Duplicity (Victory Lap Book 2)

by Mercedes Jade

Her old breathing technique was so familiar that she didn’t need to draw the box to breathe slowly to the pattern. Breathe in—hold it—breathe out—hold it.

  “You can’t all go in there together. Theresa Sinclair is supposed to go in first,” Sandy, the secretary, squawked as Keir knocked on the principal’s inner door.

  “Why were we all called then?” Kade asked.

  Sandy pursed her lips. It brought out old wrinkles from a smoking habit, leaving them as creases around her mouth even when she straightened her lips again. Guess the sour-puss was going to fess up to what was going on since Kade had been the one to ask.

  The secretary had practically flirted with Kade during their trip to the principal’s office last week. She had a soft spot for him.

  “Your parents are all here,” Sandy said.

  Bastion flinched.

  Kade and Keir glanced at each other with looks only the two of them could read.

  War smiled.

  Tess gave Sandy a look of disbelief. She couldn’t mean to include Tess in that blanket statement. Maddy was still in the hospital!

  Hopefully, that didn’t mean the kid’s social worker was here. Tess knew Sandy had the number, unfortunately, since the secretary had tried unsuccessfully to get her social worker to come into the office last time Tess was in trouble.

  They couldn’t kick her out of school without a good reason.

  Tess swallowed down her trepidation and marched past her guys to open the principal’s door. She was already coming up with a partial plan in her head to deal with the fallout depending on whether it was the social worker or Maddy behind the door.

  Mom was capable of fool–

  “Tessa, are there bricks tied to your feet? I’ve been waiting half an hour.”

  Her hand froze on the doorknob.

  Bastion quickly came behind her, as soon as he heard that voice. He pushed the door open, taking her hand gently off of the knob and holding her cold fingers in his warm, firm ones.

  “Mr. Sinclair? Why are you here?” War asked, walking into the office from behind them.

  Greg had a restraining order against him. Against coming near Tess, not the kids. He’d never done anything to her younger siblings to provide the evidence to slap a broader restraint on him.

  All of their carefully planned defences crumbled with Greg’s snide grin.

  He’d checked their new security by showing up in the one place Tess wouldn’t have expected. Outside the school, absolutely. But here, in front of the principal in charge of all of the student’s safety?

  The Wolf flashed his big teeth at them in brash arrogance.

  Her father flaunted the law regularly. She shouldn’t be so surprised.

  Greg finally focused his gaze on Bastion to reply to his initial foray.

  “Shouldn’t you be answering me why you took my daughter to your house late last night? I hear she was with your friends, too. All of you, come in. Explain what you were doing with my daughter this weekend when she wasn’t at home where she was supposed to be.”

  There were more chairs in here than last time Tess had visited. It was necessary considering all of the parents that had squeezed into the office.

  Marla was seated with a well-dressed man Tess didn’t know. It had to be Bastion’s father, Mr. Wilkinson. The twins’ dad, Mr. Saxton, was standing, his hands gripping the back of his chair.

  Mr. Saxton’s stance made him look like he had been in the middle of presenting a case. Possibly against Tess. Very likely, actually, given the annoyed look Mr. Saxton shot her.

  How inconvenient to have the accused interrupt the unbeknownst condemnation he’d been giving, mid-speech. He’d never catch his steam back now.

  Sticking a mental tongue out at Mr. Saxton—he’d have to work harder to scare her with his stern façade now that Greg was here—Tess let her gaze fall last on Ruby.

  War’s mom smiled warmly at her.

  The kind of smile Ruby would give her if they were about to sit down to have tea and cookies in her kitchen. It was exactly the support Tess needed to break the tense silence after Greg’s impertinent question about her whereabouts when it was none of his business.

  Ruby’s smile was warm and welcoming.

  Everything is going to be okay.

  Everyone was crowded in behind her. Bastion and War were slightly in front of her, taking over her lead once she had frozen at the door for a moment. Tess knew she’d better engage Greg in conversation before he picked a new target to shoot.

