’s cooking so much food, we’re going to have to invite the whole neighborhood.”

  With that, her stomach grumbled. She missed her mother’s cooking so much. The woman could cook. “Tell me she’s making the egg and bacon salad.”

  “Of course she’s making the salad. She said it’s the only thing that’ll ever lure you home.”

  It was a joke, but it still twisted her heart. “Come on, Dad, you know that’s not true.”

  “I know,” he said. “I told her the sweet potato casserole and the cranberry bake would seal the deal.”

  Her stomach did another nostalgic happy dance, and she let a smile emerge. “You know what I meant, old man.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said, a smile in his tone. “I know what you meant.”

  Cass pulled a few hangers out of the closet and set the pile on the bed next to her clothes.

  “So what time’s your flight?” Dad asked.

  She picked up her black turtleneck sweater and slipped a hanger inside, straightening the collar. “I’ll arrive around one.”

  “Hmm, okay. I’ll come pick you up.”

  “No need,” she said. “I’ll catch a cab.”

  “You sure?” he asked. “It’s not a problem. I can—”

  “I’m sure,” she said, hanging the sweater in the closet. “Stay home with Meredith. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

  Neither one of them said anything for a few seconds. Then Dad said, “You really are okay with everything?”

  She knew he wasn’t talking about the airport anymore. “Yes. I’m fine. Stop worrying.”

  “It’s just…” His tone turned somber. “Your mom and I were talking. We both agree now that Daniel has, well, done what he’s done and you two aren’t together anymore, there’s nothing holding you there. You can come home. There are plenty of schools in town that could use a good counselor like you.”

  It was true. She could see why her parents would think that. But she couldn’t leave her students right now. She’d never forgive herself if Miguel chose to be nothing more than a kid who lived on the streets and sold drugs. Or worse, if he gave into the temptation of the gang and then died because of it. He deserved better than that. He was better than that.

  Not that she could explain any of that to her dad. He knew she wanted to make a difference. But she couldn’t tell him about the drugs and gangs. His sheltered small-town upbringing would hear nothing but drugs and gangs, and he’d flip out. Then he’d tell her mom, who would flip out even more. Then they both would insist she move back home immediately and get out of the dangerous area she was living in.

  “It’s the middle of the school year, Dad,” she said instead. “My students depend on me to help them set up their future. I can’t leave them. It wouldn’t be fair.”

  “What about your future?” he asked. “Doesn’t that matter?”

  “Of course it does. It’s just—”

  “I appreciate you wanting to help these kids, Cassie, I do, but when is enough enough?”

  “What do you mean? I—”

  “Already missed Meredith’s last surgery because of work.”

  “I know,” she said through a sigh, “and I apologized a million times. I felt horrible, you know that. It’s just really hard to get home sometimes.”

  “I don’t know if it’s hard as much as it is a choice.” She pictured his moss-colored eyes with raised eyebrows giving her that pointed look he always gave her when she needed to be put in her place.

  Something lodged in her throat. She worked to clear it, then said, “Dad, I’m not choosing to stay away.”

  “No,” he said so soft it tore at her heart. “But you do have a habit of picking those kids over your family.”

  She turned and plopped onto the bed, rubbing her forehead. “They need me.”

  “So do we.” He paused, then said, “We sure miss you out here, Cassie. Your sister…”

  The punch in her gut came quick and hard. Sometimes her father didn’t fight fair.

  “I talked with Mr. Glen the other day,” he went on. “You remember him, don’t you?”

  Her father’s boss. If Cass remembered correctly, his wife was the principal at one of the private schools in their town.

  “Yes,” she said, already anticipating where this might lead. “How is he?”

  “Good. Somehow we got on the topic of you and how talented you are.”

  Imagine that.

  “He mentioned that the counselor at Maryvale is retiring and they’re looking for her replacement. They’d love to have someone come on board this year to be trained before she leaves. Great timing, huh?”

  She squeezed her eyes closed. Perfect.

  “Dad,” she said. “I really appreciate it, but—”

  “You know things have been tough for us lately. What with Meredith’s medical bills and such. Mr. Glen agreed to keep me on for a little longer at the auto shop even though there isn’t much work for me to do, so we kind of owe him and his family for what they’re doing for us. He talked to his wife. She said you’d be able to start right after Christmas break.”

  She held off gritting her teeth. “Dad,” she snipped instead. “You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t.”

  “It’s a good opportunity. I think you’d really like it.”

  She tossed a sweater onto the bed. “Oh my God. You did! You told her I’d take the job!”

  “I might’ve suggested that you’d be able to do it.”

