The Better to Bite(32)

Brent stared down at me a moment. “I didn’t even realize…” His breath blew out. “I was so busy feeling like shit, thinking I’d caused you to get hurt.” His hand cupped my chin. “I got this.”

What?

He turned then and stood in front of me, facing the juniors and seniors. “If they’re pissed, they can just get over it,” his voice was loud, carrying easily, and immediately capturing everyone’s attention. “If anyone has a problem with you, then they’ve got one with me.”

Wow. Standing up for me in front of the class. Telling them to kiss off. That was awful white knight of him.

And it was hot.

I peered over his shoulder. Most folks were looking away now and acting like they hadn’t been gossiping about us minutes before.

I expected to see Valerie doing her glare routine. But, actually, I didn’t see her at all. I didn’t see Rafe either. I was kind of glad about that. Kind of.

Brent looked back to me. “My mom flew back into town.” A little wince flickered over his face. “She’s not too happy about the party scene, and she’s trying to play mother.” There was a world of strain and suffering in the word. “So I’m supposed to be housebound for the next week.”

One week for hosting a blowout party? The woman’s punishment skills were weak. “If I’d had the party,” I told him honestly, “my dad wouldn’t have let me out of the house for at least a month.”

He laughed. “The sheriff’s tough, huh?”

“You have no idea.” I was trying to warn the guy. He didn’t seem to pick up on the warning.

His smile still lingered on his face. “When I’m off prison duty, how about we try a real date?”

That sounded promising. “I could be up for that.”

He caught my hand in his. “After all, we’ve already had a near-death experience. What’s a movie after that?”

He made me want to laugh. Standing there with him then, the wreck, the wolf—even Granny Helen’s crazy stories—all just seemed like a bad dream.

But then I looked up once more, and I caught sight of my dad, standing near the back entrance of the cafeteria. He had his hands on his hips, and his dark gaze swept the area. When he saw me and Brent, his eyes narrowed.

That was his Trouble look. I snatched my hand back from Brent. No girl likes to be caught with a cute guy when—

“Anna.”

There was a tight, strained quality in my dad’s voice.

I frowned at him. He’d sure closed in fast.

“We need to talk.”

Brent spun around. “Sheriff Lambert? What are you—”

I realized the principal, Mr. Knoxley, hovered behind my dad. The principal’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously and sweat beaded his very large brow.

“Anna, come with us, now.”

And I realized my dad was there for one reason—and one reason only—business.

When I thought about the kind of business that would send my dad after me in the middle of a school day, a tight knot formed in my stomach and for an instant, I slipped into the past.

***

The girl had been missing three days when my dad came to pull me out of class. I was in the middle of my biology exam, and praying hard for a miracle, when he came in.

The teacher stood, but my dad waved him away. My dad’s badge was on his hip, and I guess Mr. Bryer knew better than to get in a cop’s way.

“Family emergency,” my dad said.

My heart stopped at that, but then I caught the almost imperceptible negative shake of his head.

Normally, someone from the office would have come to get me out of class. Not my dad. But…

I soon realized this wasn’t a normal situation.

The bright sunlight hit me when I left the school building. My dad’s unmarked car waited at the corner. He opened my door, and I slid inside.

He hurried around and climbed into the vehicle.

“Dad, what’s happening?” Not a family emergency. So it wasn’t mom. She’d moved out four months ago, and I hadn’t heard from her. I didn’t know where she was or what she was doing and, yeah, a part of me still hoped that she’d show up on our doorstep.

My dad’s hands tightened around the wheel. “I need you to help me, baby.”

The knot in my gut squeezed real hard. So hard I think I lost my breath. “Dad?” I knew what he meant. He’d been working a case—one that chased him home at night. Girls were going missing, girls close to my age. They’d disappear from bus stops, movie theaters, malls—six of them so far. Just…vanishing. Disappearing for three days. Then on day three, the cops would find a broken body.

I’d seen a picture of one of those bodies. I never wanted to see anything like that again.