by Kathryn Shay
Luke guessed Ben was kidding, but his Secret Service instincts urged him to react.
Then Ben punched Luke’s shoulder. “Just kidding, Ludzecky.”
“Oh, sure. I knew that.” He punched Ben back. “‘Bye, buddy.”
o0o
“He said what?”
Luke let out an exasperated breath. “He was just kidding.”
“Damn it, Luke, you don’t know that.” Stonehouse paced the den where Luke had found him sipping a drink and staring at reruns of The X-Files. Something was bothering the guy. He’d been surly and antisocial since Luke had returned from his mother’s.
“What’s eatin’ at you, Stonehouse?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, that’s obvious.”
“Oh, hell. I don’t know why I’m taking this out on you.” Stonehouse stopped his nervous trek, then took a sip of his drink. “Somebody slashed Suzanna’s tires.”
“What!”
“Luckily, I was with her when she found the damage. I’m afraid she’s in more danger than I thought.”
“Well, we’re making strides here.”
“Yeah, but I don’t feel good about all this. I can’t pinpoint anything, really. She had Josh’s car, so the violence could have been meant for him.” Again, the agitation.
Luke studied the man. “You got something goin’ with this woman?”
“No, of course not. Why the hell would you ask that?”
“You’re pacin’ like a worried suitor.”
“I’m responsible for her safety. For everybody’s safety.”
Luke dropped onto the arm of the couch. “You believe that, Joe?”
“Of course I do. I’ve got to keep her—all of them—out of harm’s way.”
“I wanna do that, too, but we aren’t gods. We can’t guarantee their safety. We do our best to uncover problem areas in the school. And help the troubled kids, like Ben.”
Joe frowned. “So, how’s he doing overall?”
“He has a lot of risk factors. Recent loss. First his father, then Riley. Suicidal thoughts. And that Wiccan stuff.”
“You said he’s not into devil worship, right?”
“No. Wicca seems to be a healthy religion. The kids get on him about it, though.”
“We should read up on it more. To be sure his version is accurate.”
“I can go search the Net tonight.”
“All right. That would help.”
Luke stood and headed to the door.
“Luke?”
He pivoted around. “Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I bit your head off. Good work with Ben.”
“Thanks.”
An awkward silence fell, but Luke hung back.
“How was your visit with your mother?”
His grin was broad. “Great. My sisters were home, too.” He hesitated. “You got any family?” It was amazing what people didn’t know about each other.
“Yeah, a sister.”
“You miss her?”
“Yes.”
“Me, too. I mean, I miss mine.” Another awkward pause. “This is a tough life, isn’t it?”
“Most of the time.” Joe sounded resigned. After a moment of strained silence, he turned away, as if embarrassed.
So did Luke. Hell, he didn’t even like the guy. Why should he feel good at the compliment? At the solicitousness? Luke had lived all his life without male approval. He didn’t need it now.
o0o
The concert hall in downtown Fairholm was cavernous. Rows of seats crowded in together like stiff little soldiers. There were groups of The Berries fans standing in the back and along the sides. Which made it totally unexpected that Luke and Ben bumped into—literally—Mike Wolfe and Kelsey Cunningham.
Ben said, “Oh, sorry. Hey, Ms. C.!”
“Ben, hello.” She smiled at the boy and turned her gaze to Luke. “Hi, Luke.”
At first glimpse of her, Luke thought he might swallow his tongue. She was dressed in tight jeans which outlined every contour of hip and thigh. Boots made her a couple of inches taller. But, holy Jesus, the shirt she had on should be illegal! Black Spandex dipped low in the front and hugged the generous curves that Luke had speculated about but never seen in such...definition. The shirt was saved from being salacious by a fringed suede vest she’d worn over it. Dangly brown and black earrings completed the bohemian outfit.
She looked just about good enough to eat.
Wolfe apparently thought so, too. His eyes narrowed on Luke. “Close your mouth, Ludzecky.”
Luke burned at the chastisement. But he forced himself to feign embarrassment.
“How are you, Luke?” Kelsey’s voice was solicitous.
