The Dragon Lady of Hamilton High

  * * *

  13

  A lot of thoughts go through your mind when you’re facing someone you don’t want to deal with. They range from running away to taking him down with the option of putting up with him somewhere in between. I tensed and prepared to do something. I just wasn’t sure what yet.

  Tony tightened his grip. “What’s going on?” His soft whisper in my ear only heightened my readiness.

  Mr. Hart had a forced smile on his face that made his skin looked stretched. “Erin, so good to see you are doing better.”

  I instinctively backed away – right into Tony. The extremes probably weren’t options at the moment. I stared at him. “I am in school, if you haven’t noticed, and I’ve already missed a couple of days of work. I need to go to class.”

  Mr. Hart’s smile wavered. He was probably putting it on for everyone around us. “You will no longer be attending this school. Your parents…”

  “Are deceased. And you can tell my grandfather that I want nothing to do with him. My mother would still be alive if it wasn’t for him.”

  Mr. Hart tried to look sympathetic. It wasn’t a good look for him. “Why don’t we go somewhere and talk things over.”

  I could feel Tony reaching into his inner coat pocket. If he blew his cover for me, there was a good chance he and David would lose their case. I reached back and grabbed his hand. I leaned back into him. “Don’t.”

  His mouth found my ear. “If I don’t, he’s going to take you and I won’t be able to protect you.”

  “He’ll have to catch me first.” That option was starting to look like a good one.

  Mr. Yenny came out of the classroom to see what was going on. “What’s the issue?”

  I decided not to give Mr. Hart a chance. “This man represents the one who was responsible for my mother’s death. I am not going anywhere with him.” I said it loud and firm.

  Both Principal Granger and Mr. Yenny frowned. The principal moved slightly to put himself between us. “I think we need some additional assistance. Mr. Yenny, could you please call the office?” Mr. Yenny disappeared back into the classroom.

  Mr. Hart looked nervous. “I have all of the legal papers right here. You are more than welcome to call the district court for verification.”

  Tony’s lips found my ear. “Trust me, please. Request that Captain Hagen be contacted.”

  I spoke up and made the request. Tiny beads of perspiration broke out on Mr. Hart’s forehead. Mr. Yenny came back out. “Ms. Henning is waiting for Erin in the office.”

  Tony didn’t wait for the direction. He immediately turned us around and headed us for the office. I could hear Mr. Hart’s complaints behind us. When we were far enough ahead, he pulled me closer. “I’m going to talk to Davy. You are definitely going to need a lawyer.” We hurried down the stairs. “I get the feeling you’ve had a run in with this dude before.”

  “In the hospital. He tried to make me sign some legal documents that would give my grandfather custody without contest.”

  “I’m guessing you didn’t.”

  “No. I told him to get lost. He seems to have taken a different direction.”

  We got to the office. Ms. Henning was waiting for me by the door. “Erin, are you okay?”

  “It depends on your definition.”

  Tony hugged me. “Hang in there.” He put his face close to my neck. “I’m going to make some calls. I won’t be far away.” He let me go.

  Ms. Henning looked confused. “Do you need a hall pass, Mr. Burns?”

  “Sure, why not.” She wrote one out. He took it. “Just keep Erin safe. Okay?”

  Principal Granger and Mr. Hart were coming down the stairs. Ms. Henning looked up at them. “I’ll do my best.”

  I watched Tony head off down the hall. Ms. Henning put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Erin. I’m not releasing you to anyone that you are afraid of.”

  Was I afraid of Mr. Hart? I’d never really been afraid of anyone before. I’d always felt capable of defending myself. But this was different. He had the legal system behind him.

  Ms. Henning led all of us into a conference room and shut the door. “Now, please explain who you are and what you want with Erin Dawson.”

