Educated

by Gray Gardner

  “No, it wasn’t a break-in.” They both heard Bunny telling a uniformed officer with a notepad. “My guess is he followed us home from the corner store. I suppose we should think twice about walking around after dark.”

  Mary and Nicole gave one another a panicked look, and then slowly turned their heads over their shoulders. Carlson and Liam were frowning ominously down at them, Liam’s arms crossed over his chest and Carlson’s hands on his hips.

  Busted. But surely, surely getting shot at and locked in a panic room was punishment enough. Mary sighed heavily as she realized that they’d probably already told Mait. She was not looking forward to that reunion tomorrow. Licking her dry lips, she looked up at Nicole’s pale face.

  “Holy shit, we are in so much trouble,” Nicole muttered, unable to take her eyes off of Liam and Carlson. She was tall and waifish but she had seemed to shrink down to Mary’s level.

  Mary frowned and looked at them, though their faces softened a little at her big innocent eyes. Liam actually caved and swooped her into a hug. “God, we were worried about you,” he mumbled, setting her down and leaning over, smiling as he looked into her eyes. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes,” she squeaked, in a voice much higher than her normal one.

  He sighed and looked down at the three of them. “We have a lot to discuss.”

  “Oh, I just gave my statement,” Bunny nodded, looking between the tall men and her new friends. They were being weird again. “Sooo, uh, I guess I should… go.”

  “Oh, um, I’m sorry, Mr. Atwood? This isn’t the way to my dorm…”

  “We’re going to Nicole’s townhouse,” Liam curtly replied, indicating it was the end of the discussion.

  Mary shrugged at Bunny, as unsure of what was going on as the young grad student was, then glanced up at the front seat, where Liam’s hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly and Nicole was fidgeting endlessly. They’d each given their account, Bunny’s a little less accurate since she’d blacked out, and Mary had received a few accolades for being trained and acute enough to know how and when to use her pistol for self-defense.

  When they were told that Mary’s house would remain a crime scene for at least another day, Liam and Carlson had shuffled the girls out of the house and into the still busy street - though it was already two am, the police weren’t nearly through.

  When they pulled up to Nicole’s four-story brownstone, Mary suddenly became nervous at the headlights that flashed behind Liam’s car. When they got onto the sidewalk she realized she had every right to be nervous. Carlson had followed them. She and Bunny remained on the sidewalk as Liam held Nicole close to him and shoved his key into her door lock. Before they could even follow, Carlson was between them, each hand wrapping around one of their arms, practically dragging them behind him as he took long strides into the nicely furnished home.

  “Nicole, go upstairs and wait for me in your room,” Liam ordered, pointing to the stairway. He began pacing and running his fingers through his hair as Nicole quickly complied.

  Mary was shocked at his callous voice, but didn’t have much time to contemplate it since she and Bunny were yanked into the large, dark wood kitchen. Carlson let them go by the island bar counter and paced in front of them, glancing down at them every now and then.

  “You left the house,” he finally said. “After dark, and walked to the convenient store?”

  Mary could tell Bunny was wondering who in the hell this guy was, who on earth had given them a ride, and why in God’s name they were at Dr. Frasier’s sister’s house.

  “Please,” Bunny finally began in a small voice. “Please, I know it was stupid. My Lord, it was so, so stupid. But, I’m begging you… don’t tell Dr. Frasier about this.”

  Mary stiffened and quickly stepped back, hacking her hand across her throat at Carlson in the hopes that he would understand that Bunny was a student and could totally get her and Mait kicked out of Eastland.

  “It’s not Dr. Frasier you should be worried about,” he harshly said, stepping forward. The two girls stepped backwards and ran into a heavy, over-sized barstool. “Do you know what could have happened to you? Other than the dying-by-a-bullet-thing. Before that man took multiple shots at you, do you realize what he could have done to you at gunpoint? Do you?”

  “Yes sir,” they both quickly replied, unable to meet his eyes. Mary was marginally relieved that he knew better than to out her relationship, but now something else was making her uneasy.