  “You don’t have to say anything about where we were to him,” Tess told her guys as she met Greg’s hard gaze in challenge.

  Your fight is with me, not them.

  “My sons will answer,” Mr. Saxton insisted, finding his voice again. “I found their motorcycles moved when I checked, after Mr. Sinclair told me what you were all up to this weekend with his daughter.”

  “A vacation,” War said with a shrug.

  The twins kept their mouths zipped shut.

  Tess could see that a vacation was exactly what Mr. Saxton had been told by the twins because he deflated a little, his shoulders dropping. He’d come here to question if the twins had lied, to catch them out. That’s not what happened.

  Of course, it wasn't the whole truth, and a lawyer ought to be familiar with lies of omission.

  The truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

  War left her side and walked over to his mother. He bent down to say something too quiet for the rest of them to hear. Ruby nodded and whispered something back. He sat down beside her once they were done with their private conversation.

  Colluding in front of the witnesses. Oh, that was going to change how the rest of the adults perceived Ruby’s word.

  “A vacation? All of a sudden?” Greg piped up, in time to take advantage of the murmuring of the Wilkinsons as they eyed how close Ruby and War appeared.

  Thick as thieves.

  “Kade and Keir said you agreed to their trip to our family island, Mr. Saxton,” Ruby calmly commented, making it a point rather than a question as she defended War’s explanation for the trip.

  War stared at the rest of the occupants in the room, visibly challenging anyone else to question his mother’s word.

  Mr. Saxton couldn't deny his sons had asked permission to leave. It would insult Ruby by implying she was lying to protect the twins.

  “Why was a girl with you?” Mr. Wilkinson asked with a disgusted tone.

  He didn’t say it out loud, but the implication was there that it wasn’t Tess’s gender that offended him, so much as her obviously inferior social status.

  Greg hadn’t even dressed up for this office visit. He was wearing a leather cut over a dirty t-shirt and jeans.

  “Tess was invited to come on the trip as one of their new friends. I’m close to her mother, Maddy,” Ruby spoke up.

  “Really, and where did you two meet?” Greg asked, redirecting his snide gaze to Ruby.

  “At work,” Ruby smartly answered.

  Greg couldn’t push that further without revealing his broken relationship with Maddy. Although, Mr. Saxton seemed to give Greg a longer look.

  Was the twins’s father remembering that Tess had left her old boarding-school to move here and take care of her younger siblings?

  The principal knew her mother was in the hospital, but he didn’t say a word.

  This time.

  The principal and Ms. Sandy hadn't exactly kept her private information confidential that first trip to the principal's office with Kade.

  “I don't really care where they all met. It's you, Henderson, that recommended a girl tutor all of the boys. I should have known something was up,” Mr. Wilkinson said.

  He sounded old enough to call what they’d been up to ‘shenanigans.’

  “She’s stolen Bastion,” Marla accused.

  Marla whipped a tissue to her nose and gave it a dab after her dramatic accusation. God forbid, the lady actually smudge her make-up to fake cry over
her stepson leaving home.

  “An engagement isn’t a crime,” Bastion dryly remarked.

  He hadn’t let go of Tess’s hand the whole time everyone else talked. He might have squeezed it harder once or twice, but his unwillingness to release her for a moment had been noticed.

  Marla was shooting their joined hands a dagger-look.

  That’s when Tess realized it was her hand with all of the boys’s rings on it. Bastion was covering up that new development.

  She squeezed his hand back gently.

  “Tess doesn’t have my permission to get engaged. You never asked for it,” Greg said.

  “Is that a law? She’s eighteen! Can adult woman only get engaged if their fathers approve? Seems to me that a lot less marriages would happen if that was the case,” Keir said, arguing against the absurdity of Greg’s complaint.

  His father should be proud of his logical argument.

  “Ms. Sinclair approved,” Kade added. “She likes Bastion best. He brought her some of his own poetry and read it to her before seeking Ms. Sinclair’s permission to get engaged to Tess.”

