Page 111 of One Lucky Hero (Men in Uniform 1)

“Mr. Davis is the one who attacked you?”

Casey nodded, a tear falling down his pale cheek, and Violet beat down the violent urge to find Mr. Davis and make sure he never touched another kid again.

“He . . . He asked me to stay after class one afternoon for some extra help, and I was excited, you know? I thought he was a good teacher, but then he tried to give me a beer from this mini fridge under his desk. At first, I thought it was cool of him, but then he sat down next to me. He . . . He put his hand on my leg and tried to go higher. I knew something was off, so I ran.” Sniffing, he added, “I told Jose about it, and he said I was lucky. He didn’t run.”

His meaning sunk in, and Violet hugged him harder. “Oh my God.”

“But Jose told him he was going to the police. That there were other kids, too, that they’d all found each other and he was going to jail. Jose recorded the whole thing, even Mr. Davis offering him money to keep quiet.”

“Jose is really smart,” Violet said, softly.

“And brave. A lot braver than me.”

“You did the right thing.” Violet kissed the top of Casey’s head. “You’re here now, and I’m so proud of you. That’s all that matters.”

AN HOUR LATER, Dean and Violet’s dad waited in the lobby while Casey gave his statement. Violet had stayed in there with him, and although Dean and Jack had tried to make conversation while they waited, most of the time they were silent.

Finally, Casey came through the door with Violet close behind, her face red and swollen from crying, but Dean thought she still looked absolutely beautiful. He’d wanted to hug her, hold her to him and tell her everything was going to be fine, but when she hardly looked his way, he kept his distance.

Casey stopped a few feet in front of his father. “Violet told me that you want to get to know me.”

“That’s right.”

“Wanna drive me home?” Violet started to protest, but Casey cut her off. “I’ll be fine, Violet. I’ll see you at home.”

Dean could tell that Violet wasn’t happy about it. He was tempted to tell her that Casey would be fine, but he held his tongue. They followed Casey and Jack to the parking garage silently, listening to them talking.

Finally, Dean asked, “What floor are you on?”

“Three. You?”

“Two.”

“Oh.”

They climbed the stairs together, and Dean, who couldn’t stand the awkward silence any longer, said the first thing that came to mind.

“I was offered a chance to go back overseas today.”

Violet glanced at him, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “Wow, so you got what you wanted.”

Had she not been listening to him the last week? “I told you, it’s not what I want anymore.”

“Yeah, but that was . . . Well, I’m happy for you.”

“I turned it down.”

Dean stopped on level two, and Violet, a few feet above him, swallowed. “I hope you didn’t do that for me.”

The words couldn’t have cut him deeper if she’d used a knife. What the hell did that mean? Did that mean that she was done with him? It was over just like that?

“Of course not. I did it because I love Alpha Dog.”

“Good.”

“Okay.”

Violet opened her mouth, and his spirits soared as he waited for her to say something, anything.