Arden Read online

  There wasn’t a sign of life anywhere. When she stepped back inside, leaving the door unlocked so the officers could get in, she closed her eyes and listened for any unusual noises.

  All was quiet.

  Her school was safe. She knew she’d feel something if she were somehow still in danger. If she hadn’t been so lost in her own thoughts as she’d made her way back toward her office, she was sure she’d have felt something was out of place sooner than the moment she’d spotted her open door.

  She leaned against the wall and waited for the officers to arrive. It was less than a minute later when she heard footsteps rushing down the back hallway, heading in her direction. Keera’s heart began pounding so loud it drowned out the sound of whoever was in such a hurry to get to her.

  Before she had time to decide what to do, a person turned the corner, his face lit up as he gazed at his cell phone and continued forward.

  “Ethan,” Keera called.

  The man stumbled a step, always a bit klutzy, and looked up at her in confusion as his hand lifted and he pushed his ever-sliding glasses back up his nose so he could see her more clearly.

  “Keera? What are you still doing here?” he asked as he took a good look at her. Confusion vanished as concern lit his eyes.

  “I’m here this late just about every night,” she said with a wry smile, feeling safer in his presence. It wasn’t that she felt he could protect her, though she’d never say that thought out loud. The hallways just felt a lot less ominous with two people versus one.

  Ethan Dower was her vice principal and had been at the school for twenty years. He was a good man, at least to her. What she appreciated most about him was that anything she needed done, he was the person she could go to. He’d spent countless hours familiarizing her with the building. He liked to brag he’d once been a student in the very halls he now walked as staff.

  Keera knew she’d rather walk over hot coals than be a principal at the school she’d attended, but some people took comfort in staying in one place their entire life. Maybe if she’d had a different experience when she was younger, she’d feel how Ethan did.

  Ethan had never been married, and though he wasn’t the largest of men, he had beautiful green eyes that were hidden behind his bifocals. He rarely ever smiled, and she’d quickly learned he was a no-nonsense kind of man, but still, she’d managed to grow attached to him, as she spent more time with him than any other person in the town.

  He was somewhere in his midforties, though with his receding hairline he seemed a little older. He had told her that keeping the kids in line was a full-time job, and if the students didn’t respect him, they wouldn’t do what needed to be done. So the fact that he was losing his hair worked to his advantage, as he didn’t want to look like a damn high school kid—his exact words.

  And though it appeared Ethan was always quick to leave when the day was over, he normally was the first person there each morning, making sure everything was good to go for a new school day. Though he was certainly respected, the one thing Keera didn’t love about Ethan was how he viewed the majority of the students.

  It was almost as if he was just waiting for them to fail. Though Keera had wanted to get away from a large city school, she had always held the belief that the majority of people were good. She refused to allow a few bad apples to change her view of the world. Ethan seemed to think his view was the only correct one.

  “Keera, what’s going on?” Ethan asked, pulling her back into the here and now.

  She shook away the cobwebs before speaking. “Someone broke into my office. They got away.”

  His eyes widened, and he looked around as if he was afraid the intruder was going to jump out of one of the lockers and attack. Then his eyes flashed back to her face before he scanned her from head to toe.

  “He didn’t touch you, did he?” he said, a protective edge entering his voice that, surprisingly, caused her to grin. Ethan certainly wasn’t old enough to be her father, but his demeanor made her think he would’ve been a pretty good dad, and maybe that would have made him a lot less grumpy.

  “Yes, I’m good. He ran into me as he rushed from the room, and I got a decent smack on the head when it connected with the file cabinet, but I’m okay,” she told him.

  “Let me check.” He stepped forward, his fingers instantly twining in her hair. She was so shocked, she stood there for a moment as he felt for injuries. Then she pulled away. He was just concerned for her, but he’d never invaded her personal bubble like that before, and she wasn’t comfortable with it.

  “I promise I’m okay,” she said with a smile she hoped would ease the look of rejection in his gaze. He’d just been acting as a friend, and she’d pushed him away, like she did with everyone.

  “Think it was a student?” he asked, now refusing to look her in the eyes.

  “No. The guy was too big. He was dressed in black from head to toe, so I really don’t have much to give the police,” she said on a sigh of frustration.

  “Pity,” he said as he began pacing the hallway.

  Lights flashed through the glass doors she’d unlocked, and Keera let out a sigh of relief she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in. The police had arrived.

  Chapter Two

  The sound of the glass door knocking into the doorstop made Keera jump even though she was well aware of the officers’ arrival. She turned from Ethan and listened to the sound of several pairs of shoes rushing across her clean hallway floors.

  When she saw a pair of dark brown eyes about three feet from the ground, it took her a moment to realize there was a large German shepherd attached to a leash heading her way. This night had already been odd, and now, along with several officers, there was also an animal in her school.

  Her eyes trailed up the leash to the hand gripping it, then to the concerned eyes of Arden Forbes, her history teacher. What was he doing there? And why was a dog with him?

  The intensity of Arden’s gaze made her unable to maintain eye contact with him, and she found her gaze straying back to the dog that was quickly approaching. The animal was pretty adorable—so was the man holding the leash.

