He had no intention of seeing the end of his sentence. The woman who would be teaching them the basics of computers was going to be their way out. She just didn’t know it yet. And when she did, it would be too late.
Chapter 2
Ice walked into the classroom followed by several other prisoners. Surveying the room, he picked a computer desk close to the window. Jackal took the one by the door, Buzz took the one next to him, and Max took the desk in front of him.
Ice drummed his fingers impatiently on the desk, looking out the window into the recreation yard. His eyes narrowed at seeing the Church with his band of followers pass in the hallway, on their way outside. The muscle-bound fucker called himself the Church because his word was supposed to be God’s. If you didn’t do what he wanted when he wanted it done, then either he or one of his brain-dead minions would punish you. He ruled the prison by fear, and so far, no one had stood up to him. Ice had maintained his distance, and Church kept his.
Ice knew it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened and they clashed. There was only room enough for one boss in the prison. If Church didn’t make sure Ice was a follower, which he wasn’t, then he would have to confront him or lose respect. The loss of respect could be a dangerous thing for a man of the Church’s power. Ice hoped to put off the confrontation as long as possible, seeing no need to upset the hierarchy of the prison if it didn’t affect him.
Three guards were placed strategically around the room: one in the back, one by the door, and one at the side of the room toward the front. The clock on the wall showed the teacher was five minutes late.
“Damn, am I seeing things?” Max’s voice drew Ice’s attention to the door. He barely managed to keep his mouth from hanging open when he saw a woman cautiously enter the room.
The lithe blond was tall for a woman. Ice gauged her to be around five-nine. She was wearing a plain, black skirt with a jacket on over a black top. Ice’s lips twitched. She looked like she was attending a funeral—her own.
She hesitantly walked toward the front of the room, placing a briefcase on the desk. When she turned to face the room, Ice sucked in his breath.
The woman was a fucking looker. The prison was crazy to let in a woman who looked like that around men whose dicks hadn’t had a woman in months, if not years. Ice knew the men would be beating off to the memory of the woman staring at the room of prisoners with a carefully blank face. She wasn’t as unafraid as she appeared, though.
Ice’s life had depended on reading people since he was a kid, and this woman was terrified. He had no idea how she had ended up teaching this course, but it was the last place she wanted to be.
“Good morning. My name is Grace Andrews. Ms. McAllistor has met with an unfortunate accident, so I will be taking her place this semester.”
Ice and Jackal shared a look. All the intel they had done on the previous teacher was now useless. Jackal nodded in silent communication that he would get the new information they needed on the teacher who was talking at the front of the room, describing to them what they would be able to accomplish on the computer by the end of the semester. Ice had news for her: he wouldn’t be here by the end of the semester, and she wouldn’t, either.
* * *
Grace rubbed her sweaty palms against the side of her skirt, feeling the eyes of the fifteen men in the classroom on her. She made sure her gaze didn’t linger long on anyone in particular; each one seemed to be scarier than the previous one. So far, the one she had caught sight of as she entered the classroom was the most frightening. That was, until her eyes were caught and held by the one sitting by the window.
His brown hair was long, almost to his shoulders. The beige uniform he wore was tight over his broad shoulders and across his chest. He was sprawled lazily in his chair, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, which he didn’t. The state was picking up all his expenses.
Grace dragged her eyes away from his compelling gaze to open her briefcase and pull out a stack of papers. That was why she had been late; a guard had gone through her case, pulling out her tiny, bejeweled stapler and throwing it into the trash as well as the metal clips she had used to sort her paperwork. Everything inside was a jumbled mess now.
Gathering her control, she managed to find the paperwork she was searching for, pulling out the diagram of the computer they would be working on. Going to each desk, she laid a paper before each man. When she got to the man by the door with the scar running down his cheek, she laid it down and quickly moved on to the desk by the window. If she had to guess his name from the list of students she had been given, she would say this was Ice.
Staring into his ice-blue eyes, she laid his paper on the desk as she had the others when he reached out, taking it from her, his fingertips brushing her hand. Jerking away from his touch, she stepped forward to the desk in front of him. The large man at the desk gave her a flirtatious wink and smiled as he picked up his paper.
Grace quickly walked back to the front of the classroom, turning to face the roomful of convicted felons.
“Let’s begin.”
For the next hour and a half, she led them through the basics of the computer, giving small tasks to find out how proficient their skills were. She would evaluate the results tonight and decide if the syllabus needed to be revised. Her nervousness dissipated as the class wore on. She lost herself in the task of helping several of the men complete the work. When the time was up, the guard at the front motioned to her.
“That’s it for today. I’ll be back Wednesday, so try to read the first two chapters by then.” Grace quickly shuffled her paperwork back into her briefcase before snapping it closed. She followed the guard who had escorted her in back outside the room, proud of herself.
