Tag’s head swung around, then he looked around the room. “He’s here?” he asked.
“What’s the news?”
“What is he doing here, Zach?” Tag asked sharply.
“You know what he’s doing here. Now what’s the news?”
“Are you fucking kidding me? That’s what all of this has been about? You and him—”
His incredulity irritated me for some reason. Like the idea of there being something between me and Lucky was so far-fetched.
“What did you want to tell him?” I repeated.
Tag sighed before running his fingers through his hair. “You know that girl, Amy Williams?”
“The one who helps maintain the equipment and assists with the classes?”
Tag nodded. “She was in the program last year but didn’t graduate. She had good technical skills but she couldn’t apply them in the field. Before I could tell her that SAR just wasn’t for her, her parents died in a car accident. When she asked this past spring if she could take the course again, I told her I’d think about it. I felt sorry for her, so I told her she could reapply.”
I nodded in understanding. While Tag would never risk putting someone in the field who wasn’t prepared for it, I knew he was a softie at heart and wouldn’t have wanted to dash Amy’s hopes completely.
“What does any of that have to do with Lucky?” I asked.
“I usually only take seniors but I made an exception for Lucky because of his natural talent. He got the last spot in the program,” Tag said.
My whole body went tight as I realized what Tag was getting at. “She’s the one who’s been stalking him. Sending him notes and vandalizing his car. And the rope—” I was moving toward the door before I even realized what I was doing.
Tag grabbed me. “She’s admitted to all of it, Zach. She came to me this afternoon and told me the truth… that she thought Lucky had somehow stolen her spot in the program. She said the rope was an accident. She didn’t know we were doing the simulations that day. She used a corrosive substance from a flare on the gloves to damage the rope but she used more than she intended—”
“Even if we hadn’t been doing simulations, he still would have gotten hurt,” I practically yelled. “Where is she—”
“She’s at the police station giving her statement. I’ve talked to her aunt, Zach. Amy’s been having a lot of mental issues this past year. It’s not an excuse, but I don’t believe she truly intended to harm him… just scare him.”
I was on the verge of losing it as I remembered how Lucky had been hanging precariously off the side of a mountain. “He was hanging by a handful of threads, Tag! He—”
“Zach,” Lucky called softly. I turned and saw him standing on the steps about halfway down the stairs. He looked to be in the same condition as when I’d asked him to leave the room, so I doubted he’d showered. Which meant he’d probably heard everything Tag had said. I fell silent because I knew Lucky didn’t want me losing my shit over any of this.
“What’s going to happen to her?” Lucky asked.
“She’ll be charged with several crimes including some kind of attempted homicide charge. Her lawyer will likely go for a mental incapacitation defense. For what it’s worth, Lucky, she did seem pretty upset.”
Lucky nodded. “She was always nice to me up until this past year. I can’t even imagine what losing her parents must have done to her.”
Tag nodded, then looked between me and Lucky. I could tell he had a million questions, but fortunately he kept them to himself and quickly said his goodbyes before leaving the house.
Lucky sat down on the stairs and folded his hands. He seemed pale and shaken but that was the extent of it.
“He said you packed a bag,” I said after several moments.
Lucky nodded. “I was taking a page from your playbook. Only I was running toward home, not away from it.”
I sighed and leaned against a wall across from the stairs. “Tell me what you want, Lucky,” I murmured.
“I want you to come home to Colorado with me after we finish the program,” he said. “And I want to be with you as much as possible here and there.”
I opened my mouth to protest when Lucky added, “On your terms.”
I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right but then Lucky rose and slowly approached me. “Rule one is that you can fuck me any way you want for as long as you want. There won’t be sweet words or declarations. Is that about right?”
I nodded my head. Hearing him repeat my own words back to me made me feel sick.
“And no one can know about us.”
I nodded again.
“You’re in control, you call the shots, but in bed only. And when it’s over, it’s over, right?”