Li covers her face with her hands. “Were we really that predictable?”
“Every single day.” I pull Li into a hug. She stiffens for a brief moment, but then hugs me back. “I’m just glad you two are okay.”
“Why didn’t we see it?” Isaiah asks.
Behind us, Austin, Clive, and Ronan are talking in hushed tones, but I ignore them for now. My students need me, and I haven’t been a very good leader the past few days, and I was so wrapped up in my own pain and fear, I forgot they’re still…kids. Twenty-six and still full of idealism, hope, and the belief that people are basicallygood.
“I don’t know. As soon as Corey wakes up, I hope he’ll have some answers.”
While we waited to be seen at the hospital, Li told me how Arturo and Martín kidnapped them. Corey had called their room and told them to come down to the loading dock. That I was back. When Li and Isaiah came running, Corey was already unconscious and bleeding in the back of the Jeep. Arturo held a gun to Li’s head while Martín bound and gagged them both with duct tape. Neither of them had known Corey’s part until Arturo and Martín taunted them during the drive to the lab.
Li touches my arm, “Are you okay, Dr. Mik?”
“I’m fine.” Forcing a smile, I ignore how my back feels like it’s one large bruise and my neck and shoulders have turned to granite. “I think…it’s Tuesday, right?” We all laugh, but I suspect that’s because no one’s completely sure. “No work this week. Don’t even think about coming in. We all need to heal up a bit. Mentally and physically. I’ll call Dr. Lowenstein tomorrow and tell him what happened.”
Isaiah takes Li’s hand, and it’s so amazing to see the two of them comfortable showing affection around me that my lips curve into a smile. “Are you sure?” he asks. “If there’s work to be done, you shouldn’t have to do it by yourself.”
“I’m sure. Go home and enjoy some time together.” Glancing back at Austin, something inside me heats, sending goosebumps racing down my arms. “I promise. I’m going to take my own advice.”
Li and Isaiah exchange a single, meaningful look before they nod head for the second SUV with Clive already behind the wheel. Ronan leans close to Austin and whispers something in his ear before clapping him on the back and striding away.
“Ready, sweetheart?” Austin asks as he lifts me up into the impossibly high passenger seat. At five-foot-five, I’m not exactly short, but this car is a beast, and I’m grateful for the help. “I want pizza, a bath, and my bed. I don’t think I’veeverbeen more ready to go home than I am right now.”
Austin clips his phone to the air vent, then looks at me expectantly. “I need your address, sweetheart.”
“Oh.” Why didn’t I think of that? I rattle off the street number and name, and he leans across the car to brush a kiss to my cheek.
“Nothing’s going to happen to you, Mik. Not while I’m around. I promise.”
When he talks like that, I believe him. Or…at least, I want to.
Austin
After we stop for a pizza, where Mikayla surprises me by asking for a fully loaded pie—and insisting on paying for it—we turn onto a quiet residential street in northwestern Edgewater.
“It’s the white house with the little porch,” she says, clutching the pizza box like it’s a suit of armor.
Sleek and modern, the house sits back from the road with native plants arranged artfully in front. Windows reflect the sunset, giving the entire building a warm, golden glow. Two stories, all perfectly white paint. “How long have you lived here?”
“Two years.” Mik relaxes a little when I park the SUV. “My mother and father loaned me the money for the down payment.” Her cheeks take on a deeper hue, and she stares down at her death grip on the pizza box. “Too many student loans.”
She refuses my help to the door, balancing the pizza box on her hip as she digs in her pocket for her keys. “Mik, hang on before you go inside.”
Her brows furrow, and she glances down at the pizza like it’s the Holy Grail.
“I just want to clear it,” I say when I come up behind her and unsnap the holster on my belt. I didn’t ask for the Beretta M9, but despite his surly attitude, Ronan’s whip smart and damn quick on the uptake. “Stay right behind me.”
“What are you… Oh my God. You have a gun?” she hisses.
“Not taking a chance with your safety. Set the pizza down on the entry table and stay close.” The bottom floor is almost completely open, the dining room, living room, and kitchen all easy to clear. And then we reach the stairs. I don’t want her putting all that extra strain on her ankle, so I reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. “Wait here, sweetheart, and don’t move from this spot.” I kiss the top of her head before I head up, finding the exact opposite of open space on the second floor. Three bedrooms, two baths, and a handful of closets, all perfectly organized. Not a single item out of place, and the whole house smells like her.
Only her.
When I reach her side again, she’s chewing on her lower lip and tugging on the short strands of her black hair.
“All clear, sweetheart. Why don’t you sit down and put that foot up. I’ll get the bags.”
She lets out an adorable huff, but shuffles slowly over to the entry table for the pizza and carries it with her to the coffee table. Sinking down onto a cream-colored leather sofa, she flops back and closes her eyes. “Fine. But we’re going to talk about where you got that gun.”
