Book Review: Over the Line (On the Run #2) by Lisa Desrochers

Over the Line
On the Run #2

By:
Lisa Desrochers

Publisher:
Intermix

Published:
April 19, 2016

Add to
Goodreads

GR's Summary:
The USA Today bestselling author of Outside the Lines once again explores love on the edge in an explosive new romance about obsession, betrayal, and a killer attraction. 

Lee Delgado never planned on falling in love with the irresistible Oliver Savoca, son of a Chicago crime lord. Considering that their families are rivals, she knew it could never work. And now that both their fathers have been nabbed on racketeering charges, any real chance at a future with the man she loves has been shot to hell. But a greater blow is yet to come. 

Not only does Lee learn that a contract is out on her life, she has reason to believe that Oliver is behind the devastating betrayal. Now she’s working closely—very closely—with Federal Agent Sean Callahan to help bring her man down. But however she’s come to feel about Callahan, Lee is still deeply, hopelessly, unabashedly in love with Oliver. 

Where that fearless love takes Lee next is beyond her control—but the risk is worth every beat of her heart. 

On the Run Series:
My Review of Outside the Lines Here

Add this Series to Goodreads Here

My Thoughts:

Over the Line is the second book in the On the Run Series, and is the story of Lee Delgado and Oliver Savoca.  In book 1, Outside the Lines, we learned that the Delgado Family was in witness protection.  Their father, Felix Delgado, the head of the largest and most powerful Sicilian mafia crime family, is serving time in prison.  After an unknown enemy attempted to kill one of the Delgado siblings, they were relocated to Port St. Mary, Florida.  The Delgado's have made a new life for themselves, but Lee can never forget the son of a rival mafia organization, Oliver Savoca.

Oliver and Lee met over a year ago in grad school.  Lee believed that the Savoca's were responsible for the murder of her beloved mother, and so she plotted her revenge against Oliver.  Simultaneously, Oliver planned to get close to Lee, as a means to extract information on the Delgado organization.  A year later, Lee sabotaged the Savoca's gambling website, and if Oliver doesn't find her in enough time to fix it, he will be dead.  

Lee has mixed feelings about Oliver.  She grew to care about him, but knew that he was just using her as a means to get insider information.  However, Oliver fell in love with Lee.  He is determined to prove that he loves her, as well as getting to her in enough time to fix what she messed up; because he fears that his father will retaliate against him as well as Lee.  Can he get Lee to trust him before it's too late, and Lee or himself end up killed?

Over the Line was a great continuation of the On the Run series.  I grew more attached to the Delgado siblings, Rob, Lee, Grant, Ulie, and Sherm; and can't wait to read each of their stories.  In this continuation, we get Lee's and Oliver's point of views.  Lee is struggling to find her niche in Port St. Mary, and worries about the well-being of all of her siblings.  She is a nurturer, and has a mothering quality about her.  

Lee is bored and trying to find a job to keep her busy, but is struggling, due to the fact that she can't be honest about her qualifications and experience on her resume.  In the meantime, Deputy U.S. Marshall Wes Buchanan has shown a romantic interest in Lee.  He is a very good-looking nice guy, and Lee decides to give him a shot.

What we get is a very interesting dynamic where Lee is pulled in two different directions.  She must face her feelings for Oliver Savoca and decide if she can trust him, or if she should move in a different direction with Wes Buchanan.

Over the Line was a riveting read.  I was highly entertained, and on the edge of my seat with the escalating and suspense-filled plot.  There were sexy times, high octane chemistry, and lots of swooning!  The relationship with the Delgado siblings was realistic and one of my favorite aspects of the story.  They fought like cats and dogs, but would do anything for one another.  Grant's story should be next in the series, and Ms. Desrochers gave us the perfect ending that bridges this book to the next.   

My Rating:

I give, Over the Line, by Lisa Desrochers, 4 Dangerous Suspense, Titillating Seduction, On the Run, Taking a Risk Filled Stars.  Romance lovers that enjoy a suspenseful crime romance should check out the On the Run Series! 

