Blood Kiss (Savage Security Series Book 1) (18 page)

She tilted her head and looked up at him from her awkward angle. “I’m not sure we’re talking about the same thing, but you can’t be here with that thing. That’s a gun,” she mouthed the three-letter word as if saying it aloud would result in SWAT teams crashing through the windows, shoving a bag over Mike’s head, and dragging him away to some isolated location where she’d never hear from him again.

He chuckled and nuzzled her nose. “Trust me. I feel much safer with it.” He took her lips in his, sucking them gently into his mouth and squeezing her ass with his hand.

Her insides melted as she gave into his kiss and returned his passion. She’d missed him. She’d missed all of him. His sense of humor, his touch, his taste, his dependability. She especially missed the cocoon of safety she felt when he was around. She was sure the list went on, but her mind was shutting down as the kiss melted her from the inside out.

She pulled away, conscious of the fact that lunch would soon be over. “What are you doing here?” She rested her hand on his chest.

“I brought you something.” Mike reached into his pocket and pulled out the tracker. “You need to wear this.”

Alisha looked at the tiny, round device that Mike cradled in his palm. “What is it?”  She tapped it with the tip of her finger.

“It’s a tracker. I want to hide it in your bra.”

“Did you really come all this way just to sneak a peek at my awesome boobs?” She teased and smoothed her hands over his chest.

“Busted,” Mike replied. “Do you want to do it or should I?” He would be more than happy to help her out of her shirt.

“Allow me.” Alisha didn’t trust the look in his eyes. She unbuttoned the top buttons of her shirt and pulled the fabric away to reveal her bra. “Where are you going to put it? On the strap? Inside or outside? In the cup?” She’d never done anything like this. Part of her found this bizarrely exciting. Was this just another day on the job for him? Did he regularly put trackers in women’s bras?

Mike wanted it concealed. He didn’t want the pervert to be able to see it even if he tore off her shirt, which Mike had no intention of allowing. “Let’s put it on the inside of your bra. It will be better hidden that way.” He winked at Alisha, trying to allay her concerns.

His fingers slipped between the bra cup and her soft flesh as he pulled the bra away from her breast. He couldn’t help but notice the tiny goose bumps that rose along her soft curves as his fingers slipped the tracker in place. He willed his body not to react. This was about her protection not pleasure.

A commotion from the hallway distracted them. Alisha felt Mike’s hands at her breast, moving her bra back into place, but her eyes were glued to the door. Raised voices were just outside her classroom.
What’s going on?
She couldn’t help the adrenaline that flooded her system. She knew something was wrong, and it scared her.  

“Done,” Mike stated. He heard Jack mouthing off to someone. A strong Spanish accent argued back.

Alisha rushed to button her shirt, turning her back to the door. She looked over her shoulder and saw Mr. Alvarez barrel his way into her classroom followed by a very large man. Mike stepped between Alisha and the intruding man.

“Ms. Woods,” Mr. Alvarez said, his dark eyes landing on Mike and then going back to her.
Was that man groping her?
“Are you okay? These men…” He paused and looked over his shoulder at the large man behind him. “They’re not hurting you, are they?”

Mike had to give the guy credit. He’d barged past Jack to check on Alisha. Was that genuine concern for a friend, or was it obsessive desire to dominate another? Not many men dared to defy Jack.

Alisha stepped around Mike. “Mr. Alvarez, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Mike.” She stood between the two men and gestured with her hand, doing her best to ease the tension that filled the room. As a teacher, there were a few people you didn’t want to piss off: the principal, office staff, and the custodian. “And Mike, I’d like you to meet Mr. Alvarez. He’s the school custodian. He helps me out all the time.”

Mike would like Mr. Alvarez a lot better if he wasn’t so average. He wasn’t overly tall or overly short, nor was he overly fat or skinny. The man was perfectly average in every way which put him as a perfect candidate for Alisha’s stalker. Mike did notice a wedding band on the man’s finger, but that didn’t mean anything. Mike knew better than to think that married meant faithful. He’d already seen that once today.

“Nice to meet you,” Mike said through gritted teeth.

