Her Secret Christmas Agent

by Geri Krotow

  Mitch lifted himself slightly, giving her room to breathe while still protecting her. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine. Was it only the rock? No explosive?”

  “Yeah. Stay down while I investigate.”

  As soon as he was up and on his feet she jumped to hers. He gave her a scowl but didn’t stop her from running to the broken window, scanning the parking lot below.

  “No one. The son of a bitch is fast, and has a very good throwing arm.” Mitch looked poised to jump through his second-story classroom window.

  She looked at the rock. “Do you have latex gloves in here?”

  He turned to reply. “On the back counter, in the purple boxes.” She met his eyes and gave him one quick nod. Not in response to his directions but as an acknowledgment from one LEA to another. Because there was no way Mitch Everlock was only a chemistry teacher. His reflexes, his calm demeanor in the face of danger, weren’t natural. He’d been trained, and had kept up his training—this couldn’t all be leftover Marine Corps skills.

  “Maybe it’s my turn to ask you who you are, Mr. Everlock.”

  “Save it for after school, Nika.”

  “Fair enough.” With the gloves on, she unwrapped the rock. She could feel Mitch’s body heat as he leaned in to read the message with her.

  Ragged red letters spelled out “End the Rainbows or Die with Regret.”

  “They’re focused, I’ll grant them that.” She turned the paper over and saw that the ink had soaked through the ubiquitous copy paper. She brought it to her nose and sniffed. And immediately bit back a gag. “This doesn’t smell like paint.”

  “We’re waiting on analysis of the ink that was on my whiteboard. But my bet’s on pig’s blood. There are plenty of pork farms in the area that it could be from.”

  “Who’s doing the analysis? Who’s ‘we’?” She hadn’t read about the lab orders when she’d been briefed by Bryce about coming in undercover.

  Mitch looked momentarily stymied. If she hadn’t been staring at him she would have missed it. Within a heartbeat his expression was back to neutral.

  “SVPD, of course. They told me they were going to send out the samples they took.”

  “Did they? I’m not always copied on lab request emails.” She took photos of the paper with her phone and quickly put her cell back into her purse. Since she couldn’t be seen at the school before going undercover she hadn’t been part of the initial SVPD response this past week. “If this had hit you in the head, you wouldn’t be standing right now.”

  “No, and I usually stand over there when I’m lecturing.” He pointed to the spot the rock had arced over. “He missed me by an hour.” Mitch grinned. “Not the smartest bad guy. But he’s got a decent throwing arm, I’ll give him that.”

  *

  He’d missed him when he’d thrown the rock. When Everlock’s face appeared at the broken window, looking for the thrower, the disappointment had been keen. His belly, full from lunch, had threatened to spew.

  It wasn’t nerves. It was his disgust that the sinful teacher hadn’t been hit by the rock. He’d tried to time it better but work had kept him from getting there earlier. More government inspections. His assistant was upset, so worried that they could lose the entire business, every single farm, all of their income. The government suits wanted to know where his profits had gone. Today, they were from the IRS. Tomorrow, it would be another agency that had figured out he’d embezzled from the agricultural corporation he’d been hired to protect.

  Yeah, his assistant was concerned. Frantic. She knew her job wasn’t secure. She didn’t understand that he’d been giving his money to the only cause that mattered. The only thing that was going to give them all the security mankind needed. The True Believers and their new mission, New Thought.

  His wife was on board but the children didn’t know the riches they were about to enjoy when they moved into the New Thought community. He wished he’d been able to join the group years ago, when they’d been known as the True Believers. The government had shot Leonard Wise down then. But, Wise, the group, the purpose, was greater than any court of this world’s law. The True Law was with New Thought and Mr. Wise.

  His biggest challenge would be getting his family to move without a fuss. The younger ones weren’t a problem but he had to make sure his eldest stayed on the straight and narrow. When he’d heard there was a new student in the school, in the chemistry classroom, he knew it was divine timing at its best. A new student was the perfect target to send home the message that things were going to change in this town. The native Silver Valley families wouldn’t get hurt, not if they heeded the message. It would be worth whatever it took to hurt the new student, as a warning.