“Good.” He didn’t know why he added, “I got to see my mother this weekend.”
She reached out and squeezed his arm. He felt her touch all the way to his toes. “How nice.”
Wolfe drew her back. Kelsey tossed him a questioning look.
“I didn’t know you were coming tonight,” Ben put in. “When we talked about the concert, you didn’t say anything.”
“I didn’t think I could get tickets.” Kelsey gave her full attention to Ben.
“Glad you did,” Ben said and smiled.
God, it was true that teachers could spark kids’ self-confidence. Ben knew Kelsey liked him, and it made him feel good. It also looked like Ben had the makings of a big-time crush. Not that Luke blamed him.
Wolfe said, “Let’s go, Kelsey. I want to get up front.”
After quick good-byes, Luke watched them leave. Ben said, “Let’s go down where they are.”
Mutely, Luke followed Ben. He wasn’t exactly sure why tonight had suddenly turned as grim as identifying a dead body. All he knew was seeing Wolfe with Kelsey put a damper on the evening.
An hour later, after the warm-up band finished, Luke’s black mood darkened when he and Ben were maneuvered by the crowd to a spot behind the couple. Wolfe slid his arm around Kelsey, touching her waist intimately. So when a fellow fan bumped Luke’s arm—and he was in the process of drinking a Coke—he didn’t try to stop the trajectory. The liquid landed on Mike Wolfe’s back, soaking his Guess sweatshirt.
“What the fuck—”
“Mike!” Kelsey admonished. “The kids are behind us.”
Wolfe turned around. “Who the hell did that?”
“Sorry, Mr. Wolfe.” Luke held up his hands, arrest-style. “Somebody hit my arm.”
As he wrung out his sleeve, Wolfe continued to swear. “Jesus Christ, I’m soaked.”
“Oh, geez,” Kelsey finally said. “Just go buy a T-shirt and put it on. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“I’ll pay for it,” Luke said, reaching for his wallet.
“No.” Wolfe must have realized he was supposed to be the adult here. “It’s no big deal.” He glanced around. “Come with me, Kel. I don’t want to leave you alone in this crowd.”
“But The Berries are coming on soon. I’ll miss their opening number.”
“Concerts can get rough. Kids mosh.”
“Not at a Berries concert. I’ll be fine.”
“We’ll stay with her,” Ben said.
Luke hid a grin. “Yeah, we’ll protect her.”
Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Go, I’ll be fine. I’ll stay right here with my bodyguards.” She tweaked Ben’s muscles. “See?”
Grumbling, Wolfe left. Ben and Luke flanked Kelsey like sentinels. Soon, The Berries came on. Kelsey stuck her fingers in her mouth and let out a whistle.
Luke laughed out loud.
The lead singer, Roberta, thanked the crowd for coming, and made mention of the ponytails all the guys wore, their versions of her upswept hair. Then she began to sing. She had a sultry voice. It was smooth and sexy, and reminded Luke of hot nights and tangled sheets. Kelsey got a dreamy look on her face as she swayed to the bluesy words of love and loss and yearning.
Luke tried to concentrate on the performers.
He did, until they pl
ayed a rowdy song that got everybody moving. And crowding. And pushing. Kelsey ended up in front of him, and Ben was herded several people down. In no time, everybody in the audience was packed in like the proverbial sardines.
It was hell.
It was heaven.
Kelsey was plastered against Luke. His hands came up and grasped her arms to steady her. He could feel the indentation of her back, the soft swell of her hips, her nicely rounded fanny pressing against him. Short, dark hair that smelled like flowers tickled his cheek. They were pressed even closer; his hands slid to her rib cage.
Proximity combined with nature, and Luke became aroused. He swelled against her.
Please don’t let her know.
She knew. Her body stiffened.
I’m sorry, he thought as an adult. But a kid would die before he’d acknowledge the reaction to a teacher.
Luke tried to ignore the shapely body pressed against him. His fingers itched to explore it. His mouth watered to taste it in all the right places.
And he cursed heaven, hell, and the Secret Service, because he knew this was the closest he’d ever get to Kelsey Cunningham.