  Mr. Hart handed her a document. “I am Kenneth Hart, attorney for Johnathan Harmond, Claire Harmond’s father. She was calling herself Claire Dawson and telling everyone that Erin was her daughter. Mr. Harmond has gone to great lengths to correct the mistake his daughter made when she kidnapped Erin from the hospital where she was born. Her real parents, Rachel and Thomas Gordon, have been very hopeful…”

  I stood up. “You can stop right there. I don’t know what emotional game my grandfather has been playing with people but you can drop the lie right now. I have my birth certificate and my parents’ marriage license. My mother was Claire Dawson.”

  Ms. Henning put a hand on my arm. “It’s okay, Erin. Sit down.”

  There was a knock at the door. The secretary poked her head in. “There’s a Captain Hagen here from the Tacoma Police Department.”

  Principal Granger stood up. “Please show him in.” He entered a moment later. The principal held out his hand. “Thank you for joining us, Captain. I have to admit, I’m a little out of my field with this one.”

  The Captain looked at me. “You probably don’t remember me. You were out of it when I stopped in to see you at the hospital. How are you feeling?”

  I hadn’t had time to really think about it. “I’ll be better when we get this all straightened out.”

  Captain Hagen listened to a brief explanation of what the issue was. He looked at me. “Do you have these documents with you?”

  “I do.” I pulled out the envelope and spilled the contents on the table. I pulled out the ones he wanted.

  The captain moved closer. “May I look at some of the other items?”

  “Sure. There’s a letter here from my dad when he was in service and a list of some of my mom’s employers, and a lot of pictures and stuff.”

  He sifted through them. He found the letter and copied down some information. He studied the documents. “These are embossed with the state seal of Nevada. They are legal documents, Mr. Hart.”

  Mr. Hart produced another document. “This is Erin’s actual birth certificate.” He handed it to Captain Hagen. The captain compared the dates. They were the same but the other one was from Los Angeles, California.

  I pointed at the footprint on my real birth certificate. “A fingerprint expert compared that to my foot. This is my foot print. I can’t exactly have been in the same place on the same day.”

  I saw the flicker go across Mr. Hart’s face. I wondered if he knew the truth or just believed what my grandfather had told him because of a pay check. The lawyer shook his head. “I don’t know how Claire acquired those documents but I have plenty of evidence that supports Mr. Harmond’s claim.”

  The captain looked at me. “Because of the nature of your mother’s death, the medical examiner was required to run a DNA analysis. That’s the one way to really be sure. It takes about a week for the results. Are you willing to take the test?”

  “Absolutely.” I knew she was my mother. I had no doubt. I gathered everything and slid the pile back into the envelope. “What do I need to do?”

  “Meet up with a lab tech at the hospital. I’ll make the appointment for you.”

  Mr. Hart cleared his throat. “I do have a legal petition for custody approved by the court. I would like to take Erin with me.”

  “No.” It was a three way echo between me, Ms. Henning, and Captain Hagen. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so serious. Mr. Hart looked stunned.

  Principal Granger stood up. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hart. Captain Hagen does have the final say in the matter and he seems to agree with Erin. Ms. Dawson will remain in school. I will contact her social worker and report this to her. I’m assuming you have a card? You should probably give one to Captain Hagen. Ms. Henning, would you please issue a
hall pass to Ms. Dawson so she can return to class?”

  Ms. Henning stood up. “Yes, sir.” She motioned toward the door.

  Captain Hagen held out a card to me. “If you have any more problems with this issue, don’t hesitate to call.”

  I took the card. “Thank you, sir.” I followed Ms. Henning out of the room.

  She looked as relieved as I felt. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “I think so.” I glanced at the clock. I could still turn in my homework assignment. Mr. Yenny would probably be done with his lecture by the time I got to class.

  She handed me the hall pass. “This is a really difficult situation. If you need to talk, just come to the office.”

  I thanked her and ducked out as the three men were leaving the conference room. Tony was waiting by the stairs. “How did it go?”

  I slipped my arm around his waist and pulled him up the steps. “Captain Hagen backed me up. He looked at the documents and wouldn’t let Mr. Hart take me anywhere. He’s going to set up a DNA test for me. I guess they already did that for my mom.”