Alisha looked at him, shocked by the tone he took with Mr. Alvarez. She smiled at Mr. Alvarez, trying to make up for Mike’s rudeness. Then she quirked an eyebrow at Mike and asked, “Who’s your friend?” She shifted her gaze to the large man standing behind Mr. Alvarez. He was as tall as Mike and clearly worked out. She figured he must work with Mike.

Mike glared at Jack, who’d clearly failed at his one job requirement. Why he’d bothered coming, Mike didn’t know. Apparently he was useless. “That’s Jack.”

“Just Jack?” Alisha said with a shake of her head and shrug of her shoulders. She wanted more information on the green-eyed man intimidating Mr. Alvarez.

“Yes, just Jack,” Mike repeated slowly. He hoped Jack could read the frustration in his tone.

Yeah, Jack knew Mike was pissed, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He’d just have to take Mike’s anger and let it roll off of him. It wasn’t the end of the world. He didn’t think that little, Mexican man was the stalker anyways. He didn’t have ‘crazy’ eyes.

Jack saw Alisha’s physical appeal immediately. He also noticed that she missed a button when she redid her shirt. She’d need to fix that before leaving the classroom or rumors would fly.
Women could be such gossips.
He chuckled to himself.
Should he tell the guys at work?
He glanced up at Mike.
Probably not.
Mike would tell them how the little custodian got past him.

Jack stepped forward and stretched out his hand. “Hi,” he said to Alisha. “Jack. Jack Bauer.”

Alisha snorted and laughed as they shook hands. “Really?”

“No,” Jack smiled with a firm head shake. “Jack Black.”

Alisha’s brows pulled down. “Really?” she questioned, her voice rising an octave. This man was hard to nail down.

“Yeah.” Jack nodded. He wanted to like her since she was important to Mike, but he wasn’t sure what to think of her. She was attractive, so he could see the appeal. But Jack assumed that her judgment was poor if she wasn’t taking Mike’s advice on how to protect herself, or perhaps she didn’t care how her death may affect his friend. That didn’t give her points either as far as he was concerned.

Mike nodded. “Yes. His name really is Jack Black. Apparently his mom was still drugged up when she gave him that ridiculous, rhyming name.”

“I like it,” Alisha said with a smile. “I have a feeling that it suits you.”

Mr. Alvarez didn’t like the looks of either of the men. They were large, muscular, and clearly knew how to throw their muscle around. He could tell that the one he’d tangled with had let him pass. He’d felt Jack’s muscles go slack as he barged past him. Alvarez was keenly aware that Jack could have laid him out on the floor, and it scared him. He’d witnessed cruel men back home in the cartels. He just never expected that type of man to wind up at his elementary school harassing one of his friends. 

Alisha saw the concern in Mr. Alvarez’s eyes. She recognized how brave he was to stand up to Jack in order to help her. “Mr. Alvarez, are you all right?” She pressed her hand against his arm.

Mr. Alvarez appreciated her concern, but she didn’t need to worry about him. “I’m fine,” he replied, patting her hand. He looked over his shoulder at Jack. “I was concerned when I saw a stranger guarding your door. And when he didn’t want to let me in, I became very concerned. I just wanted to make sure you were safe.” He smiled, still not happy about the two men that were out of place at the school. He’d noticed that her shirt was misbuttoned too. He was somewhat relieved when she said the big man was her boyfriend, but he didn’t know why that other guy had stood watch at the door. Something wasn’t right. There was clearly more to the story.

Mike didn’t trust Mr. Alvarez, and he disliked the way Alisha put her hand on the man’s arm. She didn’t need to encourage any man’s attention or affection towards her. He didn’t care that Mr. Alvarez was married, and he didn’t care that Mr. Alvarez knew that he was her boyfriend. The stalker knew about him and that had only infuriated the stalker. Mr. Alvarez could be playing his part very well, the concerned friend who wanted to know a little more about the ‘other’ man. That’s how he’d play it.

Mike stepped towards Mr. Alvarez and pasted what looked like a genuine smile on his face. “Thanks for your concern. It’s nice to know that Alisha has such good friends here at work.” He looked tenderly at Alisha, took her hand in his, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m so lucky to know her.” He looked back at Mr. Alvarez, squarely in the eyes, “You know a man would do anything for the woman in his life.”