Book Teaser:

Purchase At:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks

About Lisa Desrochers:

Lisa Desrochers is the author of the USA Today bestselling A Little Too Far series and the YA Personal Demons trilogy. She lives in northern California with her husband, two very busy daughters, and Shini the tarantula. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places and then take her by surprise. Connect with her online at www.lisadwrites.com, on her blog at lisadesrochers.blogspot.com, on Twitter at @LisaDez, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LisaDesrochersAuthor. 

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Excerpt Reveal: Over the Line (On the Run #2) by Lisa Desrochers

Over the Line
On the Run #2

By:
Lisa Desrochers

Publisher:
Intermix

Release Date:
April 19, 2016

Add to
Goodreads

GR's Summary:
The USA Today bestselling author of Outside the Lines once again explores love on the edge in an explosive new romance about obsession, betrayal, and a killer attraction. 

Lee Delgado never planned on falling in love with the irresistible Oliver Savoca, son of a Chicago crime lord. Considering that their families are rivals, she knew it could never work. And now that both their fathers have been nabbed on racketeering charges, any real chance at a future with the man she loves has been shot to hell. But a greater blow is yet to come. 

Not only does Lee learn that a contract is out on her life, she has reason to believe that Oliver is behind the devastating betrayal. Now she’s working closely—very closely—with Federal Agent Sean Callahan to help bring her man down. But however she’s come to feel about Callahan, Lee is still deeply, hopelessly, unabashedly in love with Oliver. 

Where that fearless love takes Lee next is beyond her control—but the risk is worth every beat of her heart.

On the Run Series:
Add this Series to Goodreads Here

Book Teaser:

Book Excerpt:

