Eliza Jane - In Too Deep

He chuckles. “So you think my class is crap?”

“You know what I mean. I need the real stuff.”

He nods, solemnly. “We’ll start tomorrow.”

“But my ribs,” I interrupt.

“You’re going to wuss out on me?”

I smile, rolling my eyes. “I’ll be there.”

When we get back to the school, I’m too late to make any of my classes, so I opt to lay down in the dorms for a bit. Luckily, they’re empty. I don’t feel like talking to anyone. I don’t know how honest to be with MJ and Logan about how horribly wrong this assignment went. And the last thing I want to do is face McAllister, though part of me would like to grill him about why he’d let a seventeen year old girl go do his dirty work. Asshole.

I must have fallen asleep, because a little while later, MJ is sitting on my bed, tickling me into consciousness. Ouch. “MJ, no.” I cradle my side. “My ribs.”

She lets out of a string of curse words, momentarily slipping into a language I don’t recognize, but the tone is unmistakable. “What happened?”

“Let’s just say we made contact with the target. And I have the bruises to prove it.”

“Wow. No shit?”

I nod.

“That’s crazy.”

Yeah. My thoughts exactly.

I fill her in on some of what happened, leaving out the details about Colt drawing me a bath, and kissing me, for obvious reasons. I didn’t doubt MJ would have no problem pummeling me herself for falling for Colt’s attempts. But she senses part of the story is missing.

“What happened between you and Colt?” She wags her eyebrows. “Alone in a hotel room for three nights?”

“Nothing happened. He’s still Colt, but I guess he’s not so bad to work with on assignment.”

“That’s cool.”

I’m relieved she lets it drop. She fills me in on what I missed over the weekend. And I’m surprised to see, it actually feels good to be back.

The next morning, I head down to Colt’s classroom, like we agreed, to get an early morning workout in before classes began. Only he’s not there. I wait for a few minutes, then wander out into the hall to look for him. Instead I run into McAllister.

“Where’s Colt?” he demands.

“I don’t know. I was looking for him too.”

“He wasn’t in his room this morning. Doesn’t look like he’s been there at all. As the lead agent on this case, he should have reported in to me last night when you got back.” He turns and paces. “Instead – I get a one line text from him saying things went south.”

My stomach tightens. “Yeah, Lars found out about us.”

“I know that and we’ve been dropped from the case.”

I’m about to apologize for botching the assignment, when I spot Logan heading toward us. Grateful for the distraction, I wave Logan over.

He strolls up whistling and says good morning.

“There he is,” McAllister says, looking down the hall.

McAllister frowns as Colt walks toward us, straightening his wrinkled shirt and running his hands through his hair.

“Where’ve you been?” McAllister questions, no concern in his voice.

Colt glances at me before answering. “I got a call last night, and then I, uh, I had to leave.”

Logan and I exchange a glance. “You got a call. Last night. And then you left. And you were gone until just now?” I question.

He nods, looking sheepish.

I shake my head, unable to hide the sarcasm I feel. Logan grins next to me.

“What am I missing?” McAllister asks.

Logan steps forward. “It’s what’s known as a booty call, sir.”

My eyes flick to Colt’s, wondering if that’s where he’s been. His eyes are cast down at the floor, but he glances up at me through his eyelashes looking…guilty? My chest tightens. It hurts to think about where he’s been. And I’m pissed to discover that it hurts.

Logan continues, completely oblivious to the stinging ache in my chest. “You see, Mr. McAllister when a girl likes a boy…”

McAllister turns, looking from Colt, back to Logan, trying to catch on.

Colt elbows Logan in the side.

Logan shifts back a step, but continues. “A girl may have a bit to drink and begin reminiscing about this boy she likes. She’ll then call him, or if she’s extra classy.” He winks. “She’ll send a text inquiring about…”

“Enough.” Colt steps closer to Logan, and his proximity is all that’s needed to shut Logan up. No one wants to cross Colt.

McAllister turns to Logan. “You’ve been very informative. But if you’ll please excuse us.”

“Good luck.” Logan says to me before sauntering down the hall.

“You two have some explaining to do.” McAllister’s eyes fall on us, waiting.

“Bullshit.” Colt steps forward. “You sent Taylor out too early, and you know it.” Colt grabs my arm. “Come on, Taylor.”

I am stunned by their interaction. I glance back at McAllister, who’s still standing in the hall. “Wait, shouldn’t we…”

“No.” Colt pulls me toward his classroom. “I’m not going to talk with him when he’s just going to blame us for what happened. We did nothing wrong.”

We step into the classroom and Colt flips on the lights.

“So…” I try to ease the heavy silence between us. I can’t help but wonder if spending three nights with me has anything to do with Colt’s pent up sexual needs, and last night’s booty call. I shake the thought from my head. This is how he operates. “What are we going to start with?”

Colt heads to the desk, and empties his pockets. Wallet, cell phone, keys, loose change, gum. Wow who knew guys carry so much in their pockets. As soon as he sets his phone on the desk it begins to buzz. I glance at the screen.

“Someone named ‘Yes’ is calling.” I pick up his phone.

He snatches it from my hand and roughly tosses it in a drawer.

I laugh. “Who’s Yes? The girl you were with last night?”

He turns and faces me, giving me the full effect of his eyes on me. I suck in a breath, trying to steady myself.

“I know what you think about me. And the thing is, you’re right. I’m never going to be the guy who’s able to do to the whole monogamous, one girl at a time commitment thing. No thanks. That shit doesn’t work. So yeah, she’s in my phone like that, because she always says yes and doesn’t expect anything else from me. Happy now?”

I huff out a frustrated breath. Anytime I start to think there may be a deeper side to Colt, he goes and shows his true self, confirming that without a doubt, he’s an asshole.

“Colt, I will have no problem kicking your ass today, for girls everywhere. So let’s get started.” I turn away from him and head to the center of the room. My hands are shaking, but I’m grateful at least my voice sounds self-assured, feigning confidence I don’t feel.

I follow Taylor to the center of the room and stand directly in front of her, my height exaggerated with her so close. She doesn’t even clear my chin. Her face is calm like I have no effect on her, but her hands are balled into fists at her sides. I can tell she’s exasperated by me, just like I am by her.

“There are three main things I want to work with you on over the next few weeks. We’ll practice self-defense techniques for standing, when you’re pinned to the ground, and when fighting someone with a weapon.”

She nods. “Sounds good to me.”

“We’ll start with what to do when your attacker gets you down on the ground, since it can be the most vulnerable position.” I place my hands on her shoulders, looking down at her solemnly, wondering how she’ll be able to protect herself from someone like Lars if I wasn’t around. Maybe I should talk to McAllister about pairing us up together permanently. Distracted by her blue eyes, I look over the top of her head, shaking the thought away. That’s crazy, right?