"You know, Cole, some girlfriends think it's pretty awesome when their boyfriends quote Shakespeare to them." Mercy sat next to the hulking teenager as he slouched in one of the chairs at the back of her classroom on a Thursday afternoon. "Three weeks now I've been tutoring you. Think of all you've learned, and how you could impress her with your wit and charm."

The blond quarterback failed to give her his usual smile. "My new girlfriend likes me just as I am, Miss Jones." He frowned as he studied the textbook in front of him and made notes without taking his gaze off the pages.

Mercy battled not to raise her eyebrows at his abrupt behavior. This wasn't the easy-going star quarterback she had come to know. In fact, the last few days he'd seemed like a stranger to her. Impatient. Moody.

Maybe he was stressed about the last game of the season tomorrow. A home game, too.

"Okay." Mercy glanced over at the two other teachers and six students in the classroom-some of them starting to pack up. "Do you have any questions about the assignment?"

"No." Cole stood, gathered up his papers and textbook and shoved them into his backpack. "I'll have it done by Tuesday." His gaze skirted around her as he slid his chair back to the desk.

"Cole."

"Yes?" His tone was polite, but there was no mistaking he wanted to get gone. Wasn't he due now at football practice?

Mercy stood and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Have a good afternoon." She held his stare, catching the slight flattening of his lips at her subtle reminder of his lack of a proper goodbye.

His smile was contrite. "You too, Miss Jones." With a nod, he turned and walked toward the classroom's door, but came to an abrupt stop.

"What do you want?" Cole demanded in a hard voice, his body tense.

"Not here to see you, Hunt." The reply was equally challenging.

Mercy recognized the speaker.

"Isaac, glad you stopped by." Mercy moved up beside Cole.

The quarterback ignored her and glared at Isaac, who stood less than three feet away, his unblinking gaze filled with scorn.

What the hell?

Cole might be a couple of inches taller, but Isaac was just as fit and broad in the shoulders. And Mercy had read his record. The boy could fight.

"Cole, you're due at practice, aren't you? Better not be late." Mercy's no-nonsense tone reminded Cole of his manners enough to walk past Isaac, though he missed bumping into the other teenager by less than an inch. The quarterback never looked back as he exited the building.

"You want to tell me what that was about?" Mercy fought not to cross her arms over her chest. Open confrontation wasn't her style, and never worked with Isaac.

He shrugged. "It's nothing. Mutual dislike is all." His face was blank of emotion. She wasn't going to get any more from him on that subject.

Fine. She had other matters to discuss.

"You've missed two days of school in the last ten, as well as our last appointment at the youth center." Sean had been worried, then annoyed when he saw Mercy was getting concerned. "I called your mom. She said you've been out a lot lately."

The woman had covered for his absence from school, but it was in a rushed, panicked way that conveyed she had no idea he'd not been here on those days. Although his mom did share with Mercy her fears of her son's growing distant behavior and more frequent outbursts of temper.

"That's why I'm here. Mom told me you called. Sorry I missed Mr. Gallagher at the center. My fault." He looked to the side, before turning back to Mercy. "Everything will be back to normal next week."

"Why is it different this week?"

Her belly tightened as Isaac's gaze shuttered.

"Just busy." He backed away. "I gotta go. Mom's expecting me home." He turned and jogged down the corridor.

Except his mom worked Thursday nights as a cleaner at a local hospital.

"Isaac, wait!" Mercy stepped forward, but the kid was already out the door into the darkening October afternoon.

Dammit.

Isaac had checked in. But then he had lied to her.

She dragged a hand through her hair. What could she do without more facts? At least she could let Sean know she'd caught up with the kid. He'd been concerned when Isaac hadn't shown up, more so when he found out Isaac had missed school on Tuesday. But the school had received calls from his 'mother' on both days he was absent. A friend, someone using his mom's phone to cover for him?

Maybe Sean would have some ideas?

She was due to meet him at that new Chinese place at the mall for dinner. Hurrying to her car, she glanced at her watch. Five on the dot. So, she had two hours. Enough time to buy her parents that thirtieth wedding anniversary gift, and maybe visit a couple of her favorite stores.

Didn't she need some more of those gorgeous soaps from Lush? And the shower smoothies, too. Turkish delight and maybe the Argan body conditioner.

Hmm, how about something more masculine-a spicy sandalwood perhaps-for Sean? Lord knew he'd been taking enough showers at her place lately. Every Friday night and most Saturdays, too. Not that she was complaining. God, the man had skills in the bedroom department. But it was the conversation and laughter they shared outside the bedroom that had her counting down to the weekends. Their busy schedules made catching up during the week more difficult, but like tonight, they sometimes managed dinner.

And watching Netflix on the sofa.

