Page 24

Sinclair

“W ow, look at the new girl glowing like a Christmas tree.” Sarah Clark, the fifth grade teacher, laughed when I entered the break room. “Spill the tea, Miss Bronson!”

My cheeks felt hot, and I knew they would be bright red.

I wore a low ponytail, so there was no chance of hiding it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.

” That was a damn lie. I knew what it was, or more accurately who it was.

Dagger. For a few weeks now, we’d been together in this little bubble of bliss.

We made dinner together and spent time with Dani in the evenings, helping her with homework or watching a movie, even putting together a puzzle.

It was all very wholesome and very family friendly.

But once Dani was tucked into bed and sound asleep?

Dagger took me to his big bed and made love to me like I mattered.

Every kiss, every touch, every single swipe of his tongue taught me something new about myself, about my own pleasure.

And I spent nights learning what he liked and the thing I knew above all else was that figuring out what Dagger liked was my new kink.

“Oh, honey, we don’t believe you for one second. You are glowing so hard you’re practically radioactive. Who’s the guy?”

I shrugged. “Just a guy.” The truth was complicated, and there was still the matter of dating— were we dating?— the father of one of the kids in my class. “I’m not sure what we are,” I admitted. “And I’m also not good at opening up to people.”

“I get it,” Sarah said. “Army brat here. Starting over sucks, but if you do it enough, you get used to it.”

“How?”

“You either push through the sucky part or you stay lonely with every move.”

Her words put me at ease instantly. They were real and slightly self-deprecating. “I guess I usually choose loneliness, but I’m trying to change that.”

“Looks like it’s working. I just have one question, does this guy have a brother? A hot uncle or best friend?” Her smile beamed bright.

“Lots of friends, actually.”

“Hook a girl up,” she requested, bumping my shoulder when I took the seat beside her. “Have you met his friends?”

“I have, but that is also complicated.”

Sarah laughed. “You just moved to town and your life is so complicated.” She leaned in close when a few more teachers entered the lounge.

“You have to tell me about it when there aren’t so many ears around.

” She pulled out her phone and handed it to me.

“Give me your deets and we can set up a time.”

I hesitated, not because I didn’t like or trust Sarah, but because I hadn’t had a real friend in a long time.

“Come on,” she insisted. “You’re the only young teacher other than math dude, and no, thanks.”

She was right. I typed my details in and saved it, then called my phone. “It’s not about you, I’m just trying to remember the last time I had a friend.”

She laughed. “Try being over the top like this,” she said, pointing to her silky polka dot top, faux leather pants, and stilettos. “People think one thing about me and it’s usually the wrong thing.”

“I think your flash is inspiring.” My clothes, by comparison, were boring.

“Yeah?”

I nodded. “I never got into fashion, and when I try new things, I just feel ridiculous.”

“Knock, knock!” Mrs. Winters’ sing-song voice entered the lounge before she did, holding a giant bouquet of colorful roses. “Looks like somebody has a secret admirer!”

My heart leapt at the thought that Dagger had sent me flowers, but then I berated myself because it could be and probably was for Sarah.

“Oh,” Sarah cooed. “Looks like it’s not so complicated after all.” She wiggled her brows as Mrs. Winters set the vase in front of me.

“Me?” I looked up, my brows dipped in confusion. My heart hammered in my chest. “Are you sure?”

“Yep. Your name is on the card.” Her eyes sparkled and she stood, expectant.

So did Sarah.

I knew they expected me to open the card, so that’s what I did, but the words I saw were definitely not from Dagger.

You don’t deserve this. You deserve nothing, and that’s just what you’ll get. Soon.

I dropped the card as if it burned my hand. This wasn’t a bouquet from an admirer. It was a warning at best—at worst it was a threat.

Sarah picked it up and gasped. “So not from the hottie who put the glow on you?”

I shook my head. “Definitely not.” Somehow, I managed to pull out my phone and snap a photo of the card before I sent it to Dagger and Slate.

My instinct was to reach out for protection, and after that, terror settled deep in my gut.

“I, um…” I stood, unsure of what I wanted to say. “I should get back to class.”

Sarah reached for my arm. “Are you okay, Sinclair? For reals?”

I nodded, then shook my head. The urge to brush off my problems was strong, but hadn’t I just told Sarah I wanted to change? “No, not really.”

“I had a boyfriend who couldn’t accept our breakup either. Restraining order pretty much did the trick.”

