Protecting His Pregnant Lover - Leslie North Page 0,9

I…I thought graffiti, or maybe vandalism, so I figured I would provide an adult presence—just in case—”

“I think graffiti is the least of your concerns here, Liv.” Levon steered her toward the front of the shed, pitching his voice low. “What’s more likely to happen now is a drug deal, or plans for a future drug deal.”

Olive wanted to protest. No way that was possible, not in her town. Yes, she knew it was Levon’s town too, but he hadn’t lived here for years. He wasn’t a teacher at the school they had both attended, interacting with the students every day. He didn’t understand that there was no way something that big would just slip below the radar—especially not her radar—

But as they listened to the muffled voices from their position at the doorway, Olive felt her heart drop into her all-too-noticeably pregnant belly. She didn’t exactly follow the slang being used, but it definitely sounded like the boys collected out on the foggy football field were planning an illicit drop of some kind. “Drugs? Really?” she whispered in true astonishment this time.

“Shhh.” Levon pressed a finger to his lips and craned away from her. He posted himself up on the opposite side of the crack so he could get a better view. Still, Olive had no doubt they were both perfectly concealed in their shared hiding space. No way a former Navy SEAL wasn’t an expert at this sort of thing. “Can you make out what they’re saying?” he surprised her by asking. But then, he knew her hearing had always been especially sharp. He used to tease her about it—good-naturedly, as opposed to the other teasing she got—back when they were in high school together. She had often wondered if he was just using it as an excuse to catch up with her after class and double-check their assignments… but she had filed that away with all her other wistful fantasies about Levon and his intentions towards her.

“Not really,” she admitted. “Bits and pieces here and there. They’re almost too far away, they’re using slang I can’t really follow, and I… this might be above my pay grade, honestly, if it is what you say it is.”

“I can make out enough of it,” Levon replied. “May need you to corroborate what I’m seeing later.”

Seeing? Was it possible he was actually reading their lips as they spoke?

“Levon, I—”

Then Olive heard a list of names spoken by the distant goons. And one particular name that hit her like a live wire. She started forward, fitting herself beneath Levon like the lowest rung of a totem pole; he had no choice but to move out of the way to accommodate her as she listened.

“Olive—”

“Shhh.” Now it was her turn to request a silence. “I need to try and hear what they’re saying!”

“They’re discussing recruiting students,” Levon intoned. “Your students.”

“Right. I need to know which students. I swear if they have plans to come anywhere near Franklin Monroe—”

“Do you recognize any of those boys?” Levon asked as she squinted through the crack. Before she could respond in the negative—she was having a hard time making out their faces in the deepening darkness, and while the voices were vaguely familiar, they didn’t bring out the immediate recognition of students she heard every day in the halls or in her classroom—a blaze of light blinded her. Levon pulled her back behind him, shielding her with his body in preparation for an attack.

But it wasn’t some passing person shining a light on them and discovering their hiding spot. Something, or someone, must have tripped the football field’s floodlights. Olive heard a shout, and edged her way around Levon and back to the crack in the wall just in time to see the figures scatter. “Shit!” She caught the curse between her teeth and let it die before it became more than a whisper. “We almost had them!”

“Olive, I didn’t come all the way out here to ride in all by myself, guns blazing, tonight.” Levon sounded amused; more than that, he sounded patronizing. Olive whirled, but anything more she had to say in that second fled from her completely when she realized Levon was directly behind her. In fact, spinning around had planted her right against his chest, his face only inches from her own.

“So… what now?” she asked him after a moment’s careful silence passed between them. Levon seemed oblivious to their proximity as he craned around her to get another look out at