“Yes, yes.” Mr. Alvarez nodded his head and returned the fake smile. English may be his second language, but he understood the veiled threat. “And Ms. Woods is one in a million,” Mr. Alvarez replied. “You are a lucky man.” Then he looked at Alisha, “I’ll talk to you later.” He smiled at Alisha, nodded his head, and walked out the door.

Jack followed Mr. Alvarez out the door. Alisha thought it was a little strange that Jack hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye to her. She turned around and looked up at Mike. “That was weird.” She paused to see if Mike would comment. He didn’t, so she continued. “You’re friend seems…” she wasn’t sure what word to use, something to relay his strangeness without being insulting, “unique.”

Mike laughed and stroked one hand down her arm. “I’ll tell him you said that.” He raised his eyebrows and made an obvious look at her shirt. “You missed a button.”

She looked down at her shirt and noticed the fabric bunching. She let out a sigh. “How embarrassing. Do you think they noticed?” She unbuttoned her shirt and made quick work of redoing the buttons correctly.

“Nah,” he replied. This visit had already taken a turn for the worst. Why add embarrassment over wardrobe malfunction to the mix? “Does he just show up very often?”

“Who? Mr. Alvarez.” Alisha shook her head. “I run into him in the halls. If a kid gets sick, he comes and cleans it up.” She glanced at the standard issue clock that hung over her classroom door. “I hate to say it, but I have to go. I have one minute to walk to the cafeteria and get the kids.” She gave him a weak smile. “Do you want to walk with me?”

“Of course.” Mike followed her through the hallway, down the stairs, and past the office. He gave a quick wave to the receptionist who raised her eyebrows as they walked past while Jack hung out by the school entrance.

Alisha stopped beside the cafeteria doors and faced Mike. “Thanks for coming today.”

“Happy to,” he replied. He wanted to kiss her, wrap his arms around her, but with twenty plus sets of eyes watching, he decided against it.

Alisha walked to the front of a line of students, her finger pressed to her lips with the other hand raised in the air. Her students copied her as they stood in a single-file line.

She turned and motioned with her head for Mike to follow them. He heard the quiet whispers of some of the kids as they headed back to class. At the office, she stopped and turned to Mike and said, “I’ll see you later?”

“You know it,” Mike replied. “I’ll be here by four. Don’t go anywhere that is secluded. Stay in the public areas.” School let out at 3:45 so there would still be some kids around and plenty of teachers. But Mike’s gut told him that she wasn’t safe. He’d seen the way Mr. Alvarez looked at her. He’d stood up to Jack in order to check on her. Regardless of how he looked, he was not your average man.

“I’ll be right here, waiting for you.” She smiled sweetly at him, and then noticed Mrs. Hughes in her periphery staring at them. She fought back a laugh. She couldn’t blame Mrs. Hughes; she’d be staring too. Mrs. Hughes silently mouthed “WOW” to her.

Mike glanced over his shoulder to see what had Alisha’s attention. He gave a quick smile to the lady who gave him a quick wave of her hand and got back to busying herself with paperwork.

“You need to go.” She looked over at Jack who stood at the door that led to the outside. “Your friend looks anxious to leave. He keeps looking at his watch.”

Mike was aware of the time. They were still good, but they did need to leave. “Yeah, we got to hit the road.” He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to taste her, right here in the hallway of an elementary school with twenty plus seven and eight year olds staring at him, but he knew that would only get her in trouble. So instead he gave her a weak smile and squeezed her hand. “Text me.”

She interrupted, “I know the rules,” she reassured him. She patted his arm and gave him a half smile that fully melted his heart. “Gotta get back to work.” She turned and led her line of students up the stairs to the second floor.

Mike watched her go, her students following her like a momma duck with her ducklings. Some of the kids walked with their fingers held high in the air with another finger over their lips while others poked each other in the back. He would’ve been the kid poking his friends in the back and causing trouble. He was sure Jack would’ve been too. Alisha would’ve been the little girl in the pigtails who walked quietly with her finger over her mouth and obediently held her hand high.