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They said good things came to those who wait, and there was no doubt I’d waited long enough for this. My stomach fluttered as I made my way into my office and watched the recording again. I should have gone in there and taken them both to the principal—that was what I was meant to do—but Willow hadn’t been playing fair since the moment she stepped into my classroom and caught Aria and me kissing.
You had to fight fire with fire, and mine was roaring to life, promising to burn everything in its path.
My mood for the rest of the day was better than it had been in weeks, and when the school day was finally over, I leaned back in my desk chair and waited. I knew it wouldn’t take her long to come and find me—it never did. Only this time, I had a surprise in store for her.
She had no idea what was about to come her way. She thought she was a master manipulator, but I’d grown up around men who manipulated people on a daily basis for their jobs. I’d learned more than she could ever know about, and now it was time. Time for me to give the final strike.
“There you are!” Willow waltzed into my classroom, her makeup and hair now done to perfection. The act hadn’t worked this morning so she’d obviously decided to drop it. “You didn’t come to the teachers’ lounge at lunch.”
I hummed in response and leaned forward, steepling my fingers on my desk. “I didn’t want to.”
“What?” She raised her brow and sat on the edge of my desk, reaching out her hand for me. I grasped it before she could touch me and stood.
“Don’t touch me.”
Her eyes sparked at being told no. “I think you should take that back.”
“Nah.” I let her hand go and sidestepped her. “I don’t think I will.” I smiled, the same kind of smile she gave me when she got what she wanted every single time over the last few months. The ball was in my court now. She just wasn’t aware how much.
She stood slowly, the mask slipping off her face and revealing who she truly was. “All it will take is one visit to the principal’s office,” she warned. Her threats had become more brazen over the last couple of weeks and were no longer veiled. “Your life would explode around you, Cade. Is that what you want?” She shrugged and took a step toward the door. “It’s your funeral.”
“Wait.” The smile on her face lifted to heights I wouldn’t have imagined possible. She thought she’d won. She thought she had me right where she wanted me. She was wrong. “Let me show you something first.”
I pulled my cell out and clicked on the video, pausing it at the start. I kept my features neutral as to not show her too soon, and then passed her the cell.
“What’s this?” she asked, clicking play. She didn’t have to wait long to find out what it was. Her mouth dropped open, and a small gasp left her lips.
“Maybe I should come to the principal’s office with you?” I said, my brow raised. “I’m sure he’d be interested to know what his students are getting up to on their lunch breaks.”
“No, no, no, no.” Willow darted away from me, her chest lifting on a sharp breath. “I deleted it. You have no evidence now.”
I laughed. The kind of laugh I couldn’t control, no matter how much I wanted to. “For a teacher who has such high ambitions, you really are stupid.” I dropped all pretenses from my face and sauntered toward her. I kept just enough distance so we weren’t touching. “You remember the cookout you invited yourself too?” She opened her mouth to answer, but I didn’t let her. “There were seven men around that table. One was me, the other was Aria’s stepdad, and the other five?” My lips slowly lifted into a smirk. “The other five are DEA agents. Agents I grew up with. Agents who taught me things you could only dream about.”
“I…I don’t understand…”
“I’m telling you that wasn’t the only copy. Just because you deleted it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
“I…what do you want, Cade?”
I held m
y hand out. “My cell for starters.” She placed it in my palm, and I stepped back. “This is what is going to happen. You’re going to forget all about what you saw in my classroom.” She stepped forward, but I continued, “You see, I let you get the better of me. I let your threats work their way into my brain without realizing one thing.” I closed my laptop and slid it into my bag, acting like I was having a normal conversation. “You have no evidence. It’s your word against mine. And I’m sure once I showed people my actual evidence, and what your sister has been doing, they’ll be inclined to believe me and not you.”
“You son of a bitch.” She stomped her foot. “I won’t let you get away with this.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” I chuckled and shouldered my bag, feeling lighter than I had in months. “You have no choice. One sniff of me thinking you’re coming for Aria or me, and I’ll pass that tape along to my dad and let his team deal with it.” I pulled the classroom door open and looked at her one final time. “Ball is in your court.”
I winked and strolled out of the room with a shit-eating grin on my face.
* * *
ARIA
“Your blood results came back normal,” Dr. Bay told me as soon as I sat on the sofa in her office. “Which confirms you have bipolar disorder.”
My stomach sank, and my eyes started to mist over. I was hoping something would show in my blood because at least if it was something physical then I could explain it away, but instead, I was becoming just like my dad. I was crazy, and now she was confirming it.
“I want to start you on a few different medications. Each one should stabilize your moods and…”
