Freight Trained (24 page)

Surprisingly, the deputy arrived in a matter of minutes.  "How'd you get here so fast?" Abby asked.

Deputy Williams looked inside the drawer.  "I'm always close by while school's in session."  He pulled out a pair of latex gloves.  "We'll call after we open it and let you know what's inside."

Abby nodded, feeling numb.  She just wanted to go home.

Chapter Nineteen

He took Abby home, fed her, then promptly put her in a hot bath with a glass of wine and her favorite music.  She'd said she wanted to relax, wanted to forget for one night that some crazy person was out to get her.  She didn't even want to know what was in the box, but he did.

After cleaning up their dinner mess, he went outside with Lucky and his cell phone and called the sheriff.  It rang once before he picked up.  Forgoing pleasantries, he cut to the chase.  "What was in the box?"

Never one to waste words, Sam said, "Bracelet, gold or gold plated, I can't tell.  Had one of those broken heart things dangling from it."

Cole squeezed the phone tighter.  "That it?"  Silence was his answer.  "God damn it, Sam, he had access to her classroom."

"I know, but don't know how he got in.  You know that school's on lockdown during school hours."

"Maybe he was already in."  An image of Chad, paying way too much attention to Abby flashed through his mind.

Sam's frustrated sigh came through the line loud and clear.  "That's an angle we're working on."

Cole ground his teeth, a million biting remarks on the tip of his tongue but knew that wasn't helpful.  He closed his eyes and prayed for patience, hoping they caught the fucker before his ran out.  Needing to put his mark on his girl, he hung up the phone, whistled for Lucky, then went up the stairs.  Bath time was over.

"Am I doing it right?"  Nestled between his legs, Abby eyed him over the head of his cock.

Jesus H Christ, if she did it any more right, he'd be dead.  He decided right then and there, her tongue should be classified a deadly weapon.  "Yeah, Darlin', you're doing it right."

"Good."  She gave him a smile as her tongue did a sweep at the tip.  "It's kind of like eating an ice-cream cone," she said, gliding her tongue up his shaft as if licking up a melting drop of ice cream.

Fuck, she was killing him.  He'd had enough of her playing.  Executing a mini sit-up, he grabbed under her arms and flipped her onto her back.  His turn.

"Hey, I was just getting the hang of it."

"Darlin', you more than got the hang of it.  Any more practice and this would all be over before I got to the good part."

"The good part?" 

He gave her a smirk.  "My cock in your pussy.  The good part."

Abby chuckled.  "I thought your cock in my mouth was the good part."

Cole groaned into her neck.  He was sorry he demanded she use that word.  Cock falling from her lips almost had him coming on the spot.  He needed inside her, now.  "Up on your knees, Little Mouse.  Face the headboard and hang on."  He slipped on a condom while she got herself in position.  He loved how she obeyed him, no questions asked, fucking perfect.  He rubbed his hand down her back over her ass.  "Slide your knees farther apart."  His fingers found her, sliding through her wetness, flicking across her clit.  He leaned forward to whisper in her ear.  "You'd better hold on tight."  And then he was slamming into her, and nothing felt so fucking good.  His hands gripped her hips as he pounded into her and from the noises Abby made, she loved it. 

"Please tell me you're close."  He didn't know how much longer he could last.  Everything about Abby was perfect, but her ass was a work of art and looking at it while fucking her had him nearly going over the edge.

"I'm almost there."  God, he loved her voice.  Breathy and so fucking sexy.  He found her clit slowly rolling it, helping her along. 

"Come on, love, come for me."  He felt her pussy grab at his dick, squeezing it with tiny spasms and that's all it took, two more thrusts, and he saw stars.

* * * * *

Abby felt the bed dip and heard Cole go into the bathroom.  She was glad using a condom necessitated a tiny reprieve in having to face Cole right after sex.  Not that she didn't enjoy it one-hundred percent, but everything was still so new and while lost in the throes of pleasure
—
the things they said and did
—
after the big event, she felt a bit embarrassed. 

