Page 14 of Dagger

Why?

We didn’t know each other well, yet, but she hadn’t mentioned anything about an ex-boyfriend or lover. I needed to dig deeper and find out who this guy was before he found his balls and did something more than watch her. I’d considered asking Slate to do a deep dive on her, but that seemed like an invasion of her privacy.

And standing night after night watching her wasn’t?That asshole devil on my shoulder taunted. He was right, that little red fucker. I needed to do something. I needed to be proactive about keeping her safe. There was no way to admit to her that someone had been watching and following her without admitting that I was doing the same.

I watched Sinclair for hours while she read the book, smiling at times and swiping tears during others. It was a goddamn show, watching this woman get so consumed by a story that she lost all track of time. Eventually, the yawns took over and she put the e-reader down, rinsed out the wine glass, and turned out the lights. Seconds later the light came on in what I assumed was her bedroom.

Curiosity burned about what her bedroom looked like. Was it pink and frilly like a little girl’s, or was it decorated in bold, jewel-toned colors like a mature, sensual woman? Did she sleep in lingerie or were those pink and green pajamas how she went to bed? Better yet, did she sleep in nothing at all?

I wanted to know.

Fuck that, Ineededto know.

When I left her house that night, my thoughts were dominated by Sinclair and the need to have her, to protect her.

To keep her close.

I needed a decent plan, dammit, and I needed it yesterday.

Chapter 9

Sinclair

The halls of Steel City Elementary were eerily quiet. Sure, in the distance there were sounds of chairs scraping against the floors and conversation between teachers, but mostly it was just quiet. Normally, I’d be inside my car already and heading to the grocery store, but I wanted to get the math homework graded so I could do something special for the students first thing tomorrow.

Even though math wasn’t one of my favorite subjects, I loved grading math homework because it showed exactly how a kid’s mind worked. Some took to math easily, but most students had to work at it, and when they finally got it? It was a thing of beauty. The students were, for the most part, catching on quickly. Some struggled, of course, but those were the ones I’d help to make sure they were confident in their math skills before they moved on to fifth grade.

“Miss Bronson?”

The sound of Mrs. Winters’ voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I looked up at the short, round woman with the bright red smile. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Winters?”

She laughed and waved a hand at me. “Call me Helen.”

“Only if you call me Sinclair.” I offered a friendly smile and waved her inside. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no,” she insisted. “I actually came to ask you the same thing.”

I frowned. Did my unease show? I’d been on edge for the past few weeks because once again I felt like I was being watched, like someone was constantly there looking over my shoulder. Then there were the roses left on my car windshield. It only happened a couple of times, the first time I’d thought it sweet. The second less so, but there’d been no more. Still, it was another thing that unsettled me.

But that wasn’t what Helen was asking. Was it? I shook my head. “I don’t think anything is wrong. The students are doing well. Why do you ask?”

Helen took another step forward, a smile on her face that said she had gossip to share. I wasn’t big on gossip because it usually went from teasing and well-meaning to malicious in the blink of an eye, but this was a new school with new people, so I waited. “That yummy-looking man, Mr. Kane, is here to see you again.” Excitement lit her brown eyes. “He looks scary, but I can’t deny he’s what my daughter calls eye candy.”

I laughed along with her because that much was undeniable. The man was hotter than the sun and equally terrifying. But it wasn’t his tattoos or motorcycle that made him terrifying, it was the fact that his whole bad boy package was more appealing than a double chocolate fudge browniewithwhite chocolate and macadamia nuts. “He is easy on the eyes.”

“And he wants to see you. Again,” she added with a teasing gleam in her eye. “Oh, to be young and beautiful again.”

I raised my eyebrows at the woman. “Beautiful enough that Mr. Halloran and Mr. Gonzalez brought your favorite chocolates this week.”

Her cheeks reddened. “Ah, but we’re not talking about me, Sinclair.”

I laughed and pushed away from my desk. “Okay fine, I’ll go talk to Mr. Kane.”

“I’m happy to send him back to you,” Helen offered.

I headed to the door and waited for Helen.

“Oh fine,” she grumbled. “Let’s go.”

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