     I want Lee to know, no matter where she goes, I will find her. 
     At the thought of her betrayal, rage rises up and wraps like an iron cloak around my heart, threatening to crush any bit of humanity left there. I close my eyes and hold my breath until it passes. 
     And I see her as she was before everything that came after—that first day of business law class at Kellogg, nearly two years ago. 
     She was starting her first year. I was in my second. I was already seated near Angela Bagglio, who I had a passing interest in due to her loose family ties to the Delgado organization. Her brother was a wiseguy wannabe, little more than a glorified gofer within the Delgado machine. But I’d discovered, sometimes it was the smallest details that led to the largest victories.
     When Lee Delgado sashayed into the classroom, I’d like to say I was unaffected. I’d like to believe I was in complete control of everything that happened then and after. 
     But I’d be kidding myself. 
     Her bright hazel eyes surveyed the room, and when they caught for a second as they passed over me, I felt a shift in gravity itself. There were times reading nuances in expressions and actions was all that came between me and a slug in my head. That hitch in her perusal of the room left no doubt she was aware who I was. 
     From that second on, I was helpless to take my eyes off her. 
     Her sandy brown waves cascaded over the shoulders of her cream-colored silk blouse to an open collar that hung loose, revealing a hint of cleavage. Her burgundy pencil skirt hugged the round curves of her hips and ass and ended above the knee, giving me a glimpse of a pair of toned thighs and calves. She had a killer body and knew it. I had to respect a woman who knew her strengths and wasn’t afraid to use them to her advantage. 
     She took a seat in my row, but on the opposite side of the classroom. I was barely coherent when the professor started lecturing. I couldn’t tell you the first thing he said. 
     As she listened, she lifted a hand and combed through her waves with her fingers, separating out a strand and twirling it around her finger. A rush shuddered from my tailbone up my spine to my brain, and even though I had no clue why, that was the moment I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stay away. 
     The rest, as they say, is history. 
     If she thinks she can hide from me, she’s got another thing coming. 
     Mob controlled gambling has always been a huge racket, with better payouts because we don’t pay taxes like the legal betting sites. Back in the day, bookies were involved and actual cash changed hands. Now nearly everything is electronic. Bets are collected directly from our clients’ online accounts and payouts are distributed back into them. Payout is calculated after each event based on outcome versus the spread. It’s one of the parts of my job that I truly enjoy. I’m always in the program, tweaking and modifying. But, suddenly, the week before Christmas, two days after Lee and I returned from our weekend in Aspen, I noticed the spread didn’t factor anymore and our payouts went through the roof. I thought maybe I’d screwed something up and tried to get into the program to check it. Ended up throwing my laptop against the wall when my pass code wouldn’t get me in. 
     It took me the next two days, and the fact that Lee wasn’t answering my texts or calls, to put together what had happened. Though I’m not sure exactly how she managed it, I know it had to have been her who hacked into my program and changed the payout ratios. I’ve looked at it from every angle and there are no other feasible possibilities. And it makes sense. I had an ulterior motive when we started hooking up, and I had no doubt she had one of her own. But as we got deeper into each other, things shifted and I lost focus. I let down my guard and gave her too much, and she took advantage of the opening. 
     I knew I wouldn’t be seeing her over the holidays because her siblings were all coming back to the family home in Wilmette, just outside of Chicago, for Christmas. It took me another day to decide I had no choice but to go there. 
     But when I got to the house, the place was swarming with cops and Feds, and yellow police tape was strung across the pillars at the front door. The reports the next day said it was believed the Delgados had fled to Europe after a “gangland style attack” on their home. 
     The online gambling leg of our business has been bleeding cash at the rate of nearly a hundred grand a month since Lee fucked with the program. Every month it gets worse as word spreads of our big payouts. The guy who designed and encrypted the program is dead; a casualty of my father’s wrath when he made the mistake of telling Victor he’d corrected a system glitch that had cost us a couple hundred grand over the first year of implementation. I’ve done everything I can to break Lee’s pass code, but considering the illegal nature of the account, and the fact that I couldn’t enlist anyone who might report back to Victor what happened, my resources to resolve the issue have been severely limited.
     So I put my time and energy into another avenue. Finding Lee. 
     Like everyone else in Chicago, I assumed that my father was responsible for the contract on Lee and her family. I talked to his guys. Tried to see if any of them had a bead on the Delgados’ location. I couldn’t find anyone who was even looking. 
     So, as much as I dreaded it, I went straight to the source. 
     I was dead to my father. He’d made that clear. But that day, for the first time since I’d crossed him, Victor looked at me with pride in his eyes when he asked, “You purchase that special delivery for our friends up in Wilmette?” 
     And that’s when I knew it wasn’t us. It’s also when I knew I was a dead man unless I could find a way out of this mess on my own. 
     So I looked harder for Lee, dug a little deeper into the Delgado family tree. I didn’t find her, but I managed to stumble on some other useful information during my search. And then, finally, the stroke of luck that led me here: Rob showing up in Chicago. 
     I’ve been able to keep everything under the rug since she left, but underground betting has always been the Savoca business’s bread and butter. If Victor or anyone else in the organization discovers the hemorrhage of cash that our gambling ring has become, it’s my head my loving pop will want on a spike. 
     I told the guys I had some personal business in Vegas; gave Al a direct order to park his ass at my apartment and not to move until I got back. I took a flight to Vegas, and from there, traveled to Florida on an ID I pinched off of a guy we rolled in Little Italy for not making book. He’s dead now, courtesy of Al, so he won’t be divulging my alter ego to anyone. 
     My family doesn’t know this particular alias. They’d have a hard time tracking me. Once I find Lee, things should move pretty fast. But I have to find her first. 
     So here I am.

Prorder At:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks

About Lisa Desrochers:

Lisa Desrochers is the author of the USA Today bestselling A Little Too Far series and the YA Personal Demons trilogy. She lives in northern California with her husband, two very busy daughters, and Shini the tarantula. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places and then take her by surprise. Connect with her online at www.lisadwrites.com, on her blog at lisadesrochers.blogspot.com, on Twitter at @LisaDez, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LisaDesrochersAuthor.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Excerpt Reveal Organized By:

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Blog Tour: Outside the Lines (On the Run #1) by Lisa Desrochers

Outside the Lines
On the Run #1

By:
Lisa Desrochers

Release Date:
Jan. 19, 2016

Publisher:
InterMix

Add to
Goodreads

Source:
eARC from the publisher in exchange for a honest review

Book Summary:

From the author of the USA Today bestselling A Little Too Far series, the first in an edgy new contemporary romance series that follows a family on the run... 