  Tony chewed on his lip. “Yeah. I talked to O’Brian. I was trying to find out what happened at your apartment. Someone broke in and dumped everything. They messed up the car, too. I’m betting they were looking for those documents. Someone knows your mom had them.”

  I stopped before we got to the door. “They are legal documents. They must be on file somewhere.”

  “Erin, I looked at them. Those are the originals. They have the actual signatures – in ink. That makes them really important.”

  I leaned on him. “I wish I had a safer place to keep them.”

  He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “I talked to Davy and he talked to his sister. She’s willing to take your case. Maybe she can put the documents in a safe at her office.” He backed up a step and looked at me. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, even break my cover if I need to. You’re more important.”

  I shook my head. “There are kids dying because of these drugs. That’s a lot more important than I am.” I noticed someone come out of a room down the hallway. “I’d better get to class and so should you.”

  He chuckled. “I might scare the teacher by showing up.”

  We walked to the door. I noticed Dr. Marsh go into the science teachers’ office. “He came out of the last door on the left.”

  Tony hugged me. “You’re awesome!” He let me go and swaggered down the hall.

  I wanted to watch but there was only about five minutes left before the end of class. I went in. Mr. Yenny was at his desk and the students were working on an assignment. I pulled out my homework – all of the assignments for the past three days.

  He took them. “Caught up already. I hope things got resolved.”

  “For the time being at least.”

  He handed me a packet. “This will be due next Monday.”

  The bell rang. I followed the rest of the kids out of the classroom. Tony was beside the door. “Funny thing about that door he came from. It was locked with a serious kind of lock. I’ll have to bring something extra special into school tomorrow.”

  We went to my locker. “Do I want to know?”

  He grinned. “Let’s just say there are certain skills that a guy like me picks up for situations like this one. It’s a double channel key. You can’t pick it. I’ll just have to make one.”

  I shut my locker. “You can do that?”

  “Like I said, it’s amazing the things I’ve learned to do.” He had a broad smile on his face. He put his arm around me and we walked down to the art wing.

  I had missed two days and was behind on the project. Ms. Gilbert saw me and came over to the table. “Welcome back. I was afraid we’d lost you.”

  I looked down at the work in progress. My mom was gone. I wouldn’t have to jump unexpectedly anymore. Or would I? What if my grandfather found some way around everything? Would I end up on the run like my mom? What would I do?

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  I caught my breath. “Sorry, Ms. Gilbert. Things are a little difficult right now.”

  One of the girls at my table looked over at me. “I heard your mom died. That’s really sad.”

  Ms. Gilbert looked shocked. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

  Was I used to that yet? “It’s okay. I’m managing.”

  She looked uncertain. “If you need a break, let me know.”

  I shook my head. “I need to draw.” I could see the shadow of the little dragon in the picture. I realized what was missing. His reflection should show on the shiny vase. I focused on it and got lost in the work.

  The bell rang at the end of class. Kevin came out of his classroom and I managed to catch up to him. I touched his arm and he looked at me. “Thanks for the card.” He nodded and went to his locker.

  Tony came up and leaned on the locker next to mine. “That’s a little rude.”

  I grabbed my math book. “No it’s not. Have you ever noticed Kevin doesn’t talk? He has a hard time forming words. I mean, he’s really smart. He always gets good grades. He can’t physically form the words.”

  “Oh.” Tony closed my locker for me and followed me across the hall. Kevin scurried around him to get into the classroom. Tony looked down. “I guess I deserved that.”

  I hugged him. “I understand.”

  He hugged me back. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

  I went into the classroom. Mr. Craig was at his desk. I turned in all my homework. He seemed surprised. “Well, all caught up. Nice work, Ms. Dawson.”

  I took my seat. David slid into the seat next to mine. He made sure no one was looking and passed me a note. He dropped his voice. “That’s my sister’s number, in case you have any more issues today. She’ll meet you at the dojo this afternoon.”

  I tucked the note in my pocket. “Thanks.”

  He glanced at me. “I heard you ended up in the office. What was the outcome?”

  “Spared by Captain Hagen.”