  That was a thought Keera absolutely didn’t want to have. She’d been at the school a short time but already knew all about Arden and his sexy siblings—and the fact that the town considered them to be its most eligible bachelors. All of them except for Kian, who was now a happily married man.

  As soon as she’d caught wind of how this small town worked, and the many ways of gossip within it, Keera had avoided Arden as if he were an infectious disease. She was in no way in a place to date anyone, let alone someone like him. She was much too broken, and she certainly didn’t have a whole lot of faith in the opposite sex.

  But Keera would have to be blind, deaf, and have no sense of smell for her not to notice Arden. Not only was he a teacher at her school, but he also coached the football team—and apparently worked out with them at each practice, as his body was certainly sexy as hell.

  She appreciated how he filled out a pair of jeans, and how his wide shoulders tapered down into a perfect waist. He wore his dark locks just a tad too long and seemed to have a permanent five-o’clock shadow that also increased his sex appeal. Add to all of that his crystal-blue eyes, and she could see why the female teachers, both young and old, stopped in their tracks just to look at him.

  Though his eyes always seemed to be filled with humor, there was also a presence about him that spoke of power. He was confident in himself, and that quality had always been appealing to her. And not a lot could shake Keera after the life she’d lived, but she had to admit, at least to herself, that Arden Forbes terrified her. It wasn’t that she was afraid of the man himself, but more afraid of what he made her feel.

  Behind Arden walked a couple of police officers carrying what she assumed were crime-scene kits. Wow. Just the sight of Arden along with his new companion had made her temporarily forget about the intruder in her office.

  Stupid. Her r
eaction was just plain stupid.

  “Ms. Thompson?” an officer asked.

  “Yes, I’m Keera Thompson, the high school principal,” she replied, taking her eyes away from Arden as he and the dog stood back and watched her speak with the officers.

  “I’m Officer Miller. This is my partner, Officer Jayden. If you want to show us the area the intruder was in and tell us what happened, we can sweep the scene.”

  “Thank you for your quick response,” Keera said. She knew this was a small town where everyone knew everyone—and all their business. But she was an outsider here, so she wanted to impress them, wanted to fit in.

  She went over the details with the officers, who then took their kits and went inside her office to look for fingerprints and anything else that might lead them to the discovery of who’d been in there.

  “Do you have any idea of who was here or what they wanted?” The question startled her. Arden and his dog had approached without her being aware of it. For a man and animal who were both so large, it was even more intimidating how stealthily they could come up on someone. Of course, she was a little flustered at the moment, making it that much easier.

  “No. His head was completely covered, and I don’t know why he’d be in my office,” she said after a long pause. Before he could say anything else or she could add more, Ethan stepped back up to her side and sent a less-than-accommodating look Arden’s way.

  “Why are you here so late, and what’s up with the dog?” Ethan asked.

  “I heard the call come in over the scanner, and since I teach here, and this school matters to me, I wanted to make sure everything was okay,” Arden said, his tone implying he had just as little love for her vice principal as it appeared the man had for him.

  “We have it under control,” Ethan told him, puffing out his chest the slightest bit. Keera seemed to have been forgotten in their macho posturing. She didn’t mind.

  “Obviously, things aren’t under control,” Arden said as he pointedly shifted his eyes toward Keera’s office, where the officers were doing their job.

  “Just because we’ve had one little break-in doesn’t mean the school needs to have a SWAT team here,” Ethan said with a wave of his hand.

  “Thanks for the compliment, but last I checked, I wasn’t on a SWAT team,” Arden said with a laugh that stiffened Ethan’s shoulders even more.

  “What’s up with the dog?” Ethan repeated. Keera had noticed Arden hadn’t said anything about the mutt that was currently turning his big brown eyes to look between Ethan and Arden. The dog turned and looked at her, and Keera felt her lips twitch. It was almost as if she could read the dog’s thoughts, and he was asking her for some popcorn to watch the show.

  “He’s my new pet,” Arden said, though Keera wondered what the story was behind that, because he didn’t appear to be happy with his new friend. “He’s a retired police dog, and I thought it was a good idea to have him here, with what’s happening.”

  “A break-in?” Ethan asked, seeming a little hostile and confused at the same time.

  “The break-in is the tip of the iceberg. I’m talking about the drug problem going on in our school.”

  “What are you talking about? There aren’t drugs in this school,” she said. She wasn’t going to sit by while her school’s reputation was on the line. Yes, Arden had been a teacher there far longer than she’d been principal, but she was in charge of this place now, and she cared what was being said about it.

  “I’ve heard differently,” Arden said, the full intensity of his gaze locked on her.

  Keera felt as if she was being interrogated—and it wasn’t coming up favorably for her. She said nothing, holding his gaze, though it wasn’t easy to do. The dog nudged her leg, and she was able to finally break eye contact.

  “This is bullshit,” Ethan said. “You won’t find anything.”

  “Good, then none of us have to worry,” Arden said. “But I think Max and I are gonna do a sweep of the place.”