As the oldest son of a Chicago crime lord, Robert Delgado always knew how dangerous life could be. With his mother dead and his father in prison, he’s taking charge of his family’s safety—putting himself and his siblings in witness protection to hide out in a backwater Florida town. 

Fourth grade teacher Adri Wilson is worried about the new boy in her class. Sherm is quiet and evasive, especially when he’s around his even cagier older brother. Adri can’t help her attraction to Rob, or the urge to help them both in whatever way she can. 

But the Delgados have enemies on two sides of the mob—their father’s former crew and the rival family he helped take down. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds them. And if Rob isn’t careful, Adri could end up in the crossfire...

On the Run Series:

Add this Series to Goodreads Here

 

My Thoughts:

After reading Lisa Desrochers, A Little too Far Series, I have become a huge fan of hers.  When I heard that Ms. Desrochers had written a new book, the start of a whole new series, I was beyond giddy.  The On the Run Series focuses on the Delgado Family.  Their father, Felix Delgado, is the head of the biggest old Sicilian Mafia crime family in Chicago.  When he goes to prison, he negotiates to get his family into the witness protection program and secures a lighter sentencing; as part of the plea bargain established in exchange for giving information on a rival family.  After a hit is attempted on nine year old Sherm, the family relocates to the remote and small island of Port St. Mary.  They are given a new identity, a new history, and must leave their old life and previous contacts behind.

Outside the Lines focuses on the oldest brother, 24 year old Rob Delgado.  Rob is determined to protect his family at all costs.  He looks as their move to Port St. Mary as temporary, until he can figure out who wants his family dead, exact vengeance on their enemies, and reclaim their birthright.  With the help of oldest sister, Lee, Rob takes on the brunt of family responsibility.  The twins, 21 year olds, Grant and Ule aren't making it easy with their incessant bickering and complaining.  The youngest sibling, Sherm, has withdrawn in to himself, refusing to talk, and showing fear of Rob, ever since he saw his older brother kill the man who attempted to murder him.

When Rob meets Sherm's new fourth grade teacher, Adri Wilson, he tries to keep his distance from her.  Rob has warned all of his siblings not to get involved with anyone in their new town and risk blowing their cover.  However, little by little, Adri worms her way into both Sherm and Rob's heart.  She is very caring, compassionate, and can see beyond the facade that Rob has built, and the walls that he has erected.  He can't seem to stay away from Adri, and she is determined to get him to open up to her, and learn all of his secrets.  If Rob and Adri aren't careful, she could put herself and the Delgado family in danger....  

The first part of the story was slow moving, as the author really took the time to establish the characters and foundation for the story.  I was very interested, but was waiting for plot twists and action to speed up the pacing.  Just as I began the second half of the book, the pacing of the story really began to pick up.  I love how Ms. Desrochers really built up the anticipation between Rob and Adri.  Their relationship was a slow-burn, and I devoured every little morsel.  As I learned more about the danger that everyone was in, I too kept trying to figure out who their enemies were.  Was it someone in their own organization, or a rival family?  The mystery and suspense of this conundrum had me dying for answers.  While we learn a little bit, we still have a lot more information to uncover.

The next book in the series, Over the Line, will be Lee Delgado's story.  I loved her character in this story, and cannot wait to read her book. Lee is strong, independent, courageous, nurturing, and very protective of her siblings.  She too has been trying to get more information on her family's enemies.  It appears that she was in love with a rival mafia bosses' son, and thinks she was betrayed by him.  Also, one of the detectives has a crush on her.  Lee's story promises to give readers more answers, anticipation, romance, and suspense.  I can't wait to read this whole series!  I can tell I'm going to love it!!! 

My Rating:

I give, Outside the Lines, by Lisa Desrochers, 4 Slow Burning Romance, Anticipatory, Mysterious, and Suspense-Filled Stars!