  David grinned. “Al’s a good guy. You can trust him.”

  Others came in and took their seats. David focused on his textbook. I ignored all the stares from other kids. I wondered what the gossip train was saying now.

  Tony caught up with me in the lunch line. He pointed at the main selections. “Ah, mystery meat with a side of slime-covered paste and chew toys disguised as veggies.”

  “That’s really not helping.”

  “Sorry. Oh, look. Wiggly clear latex in neon colors.”

  The jello did look like that. “And I’m supposed to eat this? Lovely. At least I have a good dinner to look forward to.” I took what I thought I could actually get down and we went to our regular spot.

  Tony ate quietly, guarding me from disturbances. I managed to finish what I’d taken. He took my tray and escorted me from the cafeteria. “Let me guess, destination – library.”

  “You know me too well.” We headed for the stairs.

  Rita came down a hallway, frantically running. She looked pale. She got to the main hall and stopped. “Help! We need help!”

  Tony grabbed one of his boys who had tagged along with us. “Go to the office and find a teacher.” He ran toward Rita. I followed. He grabbed her flailing arms. “What is your malfunction?”

  “It’s Jenny! Something is wrong with her?” She pointed down the hall.

  We started running. There were a couple of other girls around a fallen one. I recognized a couple of girls from the gymnastics team. “Shannon, what happened?”

  “She just collapsed and started shaking like that.”

  Tony knelt down beside her. “What’s her fix?”

  Shannon looked horrified. “She doesn’t do drugs. She just borrowed a couple of aspirin from a friend because she had a headache.”

  My gut clenched. “What color were they?”

  “Blue. Why?”

  Tony managed to take her pulse without being obvious. “Who did she get them from?”


  “From Deana. She takes them all the time for her headaches. They’re just aspirin. She gets them from the school nurse.”

  Tony looked at me. I could tell he was on the same wavelength. The nurse was giving out the drugs. I thought about Rebecca. She’d been taking them, too.

  Footsteps were running down the hallway. I could hear voices. I pulled Tony’s arm. “I think the nurse is coming.” I hoped he caught my raised eyebrows.

  He backed away. “Great.” He pulled me across the hall and we melted into the crowd that had formed around the scene. He pulled us back until we were out of the mass. He closed his eyes. “That girl is in serious trouble. Her pulse is so faint I was having trouble finding it. Do you know who Deana is?”

  “No.” I looked around and noticed Jill. “But I know someone who might.” He followed me over. I tapped Jill on the shoulder.

  She looked startled. She hugged me. “Oh, Erin. You’re here. I was so worried. I didn’t know what to think. Some kids were saying you got arrested this morning.”

  Tony snickered. “That’s my gig, not hers.”

  “Jill, do you know who Deana is?”

  “Sure. She’s in my history class next hour.”

  I glanced at Tony. “Could you introduce me? I need to ask her something.” We followed Jill toward the social science wing. She pointed her out as we got close. I was surprised to see the girl who had given the boy the pills in the hallway. “She shares with a lot of kids.”

  Tony looked curious but Jill pulled me forward. “Hey, Deana.”

  The girl turned around. Her eyes went wide. “Oh, the Dragon Lady! You’re clothes are like so awesome! Where do you get them?”

  I was surprised. She was very animated and talked fast. “Deana, did you give Jenny some aspirin?”

  “Oh, sure. I got extra. I haven’t been actually taking them but Nurse Kern gives them to me. I just go up there to get out of classes sometimes. I still have a couple. Do you want one?”

  Tony nudged me. I got the message. “Sure. Are you feeling okay?”

  She pulled out a baggie with little blue pills in it and shook one into my hand. “I feel great. I haven’t had a headache in a while. I hate getting them. The aspirin helps but I just feel so tired afterwards.”

  The bell rang. I glanced at Tony. “You should probably be careful about handing these out. Some people are allergic to aspirin and don’t know it. Jenny got pretty sick.”

  “She did? Oh, my god. That’s terrible! Okay. Well, it’s nice meeting you. I wish I had a dragon like that. That is so cool!”