  “And what gives you the authority?” Ethan challenged.

  “I work here,” Arden said. His shoulders seemed to widen a couple of more inches as he towered over Ethan. Keera almost felt sorry for her vice principal. But she wasn’t too worried, because the man didn’t seem the type to back down.

  “Or you just think your family money gives you the right to do whatever you want,” Ethan grumbled.

  Anger leaped into Arden’s eyes, and Keera felt herself take a retreating step. He might seem easygoing, but there was fire underneath his relaxed attitude. That was something she was definitely taking note of.

  “I don’t need anyone giving me the right to do anything,” Arden said in a low growl. Ethan seemed to realize he’d gone too far because he looked away from Arden.

  “I’ve got to go. Let me know if the cops find anything,” Ethan said to Keera before he turned toward the front doors and walked away.

  Keera wanted to call out to the man that he was a traitor for leaving her with the now-seething schoolteacher—who still seemed uncomfortable with his new pet. She felt a little bad for the dog, too.

  But right now she was more concerned about her school. She’d become a principal in the first place to protect students because of what had happened in her past—and because of how she’d lost her brother. If there were drugs in her school, she’d find out the cause, and the perps would be harshly dealt with. If she could save others the way she hadn’t been able to save her brother, then she could call her life a success, no matter how messed up she was on the inside.

  “Do you know if anything was stolen?” Arden asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

  “I didn’t have time to look. It happened very quickly, but it didn’t seem as if he had time to get away with anything,” she answered.

  “Do you think it was random?” he pushed.

  “I don’t know,” she said, feeling frustration building again. “Has this happened at the school before?”

  “Not since I’ve been teaching here. We’ve had random acts of mischief, and students up to no good, but the building hasn’t been broken into before,” he told her. “Could it have anything to do with you personally?”

  That thought put a shiver of dread straight down her spine. She wanted to give Arden an emphatic no, but she couldn’t do that. She did have ghosts in her past that could rise up to haunt her. She wasn’t going to tell this man about her personal life, though.

  “I . . . I don’t know,” she answered, deciding an outright lie was unacceptable.

  He stepped closer, making her incredibly aware of his body temperature, giving her a false sense of safety as his scent engulfed her in what felt like a protective cocoon. It rattled her even more than she’d already been. She could see herself leaning into him, seeking comfort from him—and almost did just that before she looked up, thankfully stopping herself.

  His eyes narrowed as he regarded her, looking as if he was trying to read her mind. She looked down at the dog again, whose head was tilted. The soulful brown eyes seemed to be seeing right through her, reminding Keera why she kept herself isolated.

  She didn’t want to share her secrets with the world, and she didn’t want to be judged for things beyond her control. She just wanted to live her life the best way she could and never put herself in a position where she could be hurt again.

  What had the intruder been after? And was it personal? Keera honestly didn’t know. But she did know for sure she wasn’t going to play the victim. She’d get to the bottom of this. And she’d keep her school safe. Even if that put her life in danger. Even if that meant that the secrets of her past she so desperately wanted to keep buried rose to the surface.

  Chapter Three

  Arden had been both relieved and disappointed when Max found nothing at the school. He was glad because maybe—just maybe—that meant his brother was wrong, and he could breathe easier. He was disappointed because that meant he was going to have the frustrating dog awhile longer.

  As
if the mutt in question knew he was thinking ill thoughts of him, Max stopped and sat, nearly making Arden trip as he continued walking while the leash suddenly went taut. Looking back at the dog, he could have sworn the damn thing wore a triumphant grin.

  “Come on, Fido, it’s time to go,” Arden grumbled.

  The dog’s eyes seemed to narrow. That made Arden smile for the first time since the night before, when he’d been roaming the halls of his school with his very sexy principal walking at his side.

  “He’s a prestigious dog, not some mutt named Fido,” Declan told him.

  “He’s a pain in the ass and didn’t prove very useful last night,” Arden pointed out.

  “Give it some time. Something else has to be frustrating you more than the dog,” Declan said.

  Arden could try to hide it, but what was the point? “The dang principal is driving me insane. I think she wears the same perfume daily, just to send me over the edge. Of course, considering she avoids me most of the time, that might be my ego speaking instead of my brain,” he admitted.

  “So you got some alone time with her last night . . . in the dark hallways?” Declan asked with a smug turning of his lips.

  Arden sighed. Brothers were a pain in the ass. “I might have been a bit aware of her with just the two of us walking down the abandoned hallways. But I decided long ago not to date complicated women. I have a fulfilling life, a great career, a family most envy, and I’m secure in myself.”

  “So you don’t like women?” Declan asked.

  “Hell no, that’s not what I’m saying. I like women, hell, love them. I just refuse to be one of those guys who fall into the dating games so many people like to play,” he said.

  “What makes you think she likes to play games?” Declan asked.

  “I figured out within the first ten minutes of meeting Keera Thompson that she was far too complicated for me. She’s guarded, has secrets, and is mysterious, and not necessarily in the good way. I’ve tried staying away from her, but I’m failing on that front.”