Book Teasers:

Preorder At:

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Google Play | Kobo

About Lisa Desrochers:

Lisa Desrochers is the author of the USA Today bestselling A Little Too Far series and the YA Personal Demons trilogy. She lives in northern California with her husband, two very busy daughters, and Shini the tarantula. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places and then take her by surprise. Connect with her online at www.lisadwrites.com, on her blog at lisadesrochers.blogspot.com, on Twitter at @LisaDez, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LisaDesrochersAuthor. 

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Blog Tour Organized By:

http://www.inkslingerpr.com

Excerpt Reveal : Outside the Lines by Lisa Desrochers

     

From the author of the USA Today bestselling A Little Too Far series, the first in an edgy new contemporary romance series that follows a family on the run... 

As the oldest son of a Chicago crime lord, Robert Delgado always knew how dangerous life could be. With his mother dead and his father in prison, he’s taking charge of his family’s safety—putting himself and his siblings in witness protection to hide out in a backwater Florida town. 

Fourth grade teacher Adri Wilson is worried about the new boy in her class. Sherm is quiet and evasive, especially when he’s around his even cagier older brother. Adri can’t help her attraction to Rob, or the urge to help them both in whatever way she can. 

But the Delgados have enemies on two sides of the mob—their father’s former crew and the rival family he helped take down. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds them. And if Rob isn’t careful, Adri could end up in the crossfire...

Release Date: January 29th, 2016

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Excerpt:

Chapter 2 
Adri 

“Is this straight?” Dad asks, peering in the mirror across from the front door and messing with the badge on the breast pocket of his blue shirt. 

There is almost no crime on our little island because Dad is legendary for taking down drug rings and poachers, but when it comes to the little things, like pinning his badge on straight, he still needs help. 

That’s why I’m here. 

When Mom died last spring, I came back from Jacksonville so I could live at home and help Dad. He and Mom were high school sweethearts and married not long after graduation. He’s always been taken care of. I don’t want him to be alone. 

I move to where he is and turn him, unpinning the badge and straightening it. I smooth his salt and pepper hair off his forehead and stretch up on my toes to kiss the smooth patch of cheek above the line of his beard. “I seriously doubt they’re going to send the Chief of Police home for a dress code infraction.” 

“We’ll see,” he chuckles, giving my blond ponytail a gentle tug. “You ready for your first day influencing the youth of Port St. Mary?” 

I was over the moon when I got the call three days ago that Mrs. Martin had had surgery and they needed a long-term sub for her class. Not that I’m happy they hacked out her gallbladder or anything, but her loss is my gain, so to speak. 

I come from a long line of educators. Mom was my first grade teacher. Both of her sisters, her father, and her grandfather taught as well. You could say it’s in my DNA. I resisted it for a while, thought I wanted to go into finance, but by my junior year at Clemson I had to finally admit to myself teaching was what I really wanted to do. I changed my major to Education and finished my credential just before Mom died. 

Since her death, it’s felt even more urgent to me to teach—like maybe following in her footsteps will somehow keep her spirit alive. But Port St. Mary and the surrounding communities are small, and teaching jobs are pretty scarce. I was afraid I was going to have to try elsewhere come fall. This was a prayer answered…which makes me a little afraid I might have had something to do with poor Mrs. Martin’s gallbladder flaring up. And now it’s starting to feel like one of those “be careful what you wish for” scenarios. 

I rub my sweaty palms down my slacks. “What happens if they hate me?” 

Dad wraps me in his arms and squeezes me in a bear hug, crushing the air out of my lungs. “They’re going to love you, punkin. Your mom would be so proud of you right now,” he says, a catch in his voice. “I hope you know that.” 

I swallow back the lump in my throat and look up at him. I can’t even remember the last time he’s brought her up out of the blue like this. “I know, Dad, but thanks for saying so.” He lets me go and I shoulder my messenger bag. “Time to face the music.” 

We step out the back door to where my old electric blue Chevy Lumina is parked in the driveway, next to Dad’s only slightly less conspicuous cruiser. Dad watches as I slide in and turn the key. The engine chugs but doesn’t turn over. 

I blow out a breath and pop the hood. By the time I grab the monkey wrench on the floor of the passenger side and get out of the car, Dad already has the hood propped up and is looking over the engine compartment. 