  Holding back everything she had so she didn’t blow up on her father, she took a long, deep breath. Arguing with him over the phone wasn’t going to solve anything. This conversation was better served in person. “I’ll be out there in two days. How about we talk about it then?”

  He hesitated, probably to gauge her anger level. “Okay. And it’ll give you time to think about how good of an opportunity it is.”

  This time her back teeth did lock down. “I love you. And Mom. And Meredith. I’ll see you all
in two days. Promise.”

  “Two days,” he repeated through a sigh. “All right, Cassie. Two days.”

  …

  Ash jabbed a finger in Luke’s face. “Was there a reason you pulled your earpiece out last night after dinner?” The team leader stood over Luke, who was in a chair reviewing transcripts from surveillance at the park that Reese had asked him to look at. They still weren’t any closer to piecing this thing together, so they were rereviewing everything again to see if there was a tiny piece of the puzzle they’d missed.

  “I was home,” Luke said without taking his eyes off the computer screen. “There wasn’t a need to keep it in.”

  “Wasn’t a need?” Ash barked. “Wasn’t a need? There’s a dangerous drug lord coming after us, and you think there wasn’t a need? Well, guess what, pretty boy? That wasn’t your call to make.”

  Luke looked up to meet Ash’s pissed expression. “Yeah, it was. First, it was a date, and I wanted time to talk with her without you assholes interrupting every five seconds. Plus, I was at Maybel’s. If shit was going down, you and Sam are a few houses away, and Maybel can handle herself.”

  The woman had been in the CIA back in her heyday, and despite her age, she could probably still drop-kick Luke before he got his hands up. She also had a slew of inventive homemade weapons stashed all over her house.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Ash said. “There’s too much at stake for you to pick and choose when you feel like disconnecting from the group. I don’t care if we have to listen to you getting your nuts blown all night long, keep your goddamn earpiece in.”

  Luke didn’t argue, because he wasn’t really up for it. The silence allowed Ash to keep going with his tirade.

  “Did the woman say anything last night that might be useful?”

  “Like how drunk and desperate she was?” Tyke chimed in with a smirk from the other side of the desk.

  Luke ignored the big, dumb bastard.

  “Not really.” Luke thought back to last night and how absolutely amazing Cass had felt in his arms. How soft her skin was. How her breath hitched when he moved in close. How his own heart rate sped up in response. He’d gotten so wrapped up into what they were doing, that he completely ignored the fact that he was supposed to be talking. Since he knew Ash wouldn’t appreciate distraction on this case, and since Luke couldn’t afford to be distracted, he chose his words carefully. “We talked about a lot of stuff, but nothing concrete about the drugs.” He sure knew a hell of a lot about her affinities in the bedroom though.

  Ash shook his head as his lip twisted in thought. “Probably a good idea to build more trust then. See if she can give us anything else.”

  “What? Why?” Knowing his tone bordered defensive, Luke changed his approach. “She’s a guidance counselor at the school. Miguel is one of her students. She hasn’t given us a reason to believe she’s connected to anything else. We don’t need to keep watching her.” At least not because she was guilty of anything. Luke wouldn’t mind watching her for his own purposes.

  He thought back to her questions about Serrano. She had no clue who he was. Which meant she either wasn’t involved or she only knew about the drugs in the high school and possibly the gang.

  If that was the case, it could still help the team find Serrano.

  “We’ve got zilch to go on right now,” Ash said. “She has direct access to the students. She might hear something before it happens. At this point I’ll take what we can. We gotta start piecing this shit together soon. No more kids are dying on our watch.” He looked at Luke and something passed between them.

  And we aren’t giving Serrano the chance to kill you.

  Yeah, the faster they could find Serrano, the better.

  Luke shifted in his chair and looked away. “Is that a direct order to keep seeing Cassandra?” He’d been thinking about calling her. He’d like to see her again. And if it would get this bull’s-eye off his back, while seeing just how hot Cassandra burned below the surface, even better.

  But she deserved a lot better than what Luke could offer. Plus, she deserved the truth, which included the fact that Luke asked her on that date just to get information from her. With their little honesty pact, what would she think about that? He knew exactly what she’d think. The same thing he was thinking now.

  “I’m done,” Luke said.

  He wasn’t getting her wrapped up in this, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her he’d lied to her. Luke wasn’t going to be another Daniel. She’d been hurt enough. It was best if they ended things now before one of them got attached. Or at least before she did. Something in the pit of his stomach told him he might already be wanting more from Cassandra Stone than just information. So yeah, it was best if they split now.

  Tyke shifted on his chair across from them, obviously sensing the impending anger in their team leader’s tense frame.