Chapter Ten
“Son of a bitch!”
In an isolated corner of Fairholm’s computer suite, Luke glanced over his shoulder at Max Duchamp, who sat back to back with him, cursing as he stared at the message that came across the screen. “Access Denied? What the hell is this?” Max asked no one in particular.
“Something wrong, Max?” the cute red-headed computer teacher called out from her desk. She looked like a young Julianne Moore. Luke had heard that Max flirted with her, and if the lab wasn’t busy, she let him in this room to play with the computers.
“No, ma’am.” He shrugged his camouflage-covered shoulders. “I’m just working on a Psychology project and I can’t get to the site I need.”
She stood and crossed to him. Small and pretty, she had a few freckles on her pert nose. She leaned over Max and reached for the keys.
“Don’t.” Max’s voice was harsh.
The teacher jumped back.
“Sorry. Ms. Cunningham says we have to do it ourselves.”
Luke snorted, but didn’t blow him in; Kelsey had said nothing of the sort. Max must be up to something else. If Luke could help him, it might be the opening he needed to get into Duchamp’s group.
“All right.” The teacher headed back to her desk.
Max fiddled with the keys some more. After another five minutes, he gave up. “Shit,” he mumbled under his breath.
Luke kept typing. Max stood and turned around to face Luke’s computer station. Luke knew he’d see the Screw ’Em All website on the screen.
The other boy was so surprised, he didn’t censor his words. “Hell, Ludzecky. They’ll crucify you if they see you in that site.”
“Fuck ’em. They gotta catch me first.” Luke glanced at the teacher. “Watch me rock.” With a quick flip of his hand, another site came up: Study Questions for U.S. Government.
Max laughed. “How’d you do that?”
“State secret,” Luke mumbled. When Max just stood there, Luke said, “Plant your ass if you want. We can dick around with this together.”
For a few minutes, they read the lyrics of the shock rock website. Some of it was funny. Some of it was sick. How Duchamp reacted would tell Luke a lot. When the description of cutting off little kids’ fingers scrolled by, Max cringed. “This sucks.”
“Yeah.” Luke waited a beat. “Where you tryin’ to get to? I’m an expert hack.”
“Somewhere.”
“Suit yourself.” Luke glanced at the clock. “Got Psychology in a few minutes anyway.” Where he definitely did not want to go and face the beautiful Ms. Cunningham again. Life had been hell since the concert three days ago, and he didn’t want to think about any of it.
Max shrugged. “You got issues with Webster, don’t you?”
Play it cool. “Not as much as it might look like. But, hell, Duchamp, everybody’s got issues with the guy. He’s a loose cannon.”
“I guess. He bugs me sometimes. He crashed at my house for days last week. My father wasn’t there, so it didn’t matter much. I hate it when he comes around when my dad’s home.”
Luke filed away that piece of information.
After a moment, Max said in a hushed tone, “I got a site. Nobody can know.”
“Yeah, who am I gonna blab to?”
“Your uncle.”
Luke laughed. “In case you can’t tell, he and I ain’t exactly pals.”
“I can tell.” Max smiled wickedly. “Okay. But I couldn’t get in it today from school. That never happened before.”
“How come?”
“Dunno. Maybe they slapped on some new controls.” The bell rang. Max said, “Wanna skip Psychology? If you help me get in, I’ll show you my site.”
Luke shrugged. It would fit right into his plan. “Sure. I’m so not with that class anymore.”
“You the man!” Max said and high-fived Luke. He shot a glance toward the desk. “First I gotta charm the lady into letting us stay.”
While Max went to the desk, Luke tried to occupy himself with the computer. But his mind drifted back to his contact with Kelsey this week. Since the concert.
Monday in class...
“Luke, what do you think about personality disorders?” She’d been perched on that damn desk again, her green skirt tucked over her knees, but still showing some shapely calf.
“I think sometimes I’m Jekyll and Hyde.” He gave her legs a leer. “Not too shabby lettin’ your bad side come out.”
She’d stumbled over her next question.
