Blood Kiss (Savage Security Series Book 1) Page 17

  Jack fiddled with the buttons on the console until he found a station that he liked. He tapped his fingertips along the top of the door in time with the music. “How much Viagra do you think he took?” Jack looked over at Mike and shook his head as his smile grew. He knew this stuff pissed Mike off. He just thought it was kind of funny.

  A look of disdain crossed Mike’s face. “Viagra? Please tell me you didn’t see him take any of that?”

  Tyson and Logan had been stuck in a doctor’s office with an actor a few months back because of an erection that wouldn’t go away. They had to smuggle the actor into the office of a doctor who’d signed a nondisclosure agreement with their company. And being that they were in charge of his security also meant they had to hide the ‘problem’ from the public. The actor couldn’t have the embarrassment of erectile dysfunction when he was the ‘premier action superstar’. Nothing screams impotent, washed-up superstar like erectile dysfunction.

  “I did see a little blue pill on the carpet by his feet.” Jack couldn’t help but smile. “Please kill me if I ever need a little blue pill to get it up for a hot chick.” Actually the only chick he cared about was back at Savage Securities, and he knew he’d never need a little blue pill to get it up for her. He didn’t even bother hitting on the women at bars anymore. His goal was to figure out a way to get around Cole’s mandate of no interoffice dating. Cole had cited something about not pissing where you swam, or some shit like that. But Jack wouldn’t mind muddying up the waters with her.

  Mike hoped like hell he didn’t end up at the hospital or a doctor’s office hiding a cock that refused to submit. Maybe the little blue pill would be this man’s downfall.

  “I guess Mr. Self-righteous is not concerned about going into his business meeting with a boner?” Mike said with a laugh. Some people were so stupid. The idiot should have waited until after the meeting for his rendezvous with the hot blonde.

  One side of Jack’s mouth curled up in a mischievous smile. “Maybe it’s not that big. Maybe he can hide his little woody easily.” Jack laughed. “But I promise, if I ever have daughters, I am starting a college savings plan for them as soon as they’re born. No way are they screwing dirty, old men so they can go to college.”

  “True that,” Mike replied, nodding his head. He’d seen so many young women throw themselves at the men he’d protected for so long that he’d almost become numb to it, but when he thought about the fact that they were real women, someone’s daughter, sister, or even mother, it really bothered him. They weren’t someone’s plaything, something to be used and discarded. Most of them were doing this crap in order to make their life better. The girl in the back of their limo was a single mom working her way through college. She’d make more in the hour with this man than she would all week at a regular job. He couldn’t blame her for doing it. It paid the bills, but man, he wondered what kind of demons would follow her by the time she was done.

  The morning passed quickly. Mike and Jack walked their celebrity through the conference center and ushered him into the private room. The other members of the security team waited inside. Mike exchanged a few words with them and then left. He was glad to be done with the man. He normally didn’t mind handling private security like this. It was generally routine stuff, but today his mind was on Alisha. He wanted to be with her, not babysitting a grown man who was afraid people might see the real him.

  He’d texted Alisha a few times throughout the morning. She’d replied each time, just like she’d promised. Originally she’d argued about the texting. She said that she didn’t always have her phone on her during the school day. She was busy teaching, not using her phone. But he insisted. There was no way he would be comfortable not having her reassure him that she was okay, so she relented. She agreed to keep her phone on and in her pocket for the day.

  Mike slipped inside the driver’s side of the limo and started the engine. He shot a glare at Jack as he eased himself onto the passenger seat and closed the door. “What are you doing?” Mike asked. He wanted some alone time with Alisha. He was hoping to get to the school around her lunch break.

  Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, “What do you mean? I’m going with you.”

  “You’re going to Alisha’s school with me?” Mike clarified, his eyes widening.

  “Yeah, I’m your wingman,” Jack said casually as if Mike was the dumbest person on the planet for not already knowing this.

  “You already have a woman you’re infatuated with. Why are you going to the school with me?”

