Lord Have Mercy (The Southern Gentleman #2)(39)

Pulling it up, I frowned at what I read.

Anonymous (9:39 AM): There’s a party tonight that a couple of the football players plan to go to and do some stuff to a couple of girls that have been ‘leading them around by their dicks.’ It’s a bonfire out in the country. 1689 and 3325.

“Shit,” I mumbled, breathing out an annoyed breath.

“What?” Camryn asked, looking up at my word.

“Some kid stopped me in the parking lot today as I was buying buttermilk. He was twitchy and scared and was about to tell me something when he clammed up. Thinking he had something to say, I gave him the anonymous tip submission off the school website and said he could use it if he ever needed it. I’m guessing that he used it because of this…” I turned the computer around for her to read it.

Normally I wouldn’t be able to share, but I trusted Camryn and her judgment enough to know that she’d never share the information with anyone.

“Shit,” she repeated my earlier exclamation. “What now?”

“Now I call it in to a couple of officers that are on patrol tonight and hope that they can find the party.” I paused. “Unfortunately, that address is out of the city limits, and therefore not my jurisdiction. It’ll have to be the county sheriff’s office that handles it.”

She nodded. “That makes sense. But since you’re the school resource officer, I would think you’d be allowed to go.”

I shrugged. “It all has to do with the facility that holds your license. I can’t go.”

She sighed and sat back. “So you just wait and see?”

“Just wait and see,” I confirmed.

She sat back with a disgusted sigh. “That sounds sucky.”

I snorted. “Welcome to my world. There are often times things happen outside of school that I can’t control. The worst is when you know that a kid is being abused or neglected, yet he won’t let you in enough to help.”

“Or when a kid joins a gang,” she pointed out. “Your sister started last week, didn’t she? How is she liking it? I heard she’s in the old theater building covering for the theater teacher.”

“She is,” he answered. “She’s hoping that she doesn’t have to stay there long, but it’s looking like they’re going to need a permanent substitute for that position. Mrs. Robbins, that taught that class, had a car accident and fucked up her hand. She’s going to need a couple of surgeries, and in the meantime, it was suggested that she take medical leave.”

“Ugh,” she grumbled. “That’s the worst class ever.”

“Why do you say it like that?” I closed the laptop.

“Because it is,” she answered. “All of those kids take that class because they know that Mrs. Robbins won’t make them do anything. So every single problem child is in there, and your sister was just thrown to the wolves.”

I grinned. “My sister can handle herself.”

“True,” I admitted. “However, the difference is she shouldn’t have to. I feel sorry that she’s going to have to even be on some of those kids’ radars.”

“I’ll keep my eye on her. Make a few trips down that way when they’re not expecting me.” I paused. “What are you doing?”

“Can I have your phone?” she asked sweetly.

I handed it to her without thought, then gave her my passcode. Moments later, she was grinning like a loon and walking over to me.

Once she plopped herself down into my lap, she raised the phone up in her hand and said, “Smile!”

I didn’t smile. At least, I hadn’t meant to. Not until Camryn brought her mouth down onto my cheek and made the most obnoxious kissing sound on Earth, making me do the unthinkable. Grin.

“Oh, shoot,” she said as she stood up. “We’ll have to take another one.”

Then she went behind me and threw a roll of paper towels across the counter, then moved a half-empty glass of sweet tea.

Moments later, she was back in my lap.

Yet I didn’t smile.

Not until she tickled me.

I threw my head back and squirmed away from her touch, all with a goddamn smile on my face.

“Shit!” I hissed, unable to help myself. “What the hell was that?”

“That,” she said as she typed away, “was me making Nivea pissed off and jealous. I’m tagging Raleigh, the gym, and Carmichael as well. That bitch is going to see this.”

I bit lightly on the side of her neck.

“Nivea probably won’t care, baby,” I told her.

She looked at me. “You bet your ass she’ll care. Plus, it’ll chap her ass that I’m sitting here with you in my kitchen, me in your lap, and a smile on your face. Trust me on this.”

I rolled my eyes and let her do her thing.

I went to Camryn’s Facebook page and started scrolling through her old pictures, grinning at one in particular of Raleigh and her at the bar in town with the mechanical bull in the background. “I was there that night.”

She blinked, then turned as she continued to type while not looking. “You were?”

I nodded as I brought one of my hands up to cup the side of her ass. “You were wearing bright green underwear. Croft took you home, and I wanted to knee him in the nuts for putting his arm around you.”