  Tony pulled me away. “I better get you to class. At least we don’t have to go far.” I put my arm around his waist and slipped the pill into his hand. He looked over at me. “You are really slick. You know that?”

  “I didn’t lie to her. Some people are allergic to aspirin. And Jenny did get sick after taking the pill. I didn’t say they were connected.”

  He laughed. “You’d make a great lawyer.” We paused at the door. “I’ll see you after class.” He hugged me.

  I went in. Rebecca was sitting in her place. I went back to my. She stood up and hugged me. “I was so worried about you. I heard what happened. With your mom. And Max had to leave. He said you were in the hospital.”

  I sat down. “Things are definitely a little crazy right now.”

  “Are you going to be back at the dojo tonight? I start class tonight and I was hoping you were going to be teaching it.”

  “Which one are you taking?”

  She opened her textbook. “Self-defense. I was really impressed with your demonstration on Saturday. It looked like a good thing to learn.”

  I looked at my paper. It was the one that should have been turned in on Monday. I hadn’t had time to do the other assignments. “I should be. I was back yesterday and made it through my classes.”

  The girl who normally sat in front of me came in. “Wow. I heard you got arrested this morning. Did they let you go?”

  “I didn’t get arrested. I just had to deal with a stupid lawyer. I haven’t had a chance to meet mine yet.”

  Her eyes went wide. “You have a lawyer?”

  I leaned back in my chair. “My life has gotten way too complicated. My mom died and I’m not eighteen so I’m legally a minor. My grandfather is trying to get custody of me but I don’t want to go with him because he’s the one who caused my mom’s death.”

  Rebecca almost fell out of her chair. “Oh, my gosh! That’s horrible!”

  “You have no idea. He’s trying to say she wasn’t my real mom but I know she was. It’s stupid. So anyway, this lawyer showed up this morning and tried to pull me out of school and we had to call the officer who is in charge of the investigation. It was frustrating.”

  The bell rang and Ms. Green came in the room. She started collecting homework. I turned in what I had. She glanced at it and then at me. She walked back. “I’m glad you’re back. Are you feeling better?”

  “Better than yesterday. I’m sorry I don’t have the other assignments done. I’ll try to get caught up tomorrow.”

  She shook her head. “You’ve been gone for a couple of days. It’s understandable. Don’t stress over it. Take your time and do a good job.”

  Rebecca looked over at me. “You missed the test on Monday.”

  “Hopefully I can make it up.” I made a note to ask about it at the end of class.

  The lecture caught my attention. It was about migrant workers in the western states. They traveled between the different areas in Eastern Washington, through Oregon, and down into California, following the crop harvests. It made me think about the Grapes of Wrath. I could understand how they felt, having to limit their possessions to make traveling easier. I was now down to nothing but a box of clothes and the few things I carried all the time in my backpack.

  Tony was waiting for me outside the classroom. He put his arm around me and steered me toward my locker. “Don’t freak out.” His whisper was close to my ear. “I’m going to start a scuffle with Davy so I can pass something off to him.”

  “Can I intervene after the hand-off? Principal Granger thinks I’m having a positive effect on you.”

  He grinned. “Darling, you’d have a positive effect on a King Cobra.”

  There was someone standing by my locker. I didn’t recognize him but I had the feeling that Tony did. He went stiff. It reminded me of a fight I’d seen between a couple of stray street dogs in Miami once. He tucked me behind his back. The kid smirked at him. “You got the money?”

  Tony looked around. “Here? Are you joking? The deal was set for the hallway by the locker rooms.”

  “Maybe things have changed. Maybe we want some insurance.”

  I caught the motion out of the corner of my eye. I tapped Tony. “Trouble.”

  The kid tried to grab me. I stepped sideways and grabbed his wrist. I pulled him forward and he was off balance. I let go. He did a face plant next to us. Tony looked down. “Seriously? Get out of my face before I rearrange yours.”