  “What if he dies?” Carlson continued in a much louder voice. “Is that something you want on your conscience? Just because you had to go get another bottle of wine?”

  Bunny let out a small sob as she shook her head to the floor. Mary tried to project a façade of remorse; when really she wanted to say that the man was probably heading for Death Row at some point in his life, so why prolong the inevitable? She bit her lip and copied Bunny, looking at the floor instead.

  “I want you to tell me that what you did was reckless and you will never do it again,” Carlson barked, peering down at them. The medium sized brunette was shaking in her sensible shoes. The strawberry blonde, though, was having a hard time hiding her defiance. He was beginning to understand Mait’s attraction.

  “It was reckless to walk to the store at night,” Bunny choked, wiping her face. “And I’ll never do it again, sir.”

  “Yes, it was reckless,” Mary nodded, looking anywhere but up at his face, because if he was anything like Mait he would be able to tell she was lying. “And, uh, it won’t happen again.”

  “Turn around,” he ordered, stepping closer to them. He was frightened and furious at the same time and couldn’t believe these girls had been so irresponsible. He was glad he’d driven over alone so that he could calm down a little. Their evening was going to get much more unpleasant.

  Mary swallowed and slowly turned. He wasn’t going to… he wouldn’t, would he? God, he was Felicity Frasier’s son. He was capable of any kind of nastiness. She noticed Bunny comply with a confused look on her face.

  “I’m going to give you a helpful reminder to do exactly as I said,” he informed them, somewhere over their heads.

  Mary felt a hand on her back and stumbled into the extra large, leather barstool in front of her. Bunny squeaked with fear as he did the same to her. They were now being pressed into the stool on their stomachs, totally helpless to defend themselves. Holy shit. He was going to do it. He was going to fucking do it.

  “Please,” Bunny cried, squished next to Mary on the large, backless barstool and trying to get away. Mary tried to grab her arm and get her to stay put as she pushed up, but Carlson put a stop to that with one loud, hard crack of his hand… and not on Bunny’s person.

  Mary sucked in her breath and squeezed her eyes closed at the sudden, sharp sting, and Bunny got the message. She quickly leaned back forward. Mary got the message, too. Carlson had the right to smack her ass with his hand whenever he felt it necessary. Her cheeks grew hot in total embarrassment.

  “Do not move,” he ordered. Then, just as suddenly as they’d been bent over a stool, he began to spank them with something that Mary had never felt before in her life.

  Oh God, was it a wooden spoon? Was he trying to humiliate her out of town? He alternated back and forth between the two of them, Bunny trying and failing to stifle her sobbing into the dark leather of the stool. It hurt like a bitch and Mary wasn’t sure she could hold back her cries of pain that were threatening to explode out of her mouth.

  She finally hung her head and smashed her face into the smooth leather, letting out a defeated whimper. To her utter surprise, Carlson stopped his assault and tossed the spoon onto the granite counter with a clatter. Bunny was now loudly sobbing next to her.

  “I hope that serves as a reminder to not put yourselves in danger,” Carlson brashly said, staring down at their backsides as the two girls squirmed uncomfortably on one of the extra large barstools his sister had in her kitchen. “And if I ever,
ever hear that you did something like that again I’m going to take you over my knee, pull your pants down and use that wooden spoon on your bare bottoms. Understand?”

  Bunny sucked in her breath in a desperate attempt at comprehending such a heinous act. Mary closed her eyes and moaned as she felt her face grow even hotter than before. Yep, he was going for total mortification.

  “Understand?” he repeated, with a hard slap to Mary’s ass.

  “Yes sir!” she squealed, as Bunny replied in the affirmative as well.

  Carlson fought a grin as Mary’s feet swung beneath her. The other girl’s toes were firmly planted on the floor… well, dancing around a little. But Mary was shorter and had kicked her feet trying to find some leverage for all she was worth. He cleared his throat and tried to focus on the task at hand. He wanted the Greer girl to have a chance to calm down before he made her face him again.

