Page 97 of S.O.S. Perk

Her face didn’t soften one bit. “I have an alarm on my watch that lets me know if anyone is tampering with my keyboard,” she replied.

When he snorted, she said, “What? You think just because you’d make a good sex toy, that I’d keep my eyes closed to everything else? Not a chance. Now move from behind the desk and sit there.” She waved the gun at a leather settee that was placed in front of a wall of books.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Perk agreed. Anything to draw this out.

Even though his team hadn’t shown up, Perk had the comfort of knowing his weapon was strapped to his ankle. A seated position would make access easier than if he’d been standing, but still, he wasn’t going to escalate…yet. First, he wanted to see how Jennifer would involve Jeremy.

Nelsin walked behind her desk with her weapon still drawn, hitting the button on an old-fashioned intercom box. “Jeremy,” she spoke into it.

“Yeah, Mom?” the boy’s voice came back crackily after a short pause.

“May I see you in my office, please?” she imparted evenly.

“Sure. I’ll be right there.”

Jennifer stepped back from around her desk to stand with a clear view of both Perk and the door.

“An intercom?” Perk asked curiously.

That was confusing. With all the state-of-the-art things in the room, he didn’t have her pegged for a nostalgist.

“A precaution,” she revealed airily. “When I leave the office, I make sure the entire room is shielded from intruding electronic devices. Using a low power signal, the frequency I set up jams satellite, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity in case someoneshould try to get nosy about what I’m doing here.”

Well, fuck.

Thatwas the reason Perk hadn’t heard from his team. His transmissions had been blocked as soon as he’d stepped into Jennifer’s protected lair. Well, at least she hadn’t discovered that he was here undercover. Which meant he could continue to work the “I’m friends with Jeremy”, angle.

The door to the office swung open. “Hi, Mom. What’s u—?”

At a glance, Jeremy took in his mother standing at the ready with a gun, and Perk seated a few feet away on the receiving end of the barrel.

“What’s going on?” he questioned, clearly bewildered.

“I caught yourfriend, here, attempting to break into my computer,” Jennifer snarled.

“No. There has to be some kind of mistake. Thomas wouldn’t—”

“Jeremy,” Mrs. Nelsin interrupted sharply. “Grow up. Of course he would. You’re far too trusting. Once he got wind of the amount of money involved, he decided he wanted a bigger piece of the action.” She actually laughed. “If it wasn’t me…uh,us, he was attempting to rip off, I’d almost be impressed.”

“Thomas?” Jeremy questioned, looking a little green around the gills.

“Yeah. She caught me,” Perk admitted. “But not for the reasons she thinks.” It was time to take them off guard; try to work things to his benefit. “I’m actuallynota student. I’m here undercover.”

That part wasn’t a lie, but the next bit would be. “I was hired by your father’s company to find out where he is. They haven’t heard from him in nearly a month and a half, and they suspect foul play.”

“Undercover? What…? How…?” Jeremy clearly didn’t know where to focus as he looked back and forth between Perk and hismother. “Then… If you’re a…whatever you are, what did you do with Kaelyn?”

“No worries. She’s someplace safe in the wings, waiting things out with the proper authorities,” Perk told him. “Your father, however…”

Perk let that dangle, and Jennifer’s face grew stormy.

Jeremy faced his mother. “You…you said Dad was on a business trip,” he prompted.

When Jennifer didn’t answer right away, clearly struggling to answer, Jeremy’s mouth dropped open, and he barely got his next words out. “Mom. You didn’t,” he whispered. “You wouldn’t.”

“Of course not,” Mrs. Nelsin derided angrily. “Was itmewho was going to do away with that Kaelyn girl?” she posited. “No. That was you,” she reminded him. “Iam not a cold-blooded killer.”

Jeremy nodded toward her gun. “Then wh…what’s that?” he stammered.

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