She opened her mouth. Closed it. Turned on her heel and escaped through the door.

Zeke didn’t hurry as he gathered up his papers and followed. Cate would be long gone already.

But she couldn’t hide from him . . . or the magnetism between them . . . forever.

He’d made his position clear. She knew what he wanted as soon as their cases wrapped.

All he could do was hope that in the days to come, she’d think about that kiss . . . remember what they’d once had . . . dig deep for forgiveness . . . and let him prove to her that this time around, he was here to stay.

17

YES!

It had taken him two days, but Evans had followed through on his promise.

Cate reread the typed note the man had slipped her without comment as he’d passed the table she’d claimed in the cafeteria for a solitary late-afternoon snack.

Relaxation is healthy for mind and body. It can be found at the bench in the gazebo behind the school. Best done alone. Enjoy.

This was what she’d been waiting for.

He’d been more subtle than she’d expected, more careful, but that was understandable. Giving drugs to minors wasn’t only unethical, it was illegal.

At least he hadn’t compounded the crime by attaching any personal strings to his gift.

Yet.

She shoved her arms into the sleeves of her coat, hefted her backpack, and made a beeline for the exit.

Halfway down the hall, though, she slowed her pace.

Whatever he’d left for her wasn’t going anywhere, and wandering around the grounds in this weather, toting a backpack, could raise a few eyebrows.

It would be smarter to drop her books in her room before moseying out to the gazebo.

Fifteen minutes later, she braved the cold again after donning latex gloves under her Sealskinz version and retrieving a small ziplock bag during her detour to the dorm.

Dusk was descending, that nebulous interval between day and dark that camouflaged movement. Perfect cover for her to poke around the shrub-rimmed gazebo on the expansive back lawn, in the center of gardens barren save for a few desiccated plants.

It took less than five minutes to find the small, lightweight, cylindrical packet wrapped in brown paper that was taped under one of the benches inside the structure.

No question about the contents.

And despite Evans’s instruction, no one was going to be enjoying this baby except the people in the police lab.

Cate slipped the package inside the plastic bag, tucked it in her coat, put her gloves back on, and checked her watch.

Drat.

Zeke would be gone by now, since she’d texted him after Spanish class that she had to cancel their tutoring session to prepare for a trig exam tomorrow.

Yeah, yeah, she’d chickened out.

Not her usual style—but all the rules were different with Zeke.