Page 52 of Dagger

That earned me a small smile. “Glad to see it. Are you okay?”

I nodded because what the fuck else could I do with bruises forming on my face and blood on my knuckles.

“Okay,” she said, drawing out the word. “Clearly you have something you want to say.”

“Do you know someone named Nick?”

She looked deep in thought before saying, “I can’t say I know a Nick. I mean, I’m sure I’ve crossed paths with a few Nicks over the years, but none that stick out.”

“Think hard, this is important,” I urged.

She sighed. “I don’t know what else you expect me to say. I honestly don’t know anyone called Nick, okay?”

Frustration bubbled to the surface, and I raked a bloody hand through my hair. “You say you don’t know anyone called Nick, but someone sure has it in for you.”

“Do you think I’m lying?” she asked.

“I just think if someone is this fixated on you then you must have crossed paths with him. Are you trying to cover for him?”

She just glared at me, finished her drink, rinsed the glass, and walked away with her head held high.

Before I heard the click of her bedroom door, I knew I’d fucked up and I knew I had to fix it.

What I didn’t know was how the fuck to do that.

Chapter 27

Sinclair

Shit happens and life went on. That was my motto after my fight with Dagger when he accused me of knowing my stalker. There were no more long nights of sensual bliss. No more sunny mornings where I woke up in his arms. We’d had a talk the following day, he apologized and said that he was just worried, but I’d told him that we needed to keep things professional. I was there to help Dani and nothing more. I’d wanted to return to my home, but I knew until whoever wanted to hurt me was caught, I wasn’t safe, so I agreed to stay.

It was everything that I dreaded, this was why I didn’t do relationships. No matter how wonderful the man was, things always got complicated when emotions were involved.

I still spent time with Dani outside of the classroom, we cooked together and each night we sat together in the dining room chatting while she did her homework and I graded papers.

It wasn’t the same as the weeks before, weeks that were filled with all of the things I never thought I’d have, and to lose it hurt. But better a small hurt now than heartbreak later, I told myself.

Try telling that to my heart though…

I filled my days with work, preparing for parent-teacher conferences, which meant getting to know the parents of my students, and giving them mostly good news about their budding academics. There was a field day to break up themonotony of sitting inside a classroom all day, and wrangling dozens of energetic fourth graders had been the perfect way to exhaust myself so that when the day was over, I went to the guest suite, took a hot shower, and fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

Today there was a bake sale fundraiser that required everyone to participate. Half the teachers came in this morning armed with loads of plastic containers of homemade baked goods, a few of the male teachers quietly transferred store bought cookies and cupcakes onto decorative platters, while others chipped in with handwritten signs and several cash boxes. It had taken most of the morning to get everything set up in the front hallway and all of the teachers pitched in however they could.

“Ugh,” Sarah said as she dropped down beside me just minutes after I sat behind one of the tables. “Why do we have to volunteer to do this?”

I laughed even though I shared her pain. “Because we’re all hoping this thing makes enough money so that we don’t have to use our own money to fill in the gaps.”

A beautiful smile lit up her face as she sat a little taller. “Excellent point,” she said, and bumped my shoulder. “Be sure to upsell as much as you can, girlie!”

I rolled my eyes as another laugh escaped, drawing an eye from one of the older teachers who couldn’t stand anyone having fun. “I’ll do my best,” I promised, and followed her gaze to the lemon bars two tables over. “Those lemon bars are made with fresh lemonsandlemon zest. Plus, I hear they’re calorie friendly.” I wiggled my brows.

She laughed and licked her lips. “Well, you’ve convinced me.” She stood and reached for the tray, placing three lemon bars on a small paper plate decorated with Easter bunnies. “Pleasure doin’ business with you, ma’am.” She stood and tipped her imaginary hat in my direction. “Now I have to pretend to do lesson plans. Catch ya later!”

I smiled at her retreating form. Sarah was the friend I didn’t know I needed at this stage in my life. She was smart and funny. She was nosy as hell, but she didn’t judge, or, if she did, she always offered useful advice. She was my first real friend in a long time, which felt disloyal to the Steel Demons ladies, but the truth was that once I was out of Dagger’s life, I’d be out of theirs too.

***

The hours flew by in a flurry of baked goods, cash, and small talk, and I was officially ready for my volunteer period to end. My eyes flicked to the clock every twenty seconds, and just when my time was almost up, a man walked in wearing a hoodie too heavy for the weather outside, sunglasses, and a scowl. He walked towards me like a man on a mission.

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