  Tess hadn’t known!

  Maddy would have loved the gesture of Bastion reading his own poetry to her. Tess was touched Bastion had followed her tongue-in-cheek advice to schmooze her mom with books.

  It was utterly romantic. The kind of gesture that she would never forget.

  Bastion had done it after Tess ran away, leaving them all behind to escape Greg after that disastrous first meeting. It meant Bastion had already planned for them to be back together. Bastion hadn’t given up on Tess for even one moment.

  “Pardon me, everyone,” Mr. Henderson said, finally talking. “Tess, if you would take a seat, please. Boys, a seat. Your parents were all worried about you this weekend. Let’s take turns talking it all out.”

  Yeah, the ‘talk it out’ train had left the station. They had already pulled out their angry daggers and were eyeing each other up for the weakest spots to stab.

  Mr. Henderson obviously was overwhelmed and hoping to deal with this quickly.

  Big mistake calling everyone in at once.

  Tess took a seat on one of the spare chairs. It wasn’t near Greg, but that made it all the more appealing. Bastion and the twins sat down on the extra chairs, Kade dragged his chair from the far side of the room all the way over to sit with them.

  Bastion never released her hand.

  “If I may start, Mr. Henderson?” Ruby asked.

  “Please proceed,” the principal said.

  “I was aware of War and his friends, including Tess, all taking our jet to go to our family island this weekend. They’re young adults. I presumed they’d informed their parents of their plans. I know that Maddy Sinclair was aware Tess was going away. Maddy arranged for me to watch over her younger children this weekend at my house. My husband was on the island all weekend and provided supervision for the young adults.”

  None of the other parents commented.

  Mr. Henderson grabbed his squeeze ball off of his desk once he’d waited long enough for anyone to speak up with an objection or question.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Stewart. I believe that settles the questions about where the children were this weekend and their safety?”

  It was posed as a question.

  “The young adults, please. I do believe they’ve made it clear they don’t wish to be treated as children,” Ruby insisted.

  “Tess Sinclair hasn’t known our boys but a couple of weeks,” Marla spoke up. “She shouldn’t have been with them on a boys’ weekend. It’s not proper. Bastion’s out of his mind, getting engaged to her.”

  “Crazy in love,” Bastion rejoined. “Though, the only thing that makes me question my sanity is how long I stayed home with a stepmother that parties as much as you do. You are the one that kicked me out at your party, Marla. Didn’t you explain that to father?”

  Marla stuttered a response to her husband. It sounded like a denial. Tess got shot another killing glance.

  “The school cannot be held responsible for adult students choosing to move out of home or whether they elect to get engaged,” Mr. Henderson said, providing some officiality to the discussion once more. “We do have Father James available for counselling, however, and I can arrange a meeting soon. I think this constitutes an urgent concern.”

  Tess stiffened in her chair. She’d never met with a priest in her life. All she had to base her perception of priests on was watching baptisms and confessions on television. This felt like a confession would be in order.

  “We would welcome the opportunity to discuss our moral struggles with Father James,” Bastion replied.

  At least she’d have Bastion with her for that meeting.

  “I don’t believe Kade and Keir should continue to tutor with Miss Sinclair,” Mr. Saxton spoke up. “She’s obviously a troublemaker.”

  He turned in his seat to face Bastion’s parents.

  “I should’ve followed my instincts when I met her in the office last week, after she got into trouble with Kade. I apologize for my part in introducing Sebastian to a girl that has since interfered in your relationship with your son.”

  Ruby laughed, drawing everyone’s attention.

  “Unbelievable. Tess isn’t your scapegoat. It’s a good thing your sons have all had better role models in the past than parents that blame a girl for their own inability to talk to their sons. This is ridiculous, all of us getting called in here. You should be ashamed.”

  Mr. Henderson cleared this throat rather loudly.

  Mr. Saxton blustered, but when he went to say something, it didn’t come out. More of a sputter, like he’d run out of steam by the time he’d thought through what he’d wanted to say and decided better of it.

