“You didn’t want to follow him to Missouri?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling defensive. Maybe she once had a silly schoolgirl crush on the younger version of Declan, especially after he’d saved her from that disastrous prom date with Steve Gains, but at the moment, she didn’t much like the man he’d become. Declan was all business, determined to get to the bottom of whatever connection he thought she had to the person who’d planted the bomb under her desk. There wasn’t a speck of personalization in his tone.
In that moment, he reminded her too much of her father. The thought was enough to get her ridiculous schoolgirl emotions back under control.
“No, I didn’t. Are we finished now? I need to get back to my colleagues.”
“We sent everyone home...there won’t be any school for the rest of the week,” Declan said bluntly. “But I’d be happy to take you home.”
“I don’t need a ride, I have my car here.” She pushed open her door and slid out of the seat, determined to get away from Declan’s overwhelming presence and clear her mind.
She didn’t get very far, because within seconds he’d caught up with her, lightly grasping her arm. “Tess, wait.”
She stopped and glared at him over her shoulder. “For what?”
“Just give me a few minutes, okay? Which car is yours?” he asked.
“The grayish blue Honda Civic parked beneath the large maple tree,” she retorted. “Why? Don’t tell me you think there’s a bomb planted there, too?”
“I’m going to make sure there isn’t,” Declan answered grimly.
What? Tess gaped at him in shock. She hadn’t been serious when she made that remark, but it was clear that Declan really believed she was in danger. As upset as she was with him, when he let go of her arm, she missed his warmth.
Tess folded her arms over her chest, feeling vulnerable and alone as Declan crossed over to talk to Caleb. The two of them jogged across the parking lot to where she’d left her car and dropped to the ground to search underneath it.
She didn’t want to think that she was the target of some crazy bomber, but it was difficult not to be afraid when Declan so clearly believed she was.
Maybe Declan was just being overly cautious. She simply couldn’t imagine what she’d done to cause someone to hate her enough to plant a bomb under her desk, risking not only her life but those of her students.
There had to be some mistake.
* * *
“I can’t see much,” Deck muttered, flashing his light across the undercarriage of Tess’s car.
“The car is too close to the ground,” Caleb agreed. “I can’t even get my head under there, can you?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I can’t see anything obvious, but we’ll need to get it up on a ramp to be sure.”
“Yeah, good plan,” Caleb agreed.
Declan took one last look before he reluctantly rose to his feet. No way was he going to let Tess drive the vehicle until he was certain it was safe. He caught Caleb’s gaze across the hood of her car. “Maybe we should send a team to check out her house, too.”
His friend lifted an eyebrow. “You really think she’s the target?”
Declan nodded, unable to explain the niggling sensation that told him he was on the right track. “I do. But I can’t prove it, at least not yet.”
Caleb let out a low whistle. “Good luck trying to get Griff to buy your theory.”
“I know.” Declan understood their boss dealt with facts, not feelings. “Although it doesn’t really matter if he believes me, since he’ll expect us to cover all possibilities as we investigate anyway. All I have to do is come up with a plan to keep Tess safe.”
“Well, good luck with that, too,” Caleb said, flashing him a wry grin.
Yeah, he already knew Tess wasn’t going to like his idea of forcing her to go underground, but he wasn’t going to accept no for an answer. Not when her life was potentially in danger.
As he walked closer to Tess, he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from her. Even wearing her business casual teacher’s attire—gray slacks paired with a bright pink sweater—she was more beautiful now than she’d been ten years ago, decked out in her fancy prom dress. Why on earth had that Jeff dude let her go so easily? Something didn’t seem right with that scenario, and he silently promised himself to double-check the guy’s whereabouts for the time frame in question.
“Did you find anything?” she asked, breaking into his thoughts.
He hated seeing the fear lurking in the depths of her amber eyes. “No, but we couldn’t get underneath your car to really check things out.”
“So now what?” she asked wearily. “I really need to get home.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, wishing there was an easier way to get her to go along with his plan. “I’m going to take you to my place for a while,” he said slowly. “Just until we can verify that your car and your home haven’t been tampered with.”
Her eyes widened. “I don’t think so,” she said firmly. “My younger brother gets out of school at three o’clock, and I intend to be home when he gets there.”
“Your brother?” Now he was the one who was taken by surprise. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“Bobby is ten years younger than I am, so you wouldn’t remember him,” she explained. “He’s a senior at Greenland High School.”
Deck frowned. “And he lives with you and not your parents?”
She hesitated and then nodded. “My parents died in a car crash right after my college graduation. Bobby was only eleven, so I used my science degree to become a teacher and moved into my parents’ home so he wouldn’t have to switch schools.”
He was impressed that she took on the responsibility of raising her brother, and that also explained why she didn’t follow her dream to become a doctor. There’d be time to find out more about that later, because right now he needed to stay focused.
“Okay, then you can both come to stay at my place.” Declan understood Tess wasn’t about to expose her brother to danger, and he didn’t blame her. “At least until we know you’re safe.”
Tess sighed. “Look, I know you’re being extra careful, and I do appreciate your concern, but I’m not at all convinced that I’m really in danger. Why is it so hard to believe this bomb was just as random as the other ones?”
“What makes you think the others were random?” Declan countered. “If my memory serves me correctly, you worked at the custard stand during high school. And I’m sure you stopped by the minimart at some point, too.”
The way she dropped her gaze told him he was definitely on the right track.
“In fact, the more I think about it,” he continued, “the more I’m convinced that you really are the target. And I plan to protect you while we figure out what connection you have to the mastermind behind the bombings.”
* * *
Tess didn’t like ultimatums, especially those given by a bossy, take-charge guy like Declan. He was crazy if he thought she was going to let him run her life.
She’d been taking care of herself and her younger brother just fine for the past six years. Jeff had tried to run her life, too, demanding she do things differently, which really meant his way. He’d specifically expected her to be stricter