Page 160 of Vexatious Queen

“Perfect.”

Blake marched up to the front of the classroom, but all I wanted to do was go to the office and make sure that Ivy was alright. He grabbed Mr. Sharpe’s briefcase off the floor and placed it on the desk. The snaps clicked as they unlocked, and he started moving papers and unzipping pockets.

“What are you looking for?”

“Burner phone.”

“You think my texter is Mr. Sharpe? I know he’s been a dick, but a stalker? I don’t see it,” I said.

Blake glanced up at me.

“It’s always the one you don’t suspect. Trust me, I should know. No one would’ve pegged me for a virgin with a drug problem.”

“Touché.”

“No phone, but…” Blake held up keys. “Come on, we are going to go snooping later.” He closed the briefcase and set it down in the exact spot where he picked it up.

“We can’t take those. He’s going to know someone was snooping. There is no plausible reason for them to have fallen out,” I said, as Blake marched back to our desk, stuffing the keys in his pocket.

“Doesn’t matter as long as he doesn’t think it’s us.”

He gave me an evil grin.

I was going to end up suspended. I could feel it. My backpack was ridiculously heavy with Ivy’s stuff added. I zipped it up and pulled on my jacket.

“Here, let me help you,” Blake said, holding my straps so that I could slip my arms through. It felt like it weighed as much as I did.

Blake swiped Zigzag’s books and bag, and we headed out. We reached the breezeway and saw Mr. Sharpe, trying to make his way back to the building through the blowing snow. His arm was up, covering his eyes.

“Whoa, follow me,” Blake said and darted back inside. He yanked open the stairwell door, and we ducked down to wait.

“Why are we hiding?”

“If we don’t want to look like prime suspects, he can’t see us leaving.”

I stared at him suspiciously.

“When did you get to be so sneaky?”

He smiled, flashing all of his sexiness in one devastating grin.

“I think I’m just embracing it. Shh, here he comes.”

He put a finger over his lips as the inside door banged a little with the air flow from the breezeway.

A moment later, another one opened, and we held perfectly still.

I watched Sharpe’s shadow pass underneath while Blake peeked through the window. Then, as silent as a mouse, he opened the door. With a nod, we were off and outside, heading for the main building.

“Blake O’Brien, you constantly surprise me,” I said.

He nudged my shoulder. “As long as it’s a good thing.”

“Oh, it is.”

Worry for Ivy sat heavy on my chest, and the knowledge that Blake and I could get caught pressed right up against it. But beneath it all was a dangerous spark of excitement. The kind that came from choosing the unsafe route instead of showing restraint.

Being careful had never really kept me safe anyway, so why not try something new?