She was lying flat, fully covered under the sheet by the time he returned.  As if sensing her discomfort, he flipped off the light before settling himself in bed and taking her in his arms.  His fingers lightly trailed up and down her back, and she closed her eyes relishing the tiny shivers it produced.  Honestly, she wouldn't be surprised if she started purring.

She sensed Cole had something on his mind, but the drowsy feeling overtaking her left her drifting and as she scrambled to focus enough to ask him what it was, sleep claimed her.

The last bell before the weekend rang, and Abby plopped onto her desk chair with a flop.  The first week of school had flown by in a haze of new, eager (and some not so eager) faces, a plethora of names to remember, adjusting and learning how to be a full-time instead of part-time teacher, and all the uncertainty, self-doubt, and excitement that went along with all of that. 

To say she was ready for the weekend was an understatement.  On a good note, no more mysterious gifts from her psycho-secret admirer since the mystery box on Monday.  On an even better note, Cole had gotten his lab results back and was given a clean bill of heath and Abby had gotten her birth control shot so they were free to officially ditch the condom.  And on the best note, she learned a new number, sixty-nine, the night before last. 

Abby's attention was drawn to her classroom door when a mop of brown curls peeked in.  "Hey, Abs, us girls are headed to Dusty's tonight to get our groove on.  I know you've got yourself a man now," she brought her hand up and waved it to fan  her face, "and quite a man at that.  Woo wee, if he were mine, I wouldn't ditch him for any form of debauchery.  Anywho, so I figure you probably don't want to go but still wanted to incline the invitation, you know, for manners sake and all."

Abby was giggling by the time Maggie finished her speech.  "As much as I would love to, I'm actually quite beat.  In fact, I was just dreaming about lazing away on the couch watching TV all weekend."

"Bet that's not the only thing you were dreaming about lazing around on," Maggie said, accompanied by an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle.

Speaking of Cole, because that's exactly who Maggie was speaking of, he was usually here to pick her up by now.  She glanced up at the big, white-faced clock on the classroom wall, quarter after three.

Maggie saw her eyeing the time.  "Everything okay?"

Abby gave her a wave.  "Sure.  Cole's just late picking me up.  He must've gotten tied up.  I'm sure he'll be here soon."

Maggie nodded.  "Well, I'll be in my classroom for another half hour or so.  Just pop in if you need a ride home."

"I'll do that, thanks."

A half hour later, Abby had tidied and re-tidied her room in preparation for Monday morning and still no sign of Cole.  She'd called his cell, which went straight to voicemail and received no return phone call and had the same results for the two texts she'd sent.

Maggie popped back in and seeing Abby still there, re-offered to give her a lift home which Abby accepted thankfully.  She had Maggie take her to Cole's.  She wasn't sure where he could be that he couldn't answer his phone other than working with his horses, losing track of time. 

Maggie pulled into the drive, and Abby turned to her before getting out.  "Thanks again for the ride.  Hope you guys have fun tonight."

Maggie was looking at the quiet house.  "Should I wait to see if he's home?  I don't want to leave you stranded here."

Abby chuckled.  "Thanks but I'll be fine.  He's probably out back with his horses and if not, I have a key.  I'm not stranded, promise.  My car's right over there."  Abby pointed to her Fusion parked in front of the house a few yards away.

This seemed to satisfy Maggie for with a kiss on the cheek and a shooing motion with her hand, she basically threw Abby out of the car.

Laughing, she got out.  "Be careful tonight."  She waved as Maggie backed out of the drive then dug through her purse for her set of keys.  She definitely needed to change her clothes before looking for Cole. 

She opened the front door and was met with silence, making her doubly sure she'd find Cole out back.  She quickly walked across the living room, her heels tapping out a steady beat against the hard wood of the floor before becoming silent as she made her way up the carpeted stairs. 