  “I’m not going to find a woman, stupid.” Jack shook his head. “I’m going because you shouldn’t go by yourself.”

  Mike eased the limo into traffic. “I’m a big boy. I can go to an elementary school by myself.” He shot a condescending glance to Jack. “I’ve been to scarier places.”

  “I don’t know, man. I’ve heard that those high estrogen places can be downright terrifying for men with our level of testosterone.” Jack snorted a laugh. “Look man, in all honesty, you got a woman who’s got an honest-to-God pervert after her. You want to keep her safe. I’ve got your back.” Jack paused and noted how Mike gripped the steering wheel at the mention of the pervert. “We’re a team.”

  “Thanks, man,” Mike said. He didn’t have the words to express how thankful he was to Jack. Their time together in the field had bonded them, forged them into one, strong unit. Their brotherhood was like that. He knew that he could count on them, just like they knew they could count on him. They were a team.

  Mike pulled into the school parking lot and parked the limo in the midst of a sea of minivans and SUVs. He grabbed the tracker, shoved it into his pocket and stretched as he rose from the limo. He glanced around the parking lot. Nothing looked suspicious. But then again, if the stalker worked here, then he was already in the building. Mike didn’t like that. The idea that Alisha was in the building with the man that wanted to violate her infuriated him. He stopped his mind from going any further. He wasn’t going to allow the man to harm her in any way, so he didn’t need to let his imagination get away from him.

  Jack pulled open the door to the school and Mike stepped inside. The school office was to their right. A cheery woman popped her head through the open glass window. “Can I help you?” she asked, her voice feminine and a little shaky. She’d caught a glance of them in the security mirror as they entered the school. She hadn’t seen two such impressive specimens of men in the school since… ever. They were the type of men that women shamelessly desired. The type of men that men wished they were, even if only for a day.

  Mike stepped up to the window, and the lady eased back in her chair. He rested his hands on the counter and smiled. She smiled up at him, her eyebrows raised and a slight blush to her cheeks. “I’m here to see Ms. Woods. I’m a friend.”

  Mrs. Hughes knew her cheeks flashed red the second the hot hunk said that he was Alisha’s friend. Congratulations, Alisha! If he could see the happy dance that she was doing in her mind for Alisha, she’d die on the spot. “Ms. Woods is at lunch right now,” Mrs. Hughes said professionally. “She just walked past though. I think she was headed for her classroom.”

  Jack couldn’t help but smile at the friendly lady behind the counter. Her thoughts were as blatantly obvious as Southern Baptist billboards in the Bible belt. It was clear that the poor women slaving away in schools were unnecessarily deprived of testosterone on a daily basis. No wonder Alisha hadn’t let Mike walk her in this morning. His presence would have attracted far too many questions.

  Jack had already counted five women who gawked shamelessly at them as they walked past with students trailing behind. A few ogled them as they walked down the small hallway that was behind the lady, then they returned to stare some more, all while pretending to look for something on the receptionist’s desk.

  “Her class is up those stairs and to the left.” Mrs. Hughes stood and pointed to the stairs down the hallway from the office. “She’s in room 213.”

 
“Thank you,” Mike said and headed towards the stairs.

  “Ma’am,” Jack said with slight head nod as she eased back into her chair. She smiled back, her cheeks flushed. Jack caught up with Mike, “Like shooting fish in a barrel. Forget the bars,” Jack snickered, “schools are a goldmine for picking up women.”

  Mike looked over at Jack. “Most of them are married.”

  “Someone should tell them that,” he replied with a low chuckle. He hadn’t felt so violated since he stumbled upon the bachelorette party in Vegas.

  As they made their way through the hall and up the stairs, Mike was impressed by the orderly lines of students. The tiny kindergarteners looked up at the two big men in awe. Mike had forgotten what it was like to be so small, to see everything from the eyes of an innocent child.

  He didn’t spend much time around kids, and being surrounded by so many of them now put it all in perspective. Alisha lived in a bubble. Her world was safe, and the battles she fought were skirmishes between kids fighting over a game on the playground or who should be first in line.