  “Think about what I said and do not move a muscle,” he instructed. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “What the fuck was that?” Bunny whispered, lifting her head up and looking at Mary with a tear-streaked face. “I’ve never been spanked in my life! And that man… he… who the fuck is he?”

  “I have no idea who he thinks he is,” Mary gritted through her teeth with one hundred percent honesty. She’d wanted to wiggle out of the path of that awful spoon and run away, or kick his shins, or punch his goddamned lights out. And she would have too, but Bunny was there and she was terrified. Mary wasn’t about to abandon her.

  “Oh shit, he’s coming back,” Bunny whispered in a trembling voice, fresh tears flowing down her face as the footsteps on the stairs descended. Mary swallowed and worried about what came next.

  Carlson had trudged up to the master bedroom on the fourth floor. He needed to get away from the sobbing Miss Greer and willful Mary Madeline. And he was worried about his sister. She’d scared him more than anyone. Mait had been fun as a little brother, but Nicole was his cuddly sweet girl.

  He paused at the top of the stairs and looked into the open door on the right that led into the large master bedroom. He softened as he saw Liam rocking back and forth, holding Nicole to his chest as she cried and apologized over and over again. He straightened and stepped back when Liam gently laid her on the bed, pulled an afghan over her and kissed her head.

  “I hate yelling at her like that,” Liam whispered, following Carlson down the stairs with a guilty feeling in his stomach. “How are the other two?”

  “The Greer girl can’t stop crying and Mary Madeline is about one step away from me taking off my belt,” Carlson sighed, shaking his head and chuckling. “I’ve never met anyone who needed her bottom smacked more than that little girl.”

  Liam began piecing things together and grabbed Carlson’s arm on the second story landing. “But you didn’t… did you?”

  “I doubt they’ll ever do anything that stupid without thinking twice again,” Carlson shrugged unapologetically.

  “Oh my… Frasier, you idiot! They are both Mait’s students! You want to get him fucking fired?” Liam ran his fingers through his hair.

  “And what are they going to do? Go to the dean and drop their pants when they’re asked for proof of their accusation?”

  Liam frowned in thought, and then began laughing along with his old Harvard buddy. He made a very valid point. And Mary Madeline certainly deserved a spanking, just like his Nicole. He handled things a little differently, though. Nicole could be reduced to a repentant puddle of tears with a stern lecture. He had the feeling Mary required a more varied approach.

  “All right, you two,” Carlson loudly greeted the trembling back of a brunette head and the pink neck and ears of the naughty blonde next to her. “You can get up when you tell Liam and me what’s going to happen if you ever endanger yourselves like that again.”

  Liam gave Carlson a crooked grin as the brunette quickly began fumbling her words in an indecipherable trembling voice and the blonde head with even pinker ears began banging on the leather seat beneath her with a groan.

  “I didn’t catch that,” he said with more authority.

  Bunny continued to mumble through her tears so Mary gritted her teeth and replied, “You are going to b-bend us over and take down our pants and… spank us with the spoon.”

  “Good enough. Up you go.”

  Mary slowly stood and winced, keeping her eyes on the floor as Bunny continued to cry and Liam put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

  “I want to go home!” she cried, jerking her shoulder away and hiding her face in her hands.

  “It’s late and I don’t want you to go back to those empty dorms by yourself,” Liam kindly said, eyeing Mary as she shifted from foot to foot. He glanced at Carlson who was fighting another grin. “You girls can stay here in the guest rooms. There’s plenty of space.”

  “I’m not staying here another second with you people!” Bunny shouted, backing away again.

  “I agree with Bunny,” Mary quickly said, stepping forward as the two men began to look a little irritated at her indignant tone. God, if she knew what was good for her she’d shut the fuck up. “We can both go and stay in her dorm room—”

  “I don’t think so,” Carlson said, grabbing her upper arm and pulling her along behind him. She glanced over her shoulder as Liam smiled and approached Bunny like a wounded animal.

  “You didn’t have to hit her, you fuckhead! She’s petrified right now!” Mary muttered through her teeth, trying to keep her voice down as they climbed the stairs.