She had done it; she had made it through the first class. Grace had doubted she would be able to, but it hadn’t been as bad as she had thought it would be. The presence of the guards had helped to relieve any fears, and the men had been respectful. Though they had stared at her a great deal instead of their computers, which had made her nervous, she hadn’t felt any fear.
Grace stood still while the guard spoke into his radio by the door, waiting for it to open. When it did, she stepped forward, the door sliding shut behind her before the one in front of her opened. The safeguards only made her feel more secure. The guard didn’t try to talk to her as they walked down the long hallway, and she didn’t try to initiate a conversation.
Her thoughts returned to the prisoner with the brown hair. She tried to remember what he was serving time for but couldn’t. Ross had been right not to let CeCe teach the course. She wouldn’t have been able to keep from flirting with him. She would even have done so with the one with the scarred face.
She looked down at her watch, seeing she had thirty minutes to make it to her next class at the college. She would invite Ross and his fiancée over for a dinner to make amends for giving him such a hard time.
The semester was only for a few months, and teaching the class would actually boost her salary enough to purchase a new car. Her parents had offered to help, but she had refused, determined to stand on her own. They were overprotective of their only daughter, and they even tried to talk her brother into attempting to convince her to take their help. It hadn’t succeeded. She had been about to break, though. The last repair bill had cleaned out her bank account; however, now with the course, she could have the down payment she needed. When she got off work today, she would stop by the car lot and begin the process of choosing her next one.
* * *
Ice watched the obviously relieved woman walk out the doorway. Getting to his feet, he got in line to return to the common room. As soon as the electronic door slid closed, he moved to an empty table. Jackal, Max, and Buzz all followed. The others from the class separated, going to their own friends.
“Want to bet the next class is going to be filled?” Jackal stated.
“Is it too late to get admitted?” Max asked.
“N
o,” Jackal answered, staring at Ice and waiting for his reaction.
“Church seems interested,” Ice broke his silence. “Jackal, you’ll need to get the info on her quick.”
Jackal shook his head. “I’ll do the best I can, but no one is visiting from the club until Friday.”
“Fuck.”
“Change the plans?” Buzzard asked.
“No, everything is the same. It’s the easiest way to accomplish our goal without anyone getting hurt. Let’s stick to it and hope the teach doesn’t raise any flags,” Ice said.
“They’ve already added an extra guard, which we hadn’t planned on. Now there will probably be more prisoners. I think we may need to find another plan,” Jackal suggested.
“Want to stay inside for another month?” Ice’s steely gaze quieted the men. “I know I don’t. Let’s wait until we get the report back before we react like a bunch of pussies. In the meantime, try to discourage as many as you can from signing up for the class.”
“Will do.” Max stood up, leaving the table to join another group of men.
Buzzard stood up, too. “It’s going to be hard to talk them out of taking the class. That sweet piece of ass is prettier than any I’ve seen in the visiting room.” He walked away to join another group.
“He’s right,” Jackal said.
Ice nodded. “I don’t want to change the plan unless I have to. The men are getting stir-crazy, and if we change the plan, we don’t know when we can reschedule it. I don’t want to make a mistake because we’re antsy to get out.”
“I agree. I’ll try to get a message out. Maybe I can get Rave out here by Wednesday.”
“Try hard.”
Ice watched as Jackal left to go to his cell. He remained aloof from the other prisoners. They were all leery of finding out just what he was capable of.
The countdown was four weeks away. He hadn’t wanted to admit his resistance to canceling their plan was because he was tired of being locked up. This job was becoming a pain in his ass. If not for the money, he would never have attempted it anyway. Now, the blonde teacher could set them back weeks if not months, derailing a plan they’d had in place since day one.
Ice drew on his emotions, shutting them down and focusing only on the job ahead. He had always been able to shut his emotions off and make the decisions his club needed him to make. It had earned them a dangerous reputation only rivaled by one other bike club, which Ice thought was a joke. The older bike club traded on a rep, which had been established by the members who had started the club, yet were nothing more than a bunch of overweight, weekend riders.
The pretty teacher didn’t want to teach the course, and they could use that to their advantage if they had to. Either way, she was now involved, and Ice had to figure out a way to keep her alive.
* * *
Grace stared at the packed classroom. She had anticipated a couple of late entries to her class, not the addition of seven more. The one with the shaved head gave her the creeps with the way his eyes stayed on her the entire time she talked. She had heard someone call him the Church. Grace didn’t want to know how he had ended up with that nickname.
She set a simple task for the students who had been present Monday, but then had to backtrack to establish the new prisoners’ skills. She made sure to maintain her distance while she handed out the paperwork they needed. Her frayed nerves had her skittering back to the front of the classroom as soon as the last one touched the desk.
Placing her papers on the desk, her shaking hands reached out for her notes as she inadvertently glanced up, her eyes catching those of the man named Ice. His steady gaze somehow soothed her frazzled nerves.
Regaining her composure, she taught the next section then assigned the task she wanted completed on the computer. When they began, Grace used the opportunity to sit down behind the desk, making sure she avoided staring at the man seated directly in front of her.
