34.5

The last parents enter the room, quickly enveloped by their daughter's eager arms. They say their goodbyes, and after carefully placing the bouquet on a chair, I begin walking around the room, tossing all the costumes into a plastic box.

“Need help?” Kyle's deep voice sounds behind me, and I turn to find my friends standing by the door. I set the box on a chair and walk over to them.

“The kids were pretty good for a bunch of little pests,” Olivia praises, hugging me. “But what was that crazy story your class performed? I’ve never heard of that fairy tale.”

“Neither would you have, since they created it throughout the year,” I reply proudly.

As she releases me, two strong arms envelop me, and the woody scent fills my nose.

“I found it extremely fun, babygirl,” Raffi exclaims in my ear before planting a kiss on my cheek.

“Of course you did; the event is all designed with your age group in mind,” Seth jokes before quickly hugging me. “Congratulations, Little Bee,” he whispers.

“Hey, I’m older than you,” Raffi complains.

“It’s the mental age I’m referring to, Martinez,” Seth retorts, winking at me.

“Thanks for the flowers,” I say as Kyle hugs me.

“What flowers?” he asks, frowning in confusion.

“The roses that were sent; they ended up in Ms. Hawkins’ room, but she gave them to me,” I explain, pointing to the bouquet.

“Wow, they are really beautiful,” Olivia says, picking them up and burying her face in the petals.

I watch my three friends exchange looks in a silent communication I can’t decipher. Raffi and Seth shake their heads, and I feel a shiver run down my spine, settling into my stomach which feels like lead. Something is wrong.

“What’s going on?” I ask, three pairs of blue eyes turn to me.

“It wasn’t us who sent the flowers,” Kyle announces, and my hands go cold. From Olivia’s reaction, I know it wasn’t her either. My parents are on a cruise in the Caribbean celebrating their wedding anniversary, so it wasn’t them.

“Let me see the card,” Seth requests, and Olivia hands him the piece of paper. “No signature, but whoever wrote it was at the presentation.” He turns the card, pointing out the mention of the color of my dress in the note.

“I was willing to agree with Brooke when she said that teens were behind the car sabotage, but now I fear we were right,” Rafael says in a hard tone I don’t remember ever hearing from him before. “And whoever it is, was here and made sure we knew.”

“I’ll check the parking lot and see if anyone remembers the delivery person,” Seth declares with a cold voice and leaves quickly.

“Raffi, stay with them, I’m calling Adonis. I want to find out where those bastards are,” Kyle says, storming out with his phone in hand.

“Who is Adonis, and what’s happening?” Olivia asks, placing her hands on her hips.

“Remember a few weeks ago when someone cut the tires on my car?”

“Yeah, it was just kids, right?”

“There’s a possibility it was retaliation by former Hades’ Men employees,” I confide. The reality of the situation sinks in, the fear I’ve felt and suppressed over the past few weeks resurges and threatens to overwhelm me. I look at my hands and see them trembling. Once again, I’m in danger without a clue, and once again, my students are at risk because of me.

Breathing becomes difficult, and delicate hands take mine as Olivia’s gaze meets mine.

“Close your eyes and breathe with me.” I do as she asks, inhaling deeply three times. “Now, who is Adonis?” she asks again. I open my eyes to find her looking at Raffi.

“He’s a friend, and one of his specialties is finding people, so don’t worry.” His hands wrap around my shoulders, pulling me against his body. His warmth instantly soothes my nerves, and I feel the tension leave my back.

I am not alone; I have the best men around me. I remember Raffi’s words that they would never let anything happen to me.

“Is he single?”

“It’s hard to keep up; I think he’s been married about four times, maybe more,” he says, laughing. His fingers start massaging my shoulders, and I get the impression that he’s not even aware he’s doing it, that it’s just a reflex.

My friend’s eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “Sounds too complicated,” she murmurs before turning her attention back to me. “We’re going to have to throw them away, right?” She gestures to the bouquet.

“I’m definitely not keeping them. If you want, you can take them,” I offer.

“Seriously? Recycling the psycho’s threat?” She clicks her tongue disapprovingly and carries the bouquet to the trash can, dropping it in dramatically.

“No one saw anything. I checked our cars and found no signs of tampering, but I’d prefer a full evaluation by specialists,” Seth informs as he walks through the doorway. His eyes scan the room before settling on me. “Don’t worry, Brooke. We’ll sort this out, and remember, you’re not defenseless.”

That’s why I’ve been training and practicing; I knew my motivation had tripled, and tomorrow I’d be even more determined to learn everything I could. I step away from Raffi and focus on tidying up the room, and just as if we had coordinated, Kyle returns as soon as I put the lid on the box.

“Adonis will start investigating today. He’ll call as soon as he knows something,” he says, walking toward me. “Ready to go?”

“Ready,” I declare.

“Great, I think everyone’s already gone, and the last thing we need is to get locked in here all night,” Liv says, gesturing around.

“You’re right, let’s go?” Raffi asks, offering her an arm. She takes it and turns to me, laughing and winking before heading out with him, and Seth follows them.

“Are you okay?” Kyle asks, holding my face in his hands.

“Yes, yes. I was a bit scared, of course, but I’m better now.”

He kisses my forehead and puts an arm around my shoulders as we walk out of the room together.