Tuesday, he’d come in late...
“Where were you?” she’d asked after class.
“I needed a smoke.” He shrugged inside the nasty coat he’d found at a thrift store.
“There’s no smoking on school grounds, Luke.”
“Come on, don’t be a Goody Two-shoes. Kids smoke.”
“Luke, smoking’s—”
“Don’t lecture me,” he’d snapped.
“And don’t raise your voice to me, young man.”
He’d given her a surly apology and stalked out.
Today, he’d almost completely alienated her by making a lewd joke in class. Afterward, she addressed the issue of his behavior directly. “Luke, why are you doing this?”
He remembered thinking, Because I get hard just looking at you, lady. Because at the concert, I almost forgot who I was and what I was doing there. Geez, Stonehouse would have a fit. Right then Luke had known what he had to do. And it fit in with his cover perfectly.
Max strolled back. “She says we can stay.”
“Tell me where to go.” Luke’s hands were poised on the keyboard.
Max gave him the directions, and the keys clicked nonstop. After five minutes, Luke shook his head. “Geez, Duchamp, this thing is buried deeper than shit. What you got in here?”
“You’ll see.” Max watched the screen as various icons and symbols came up. “This is where I got to. I couldn’t go further.”
“Yeah?” Luke played with the keys.
“Hell, your hands are quicker than a horny john’s.”
Luke didn’t answer. Instead, he scowled. Said, “Man, this is fuckin’ deep,” and clicked keys some more. Finally he smiled. “I’m past it.”
“Jesus Christ! How’d you learn to bypass that stuff?”
Oh, hell. Can’t very well tell him several government specialists taught me. “Some babe I humped worked for a computer company; she showed me. I need passwords from here.”
Max frowned. “Only Webster knows the passwords.”
“Hey, it’s cool. I won’t look.” Luke stood and turned away, pretending to read something posted on the wall in front of him.
Just as Max reached for the keyboard, Luke heard from the doorway, “What are you guys doing in here?”
o0o
Kelsey stared at the two boys who were skipp
ing her class. Though she wasn’t surprised about Max, Luke Ludzecky disappointed her. No news there! Since the concert, he’d been acting strangely, even wearing different clothes. Today, he sported grungy jeans and a sweatshirt with Do Me!, a marginally acceptable saying at best, on it. “Luke? Max? Why aren’t you in class? The counselors are in there to talk about psychology courses in college.”
Max turned around in his chair and ducked his head. “Is it last period already?”
Her eyes narrowed; she dug her hands into the pockets of her loose green dress. “Don’t give me that. If you’re skipping, at least be man enough to admit it.”
Luke shifted and his face reddened, but he said nothing.
Max’s eyes turned dark. “I’m bouncin’. I don’t need this fucking shit from no woman.” He stood and stomped out, the clomp of his army boots echoing in the large room.
Kelsey let him go; she’d deal with him later. She faced Luke; he leaned against a desk and crossed his arms over his wide chest.
“Nothing to say for yourself?”
His face blank, he held her gaze. “I skipped your class.”
Hesitating, she walked toward him. Up close, she could see his beard beginning to fill in. “Why are you hanging around with Duchamp?”
“Max is okay.”
“It’s not good to surround yourself with troublemakers.” She motioned to the room. “This, for instance. As far as I know, you never skipped class before.”
“It isn’t Max’s fault. We were on the Web and just got caught up in it.” He jutted his chin out. “I didn’t plan to skip.”
She glanced over his shoulder. “What were you doing?”
Briefly, he looked back, as if to check out the screen, which was blank. “Max wanted to show me a website. No big deal.”
“Big enough to skip my class.”
“Chill, Ms. C., it isn’t the end of the world.”
She could feel her face flush. “I’m going to write you up.”
He rolled his eyes. “Do what you gotta do, lady.”
Kelsey couldn’t fathom why his insolence hurt. Kids acted like kids sometimes. They skipped class. They were defensive when cornered. She’d never taken it personally before. Yet right from the beginning, things had been different with this boy. Her heart contracted at his cavalier attitude toward her.