Ice had moved from the desk by the window where he had sat in the previous class to sit in front of her. She had been briefly disconcerted at having him so close to her and had hoped he hadn’t noticed, but she didn’t think much went unobserved by the man.
She picked up one of the papers on her desk, finding herself looking under lowered lashes at the tattoos visible on his arms under the prison shirt he wore. She blushed bright red when he caught her staring, glancing back down at the paper she was holding.
As the assignments were completed, Grace went to take the papers. When she reached out to take the Church’s paper, he held on to it. Grace gave a small tug, looking up at him.
“I’ve got something harder for you than that piece of paper,” he said low enough the guards wouldn’t hear.
Grace barely kept her composure, looking down at the paper she had managed to take from him. “The only thing you got right was your name. Obviously, finding the power key was too hard for you.”
The class burst into laughter.
He looked angrily at her, and Grace realized she had made an enemy. She moved on and took the paper from Max, who gave her a cheeky wink, before taking Jackal’s, who gave her a warning look. She nodded. She’d known she had made a mistake as soon as the words had flown out of her mouth. Men like the Church never forgot being humiliated in front of others. He would hold a grudge.
She walked back to the front of the room, noticing Ice had straightened in his seat, watching Church.
“Read the next section in your book and complete the page at the end. You’ll get one thirty-minute session available on the computers before the next class.”
Grace gathered her papers, placing them into her briefcase. As she did, she saw a note mixed in with the paperwork still on her desk. Shuffling it among the others, she closed her briefcase before walking toward the door.
As she walked across the room, Church stuck his legs out. She didn’t pause or look toward him as she passed, moving on toward the doorway. The guard opened the door and followed her outside.
She briefly considered opening her briefcase and handing him the note she had seen, but curiosity at who had given it to her overpowered her better sense. She decided to read it and then hand it over before her next class on Friday. There was no need to make a fuss if it was completely innocent.
Later, she realized that was where she had made her first mistake.
Chapter 3
Grace sat down on the side of her bed, clutching the note with her heart in her throat. The ominous message terrified her. The small piece of paper had contained only one brief, written sentence.
Don’t come back.
The man sitting in front of her desk was the only one with the opportunity to have placed the note there. She had every intention of taking his warning seriously and had spent the last hour trying to convince Ross the class should be cancelled until next semester.
“No, I can’t cancel the class. What reason can I give? You got a vague note? The president will ask why I don’t place CeCe there if you’re so scared. That’s going to open a whole can of worms. You’re the only option.” A deep sigh came over the phone. “Grace, give it a couple of weeks. You said teaching the class wasn’t as bad as you’d expected.”
“That was before I got the note.”
“Which you should have given to the guard immediately.”
Grace remained silent. She knew she had screwed that up. He was right.
“Give it two weeks. If you’re still unhappy, I’ll pull the plug, okay?”
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“I’m sorry, but no, you don’t.”
Grace disconnected the call.
Placing the note in the drawer of her nightstand, she went into her bathroom to take a bath. She didn’t look in the mirror as she took off her clothes before getting into the bathtub to soak. She laid her head on the back of the tub and tried to divert her thoughts. However, in her mind, she kept seeing Ice’s hard features.
While CeCe would melt in a puddle if she saw him, Grace w
as having her own issue with the man. She wasn’t blind; he was ruggedly good-looking. She had looked back over her information on him. He was single and had lived in Queen City his whole life. The weird thing was his eyes had said he had seen it all. They had looked world-weary.
She took down her hair, washing it, then stood and turned on the overhead shower to rinse herself off.
She had two options, she mused as she dressed for bed. Either show up for class on Friday or quit, and she wasn’t going to quit. She loved her job and the town she lived in. She wasn’t going to move away, because she wouldn’t be able to find another job. That only left showing up Friday to teach the class, despite the warning in the note.
Her phone rang as she was about to lie down on her bed.
“Hi, sis.”
“Hi, Dax. What has you up so late?”
“Just got off work and thought I would call to check up on my favorite sister.”
“I’m your only sister,” Grace mocked, waiting for him to get to the reason for his call. It was eleven o’clock her time; therefore, with the time difference, it was two in the morning his time.
“Which means I need to watch out for you even more.”
“What’s up?”
Dax took the meaning of being the overprotective, big brother to the next level. Not only did she deal with her parents’ constant calls, checking on her, but Dax’s when her parents turned their concern over to him.
“Mom and Dad say you’re teaching a class at the prison.”
Grace’s stomach sank. “And how did they find out?”
“CeCe.”
Grace was going to kill her friend for opening her big mouth. She had introduced her parents to CeCe on one of their visits and had regretted it ever since. Grace believed her mother talked to CeCe on the phone more than she did her own daughter.
“It’s just for this semester, and they have three guards in the room,” Grace explained.
“I don’t give a shit if there are twenty guards; tell them you won’t do it,” Dax demanded.