She smiled to herself as she started for the mall. The guy had a gift for finding the best movies and then cuddling her as they watched. Now that was a great way to spend a few hours, or even a Sunday.

As she drove out of the school, the truth hit her. Face it, girl, you like him. Big time.

A happy lightness invaded her body. Five weeks since she had first met Sean, and she was totally falling for the guy. But there was still so much to learn about him. Why, last Sunday she discovered he loved peanut butter toast but hated eating it in bed because you could never get rid of the crumbs in the sheets. Even as she teased him, she wanted to fist pump the air in total agreement.

Breadcrumbs in the sheets. It was the little things, right?

After snagging a parking space close to the mall's entry, she hunted down the silver double photo frame her mom had hinted at-as in, pre-ordered for Mercy to purchase-for her anniversary gift to her parents. As a surprise, she also got them tickets to a hit Broadway musical now touring Seattle.

Still with half an hour before she was due to meet Sean, Mercy walked out of Lush with a bag of goodies, including a bar of their spicy soap. She so needed that extra shelf in the bathroom. Maybe her Dad could come over on Sunday, or- She stopped mid-stride. Up ahead, Sean stood outside an electronics store. He was standing with a woman. A redhead. Around his age. Maybe younger. She looked vaguely familiar. No, she shared a resemblance to Sean. Her hair was more red compared to his russet brown, but there was no denying the connection. His sister? What was her name? London?

Oh, how cool. Mercy felt her mouth move into a smile. She walked toward them, only getting a few steps before Sean's gaze locked with hers. For a second she was sure he cursed, but then he gave her a quick smile. He grabbed the woman, held her tight in a hug and said something in her ear.

The next second the woman leaned back, then hustled out of sight like she was racing to catch a bus.

Mercy blinked. That was...sudden.

Sean reached her side in a few strides. "Hey, nice surprise." His smile reached his eyes. His kiss sent a shiver all the way to her toes. Nothing unusual there.

"I finished my shopping early." She glanced in the direction of where the woman-now long gone-had headed. "Who was that?"

"My sister, London. We ran into each other by chance." He slung an arm around her shoulders and steered her in the direction of the Chinese restaurant. "She said to apologize for running off. She was late for an appointment."

"Oh, I would have liked to meet her." She glanced up as they kept moving. Sean was head and shoulders taller than her. His denim shirt and chinos looked somehow too mundane for the confident, hard-bodied man she knew him to be.

"It was a shame. London's busy with a work project and has little free time. We'll get something organized in a month or two."

Two months? That seemed a while. But who knew what London's project entailed and she couldn't impose herself on his family. Besides, she hadn't offered to take him around to meet her parents or sister, so wasn't she being a little sensitive? Likely, after her encounters this afternoon with Cole and Isaac, she was reading meanings into everyone's behavior. What she needed was some good food with her man. Maybe then she could properly unwind.

Christ, that was a close call. He schooled his features to remain relaxed and kept walking toward the restaurant. Running into London had been a shock, since this mall was nowhere near where she lived.

And then he had spotted Mercy looking on.

Thinking on his feet, he had dragged his sister into a hug, told her he was working on a case and she had to leave now or blow his cover.

Thank fuck London heard the seriousness in his tone and didn't argue, which she would normally, at him giving her an order.

Then Aidan had caught Mercy's look of confusion and cursed the circumstances of how they had met. So many fucking secrets.

Mercy nudged his shoulder with a smile. "I love checking out new restaurants."

"You said you liked Chinese food. A friend told me Peking Village was a great place." That friend being Tony when they met up late Tuesday night. Unfortunately, that tip had proved the most informative part of their conversation as neither man had any real leads on the case, but plenty of frustration.

"As long as they have lemon chicken, I'll be happy." She looked up at him as they neared the restaurant's entrance. "It's my go-to Chinese meal," she said in a serious tone.

He swallowed a laugh. "Then I hope for Peking Village's sake their lemon chicken kicks ass."

"Me too." She gazed into the restaurant, as if looking for proof of their lemon chicken.

Aidan's smiled above her head. Damn, she was cute. And not just because of the way she looked in her light blue sweater and matching skirt that showed off her legs and fired up his blood. There was a kind of adorable goofiness about her sometimes where he didn't know whether to laugh or wrap her up in a hug.

Soon they were seated, meals ordered-after ensuring they did indeed serve crispy lemon chicken-and he held a beer as she sipped her white wine.

"How was your day?" He drank a mouthful of his drink, enjoying the bracing coldness.

Her mouth turned down. "Okay."

"Doesn't sound that great." Reaching out he laid his hand over hers.

"It's the boys, Cole and Isaac."

Aidan tensed. He'd been searching for Isaac this afternoon, but had to stop or be late for practice. "What happened?"

