Page 36 of His Sinner

“They won’t let us. Only security personnel are allowed inside.”

“Good thing I don’t go anywhere without my lock pick.”

She rolls her eyes, but a small smile plays on her lips. “For once, I’m actually grateful for your criminal behavior.”

“I actually think you were grateful for my criminal behavior the second I broke into your house and licked your pussy.”

She elbows me in the ribs, glancing at the students milling around us. “Don’t say shit like that where other people can hear you.”

I love getting her riled up, even though she should know by now that I would never want to do anything to upset her like getting her fired, even if it meant my life would markedly improve. She is more important than any of my wants or needs. I would gladly stop breathing if she needed my oxygen.

We make our way across the brick campus, trees blooming with new life, nature slowly transitioning from barren and dull to budding and bright. If not for this asshole causing Briar trouble, we could be taking a romantic stroll across a blossoming spring campus. Instead, she’s attempting and failing to appear stealthy while beelining for the security office.

As she leads the way into the small faculty building, I tease, “Ah. This place brings back memories.”

Briar backhands my arm. “You are the most insufferable man on the planet. We’re trying to be incognito here.”

“Perhaps you should save the breaking and entering for the professionals, muse.”

“It’s Professor, Mr. de Haas.”

“Excuse me, Professor.” I lean down to murmur in her ear. “Shall I be punished for my insolence?”

“As soon as I have the footage I need and I get you alone, you’re going to eat those words,” she whispers.

I feign a pout. “That’s a shame. I was hoping to eat something else.”

She ignores me as we reach the campus security office. “I’ll stand watch while you pick the lock.”

We’re alone in the empty hall. I try the knob and it turns. “See, Professor? Leave it to the professionals.”

She shoves past me, purposely shouldering my arm as hard as she can. I chuckle and follow her into the dim, cramped room.

“Where the hell do we start?” She shakes both monitors awake, scanning the live feeds for a camera in the faculty parking lot.

I join her until I spot a feed displaying parked cars and one backing out of its spot. “Here. This is it.”

Briar’s gaze darts across the monitor. “Let’s try to find my car. Should be the shittiest one in the lot, so it shouldn’t be hard to spot.”

“What are you two doing in here?” A security guard with a buzzcut and a superiority complex glowers at us, arms folded just below the white, all-caps SECURITY label emblazoned across his chest. He’s nearly my height, but stocky in a way that tells me he works out for show muscles, not functional strength.

“Oh, Trevor! Thank god.”

My lips purse. Thank god? Why the hell would she be thanking a god for sending a security guard to catch us in here?

Briar points at the monitor in front of us. “Somebody smashed the window on my car. We’re trying to figure out who it was. Can you help?”

He strides into the room and she smiles, but he turns off the monitors. “You’re not allowed to be in here.”

Her smile falters. “Trevor, this could be my stalker. If we can get the footage, we’ll know who it is.”

“And I’m happy to look through the footage for you, but students can’t be in here. It’s a security protocol.” His jaw hardens when his gaze lands on me.

Briar huffs. “Fine. Just please go through it as soon as you can and let me know if you find them. I’m beyond ready to take this bastard down. Did you get anything on the phone number?”

“Not yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”

“As soon as you hear something, and not a second after. This motherfucker needs to get what’s coming to them.” She flounces out of the room and doesn’t notice right away that I’m not following her.

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