  His battles were real with the potential for bloodshed. He kept people safe from killers who’d do things that normal people couldn’t even imagine. That was why she hadn’t fully grasped the danger she was in. That was why she insisted on coming to work. She honestly couldn’t begin to fathom the threat barreling towards her.

  Mike read off the room numbers as they walked down the hallway. When they came to her door, Mike turned toward Jack. “You can wait here,” he stated.

  Jack nodded and leaned against the concrete wall. He wondered what Bella was up to. Had she chilled at all from the meeting this morning? Feisty sure looked good on her.

  Mike knocked on the door and walked in.

  Alisha had been placing papers on the desks, but at his knock, she turned. She couldn’t help the wide smile that greeted him. She’d spent the morning indulging in fantasies about him instead of drowning in negative thoughts about her stalker.

  “Hey there,” he cooed as he strode to her. He slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her against him, glad the kids were still at lunch.

  “Hello, handsome,” she said. “You look absolutely yummy.” She slipped her arms under his suit jacket and slid them up his back as she traced his lips with her tongue. She’d thought of him all morning, thought of his touch and his taste. The heat from his kiss was going to melt her on site. The kids would come back to the classroom and find a puddle where their teacher had been, just like the melting witch from the Wizard of Oz.

  Mike deepened the kiss. She brought her fingers forward, bringing them from behind his back to the front of his chest. As her hands roamed over his body, she felt something… hard… big… powerful. She broke the kiss. “Is that what I think it is?” she gasped. She pulled his suit jacket open, her jaw gaped, and her heart raced for a completely different reason. “You can’t be seen here with that,” she whispered and quickly pulled his jacket closed. “You have to go. Now!” she whispered emphatically, trying to push him towards the door.

  Mike had never seen anyone whisper a scream before, but now he had. It was an interesting sight. He wrapped his arms around Alisha’s waist and pulled him to her again. “Baby, don’t worry,” his voice slid over her in a warming embrace. He kissed her lips and stared into her blue eyes. “I’ve never prematurely discharged my weapon. You’re safe,” his smooth voice cooed in her ear. He fought back the smile. He’d been hanging around Jack too long.

  She tilted her head and looked up at him from her awkward angle. “I’m not sure we’re talking about the same thing, but you can’t be here with that thing. That’s a gun,” she mouthed the three-letter word as if saying it aloud would result in SWAT teams crashing through the windows, shoving a bag over Mike’s head, and dragging him away to some isolated location where she’d never hear from him again.

  He chuckled and nuzzled her nose. “Trust me. I feel much safer with it.” He took her lips in his, sucking them gently into his mouth and squeezing her ass with his hand.

  Her insides melted as she gave into his kiss and returned his passion. She’d missed him. She’d missed all of him. His sense of humor, his touch, his taste, his dependability. She especially missed the cocoon of safety she felt when he was around. She was sure the list went on, but her mind was shutting down as the kiss melted her from the inside out.

  She pulled away, conscious of the fact that lunch would soon be over. “What are you doing here?” She rested her hand on his chest.

  “I brought you something.” Mike reached into his pocket and pulled out the tracker. “You need to wear this.”

  Alisha looked at the tiny, round device that Mike cradled in his palm. “What is it?” She tapped it with the tip of her finger.

  “It’s a tracker. I want to hide it in your bra.”

  “Did you really come all this way just to sneak a peek at my awesome boobs?” She teased and smoothed her hands over his chest.

  “Busted,” Mike replied. “Do you want to do it or should I?” He would be more than happy to help her out of her shirt.

  “Allow me.” Alisha didn’t trust the look in his eyes. She unbuttoned the top buttons of her shirt and pulled the fabric away to reveal her bra. “Where are you going to put it? On the strap? Inside or outside? In the cup?” She’d never done anything like this. Part of her found this bizarrely exciting. Was this just another day on the job for him? Did he regularly put trackers in women’s bras?