  God had come to Silver Valley and chosen him to help Leonard Wise fulfill what he’d started a long time ago in Upstate New York. He was glad Wise had picked Silver Valley because, really, it meant that they were all chosen. If they wanted to be.

  Chapter 3

  “How goes it as a high schooler, Nika?” Bryce Campbell didn’t look up from his computer as he entered case notes. Nika took his query as a cue to enter his office.

  “You were wrong, Detective.” She dropped into the chair next to his desk. “The chemistry teacher is definitely not gay.”

  This caused the ever-busy Bryce to look at her. “I never said he was gay.”

  “No, but you implied that he probably was, being the teacher in charge of the LGBT club.”

  “No, I said he was a teacher who had his own reasons to be supportive of the Rainbows. What difference does it make? You have a job to do.” Bryce went back to entering his handwritten notes into the SVPD case database.

  “He’s a little difficult, is all. His ego is a mile wide.”

  At this Bryce took his hands off his keyboard and gave her his full attention. “SVPD is full of male egos—you’ve not been fazed by them before. Why, Officer Pasczenko, you’re not hot for teacher, are you?”

  “Give me a break. It’s a case.” Oh, God, please don’t let him see how close he is.

  Bryce grinned. “You know, I told myself I didn’t have feelings for someone I had to work with, and look where it got me.” His smile might melt his fiancée’s heart but it only annoyed Nika.

  “It’s not like that, Bryce. I’ve never gotten personally involved in a case. I’m not starting now. And you knew Zora from before. You had a history. I don’t know Mitch Everlock from Adam. How is Zora doing? How goes the wedding plans?”

  Bryce scratched the back of his neck and to her relief he accepted the change of topic. “Zora has turned into the redheaded bridezilla of Silver Valley. She wants everything to be perfect, and if it wasn’t for her best friend, Kayla, being a florist and also heavily invested in the event, I’d have eloped with Zora to Atlantic City by now.”

  “Atlantic City? Surely you’d have the class to at least take her to Vegas?”

  “Yeah, well, you know what I mean. It’s hard to believe New Year’s Eve is only a few weeks away. How goes your date search?” He might be up to his ass with police work, since he was in charge of SVPD’s overall operation against the True Believers, but Nika could see Bryce was just as invested in his future wife’s wedding dreams. She wondered, not for the first time, if she’d ever meet a man who’d be willing to cater to her needs, her career. Not that she was looking, or even wanted to have more than a very short-term relationship with any man. Her heart was still too sore from her breakup with Ron.

  “Stop asking. I told you I don’t need a date. If you insist, to make the dinner tables even, I’ll bring my mother.” Except then her mother would start the “when are you going to stop being a policewoman and marry a nice man?” routine.

  “I know several young police studs I can fix you up with if you need me to, Nika. And none of them are Pennsylvania state troopers.” Compassion shone in his eyes and she wanted to spit.

  “Now you’re just being gross, Campbell. And I’m over that jackass. I already told you that
months ago.” Nika leaned over her seat and put her elbows on Bryce’s desk.

  “I’ll believe you’re over him when you let your guard down enough to admit you could use some love in your life. We all need it.”

  It’d be a long time before she’d be willing to do that, but she kept her thoughts to herself. “If we can drop the silliness, I have something to report. We had an incident while I was at the school today. Right before I left.”

  “I saw the initial call come in.” Bryce whistled. “What happened?”

  “A rock crashed through the class window, aimed at the exact point where Mitch Everlock usually stands when he’s lecturing.” She detailed the event, giving Bryce time to type it up into his computer.

  “Don’t think for one minute I’m your secretary, Nika.” He grinned. “But I’ll send a copy of this to you when we’re done.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So, Everlock saw the rock coming before you did?”

  “Neither of us saw it. The sound of it hitting the window alerted us.”

  “I would have loved to see your face when Everlock shoved you to the floor.” Bryce teased her as well as her brothers did at family gatherings.

