The Librarian Principle (30 page)

“Hello?” she asked again, louder this time.

A long sigh came through the line, sounding plaintive and sinister at the same time. A chill ran up her spine.

“Liese? Who are you talking to?” Marissa asked.

“Just some stupid pervert breathing into the phone,” she replied and hung up. She turned off the device and tossed it to the floor. She knew of only one person who would call her and do something so creepy.

Sean must have gotten another new cell phone.

Early the next morning, Marissa retrieved Officer Tanner’s card from the pocket of her jeans and called the station before handing Liese the phone. Sean’s recent visit screamed of his obsession, and the middle-of-the-night phone call from the mouth-breather had made sleep elusive for her once again. Officer Tanner answered and informed Liese he’d been about to contact her. He’d issued the restraining order less than an hour prior, when he and his partner found Sean parked down the street from her house.

Liese contemplated her father’s previous offers to take her to a shooting range, something she’d avoided until now. Maybe being able to handle a firearm wasn’t a half-bad idea. Might be just the thing to move Sean along to his next lucky victim.

“Everything okay?” Marissa asked after she ended the call.

“Officer Tanner issued the restraining order this morning. Sean was skulking around near the house.”

“I knew he was a whack job, but I didn’t know he was that much of a creepy douche. At least now he
has
to stay away from you,” Marissa replied.

Beyond her concerns over his increasingly erratic behavior, Sean’s continued presence in her life further complicated the situation with Ryder. “I really hope he follows the order,” Liese agreed. “If he keeps this up, he could very well expose my relationship with Ryder. And that would be a mess.”

“I’m sure he’ll back off. He has to, otherwise he’ll be charged. I’m pretty sure even Sean isn’t all that keen on being someone’s prison bitch.”

While Liese prepared lunch, her cell rang, bringing with it a fresh wave of fear. Marissa answered on her behalf, and apparently it was just Blake wanting to make sure their night had been uneventful. Marissa chatted with him for a few minutes before handing the phone to Liese.

“You’re still okay to come tomorrow?” he asked.

“Oh, no!” Liese smacked her forehead. “I totally forgot.” In the chaos of Friday, the dress rehearsal Blake had scheduled for Sunday had slipped her mind.

“If you can’t make it . . .” He let the sentence hang unfinished.

She knew he needed her help. He couldn’t run a full dress rehearsal on his own, and Liese had been there with him from the beginning. He conferred with her on everything.

“No, no,” Liese rushed to reassure him. She promised to be there on time.

“Great. Looking forward to it.” Blake paused before tacking on, “Feel free to invite Marissa if she’s still around.”

“Will do.” Liese ended the call and set her phone back on the table.

“What’s doin’?”

Liese explained the situation. Although Marissa came across as indifferent, Liese could tell she was disappointed. At her reaction, Liese began to devise a plan.

“We’re not starting until later in the morning. You can come if you want.”

“Yeah?” Marissa’s face lit up. “I won’t be in the way?”

“Not at all. Blake even invited you.”

“Cool.” Marissa ducked her head and toyed with a lock of hair, twisting it around her finger as she leafed through the day-old newspaper on the kitchen table.

Liese observed her friend with growing curiosity. She had an inkling Marissa’s sudden interest in high school productions had less to do with theater and more to do with the director. If she set Blake up with Marissa, maybe Ryder would ease up on him for good. It was worth a shot.

Mid-afternoon, Marissa had a shopping attack. Liese attempted to dissuade her: Fullerton wasn’t like the city, and the stores wouldn’t meet her expectations. Marissa wouldn’t hear it, though. The restraining order had taken care of Sean; they didn’t need to stay holed up all weekend, so Liese stopped arguing. Shopping with Marissa was its own form of entertainment, and Liese could use the diversion.

A little while later, she trailed behind Marissa as she ducked into stores, the names of which she’d never heard before. She held up a sparkly gold tunic, and Liese made a noncommittal noise. On most people, the top would look awful; on Marissa it would look amazing.

“Could you at least pretend to be enthused by something I show you?” Marissa scowled and hung the shirt back on the rack.

“Huh?” Liese looked up from her phone, having checked her messages for the hundredth time since they’d arrived at the mall.

“This.” Marissa held up a red sequined top. “Or this.” In her other hand she dangled a long-sleeved black shirt with a silver pattern on it.

“Depends. If you’re thinking of wearing that out tonight—” Liese pointed to the sparkly top. “—you might want to reconsider. The bar we went to last night is about as exciting as it gets here. However, the black one won’t make you stand out like a sore thumb.”

“Hmm, good point.” Marissa headed for the changing rooms, taking both options with her anyway.

Two hours later, Marissa had combed the entire mall and succeeded in purchasing enough new clothes to dress an entire family. Or at least a nightclub of go-go dancers.

As they passed the movie theater, Marissa eyed the billboards. The half-naked body of a warrior promised both violence and partial nudity. “Ooooh, want to see an action flick?”

“Sure, why not?” If nothing else, a movie would help keep her mind off Ryder and what he might be doing, or what he might be doing
to her
the next time they were alone. He’d sent messages earlier in the day alluding to a very interesting fantasy involving her and a pair of furry handcuffs. If his sister hadn’t been there, Liese would have driven right over and enacted the entire scene—after she stopped at the nearest adult store to purchase said handcuffs.

