He rolls his eyes, growling as he knocks back the rest of his drink.
“Look, I’ll quit, alright? Winchester, I mean.”
Sam gives me a look.
“Colton, you love being in education. And believe me, you quit, and this shit gets out, you’re never working in this industry again. Period.”
I chew on that, my brow furrowed. He’s right, I do love working in education. A lot, actually.
“She could drop out?”
This time it’s my turn to shoot him a look.
“Not a chance. She’s smart, her grades are amazing, her extracurriculars are perfect. No. Flat out no.”
Sam sighs, blowing air out through his lips. “Well, this what we in my biz call an impasse then, Colton.”
Fuck.
Now what.
Two hours later, after Sam’s left for the night, I call her.
“Hey,” she says eagerly. “Jesus, Colton, I—is everything… What did Chief Halter—”
I laugh, and I can almost hear her frowning when I do.
“Brynn,” I growl, smiling as I shake my head. “One question at a time?”
She snorts. “Sorry. First question. Can I come over?”
I groan. “Aside from the four police officers guarding my house and the entire campus wondering what the fuck is going on over here? Definitely.”
She groans. “Well, crap.”
“Tell me about it,” I groan. “You over here right now is literally the only thing I want right now.”
“Colton… tonight…”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she says quietly. “I mean, I’m scared, and tonight was terrifying, but… yeah, I’m okay.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” I growl. “I didn’t…” I close my eyes. “You didn’t need to see that.”
“You were protecting me.”
I nod.
“Colton?”
“Yeah, baby?”
I hear the hesitation in her voice.
“You—you’re not going to jail or anything, are you?”
I smile. “No, I’m not. Even Chief Halter is writing it up as self-defense. I mean it’s not over, but no, I’m not going to jail.”