"Cole was leaving as Isaac was about to enter the classroom." Mercy tilted her head to the side. "Apparently, they don't get along. Did you know that?"

"No." He hadn't seen them together much. Maybe a couple of times in the corridors. "Did they have words?"

"No, more of a stare-down. But Cole was already in a strange mood. Distant, frustrated. And I'm sure Isaac's been missing school and not sick." She shook her head. "He came to apologize for not turning up last Saturday. But I know something's wrong. His mom's worried too. Says he's been acting differently. He told me all will be better next week, but when I pushed him for answers, he blew me off with another lie."

Aidan clenched his hand into a fist. Isaac didn't know how lucky he was to have Mercy concerned about him. But if the kid was lying to Mercy, he was in trouble. Isaac confided in few people, Mercy being one. Hell, after three weeks, Aidan had barely scratched the surface of Isaac's hard shell. There had been moments when the student would share-his worry about his mom's health, his love of electronics and gadgets-but nothing, not a fucking thing about his friends or who lurked in the shadows of his life and could be involved in any drug network.

The truth was, Aidan liked the kid. Isaac had worked hard to redeem himself after his earlier mistakes with the law, and that was something to be admired. He was smart, determined-qualities that would help him in life...if he kept his focus.

In a way, Aidan enjoyed his 'cover' as a teacher and the interaction with the students, seeing them improve and learn. Jesus, those moments beat chasing the scum of society any day.

As for Cole? He was a great kid. "It's our last home game tomorrow. Maybe Cole's feeling some pressure. I'll check in with him in the morning." He threaded his fingers with Mercy's and gave her hand a squeeze. A small comfort since he had no answers to banish the worry creasing her brow. "If Isaac isn't at the Youth Center on Saturday, I'll track him down." He lowered his voice. "But Mercy, you need to prepare yourself. The kid could be mixed up in something you won't like."

He and Tony had already driven by Isaac's apartment block in Tony's truck Tuesday night-the same day Isaac had been absent from school. Groups of kids had congregated near the 7-Eleven, but he hadn't spotted Isaac with them.

Mercy caught her lip between her teeth and nodded, before her gaze dropped to the white tablecloth before her.

Aidan wanted to grab Isaac and shake some fucking sense into him. Instead, he did his best to distract Mercy with conversation, which worked, to a point. The waiter made a flourish of presenting her dish of lemon chicken. That made her smile, and finally, she seemed to leave the gray cloud behind her, at least in part, as she enjoyed her meal.

There were other ways he could keep her mind occupied. Aidan ate his kung pao chicken and formulated his plan of action. In the time they had slept together, he had introduced Mercy to his desire to take control during sex. So far, the little teacher had thrived under his dominance. Tonight provided a chance to ramp that lesson up a notch.

By the time they had finished their meal and he was walking her to her car, he was ready to act.

She climbed into her Toyota Prius, dumped her bags on the seat beside her, and smiled up at him. "I'll see you tomorrow before class?"

"Take off your underwear," he ordered in a low voice.

He allowed himself a moment of satisfaction as her mouth dropped open.

"Excuse me?"

Stepping between the door and the car, he bent down and slid his hand under her skirt and over her thigh. Her muscles tensed under his touch, but he noted the softness of her skin.

"Take off your panties." As she blinked at him, he hardened his tone. "Now."

Her pupils dilated.

Oh, yes. She liked being dominated. By the right man.

Mercy glanced around, then reached up and turned off the interior light of the car. His body provided a shield as she lifted herself up from the seat and after some wiggling and an uncertain glance in his direction, she bunched a pair of cotton and lace panties in her hand.

He removed them from her grasp. Lifting a finger, he traced over her lower lip. "If you touch yourself, I'll know, and you'll be punished." Her eyes grew wide a second before he kissed her hard on the mouth, wanting her to touch her lips and remember his possession of her as she drove home. "I'll follow you to your apartment."

Aidan didn't wait for her reply, but stepped away, pushed her panties into the pocket of his pants, and closed her car door. Without looking back, he headed to his SUV parked a few rows behind her Prius.

The drive to Queen Anne took fifteen minutes. After grabbing his gym bag and a couple of extra items from another case in his trunk, he locked his SUV and walked up to her apartment building. As he stood outside her apartment door, he wondered how many times the sweet teacher had adjusted her position in her driver's seat.

Quite a few, judging by her greeting as she answered his knock. Mercy's fingers wound through his hair as she pulled his head down and kissed him with unabashed hunger.

Since it suited him, he allowed himself the pleasure of tasting her mouth before he dropped his gym bag, grasped her wrists and drew them behind her back. "As much as I like your enthusiasm, gorgeous, we're doing things my way tonight." He dragged her back with him as he stepped backward and kicked her door closed.