Yet despite her eagerness to fall back into bed with him, she knew they needed to deal with what had happened yesterday. She couldn’t keep defaulting to sex when things were too stressful to talk about. There was a therapy session waiting to happen somewhere in there.

She followed Marissa into the lobby of the theater and purchased two tickets. At the concession counter she ordered a large popcorn, an enormous chocolate bar, and enough Coke to bathe in.

“Thirsty?” Marissa asked as Liese pulled money from her wallet.

“I thought we could share.”

“Like I’m your date?” Marissa waggled her eyebrows.

“You know, one of these days someone is going to take you seriously and think we’re actually dating,” Liese warned.

The teenage boy behind the counter dropped her change and coughed as he swept it back into his hand.

“My mom already does.”

“She does not.”

“No, but she did when we were in college and you went through that phase where all you wore were army pants and combat boots,” Marissa said.

“That was you, not me.” Liese gave her a look and pocketed her change. “And I think that phase lasted two weeks—about the same amount of time it took you to decide the main reason you wanted to take art was so you could pick up the nude models.”

She handed Marissa the popcorn, and they headed for their theater, taking two seats in the second-to-last row. The lights were already low, the first of many trailers playing on the screen. Liese settled into her seat. She checked her phone again and adjusted the volume. Still no new message from Ryder. She tried not to feel disappointed.

The trailer for some ridiculous romantic comedy she would never pay to see began. Marissa elbowed her side and leaned in close. “Hey, isn’t that Ryder?”

Liese sat up in her chair, peering around the darkening theater, but didn’t see anyone who resembled Ryder. She sank back into her seat. “Don’t do that; it’s not funny.”

“I’m serious.” Marissa pointed to two figures standing at the base of the stairs. The glare of the screen cast them in shadow, their features impossible to discern.

Liese squinted as they ascended the stairs, but the first figure—obviously female—blocked her view of the person following.

“How about here?” Ryder’s voice was unmistakable.

She glanced at Marissa who grinned. “Told you so.”

Liese was about to retort but stopped when she realized Ryder had paused a few rows in front of them.

“No way. I want to sit at the back,” Tiffany replied, climbing higher, pausing at the row where Liese and Marissa sat. The three seats to their left remained vacant.

Ryder sighed as Tiffany sidestepped down the aisle toward them. Marissa flashed Liese a conspiratorial smile as she stood up to allow them to pass. “What are the chances?” she whispered.

“Slim to none?” Liese murmured in return.

“Excuse me.” Tiffany sidled past Marissa and Liese, leaving an empty seat between them. She did a double-take as Ryder approached to pass. “Oh my God! Ms. Harper?”

Liese waved in silent greeting. Ryder moved past Marissa, apologizing more than once for the disruption. And then he was right in front of her. His back brushed against her chest, and Liese barely mustered the restraint not to rub up against him. Tiffany reached over Liese and grabbed Ryder’s arm, nearly pulling him into Liese’s lap.

“Tiffany,” he hissed, dropping into the seat beside her. He turned to apologize. The words died as he realized who occupied the seat next to him. “Liese?”

“Hi.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you,” Tiffany whispered, sitting forward so she could wave at Liese and Marissa again. “How cool is this?”

“How . . .” Ryder paused, surreptitiously checking her out. “. . . unexpected.” Liese didn’t miss the rapacious gleam in his eye.

“Is it okay if we sit with you?” Tiffany asked, bouncing in her seat. She gripped the sleeve of Ryder’s shirt, willing him to stay put. Liese mentally did the same. However risky it might be for them to be seen together, she didn’t want him to switch seats.

Marissa spoke first. “Sure.”

Ryder glanced around the theater.

“Sorry,” Liese whispered.

“For what? How could you have known I’d be here?” He smiled faintly.

“RJ tried to make me see some stupid PG crap, but I thought this would be way better.” Tiffany injected herself into the conversation.

“Yeah, same with this one.” Marissa thumbed at Liese.

Liese rolled her eyes. “Hardly.”

The screen threw a pale glow over the audience, and Ryder shifted in his seat, shedding his jacket. She thought he might be wearing jeans, but it was too dark to tell. He smelled amazing, though. His cologne wafted over, making her mouth water. She could imagine the bitter taste of it on her tongue when she kissed her way over his jaw.

Tension buzzed through her body. She gave the theater a quick perusal, praying no one would recognize them. She hadn’t seen anyone familiar, but she didn’t know all four hundred students who attended FAHL, or their families.

Halfway through the film, Tiffany went to the bathroom, followed by Marissa, who graced her with the most obvious thumbs up in history. Once they’d disappeared through the doors, Ryder’s hand settled on top of hers, fingers sliding between her own.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” he whispered in her ear.

“What?”

“The movie, are you following it?”

“Not really,” she admitted, flipping her hand over so they were palm to palm.

“Me neither.” He ducked his head and raised their hands, sweeping his lips over her knuckles. “I’ve been wondering—” He bit down gently on the pad of her thumb.

“Hmm?” Liese turned so she could see his profile. God, he was gorgeous. His mouth pouty and sensuous, he continued to torment her by kissing along her fingers.

“What are you doing tomorrow night?”

“I don’t have plans.” Liese shifted closer to him. The damn armrest was in the way.

“I’m dropping Tiffany off at my parents’ house in the afternoon. Would you like to have dinner with me?”