She heard voices drifting out of Cole's room once her feet hit the landing and instead of keeping her quick pace, found her step slowing as she approached the partially opened door. 

Placing the flat of her palm on the door, she swung it open slowly, revealing the room.  The first thing she noticed was the gloom.  At four o'clock at the height of summer, there were still hours left before dusk, and her eyes sought out the window, noting the closed slats of the blinds had only tiny slivers of light seeping through.  The next thing she noted, the voices came from the TV, the only other source of light in the room. 

She took a step over the threshold and spied Cole on the bed, hair rumpled, bare-chested, jeans unfastened and riding low on his hips.  His hand clutched the neck of an almost empty liquor bottle as he sat, passed out against the headboard.   Other than a few pillows he'd pulled out to stack behind his back, the bed was still made from earlier that morning. 

She stood, uncertain what to do, as she took in Cole's uncharacteristic display of drunkenness.  Never had she seen him ingest more than the occasional beer, and she wondered what prompted his overindulgence.

The sudden loud blaring of a laugh-track startled her and seemed to rouse Cole.  She flicked the switch for the overhead light and quickly adjusted the dimmer switch, muting the glaringly bright light before hitting the power button on the TV, bathing the room in silence.

His half-hooded, bloodshot eyes tracked her movements as she approached the bed.  "Hey," she said softly as she reached over him, taking the bottle and setting it on the nightstand.  "Everything okay?"

"I fucked up.  I fuck everything up."  His voice, more gravelly than usual, had a melancholy air.

"How did you fuck up?" He was clearly upset about something.  She looked around for his phone, thinking he may have gotten some upsetting news and it would hold a clue but didn't see it anywhere.

"He's dead.  They're all dead."

Knowing now what perpetrated his drinking binge, she thought to change the subject.  "I tried calling when you didn't pick me up.  You didn't answer."

"I'm not at your fuckin' beck and call, Darlin'." 

His slurred words held a note of scorn, and she was taken aback by his vehemence.  Cole was obviously not a happy drunk.  She concentrated on keeping her own temper in check and her voice even so as not to rile him further.  "That's true.  I was just worried about you is all."

He gave her a lazy smile.  "No need to worry 'bout me.  I'm a big boy.  Want to come over here and see?"

He reached into his underwear, taking himself in hand. 

She gave him a small smile, holding up a hand.  "No need.  I've seen it."

He frowned, tried to sit up straighter but failed, returning to his original slouched position.  "You telling me no, Little Mouse?  You're not allowed to tell me no."

Abby felt a small frisson of fear trickle down her spine.  She didn't think Cole would purposely hurt her, but in his inebriated state, she was a little uncertain of his behavior.  "I would never tell you no, Cole.  Why don't you close your eyes and rest a minute while I change out of my work clothes."

Cole closed his eyes on a sigh and smiled.  "That's my good baby girl."  His eyes slitted open a crack.  "Oh, but leave on the shoes.  I fuckin' love your fuck-me heels."

He closed his eyes again, and Abby slipped out of the room.  Her plan was to let him sleep off his stupor, but she sure as hell didn't plan on being around when he woke up.  Cole drunk was bad enough, she couldn't even imagine what Cole with a hangover would be like.

She did hesitate to go home but after a minute of debate
—
it would still be light for several hours yet, and she would lock herself in the house until Cole gave her a call
—
she decided home was just as safe as here in the state Cole was in.  Besides, who would know she even left?  She was sure her sicko-admirer didn't have eyes on her twenty-four/seven.

Mind made up, she scooped up Lucky and headed out the door.

Abby sat on the sofa, feet propped on the coffee table, grading test papers while absently stroking Lucky, curled beside her.  With a sigh, she rubbed her tired eyes, tossed the papers on the table then picked up her phone to check the time.  A little after ten.  Still early for a Friday night, but she was tired after a long first week of school and figured she might as well go to bed.  Cole was more than likely still passed out, so she wouldn't be hearing from him anytime soon.