Page 82 of Line of Resistance

With zero hesitation, the monster gripping her hair back handed the little boy hard across the face, sending him crumbling to the ground.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” She usually tried so hard to watch her language when there were kids around, but there was no controlling what came out of her mouth right now. “You deserved to have OCS called on you.” She grabbed his wrist, sinking her nails into the bit of skin peeking out between his coat and glove. “You actually deserve a whole lot worse than that but the ground’s too frozen for me to dig a hole to put you in.”

The bitch in her flowed freely and a little part of her was pissed this prick was witnessing it. That he was the only person besides Nate who’d seen that bit of her. But it was one more thing she was too angry to worry about.

Unfortunately, Bryson’s dad was unbothered by her bitchiness and unfazed by her threat. He laughed right in her face, droplets of spit flying from his mouth to land on her skin. “You think so?” He grabbed her hard, fingers digging into the flesh of her upper arm as he hauled her up from the ground. “I guess I shouldn’t feel too bad about whatever I decide to do to you then.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

NATE

NATE STEPPED OUT of the main office and into the vestibule, moving to the line of glass doors across the front as he activated the mic connected to his earpiece. “How’s it looking out there?”

“Still pretty quiet. We have a few more parents trickling in to drop their kids off, but other than that it’s just teachers and staff coming in so far.” Reed was breathing a little heavy as he spoke. “I’m gonna do a full perimeter check. I’ll do my best to stay out of sight, but I’m not sure how easy that will be. This place is right smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood, so I’ve gotta be careful not to cause anybody to panic.”

“I think being in the middle of a neighborhood might help our cause. It won’t be easy for anyone to get in or out of this place without being seen.” Nate scanned the parking lot outside. “They either have to drive in or cross private property on foot to reach the school.”

“We’re talking about people who tried to take you out on a public roadway. I don’t think they’ll be worried about going on someone’s private property.” Reed grunted. “Of course they’ll have to hop a few fences.” He huffed out a breath. “And it’s fuckin’ hard work.”

“It’s good for you. You need some more cardio anyway,” Nate teased his friend. Reed was the only other member of Rogue who remained single and over the past few months they’d gotten closer since their single status frequently left them the odd men out. Now Reed was the only one left, and Nate didn’t want his friend to feel the isolation that could come with that.

Read only chuckled at the jab. “Shut the fuck up. You know I could beat you in a race every fucking time.”

Nate scanned the lot outside as they continued chatting. “Depends. Is it through the snow?”

Reed was born and raised in Alaska. His family had lived there for generations. It was all he’d ever known. As a result, he was the most capable of them when it came to dealing with the weather and terrain. It made him the best choice to check the perimeter, but it also made him hard as hell to keep up with.

“We’re in fucking Alaska. Of course it’s through the snow.” Reed grunted again. “I’m gonna keep checking. I’ll let you know if anything seems out of place.”

Nate nodded even though his friend couldn’t see it. “I appreciate it. Be careful.”

“Always.” Reed’s boots hit the snow once more before he cut off his mic.

Nate turned back the way he came, waiting for Becky to unlatch the door so he could enter the main office. When the lock didn’t click he tried the door, frowning as it opened. “I thought you said this door stayed locked all the time.”

“Once school starts, it does.” Becky gave him the same stern look she probably dished out to countless students every day. “Until then, it has to stay unlocked so the students can get in here if they need to.”

It made sense, but he didn’t like it. Not at all. “So what happens if somebody tries to cause a problem before school starts? They can just walk right into the building?”

Becky’s lips flattened. “School safety is not as easy as it seems, and unfortunately the police department is already stretched thin. We do have one safety officer who patrols the drop-off line and the bus area while the kids arrive. He should be clocking in any minute.”

One safety officer? They hadonesafety officer to keep an eye on every kid trying to come into the school? “Where does he clock in?”

Becky motioned to a computer set up on a small desk in the corner. “That’s his work area.”

Nate took a deep breath, blowing it back out again. “I want to talk to him the second he gets here.” He tapped his mic again. “Tyson? I’m going to need you to handle the office for a few minutes.”

Tyson and the safety officer came into the building at almost the same time. Nate briefed Tyson on the situation before leaving him to handle the office area while he and the safety officer moved outside.

“The kids all get dropped off here between eight forty and nine o’clock.” The safety officer led him down the front sidewalk. “The buses arrive about the same time, so I move between the two areas.”

“I saw kids coming into the building before eight forty.” Nate scanned the line of cars stretching around the lot, unloading kids in what was only slightly controlled chaos.

“We tried only letting kids in the building starting at eight forty, but there are parents who have to be at work and the kids were just sitting out in the cold.” The safety officer rounded the corner of the building and motioned to a handful of buses. “About half the kids ride the bus and half of them are dropped off, so I move back and forth at a pretty good pace, trying to keep an eye on everything.”

He’d been skeptical about the school only having a single safety officer at first, but it seemed like this guy was really doing his best to keep the place as safe as possible.

It still wasn’t fucking enough.

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