That would work if I knew who this jerk was. “Good idea,” I said, and got to my feet, and headed back to my classroom, “Keep the flowers!”

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

How could I have forgotten that I wasn’t allowed to be happy?

I let myself foolishly believe that this joy could last, that my time with Dani and Dagger wouldn’t be so abbreviated.

It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

It was like one of those television sitcoms that kept me company as a child.

The time we spent together was special to me, and no matter how it all shook out, I would cherish my time with them.

There was no point lying to myself about my growing feelings for father and daughter.

It was a ridiculous move, falling for the single dad biker and his adorable daughter, but I couldn’t help it.

It was guaranteed heartbreak, but how could I not fall for him when I’d gotten to know the man beneath the ink and the leather?

When he’d let me see the man beneath the steel, who was a secret sweetheart, a man who only wanted to be better for his kid?

He had a fierce protective streak that had, for some inexplicable reason, extended to me.

And Dani? She had opened up and it was such a beautiful thing to watch.

In class she spoke with confidence, stood tall when she presented her work, and she’d even made some friends.

It felt good to know I had a small part in how much she’d bloomed, how easily she smiled now.

How she didn’t divert her gaze when people looked at her.

I realized that I was starting to love that little girl as if she were my own, which was its own set of problems, because the one thing I knew for sure? Dagger didn’t want forever, which meant I was setting myself up for heartbreak. Double heartbreak, in fact, once for him and another for Dani.

But if this was my chance, my only shot at being part of a happy, healthy family, then I had to take this chance.

I couldn’t interrupt this joy, couldn’t end it prematurely when it might be the only taste of it I got.

I hadn’t been happy like this since before my mother died two decades ago. I needed this.

For however long it lasted.

“Sinclair.” Dagger’s voice was breathless and gritty, like he’d been chewing on sand and glass, washing it down with a neat shot of whiskey.

“Dagger, what are you doing here?” He was standing in the corridor outside my classroom leaning against the wall.

“I got your message. Where else would I be?”

My heart tap danced against my chest at his words, spoken so easily, so casually, as if there were no place else he’d rather be. “At work. Didn’t you say you had a back piece to finish today?”

He shrugged. “We’re taking a break for food and cigarettes. The school’s only a ten minute ride away. Are you okay?” He stepped inside the classroom wearing a serious expression.

“I’m fine. The flowers came to the front office because nothing or no one gets past Mrs. Winters. You know that.”

He flashed a smile. “She’s a tough cookie, but I can be charming.”

“Believe me, I know.” I sighed. “At first I thought…” I began and shook my head. There was no point going there . “The card had my name on it and, well, you read what it said.”

“This is escalating, Sinclair.”

He was right, and I didn’t plan to argue with him. “I still don’t know who it is or could be.”

That wasn’t entirely true. There was someone…

“What is it?” He took another step forward, brows dipped into a dark expression I couldn’t name. “Sinclair.”

I inhaled deeply and let out a long, slow breath. “I told you my dad was a prolific gambler.”

He nodded.

“Well, things got really bad, and he borrowed money from people he shouldn’t have.”

“Loan sharks,” he guessed.

I shrugged. “Something like that. I don’t know and I never asked questions.

But one day a man approached me while I was babysitting, said he’d wipe Dad’s slate if I worked for him.

So I did, delivering banker’s bags to people across town.

I never asked what was in them and I never looked, I was too afraid.

But I’d done what was asked and the debt had been wiped and that was it.

I just, um, well, I just thought I should mention it. ”

“Shit, Sinclair.”

I put up my hands. “I know I should have said something earlier, but, honestly, I don’t think it’s them. My father is dead and there was no tie left between us. I’m sorry I didn’t think of it sooner.” I swallowed hard and looked away, ashamed of what I’d had to do to keep my dad alive.

He shook his head. “I can’t believe you had to do that.” His voice was soft and sympathetic, his big hands gentle on my shoulders. “And I don’t think those guys tracked you down if you don’t know anything.”

“I don’t,” I insisted. “I swear.”

He nodded and pulled me into the warmth of his embrace. “I believe you.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “We have to figure out who the fuck this guy is, though.”

I really couldn’t think of anyone. My life was too bland, too mundane, too boring to warrant anything like this. But whoever was responsible wasn’t just threatening my peace, they were threatening my happiness.

My right now.

And right now was all I had. It was all any of us had.