Love's Cruel Redemption (The Ghost Bird #12)(87)

He had his head dipped down over a book and took notes on a pad. His coat was off. His tie was still in place. He’d rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his forearms. When he turned pages, I admired how his lean muscles flexed a bit. “I’ll be ready.”

I turned the chair I was sitting in to face him more directly. “What about a vice principal? And a counselor? Ms. Wright quit.”

“I’m calling in Mr. Duncan for vice. You remember him.”

I recalled the man from the campground. The one who seemed to be in charge and spoke at the assembly at the beginning. “He has experience?”

“He organizes the yearly event,” he said and then lowered his voice for the next part. We were alone, but he was always careful when he spoke about the Academy. “And manages two of our safe homes for teens and adults. I think he can handle it.”

“What about the counselor position?”

He picked up his head and looked toward the ceiling, deep in thought. “I’m not sure. I thought Mrs. Rose.”

“She’s not a bad choice,” I said. “But we’d need an interpreter. I can’t if I’m with you. And is it just academic counseling or was there more? Anything more, and we’d have to consider confidentiality.”

He nodded and looked back down at his work. “There are other options. It depends on who can take the time. However, it will cut into the favors we’ll earn when we get to the bottom of all this.”

I slid a fingernail against the plastic top of the table idly. “I still haven’t heard from anyone about...about me.”

A phone rang in another part of the building. Only the cleaning crew might still be here, and I wasn’t sure any of them were here this late. The sound was odd in the eerily quiet.

Mr. Blackbourne ignored it and continued to focus on his studying. “I’m sure a meeting will be arranged soon. You’ve joined a busy team. And scheduling has become complicated. A tryout takes time to set up as well, and they have to be sure you’ll be able to go through it without distraction.”

“So it’s us, and not them?”

“It’s—” he paused as another phone rang in the building, one a little closer. He glanced up, at the door, like he wondered about answering it but then shook it off. “It’s partially me.”

“What do you mean?”

He refocused on me. “I wanted to slow it down a bit. We gave ourselves time. Let’s take it. Let’s sort ourselves out. Prove to them this can work.”

Oh. I hadn’t realized maybe I didn’t want to hear from them until we were ready. And then I remembered part of why I was able to stay with them and not join another team was because I was in the middle of this Ashley Waters operation. It bought us time.

And with being his assistant in this, I became even more vital than ever. He also had control over my records in the school, protecting my ghost status without asking favors of anyone for it.

Piles of folders and paperwork on my desk distracted me for a few moments. Trust in Mr. Blackbourne was all I had regarding the Academy and where I stood with them now. I needed to remember that. Only part of me was still nervous about needing to go through whatever test or try out to join officially. There was still that small chance I wouldn’t make it, and the thought hovered over me constantly.

Another phone rang from another part of the offices. We both looked at each other, eyebrows raised, asking the other who would be calling the school so late. The phone system had a line set up to direct people to office hours. Someone was bypassing this to allow the phone to ring through.

Someone knows we’re here?

Mr. Blackbourne stood slowly and walked around the desk. “Maybe we should check this out.”

“Be careful,” I said, rising. “Volto...”

“Could be,” he said, but he passed me to go to the door and out into the hallway.

I followed, curious as to what was going on and wanting to stay nearby.

Another phone went off as we approached. Both of them were near the front desk in the lobby area. Mr. Blackbourne went to one, picking up the receiver to put by his ear and pushed a button on it to answer the right line. “This is Mr. Blackbourne of Ashley Waters High School.” He waited. An eyebrow arched. “Explain it to me,” he said.

The phone opposite was still ringing. He waved to me, wanting me to answer.

Me? I went to it, picking up the receiver. I figured out how to answer the right line by pressing a blinking button.

I spoke. “This is...” I paused, hesitating to speak my name. “...Ashley Waters High School.”

There was silence on the phone at first, and Mr. Blackbourne speaking behind me was all I heard. Suddenly a woman spoke. “I know it’s late but I need to report my child is sick and won’t make it in to school tomorrow.”

Calling about it this late? Why not call about it in the morning? Or leave a message? “Oh,” I said. “I could...take his name down for you if you’d like. The normal person who does this isn’t here...”

“I figured,” she said. “I was hoping someone was there, though. I wanted to warn you, I think it’s something in the food. He’s got food poisoning or E. coli of some sort.”

Food poising? “Are you sure?” The question slipped from my lips. I looked over my shoulder as I spoke, seeing a tense expression on Mr. Blackbourne’s face as he listened.