  “There wasn’t anything to see since I was eating the floor.” She wasn’t about to admit that she’d been too aware of Mitch’s hard shape on top of hers.

  There was a quick rap on the door frame.

  “There she is, our brightest high school student. Tell me, Nika, have you tried out for the cheerleading squad yet?” Rio Ortego, another SVPD detective, leaned his head into Bryce’s tiny office.

  “Screw you, Ortego.”

  Rio laughed at her quick response.

  “Is there a problem, officers?”

  Rio straightened, as did Nika and Bryce. Chief of Police Colt Todd entered the space, his fit body and youthful good looks belying the twenty or more years he had on all of them.

  “No, sir.” They spoke in unison, which made Chief Todd grin. His brows rose as he took in Nika’s civilian, teenaged appearance. “How goes it?”

  “Fine, sir.”

  “Officer Pasczenko was just telling me how hard she’s crushing on her new chemistry teacher, sir.”

  Nika wanted to reach over the desk and give Bryce a quick sharp jab to the ribs. She loved her brothers-and sisters-in-arms but, just like a biological family, they had their days.

  “Campbell, is that all you have to worry about, Nika’s love life? I guess that means you’ve figured out how we’ll take down the True Believers?” Colt Todd had a stern expression on his face and Nika almost felt sorry for Bryce. Almost.

  “Actually, sir, Nika’s our best bet to find out who the families are that are most involved with the cult to date. Forensics yielded that the blood was indeed pig’s, and we’re taking samples from a couple of local butchers. We might get it down to the actual farm by the end of the week.”

  “That’s great,” Nika said. “There are several kids in my classes who are involved in 4-H, and more that live on farms. It might all come together.”

  Chief Todd nodded. “It will come together. We’re going to get this bastard. But I need all of you up to the task. Instead of busting each other’s balls—sorry, Nika—use that energy to bring this loser or losers in. I want every single one of those cult nuts back behind bars in short order. No one left on the outside to perpetuate their hate agenda.”

  “Yes, sir,” they answered in unison again, and Chief Todd walked out. Rio waited a full ten seconds until he stage-whispered to Nika, “It’s okay if you have a hard-on for your teacher, Nika. It happens to the best of us.” Bryce harrumphed a laugh and Nika gave Rio a lovely hand gesture.

  “Why don’t you keep your focus on your girlfriend, Rio? Don’t worry about me. I’m not going to try to jump the chemistry teacher any time soon, trust me.”

  Rio winked at her as he left. The door was immediately filled by the SVPD receptionist. “Detective Campbell, Mr. Everlock is here to complete his report.”

  Mitch Everlock stepped into the space and filled it with an aura of humor. Was his chest puffed out with more than just muscles? He nodded at Bryce and then shot Nika a shit-eating grin that left no doubt about how long he’d been waiting in the passageway to enter Bryce’s den of teasing.

  Mitch had heard enough, enough to think Nika might indeed have the hots for her teacher.

  *

  “Mitch, have a seat.” Bryce motioned at the seat in front of his desk. Nika ignored the heat in her cheeks and sat straighter, trying to appear more professional as Mitch sat next to her. A waft of his unique scent immediately reminded her of the long moments she’d spent underneath him in the science classroom.

  “Thanks, Bryce.”

  Interesting. Bryce and Mitch had met, and Nika would bet it wasn’t just since the harassment against Mitch started. An air of camaraderie existed between them that she’d only ever experienced with the SVPD. As if they were law-enforcement colleagues.

  “You two met earlier today.” Bryce pulled up a file on his screen as he spoke. Mitch’s eyes found hers and she had the ridiculous urge to look away. As if she were some kind of freaking shy schoolgirl.

  “Nice to see you again, Nika. Now can you tell me where you keep your weapon while you’re in the school?”

  “I could, but you don’t really need to know, do you?” She forced herself to continue to meet those beautiful eyes of his without wavering. Crap, this case was not going to be the piece of cake she’d hoped. Finding the perpetrator of the ugly written threats was only the surface of a much bigger problem. She felt it in her bones. Add her unwelcome and most inconvenient attraction to Mitch and it wasn’t looking pretty.