  Ash’s features hardened. “Done? What the fuck are you talking about?”

  Luke casually rested an arm on the table. “I’m not going to see her anymore.”

  Slowly, Ash’s eyebrows climbed toward his hairline. “You think you’re calling the shots now, Calder?”

  “Of course not.” Ash was team leader, so there was a chain of command the men had to adhere to. Ash said jump, they asked how high, when, and where. But this was different. “I’m just saying, she’s a good person. She’s been through a lot. She doesn’t need someone fucking with her.”

  As if lying to her wasn’t bad enough, there was still the very real threat on his life. He was a target for the most dangerous drug lord in the world. Cass couldn’t get wrapped up into his shit. Her sister’s condition. Her douchebag ex. That was nothing compared to the dangers she could face if she was caught associating with Luke.

  He liked her. She was the first woman he’d opened up to about his past. Which was even more reason to steer clear. A woman like Cassandra deserved a man who could be there for her all the way. Not someone who had to hide in the shadows because of who he was and what he did.

  She was better off without him.

  Luke clenched his fists as his attention dropped to the now cold coffee in front of him. This was how it had to be.

  Ash spun a folding chair around and dropped into it, straddling the back. He huffed out a breath. “Look, man, there’s a lot going on right now. We’re behind where we should be with Ronan and Joaquin, we’ve got Serrano sniffing up our asses, and I’ve got a fiancée I gotta keep happy.”

  Luke lifted a brow. “Trouble in paradise already?”

  “I don’t mean it that way. It’s just—” He ran a hand over his buzzed hair. “We’re planning a wedding. A wedding. Me. Christ.” The team leader made a frustrated sound. “Did you know there’s about fifty different types of lace?”

  Uh, no. Couldn’t say that he did.

  “There are,” Ash went on. “And pink. Did you know pink comes in about three hundred different shades? And God forbid we not pick the exact perfect hue to match with the fucking invitations, napkins, and my bow tie.”

  Snorting, Luke said, “She’s making you wear pink?”

  “Don’t get too arrogant. She’s making you idiots wear it, too.”

  Tyke’s head whipped in their direction. “Like hell I am.”

  Ash turned slowly toward their team member and shot him with such a piercing look of disdain that the big guy wilted in his chair and grumbled.

  Luke couldn’t care less what color he wore. It was Sam’s day. She’d agreed to spend the rest of her life with Ash, so she deserved to have her way. Hell, if she wanted them to wear banana hammocks with blinking arrows pointing at their junk, there wasn’t a lot they could say.

  It was Ash’s turn to rub his forehead.

  Luke gripped the guy’s shoulder. “It’ll all be okay, man. You’re gonna survive the wedding. I’m gonna survive Serrano. And we’re gonna nail Joaquin and Ronan to the wall.” And they’d do it all without using Cassandra.

  Ash harrumphed. “You bett
er be right.”

  He hoped like hell he was. Living six feet under wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he came to Baltimore.

  …

  Cass had been counting down the minutes until the end of the school day, when she could run outside and catch Miguel. Once her last appointment had ended, she threw on her boots and heavy coat.

  She pushed through the heavy blue double doors that led to basketball courts and a blast of glacial air smacked her in the face. Scanning the clusters of students rushing away from the building, she found Miguel walking toward the rusted wire fence outlining the perimeter of the school grounds. Waiting for him on the other side was his brother, Ronan, who was talking to two underclassmen.

  Ronan placed most of his weight on one leg, lounging casually. His posture suggested he was trying to impress the boys. If the wide eyes and smiles of the younger students was any indication, they were swayed by whatever he was saying.

  Cass called out to Miguel and immediately started in that direction. She lifted the edge of her wool scarf up over her mouth as a way to warm the freezing air before it hit her lungs. It was no use. Her chest ached and her throat burned from her exertion.

  She yelled a second time for Miguel, who finally turned. Once he realized it was her who called his name, his lips thinned and he shook his head. He turned back around and continued toward his brother.

  “What do you think you’re strong enough for?” she tried again, and this time she garnered Ronan’s attention. The older brother crossed his arms and watched her approach. Ronan knew who she was, or at least that she was the counselor at the school since he’d been a student not long ago, so it wouldn’t take much effort for him to figure out why she might want to talk with Miguel.

  Cass was about twenty-five yards away from the boys when Miguel reached his brother. Still staring at her, Ronan smirked and threw an arm around Miguel’s bony shoulders, pulling him in close. His expression was a challenge. She read it loud and clear. Familial bond was much stronger than that of a teacher to student.