  Other kids were tripping over the fallen one. He crawled to his feet and scowled at Tony. “You must not want this deal very bad.”

  Tony squared his shoulders. “I don’t deal with no one that messes with my girl. You can tell Streak the deal is off. I’ll spend my money elsewhere.” Tony pushed him off my locker. He waited until the kid was out of sight.

  I leaned against him. “I’m sorry. I blew that, didn’t I.”

  He wrapped his arms around me. “No. Those guys don’t matter. I already got their source lines figured out.” He hugged me. “Are you okay?”

  I grinned. “Are you really asking me that?”

  He chuckled. “I guess I shouldn’t. You’re like a master ninja.”

  I bowed closed fist to him and turned to my locker. The moment I touched the handle I knew something was wrong. I turned and pushed Tony away.

  The sound was deafening. Several kids around us screamed. I fell forward but Tony caught me. We lan
ded together against the lockers on the other side of the hallway. He had my head pulled tight against his chest. He was swearing. “Those bastards. I’m going to bust their asses!” He looked at me. “Are you all right?”

  “I think so.” I did a quick assessment. “I don’t feel any injuries.” I looked around. “Some of the other kids don’t look so good, though.”

  “Flash burns.”

  Mr. Craig knelt beside us. “Just sit still. Help is coming.” He moved around the hallway, relaying the message to others who were far more injured than us.

  I looked at Tony. “What should we do?”

  “Tell them what happened. Somebody rigged your locker. I got a pretty good idea of who it was.” He pulled me close. “Damn. I did not want to get you involved with that.”

  Other teachers appeared. They sorted out the students who hadn’t been hurt and sent them to class. Principal Granger showed up. I groaned. “I’m going to end up on his list again.” Mr. Craig pointed at my locker. Principal Granger glanced in and came over to us.

  Tony helped me to my feet. The principal pointed back at the locker. “Was anything important in there?”

  “Just my textbooks and homework.”

  Tony snickered. “Well that goes beyond the dog ate it.”

  Principal Granger ignored him. “Were you hurt, Ms. Dawson?”

  “I don’t think so. The locker door protected me from the worst of the blast and Tony caught me before I hit the floor. I’m more worried about the kids who are hurt.”

  Principal Granger looked around. There were at least seven kids sitting on the floor with teachers beside them. He shook his head. “Do you have any idea who did this?”

  Tony looked down. “I got a pretty good idea.”

  The principal turned his focus on Tony. “Well, Mr. Burns?”

  “Since Erin made me promise to be good, I’ve been kinda staying away from certain individuals. I think this is pay back.”

  Paramedics came up the stairs. Principal Granger pointed to the injured students. He turned back to me. “So you don’t feel this is connected to the issue from this morning?”

  “I don’t see how it could be? How would Mr. Hart get something like that into the school and how would he know where my locker was? It makes more sense that it was these other guys. They’ve made some threats. I thought it was just show.” I looked at the blacken mess inside my locker. “Obviously it was more than that.”

  Principal Granger looked back at Tony. “I’m assuming you can tell me who they are?”

  Tony looked uncomfortable. “And what are they going to do to her if I rat on them?” He motioned to all the kids being treated. “These guys are serious trouble. I don’t want to put Erin into any more danger.”

  Principal Granger pursed his lips. “I suppose there is some logic to that.” He shook his head. “No kid left behind.” He waved at us. “Go to class.”

  I noticed Professor Linton was one of the teachers helping. I got his attention as we passed. “I’m afraid they blew up my homework.” I heard Tony sputtering to control his laughter.

  Professor Linton looked around. “It’s just paper. Go ahead to the room. I’ll be there shortly.”

  We walked up the stairs. The classroom was out of control. Tony gave me a squeeze. “Remember, don’t freak out.” He gave an odd look at David.

  Davy looked confused at first, gave him a look back, and then got out of his seat. He came up to him and slapped his hands against Tony’s shoulders. “What did you do?”

  Tony pushed him back. “I didn’t do nothing!”