  Carlson entered a room on the third floor and spun her around to face him. “I am this close to making good on my previous promise, Mary Madeline!” he loudly stated, secretly admiring her ability to stand up for her friend given what had just occurred.

  She had the good sense to shrink away from him and keep her mouth shut. She believed he would.

  “Mait is fucking out of his mind right now and he’s been out of town for less than 48 hours! How can you be so irresponsible and unrepentant about making him worry so much about you?”

  Looking down at the floor, she rubbed her neck as her cheeks remained stained pink. Carlson sighed and shook his head at her. “You have really, really disappointed everybody.” He was about to continue with a firm threat when he suddenly frowned at the sight of her shoulders shaking. Stepping forward, he quickly took her chin in his hand and lifted her head, only to reveal silent tears streaming down those pink cheeks. He quickly gathered her up to his chest and sat in the crimson loveseat by the window.

  “Jesus. I’m sorry. This is what I wanted to do after your spanking downstairs, Mary Madeline, so you know you’re loved whenever I discipline you. I couldn’t, without giving anything away to Miss Greer, though,” Carlson sighed regretfully, holding the small girl tightly as she cried into her hands and leaned against his tux shirt.

  Mary had no idea what had come over her, but when he’d said that she’d worried Mait so much, she knew it was true and felt an awful pang of guilt. Then when he’d told her she’d let everyone down, she couldn’t hold anything in anymore. She hated to admit how good it felt to be sitting in his lap while she cried, like she was forgiven. That statement about knowing she was loved whenever he disciplined her made her worry a little, though.

  “I’m sorry I disappointed everyone and I’m sorry I went to the store at night and I’m sorry I couldn’t protect Nicole and Bunny better…”

  “Hey, no,” Carlson shushed her, rubbing her head and holding her close. He’d done this with Nicole, a very sensitive little girl, so much while she was growing up that he considered himself almost a professional. He shushed in Mary’s ears, slowly rocked back and forth, and alternated between rubbing her hair down her back and circling a hand on her lower back. She was asleep within ten minutes.

  Liam paused in the doorway and looked surprised. “Well,” he whispered, pulling back the dark paisley comforter on the bed as Carlson gently placed Mary in it. “This is not how I would have guessed those two g
irls would be acting. I just had to drive the Greer girl back to her dorm because she wouldn’t stop crying and arguing. The security guard there accepts bribes to keep a watchful eye from Ben Franklin, by the way.”

  Carlson grinned and shook his head, saying, “And this one cried on my shoulder apologetically and fell asleep in my arms.”

  “It’s becoming crystal clear why Mait is so into her,” Liam yawned out in the white wood paneled hallway.

  “Into her,” Carlson huffed, shaking his head. “He loves her, though he’d better tell her before she gets picked up by the next guy who suddenly realizes how adorable she is.”

  Nodding, Liam started for the stairs up to Nicole’s bedroom. “You staying the night?”

  “Someone has to babysit that little troublemaker,” Carlson called, heading into the room across the hall from Mary’s. He left the door open.

  Chapter 17

  Mait couldn’t sit still on the flight. He’d gotten all of the messages progressing from something’s wrong to we can’t find them to everyone is safe. He practically tackled his way onto the 6:00 am flight out of Boston and sat on the plane in several different states of fury, relief, and contemplation. Only Mary could make him feel so enraged and so grateful at the exact same time. What did that mean? What did she mean to him?

  He would have died if she’d been hurt by that maniac in her house. He wanted to strangle her. He wanted to fuck her wildly. Ugh, she was infuriating!

  When he’d peeled out of the airport and was on his way to his sister’s house, he knew one thing for certain: he was going to hold her tight and never let her go. Ever. He wasn’t even going to spank her, even though he knew that’s what she was expecting. He was determined to let her sweat it out and learn her lesson.

  “Nic,” he choked, clearing his throat and wrapping his arms around his sister when she opened the door to him. She buried her head into his shoulder as he squeezed her tightly. “Jesus, don’t ever do that again.”