Again.
Chapter Four
Saxon
Itell myself I’m here for a reason.
Routine safety check.
Standard procedure.
Necessary.
Bullshit.
We did one three days ago. Everything passed. Everything was fine.
But here I am, walking down the gleaming hallway of Devil’s Peak Elementary with a clipboard I don’t need and a purpose I’m lying to myself about.
Teachers peer out of doorways as I pass, whispering like I’m a stray wolf that wandered into a chicken coop.
Whatever.
I’m not here for them.
I find the classroom before I even look at the door number.
Her voice carries. Light. Warm. A soft hum that pulls under my skin.
I pause outside her door, jaw clenching before I knock.
“Come in!”
I step inside.
Twenty tiny heads swivel at once.
And then hers.
Briar Tate looks up—and blushes instantly. Pink. All over. Like someone hit her with a heat gun.
Jesus.
I shouldn’t like that as much as I do.
She pushes a strand of hair behind her ear, her voice too bright. “Captain Cole. Wow. Um. Hi. Again.”
Her eyes flicker down my chest—quick, but I catch it.
“Safety check,” I say, holding up the clipboard.
Her brows rise. “Again?”
“Yup.”
“Didn’t the last one happen… Monday?”
“Yup.”