“Don’t mess with Frank, Dad.” I point my finger in a circle at the guts of my poor Frankencar. Me and my best friend Chuck rebuilt most of the insides from junkyard parts when we took auto shop our senior year in high school. “It’s a delicate balance.” 

He grins and steps back, his hands in the air. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

I will always love Frank—he was my first—but I know I need a new car. Dad’s offered me Mom’s T-Bird, but I’m twenty-three. I’m supposed to be responsible for myself at this point. And besides, I’d rather he sold Mom’s car and put the money towards his retirement. Even though Port St. Mary is pretty sleepy most of the time, everyday he goes to work, I worry. 

I reach between the radiator and the engine and give the alternator a sharp rap with the wrench, then slip back into the driver’s seat. When I turn the key, Frank chugs twice, same as always, then rumbles to life. 

Dad ducks into the cruiser and gives me a little salute as I pull out. 

Port St. Mary Elementary is only about two miles from home. It takes a grand total of eight minutes to drive there. Technically, it’s a one-room schoolhouse. The tiny twelve-space parking lot butts up against an octagonal building, which, in fact, is just one big room inside. In the exact center of the building are the bathrooms and storage closets, and from there, folding accordion partitions section off each wedge of the octagon. Each wedge is a grade level, kinder through sixth, and a multipurpose room. To the right of the parking lot is a doublewide “portable” that houses the school offices and small staff room. Behind that, children are already gathering in the playground, which is really just a weed-infested lot with a slide and jungle gym that has been there since before I started kindergarten here. 

When I walk around the octagon to the door marked with a big yellow four and step inside, it’s like deja vu all over again. Mrs. Martin (she told me to call her Pam when we talked on the phone about the lesson plan yesterday, but I can’t bring myself to) has had the same posters on the walls since the dawn of time. The presidential chart ends with Reagan. She had already been teaching fourth grade in this same classroom for, like, twenty years when I had her. I move to her desk, to the right of the door, and set my bag on it. And that’s when I see the note from Principal Richmond. 

A new student. 

I brush my palms down my slacks again, a fresh jolt of nerves twisting my insides into knots. I was already going to be way over my head with a classroom full of nine-year-olds fresh off Christmas vacation and all sugared up on candy canes. 

I look over the instructions. Sherman William Davidson needs his reading comprehension assessment, writing and grammar evaluation, and his math skills worksheet completed by the end of the week. 

I blow a wisp of hair off my forehead and unpack my toothpaste and toothbrush, my journal, and a few of my favorite colored pens into Mrs. Martin’s desk, careful not to displace her things too much. I’m just pulling the assessments for the new kid from the file cabinet when the classroom door opens. I hear Principal Richmond’s gravel voice before I turn around. “…and his classroom is here. We just got word a few days ago that our regular fourth grade teacher is out on medical leave, but Sherman will be in good hands with Ms. Wilson. She’s a very capable substitute.” 

I take a deep breath as I turn and hope he’s not lying. 

I substituted five times during fall semester. For the most part, everything went great until I subbed for Mrs. Yetz’s eighth grade class the week before winter break. Somehow, what started out as a math lab on probability devolved into a liar’s dice tournament, complete with money changing hands. I wasn’t sure they’d call me back after that. 

But when I see Principal Richmond waddle his round frame through the door, I straighten the scarf I tied over my favorite teal sweater and try to look as confident in what he said as he does. 

“Ms. Wilson,” he says, waving me over. “This is your new student, Sherman.” 

Sherman is a wiry little thing with unruly brown hair and clothes that hang off him a little. He looks as if he’d vanish into himself if given the chance. 

“He goes by Sherm,” the man standing next to him says. 

