Page 70 of All Twisted Up
He squeezed my arm. “Good. Hopefully, we won’t need it but at least it’ll be there if the worst should happen. You said the door locks, right?”
“Yesss…” I said, drawing out the word before hastily adding, “but for insurance purposes, the school requires those doors remain unlocked except in the case of an emergency.”
“Then consider this an emergency because you will be locking those doors as soon as all your students are inside the classroom,” the captain said. “If anything happens, the delay in getting through a locked door, will give my men the few seconds it will take to get to their weapons and get your students on the ground. It’s the way we’re going to do things, or this won’t be happening at all. Is that clear?”
The way he was looking at me, told me there’d be no use in arguing. “Yes, sir.” I glanced at Nash who was looking very sureof himself and the captain’s plan. When I breathed out a sigh, the corners of his mouth turned up in a tiny smile…bastard. He knew I had no other choice but to accept the captain’s terms or give up teaching my class. I glanced at my watch. “Well, we’d better get moving if I’m not going to be late.”
“Let’s move,” Sorensen said, striding to the door, and heading out to the drive. Miguel and Raven followed him but Agent Way stopped on the porch to wait for Nash and me to lock up the house. I turned and the way he smiled, in a shy, almost sweet way at me, made me smile back.
“Thank you, Agent Way. You and the captain have been very good about everything,” I told him as we walked toward the large BearCat parked on the drive. He walked with me as Nash muttered, “One minute,” and jogged to catch up with Captain Sorensen.
“It’s fine. Anyone on our team would do the same for someone as important to Nash as you are.”
“What?” I nearly stumbled as I turned to look at him. “Wh-what makes you think I’m important to Nash, Agent Way?” I sputtered.
“Call me Mickey,” he said. “You don’t think you’re important to Nash? Because I can tell you right now—” He pointed to Nash. “That man is a smitten kitten.” He grinned. The expression was so genuine, I couldn’t do anything but shake my head in disbelief, moving my backpack from one shoulder to the other as I felt my face flush.
“I’m not so sure about that. I’m an assignment…I mean, I know he likes me, but I am just an assignment.” Even as I said it, I wondered about earlier when Nash had said, ‘Me too.”But had he meant it the way I had?
He laughed. “You are notjustan assignment, Joshua. Trust me, I’m his best friend. I’ve seen him on and off the battlefield and when I say battlefield, I’m not talking about our military service.”
I almost swallowed my tongue. “What do you mean then?”
“I’m talking about how before meeting you, he went through the bars like crazy, never settling down, and never looking at any man the way he looks at you. Trust me when I say this…that man is crazy about you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
He dragged his gaze away to look at his best friend who was gesturing for us to join them, wearing a frown on his face. We shut up and started toward them. The captain’s arm was down by his side, gun in hand, and it was only then that I noticed Nash also had his at the ready.
“Let’s move,” Sorensen said as we all fell into step behind him.
Agent Clifford grinned as he stood at the open back doors, gesturing for everyone to get inside. He greeted me as he held out a hand, boosting me into the vehicle. Nash followed with Mickey before the doors closed. The others slid in beside me on the padded bench and we were off, with Agent Clifford and the captain up front.
We said nothing as we drove to the school, which would take us about forty-five minutes through sparse freeway traffic, from our refuge in Ventura. The lights were on inside the truck, and I was relieved because it allowed me to look through my assignments and familiarize myself with the work my students had turned in last week. With everything that had been happening, I hadn’t even taken the time to correct the stack of tests in my bag.
We’d been driving about a half hour when Nash stood and began pulling something out of lockers. I realized they were bulletproof vests. Mickey took one of the vests and put it on over his black uniform shirt. I watched as they put on button up shirts to conceal their vests.
“Your turn,” Nash announced. “Pull off your sweater.”
I hurriedly shoved the tests back into my bag and stood as he held the vest and waited. Thankfully, he’d said to wear a sweater, and I’d pulled on a thick cable knit one which I really liked. I preferred to dress warmly since the school kept the air conditioning on for evening classes so their students would be comfortable.
Nash stepped close after I’d pulled off the sweater, and I couldn’t help but inhale, catching the slightest trace of the sandalwood soap he used. I was instantly comforted by it, lifting my face to his as he stared back at me with those gorgeous hazel depths I wanted to fall into every time I looked at him. He smirked as if knowing what effect he had on me. Had Mickey not been in the back with us, I would have made a comment about how conceited he was.
Our fleeting eye contact was broken only moments later when our driver went over something in the road, causing me to jolt and sway for a few seconds. Nash’s arms went around me in the blink of an eye as I was yanked up against his hard chest. In the few seconds it took to steady myself, my stomach swarmed with butterflies, much like it had the first time he’d pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I felt like I was going to swoon right there in front of his friend as blood rushed straight to my groin.God, I wanted this man. Talk about smitten.
When he bent to speak quietly into my ear, shivers ran down my spine. “Let’s get you into this vest, baby.” I nodded ashe released me, and quickly stepped back, still conscious that Mickey was standing only feet from us. “Lift your arms, let me slip this over your head.”
I complied, grateful I’d donned a T-shirt under the sweater so the scratchy vest wouldn’t be against my bare skin. As soon as it was on, I was surprised that it felt so light. Bulletproof vests always looked so much heavier in all those TV shows I liked to watch. Once the Velcro straps were in place and Nash had tested it to make sure it wasn’t moving around, he handed me back the sweater, telling me to put it on.
“One last thing.” He opened an upper cabinet and pulled something out. When I recognized what it was, I started to shake my head. He frowned at me, looking exasperated. “Don’t look at me like that.” He nodded at my waist. “Undo your belt.”
“Here?” I glanced at Mickey who was chuckling behind his hand. I looked back at Nash.
“I need to slide this onto your belt. You won’t even feel it, but you’ll have it just in case.”
I looked at the slender—and I’m sure very sharp—stiletto type knife. When I met his gaze again, I sighed deeply, nodding. “Fine, but how are you going to—”
He attached a knife sheaf that sat horizontally across my belt and slid the blade into place before redoing it and pulling my sweater down over it.