  Mike wanted it concealed. He didn’t want the pervert to be able to see it even if he tore off her shirt, which Mike had no intention of allowing. “Let’s put it on the inside of your bra. It will be better hidden that way.” He winked at Alisha, trying to allay her concerns.

  His fingers slipped between the bra cup and her soft flesh as he pulled the bra away from her breast. He couldn’t help but notice the tiny goose bumps that rose along her soft curves as his fingers slipped the tracker in place. He willed his body not to react. This was about her protection not pleasure.

  A commotion from the hallway distracted them. Alisha felt Mike’s hands at her breast, moving her bra back into place, but her eyes were glued to the door. Raised voices were just outside her classroom. What’s going on? She couldn’t help the adrenaline that flooded her system. She knew something was wrong, and it scared her.

  “Done,” Mike stated. He heard Jack mouthing off to someone. A strong Spanish accent argued back.

  Alisha rushed to button her shirt, turning her back to the door. She looked over her shoulder and saw Mr. Alvarez barrel his way into her classroom followed by a very large man. Mike stepped between Alisha and the intruding man.

  “Ms. Woods,” Mr. Alvarez said, his dark eyes landing on Mike and then going back to her. Was that man groping her? “Are you okay? These men…” He paused and looked over his shoulder at the large man behind him. “They’re not hurting you, are they?”

  Mike had to give the guy credit. He’d barged past Jack to check on Alisha. Was that genuine concern for a friend, or was it obsessive desire to dominate another? Not many men dared to defy Jack.

  Alisha stepped around Mike. “Mr. Alvarez, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Mike.” She stood between the two men and gestured with her hand, doing her best to ease the tension that filled the room. As a teacher, there were a few people you didn’t want to piss off: the principal, office staff, and the custodian. “And Mike, I’d like you to meet Mr. Alvarez. He’s the school custodian. He helps me out all the time.”

  Mike would like Mr. Alvarez a lot better if he wasn’t so average. He wasn’t overly tall or overly short, nor was he overly fat or skinny. The man was perfectly average in every way which put him as a perfect candidate for Alisha’s stalker. Mike did notice a wedding band on the man’s finger, but that didn’t mean anything. Mike knew better than to think that married meant faithful. He’d already seen that once today.

  “Nice to meet you,” Mike said through gritted teeth.

 
Alisha looked at him, shocked by the tone he took with Mr. Alvarez. She smiled at Mr. Alvarez, trying to make up for Mike’s rudeness. Then she quirked an eyebrow at Mike and asked, “Who’s your friend?” She shifted her gaze to the large man standing behind Mr. Alvarez. He was as tall as Mike and clearly worked out. She figured he must work with Mike.

  Mike glared at Jack, who’d clearly failed at his one job requirement. Why he’d bothered coming, Mike didn’t know. Apparently he was useless. “That’s Jack.”

  “Just Jack?” Alisha said with a shake of her head and shrug of her shoulders. She wanted more information on the green-eyed man intimidating Mr. Alvarez.

  “Yes, just Jack,” Mike repeated slowly. He hoped Jack could read the frustration in his tone.

  Yeah, Jack knew Mike was pissed, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He’d just have to take Mike’s anger and let it roll off of him. It wasn’t the end of the world. He didn’t think that little, Mexican man was the stalker anyways. He didn’t have ‘crazy’ eyes.

  Jack saw Alisha’s physical appeal immediately. He also noticed that she missed a button when she redid her shirt. She’d need to fix that before leaving the classroom or rumors would fly. Women could be such gossips. He chuckled to himself. Should he tell the guys at work? He glanced up at Mike. Probably not. Mike would tell them how the little custodian got past him.

  Jack stepped forward and stretched out his hand. “Hi,” he said to Alisha. “Jack. Jack Bauer.”

  Alisha snorted and laughed as they shook hands. “Really?”

  “No,” Jack smiled with a firm head shake. “Jack Black.”