I look up into some of the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen. Heavy dark brows curve over irises the color of honey with burgundy flecks through them. Thick brown waves are loose around a strong face with angled cheekbones, and a square jaw covered in two-day stubble. Set in flawless olive skin are lips so firm and red they make me forget the frown that’s turning them down slightly at the corners. He’s just so…gorgeous, like something out of a magazine or a movie. And he’s tall—well over six feet of broad shoulders tapering to narrow hips under his blue button-down shirt. The tails are loose over pressed jeans that fit him just so. Everything about him is tailored and cultured and nothing like any of the year-rounders who live on this bumpkin island. But it’s not just the way he looks. A blend of confidence and something else I can’t identify but makes him feel a little intimidating wafts off him with the spicy cologne I keep catching hints of. He’s nothing like anyone I’ve ever met, even at Clemson. 

I feel my jaw dangling and snap it closed, pulling myself together long enough to extend an arm. “I’m Adri.” 

Principal Richmond clears his throat, and when I flick a glance his direction, I know my ogling didn’t go unnoticed. His brow is deeply furrowed and his frown curves so low it makes him look like one of those marionettes, where their chin is a whole different piece of wood than the rest of their face. 

My eyes bulge and I shift my outstretched hand to Sherm. “I mean, Miss Wilson. Welcome to Port St. Mary, Sherm.” 

The boy just looks at me with sad eyes the color of his…father’s? 

My gaze gravitates back to the guy towering over me. Could he be Sherm’s dad? He looks way too young to have a nine-year-old. He also looks all business. There’s nothing soft or nurturing in his cold, sharp gaze as it flicks around the classroom, silently assessing. 

“What’s on the other side of those partitions?” he asks Principal Richmond. 

“The third and fifth grade classrooms,” he answers. The guy’s eyes continue to scan the room. “He’ll spend all day in here?” The principal nods. “Except when he’s on the playground.” 

“Is there security on campus?” 

Principal Richmond looks momentarily perplexed, rubbing his round stomach as if he’s thinking with it. “Not as such. We have yard monitors during recess and lunch, and the teachers are responsible for the children when they’re here in class.” 

“What about lunch?” 

“He can bring his own lunch, or buy a bag lunch from Nutritional Services for three dollars. Either way, if it’s nice weather, the children eat outside at the picnic tables. On rainy days, we open the partitions and they eat inside as a group.” 

The guy reaches into his pocket, but Principal Richmond holds up his hand to stop him when he comes out with a thick wad of cash. “We don’t allow students to carry money on campus. When we’re done here, I’ll take you to the office and have you purchase a scan card for Nutritional Services.” 

The guy nods, then moves to the door and jiggles the knob. “The exterior doors are left unlocked?” 

“During school hours, yes.” Principal Richmond answers, moving to my desk and shuffling through the papers I pulled for Sherm. 

The guy’s full lips narrow into a tight line and he scowls at the door. He spins and starts toward the door in the back of the room, leaving no stone unturned. 

I wipe my hands down my slacks again and decide just to ask. “So, you’re Sherm’s father?” 

His feet stall on the chipped linoleum and he seems to finally notice I exist. “Brother,” he answers, and that one word seems to carry the weight of the world with it as it falls from his mouth. 

His eyes make a slow sweep of my face, and as they trail down my neck, the front of my sweater, over my hips and down my legs, I’m frozen in place, paralyzed by the intensity of his gaze. 

Principal Richmond shoves some papers in my face, breaking the spell. “You still have fifteen minutes until the bell. Maybe you can get Sherman started on these.” 

“Um…” I grab the papers out of his hand as Big Brother blinks, some of the thickest lashes I’ve ever seen hiding those incredible eyes. “Yeah. We’ll do that...” 

Principal Richmond guides Big Brother to the door. “Let’s get out of their way and let them get started. I’m sure Sherman will have a positive experience here. Children his age tend to adjust quickly,” he’s saying as the door swings closed behind them.

About the Author:

    

Lisa Desrochers is the USA Today bestselling author of A LITTLE TOO FAR, courtesy of HarperCollins. Look for the companions, A LITTLE TOO MUCH (11/12/13), and A LITTLE TOO HOT (1/21/14), and also her Personal Demons trilogy (Macmillan). 

Lisa lives in northern California with her husband, two very busy daughters, and Shini the tarantula. When she's not writing, she's reading, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise. Find her online at www.lisadwrites.com, on Twitter at @LisaDez, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LisaDesrochersAuthor .