  Greg clapped.

  It was slow and mocking, although the others may not realize he was laughing at all of them. Unlikely Ruby, he wasn’t trying to shame them into being better parents. He sneered at the idea of anyone bothering to parent their kid at all.

  Tess knew that firsthand.

  Ruby knew the dark truth about Greg, kept under lock because she knew it would embarrass Tess. Might lead to Maddy getting arrested. War could have asked his mother not to mention Greg or Jensen when he’d gone over and said something to his mom before sitting down beside her.

  “I also shouldn’t be the one defending Tess. What kind of father lets his daughter be derided in front of him without saying a word?” Ruby asked Greg, turning to face him next.

  Greg flashed his gold tooth at War’s mom.

  Oh, damn. Ruby was drawing too much attention. Greg was a dangerous enemy to make.

  “Didn’t you say it yourself, Mrs. Stewart? They’re young adults. Tessa don’t need my permission or my speaking up on her behalf. She seems to be all grown up. Tessa is as hard-headed as her mother, never did mind what I told her, anyway.”

  Mr. Henderson cleared his throat again.

  “Mr. Sinclair. Mrs. Stewart. We’re not here to argue parenting techniques. This was a meeting to establish that the students—young adults—were safe and all accounted for after their weekend trip.”

  Tess wondered why they were really having this meeting. Safety was a trumped-up reason.

  Ruby knew about Jensen, but Bastion’s parents and Mr. Saxton didn’t have a clue about the danger.

  Greg had put a gun to Tess’s head. Her father would never worry over her safety. It was ludicrous to even consider.

  The only parent that might have genuinely worried this weekend over his children was Mr. Saxton, if he’d not been properly informed.

  Why would the twins lie about calling him to let him know?

  They told him. Tess knew it without having to ask the twins. Mr. Saxton must have been thrown off-guard by whatever Greg had said to him to make the twin’s father question his own sons’ honesty.

  “What I recommend is that all the students go home early with their parents today and have a talk,” Mr. Henderson said now that he’
d established they’d made sure everyone was safe with this unnecessary meeting.

  They’d been yanked out of class, all present and unhurt.

  “Clearly, as Mrs. Stewart has pointed out, communication needs to be worked on by all involved. I will inform the students’ teachers they will be back in class tomorrow. Is everything settled now?”

  Mr. Henderson looked like he was proud of himself, having skirted around any responsibility and establishing dominance over his office domain once more by kicking them all out.

  It actually was rather well done.

  Except it also was exactly what Greg wanted by the smarmy grin he shot Tess while walking over to where she was seated.

  That meant Greg had put Henderson up to this. He’d probably planted the idea for the parents to take their kids home, right after he’d set the principal on alert about their weekend trip.

  Yes, it was definitely Greg’s handiwork.

  Use the system to cheat.

  Tess was about to be placed in Greg’s hands despite all the security War had arranged. The boys were going to have to give her over to him. To Jensen.

  Bastion squeezed her hand as Greg approached.

  “No,” Bastion denied.

  It wasn’t loud but Tess knew that bossy tone. Once Bastion used it, there was no refusing his order.

  “You’re coming home with us,” Marla said, also standing up.

  Tess noticed Mr. Wilkinson had stood first and he didn’t offer his wife an arm. There was a cold half-foot between Bastion’s parents.

  “Tess isn’t welcome in your house. As my fiancée goes anywhere I go, I’m afraid that won’t work for us,” Bastion politely denied Marla.

  He stood and pulled Tess up with him by his grip on her hand.

  “If you want to talk to Tess, I’ll be coming along,” Bastion told Greg.

  Greg smiled.

  He totally was underestimating Bastion.

  Marla started making a fuss, her voice rising as she demanded her husband make his son come home and stop embarrassing them.

  “Rich brat,” Greg whispered into the racket, quiet enough that only Tess and Bastion could hear him. “You want a wedding or a funeral?”