  “Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll figure out where you keep it.” Mitch’s smug smile didn’t have the effect she thought he’d want, as it made her stomach tighten, her awareness of him on overdrive.

  “Nika, you know that Mitch is a former Marine, right? Spec Ops, wasn’t it, Mitch?”

  “Something like that.” He clammed up.

  That’s why he’d responded to the rock so instinctively. He had specialized military training—he wouldn’t have reacted so quickly, so professionally, so damned correctly, when the rock crashed through the window if he hadn’t. He hadn’t mentioned Spec Ops when he’d said he was a Marine veteran.

  Nika chewed on her lip, trying to ignore the swell of annoyance that these two men weren’t going to let her in on their shared history. She was certain she’d never been in the station at the same time as he had been—he’d be impossible to miss. He was an attractive single male. Not a lot of them on SVPD, as most of the officers were married, about to be married or at least in a committed relationship.

  “Nika, you with us?” Bryce was staring at her. Oh, God, she’d let her mind wander back to the feel of Mitch’s body on top of hers.

  “Yeah, I’m here.”

  Again, she’d let her attraction to Mitch distract her. It wasn’t like her. Not at all.

  Bryce nodded. “Thank you. So, Mitch, do you have anything beyond what you already told me the other day? When you got the message written in blood on your fancy chalkboard?”

  Mitch shook his head. “No, unfortunately I’m afraid I’ve given you all I remember from that morning. But I did have a hunch today. It’s nothing solid.”

  “Go on.” Nika jumped in, ignoring Bryce’s surprised glance. Usually she was the quiet one in the station, the SVPD officer no one expected to ever test boundaries or regulations. Bryce was a detective and technically she was reporting to him for this case. But she was the one in the trenches with Mitch.

  “It’s about one of my students. You met her, Nika. Rachel.”

  “Yes, the one in your morning class, the one who’s also in the Rainbows?”

  “Yeah, that’s her. I can’t pinpoint what she’s said or done in particular, but something about her is making me think that she’s involved. On top of that she’s let her grades drop, and she’s looking worse each da
y. She’s been downright hostile, less interested in her grades and where she’s going for college. As far as I know she’s not planning to even apply anywhere challenging. She’s playing it safe by saying she’s going to Silver Valley Community College for her first two years, then transferring. That’s a great plan for most students, but she’s always been way above average.”

  “Did she say anything to you about either incident, the blood writing or the rock?”

  Mitch shook his head. “No, no, of course not. In the first place, there’s no reason the kids will know about the rock, and we’ve kept the written threats as quiet as possible. Only the faculty has been told about them. In the second place, I’m not the teacher the kids come to for touchy-feely things. I’d never expect Rachel or any other student to confide in me. I just see her drift off at times, and then she got a bit belligerent over a lab procedure.”

  “How can you say the kids don’t come to you when you’re the teacher sponsor of the Rainbows?” Nika wasn’t going to let him off so easily. She didn’t think he was playing a false modesty card but his comment didn’t make sense to her.

  “Sure, the LGBT community and their supporters have found a safe place in my classroom to hold their meetings. They know they can trust me—I won’t repeat anything I hear in their meetings, unless I think someone is in danger or needs professional help. But I’m not their go-to-guy for pep talks, if that makes sense.”

  “That’s probably wise, too, given today’s climate. You said yourself you’re not a professional counselor. You’re at heart a caring teacher with an interest in seeing the students have the support they need.” Bryce spoke as if he might know why Mitch had volunteered to be the teacher sponsor for the Rainbows.

  Nika made a mental note to ask Bryce about it at a later time.

  “Nika, it’d be helpful if you can become friends with Rachel. Find out what’s behind the change in her behavior.” As Bryce spoke, Mitch looked intently at her. While she heard Bryce’s suggestion she couldn’t look away from the silent message in Mitch’s eyes. Did he feel the chemistry bubbling beneath the surface, too? And not the laboratory kind?