"I thought you were taking a break?" Carlos said as he came near McCue.
"No time. You busy?"
"Not for this."
"Good. We got our work cut out for us." He rolled up his sleeves and settled in his chair in anticipation of a long day.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
"I'm banking on you understanding that, until finals week is over, I can only see you for a few hours. Absolutely no sleepovers. I have to ace these tests to keep my scholarship in place."
"Okay," Throttle said.
"Yeah, you say that so easily, but last night, the night before, and the night before that, you stayed all night."
"I don't remember any complaints from you." He chuckled, the deep tone making her skin pebble.
"I know," she groaned. "That's the problem."
"I don't see any problem in it."
"Of course you wouldn't." She smiled; she was just as guilty as he was because whenever he was near, she couldn't stay away from him. She craved him and wanted her skin pressed to his as they slept. He was her elixir, and she needed it like an alcoholic needed a drink.
"You gotta eat, right? I'll come in a few hours and bring your favorite Chinese food. You can take a break, and then I'll leave so you can study."
The only reason he was acting so nonchalant about not spending the night, was because he knew she'd cave in like she had for the past three nights. But she had to study; she'd blown off too much time. "Okay, but come a little later. I'm going to start studying now."
"No problem. I have church, and then I'm gonna play a game or two of pool. Do you want egg rolls and Kung Pao chicken?"
"Yes, but make sure the egg rolls are veggie this time. Tell them extra spicy on the Kung Pao."
"You're extra spicy, babe. Can't wait for dessert."
"You see? That kind of talk is deadly to a student during finals week. Dessert tonight will have to be a fortune cookie."
He chuckled. "Be there in a few hours. If you need anything, call me."
She placed her phone on the coffee table and slumped on the couch. She was hopeless; she knew damn well he'd crumble the fortune cookie over her naked body and nibble it up. Sighing, she decided to get a hard few hours of studying in before her good-intentioned plans went to hell.
The sun shining through her large window blinded her and she went over to close the curtains. As she pulled them, she noticed a police car driving slowly by her house. It was the second time she'd spotted the car in the last hour. A shiver ran up her spine. She closed the drapes and set the alarm. Taking out a bottle of sweet tea, she plopped down on the kitchen chair, opened her new laptop, and began to study.
Two hours later, she rose from the table and stretched, lolling her head from side to side to work out the kinks in her neck. She walked around for a few minutes before heading back to her studies when the doorbell rang. For a split second, her nerves snapped and her pulse quickened. I'm not expecting anyone. She padded to the door and looked out the peephole, relief washing over her. A big smile replaced her tight look, and she disengaged the alarm and swung the door open.
"Dr. Redman, how are you?"
He smiled. "I was hoping you'd be home. I knew I wasn't going to see you until your final exam on Friday. I have good news. I found your laptop." He produced her computer, his beaming face infectious.
"Great! Where did you find it? Did someone turn it in?"
"No. I found it in one of the supply cabinets in the classroom. Isn't that strange? I have no idea how it got there."
"That is strange. Maybe someone was taking it and stashed it when they were interrupted." She shrugged. "I don't know. I watch too much TV." She opened the screen door and took her computer. "Thank you so much for bringing it to me. I had a bunch of notes on it that I didn't backup. This is great timing."
"Glad I could help." He turned and began to walk down the stairs.
"Would you like an iced tea? I was just taking my study break."
He glanced at his watch. "I guess I can spare twenty minutes. I told my wife I'd help her with one of the committees she's on." He came back up the stairs. "Should we have it out here?" He pointed to the wicker chairs.
"It's too hot out, and the mosquitoes are awful in August. We can go inside. It's nice and cool." He followed her inside. "When you're dean of the college, your wife will have to be on a lot of committees, won't she? That's what I've heard."
He sat on the couch. "Yes. It'll be demanding, but she loves all the social stuff. Much more than I do."
From the kitchen, she called out, "I also have lemonade. Would you rather have that?"
"Lemonade is great. You have a nice place here."
"It's comfortable."
"Are you doing okay with your studying? Do you have any questions?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." She handed him his drink, grabbed her notebook, then flopped on the couch at the other end. "Let's see. Oh yeah, how do you get the formula for productivity to balance out? I'm still confused about that."
Dr. Redman explained how to arrive at the answer, and Kimber wondered if she'd ever be as smart and knowledgeable as her professor.
* * *
"You might as well give me the thousand bucks ‘cause I'm gonna win the game," Throttle said as he sank two more balls in the far-left pocket.
"Fuck," Bones said under his breath. "Just a damn lucky shot."
"Like the last five have been? Own up to it-I kicked your ass in this game."
The other brothers laughed, and Rosie and Wendy yelled out accolades to Throttle as he sank another ball. Hawk came up beside him after his shot. "I need to talk with you."
"Fuck, dude. I'm in the middle of kicking Bones's ass. Hang tight."
"It's urgent. Now."
From the tight look on his brother's face, Throttle knew something was up. He handed his cue stick to Rags. "Make me proud, brother. We'll split the dough." He followed Hawk to his office.
"What the fuck's up?" he asked as he leaned against the wall.
"A real good friend of Cara's works for the sheriff's department, and he and Cara were talking shop about the murders happening in town."
"So?"
"Cara mentioned how Kimber thought she'd been targeted and how the Insurgents beefed up the security, and he told her something that had her spooked like hell."
Icy fingers grabbed his spine. "Go on." His face was tight, and a dull throb banged against his temples.
"Josh thinks he found a common denominator with some of the murdered women. Three out of the six murdered so far have gone to Pinewood Springs Community College. He also went back through the cases of the women who were assaulted only and found four of them were also students."
Throttle felt the color drain from his face. "Fuck," he muttered. "Kimber goes there. Fuck!"
"Yeah." Hawk spread out his hands on his desk.
Throttle pulled out his phone and dialed Kimber.
"Hiya," she said.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Oh, my laptop was found. Isn't that cool?"
"You didn't mention that to me a couple hours ago."
"That's because I didn't know. Dr. Redman brought it over. Wasn't that nice? He thought I might need it for finals."
His heart raced, nearly exploding as his adrenaline spiked. "Is he still with you?"
"Uh-huh."
Fuck! "Babe, listen to me. Act totally normal and don't freak out. Don't interrupt me either. You're in extreme danger, and you gotta keep the prof talking until I get there. You got it?" He looked at Hawk and mouthed, "I'm outta here. Call the fuckin' badges." He knew the cops were ten minutes away to his twenty-five. Even if he hauled ass-which he planned on doing-he was still fifteen minutes further. A lot of harm could happen in a few minutes.
"Not really."
"Just act normal. Keep talking to me about whatever the hell you want but don't ask me any questions about what I'm telling you." He ran out to the parking lot; he had to get to her.
"That's just great."
"Good, babe. You got it. Don't tell the prof I'm coming, okay?"
"Yes, I'd like that a lot."
"Try to go over and punch the panic button on the alarm system. Just keep calm. If you punch it, you'll get some rough guys over in a flash to help you out." He jumped on his bike.
"You want me to look up the number?"
"Yeah. Get over there and push it."
"I'll see if I can find the number."