  David reached for him again. Tony grabbed his hands. I saw him slip the note into David’s hand. I figured that was good enough. “Guys! Back off.” I stepped between them but turn to face David. He slipped the note into his pocket. “Tony didn’t do anything. Somebody put a bomb in my locker.”

  David backed up a step. His face shown real concern. “Are you all right?” He looked up at Tony. “It was those guys, wasn’t it? Your bad ass friends! And now they’re targeting her?”

  Tony growled at him. “Put a sock in it or I will.”

  I pulled Tony toward our seats. Professor Linton came in as we sat down. He started passing out homework and collecting the assignments. I noticed David read the note. He glanced over at Tony. I wished I understood their private facial language. It was fascinating.

  The discussion on the chapter turned out to be even more fascinating for me, especially after the lecture in Soc-Ec. It was like the two had been meant to go together. I hadn’t had a chance to actually read the chapter and I felt bad about that. I had to ask for a new book and I did my best to skim quickly through to catch the important parts.

  A debate grew over the rights of the migrant people to set up Hoovervilles. I was torn by the plight of these desperate people who had lost everything. I understood that on a very personal level. Tony had a trouble look on his face. Professor Linton called on him. He was quiet for a moment. “How do we feel about homeless people on the streets? They are in the same position. They have nothing. People treat them like dirt.” The discussion expanded until the bell rang.

  Professor Linton reminded everyone of the next reading assignment as we slid out of the classroom. I no longer had a locker so I just put the books in my bag. Tony walked with me down to the gym. I could tell he was still caught up with the discussion. We stopped by the gym doors. He pulled me close. He was shaking. I pulled back far enough that I could see his face. “Are you okay?”

  He leaned his forehead against mine. “No. I’m thinking about the danger I put you in. I never meant to but that doesn’t excuse the fact that I did.”

  “Tony, you can’t control other people. This is something I learned a long time ago. The only thing we can really control is us, our actions and our reactions to everything that happens around us. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen.”

  He pulled me close and kissed my neck. “If you had been hurt, I would have never forgiven myself.”

  I could feel him trembling. I touched his face and felt the dampness. He was crying. I held him tighter. “Are you going to class?”

  He pulled back and wiped his sleeve across his face. “I got to check in and then I will. What would the teachers think if I showed up on time?”

  I kissed his chin. “That I could tame a King Cobra.”

  He managed a small laugh. “My Dragon Lady.”

  The way he was looking at me made me warm in a new way. It was odd and I knew I shouldn’t feel that way about him. The bell rang. “I have to go change.” I reluctantly pulled away.

  I hurried into the locker room. Jill was just dumping her clothes in her gym locker. She grabbed my arm. “Are you okay? Did someone really bomb your locker?”

  “Life is just on the weird side today. I’m on a roll.” I opened my backpack and pulled out my leotard. “I’m going to get changed. I’ll be out in a few.”

  We had all the equipment to work on today. Ms. Addison assigned us to groups and we did the rotation. I took it easy. I could tell I wasn’t on today. I did very basic routines and didn’t push my body. Rita was off, too. She was teary-eyed, worried about Jenny, as were several of the other girls. I felt bad. In all the commotion with my locker, I’d forgotten about her.

  I was relieved when the bell rang. Tony met me by the front door. “I’m going to walk you to work, just to be safe. I’m still worried about those bastards.” He put his arm around me and we walked down the steps together.

  “What are the options?”

  He considered that for a moment. “My biggest problem is that all I have is circumstantial and that’s not going to hold up in court. Unless forensics can come up with something to connect them directly to the bomb, all we have are verbal threats – not good enough.

  A reflection in a shop window we were passing caught my attention. It was a car with tinted windows. It had pulled up to the street and several men in dark suits had gotten out. It didn’t feel right
. This was the wrong kind of place for people like that. I paused at the next window and watched them in the reflection.

  Tony stared at the shop window. “I really don’t see that as your style.”

  “I’m not looking at the clothes.” They were coming up behind us. They had fanned out. “Whatever happens, don’t let them get my backpack.” I spun around to face our attackers.