Waiting for You (RightMatch.com Trilogy)

Waiting for You

by Kathryn Shay

Praise for Kathryn Shay’s contemporary romances

“Kathryn Shay knows how to pack an emotional wallop.”
Booklist

“A wonderful work of contemporary romance, with a plot ripped straight from the headlines. Kathryn Shay never disappoints.”
NY Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner

“Shay writes an emotion-packed story. With angst and some hot sex, this dramatic tale also has a nice touch of humor.”
RT Book Reviews

Copyright 2012, Kathryn Shay

Cover art by Patricia Ryan

Amazon Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the bookseller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Discover other titles by Kathryn Shay

After The Fire

On The Line

Nothing More To Lose

Someone To Believe In

Close to You

Taking The Heat

Trust in Me

Promises To Keep

Ties That Bind

Still The One

Someone Like You

Maybe This Time

The Betrayal

The Father Factor

Just One Night

A Price Worth Paying

Finally a Family

Michael’s Family

Practice Makes Perfect

A Place to Belong

Against the Odds

The Serenity House Trilogy boxed set

Home for Christmas

Cop of the Year

Because It’s Christmas

Count on Me

Bayview Heights Trilogy boxed set

America’s Bravest boxed set

Chapter 1

“Gunman at East High School. All available RPD units required at the scene.” The urgent call came over the police radio, causing Sergeant Joe Moretti and his partner Shelly to exit the expressway in their unmarked car and race to the school. Although the two of them were alert and ready for anything, they remained calm. But Joe bet the two less experienced cops following in a black-and-white were shaking in their boots. School-violence incidents were taken seriously, and though regular classes wouldn’t start until the fall, a special summer session was held this year. Nobody expected something like this on a lazy August afternoon.

“So I guess this means we aren’t gonna talk anymore about the elusive dancer.” Shelly Banks made the quip as she worked on the laptop. Tall, slender but muscular, she was dressed in a suit, like he was, the jacket removed to reveal a Kevlar vest. Irreverence was her trademark, and Joe’s love life, or lack of it, was a favorite target of hers. They were on their way back to the precinct after lunch and had been discussing his ill-fated online relationship with a woman named Dana when the call came in.

“Give it a rest, Banks.” He nodded to the computer. The SWAT team communicated with her via the machine. “What’s the update?”

“SWAT arrived on the scene. They spoke with the principal. Boy’s seventeen, a loner, of course, a good student.” She frowned at the screen. “Jesus, really good.”

Taking a turn a little too fast, Joe eased off the gas. “Successful-student syndrome. Too much pressure. Just snaps.” Payback time for his pal. “Like you, Banks. Straight freaking A's, right?”

“Yep.” Quiet while she fiddled with the keys, she finally said, “Got a blueprint of the building up. Want to see it?”

“No, we’ve been there before. And it’s my alma mater.”

Joe had graduated from East High School twenty-plus years ago and many of his teachers still taught there. They’d been impressed by his position with the police department since he’d been a C student, concentrating on sports instead of academics. He liked their new image of him. Being a good cop, like his dad, was central to his life.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot. You were a big football star.”

Back then, Joe had outshone every guy on the Spartan field, gotten a full scholarship to college, but had blown out his knee in his second season for Syracuse University.

“Seems like a lifetime ago. We’ll play it by ear to see who talks to the kid.”

“Gotcha.”

The school loomed ahead with its brick façade, two stories and walls of windows. Joe hoped to hell the sharpshooters didn’t have to use any of those windows today. He’d been on a couple of cases where the perpetrator had been taken out with a bullet through the glass, and the result was a horror show. For one so young, the scene would be even worse.

“Damn,” Shelly said staring at the screen. “The kid wants to see a teacher. Ms. Falk. That complicates the situation.”

“Get the principal on the phone. No way is a civilian to go near the lab without us there directing this maneuver.”

Using her cell, Shelly relayed the message to Jack Sherwood. She finished talking to him just as they came to a halt at the double front doors. They bounded out of the car and hurried to the entrance. A sweeping glance of the outside told Joe SWAT was in place on the roof of the building and the backup officers were behind them. Everybody would wait for his assessment.

Once inside, he felt a sharp spike of adrenaline as they raced up the steps. Instinct kicked in with the jolt of energy, and Joe went into full-cop mode. When they exited the stairway, he caught sight of people near a science lab where a boy named Holden Rupert held a class full of kids and one teacher hostage with a sawed-off shotgun. The building had been put on immediate lockdown, though there were only about a hundred students taking classes. Quietly, quickly, they approached the group.

Sherwood let out a heavy sigh when he saw them. “Glad it’s you, Joe.” He angled his head to the room. “This is totally unexpected.”

“We’ll take over now, sir. I need an update from your point of view.”

After Sherwood confirmed what they already knew, the head SWAT guy approached Joe. “We’re ready on your signal, Sergeant Moretti.”

“Let’s hope the situation doesn’t come to that, Johnson.” He pointed to the cell phone the principal held. “You keeping the kid on the line?”

“No, he hung up after he told us to call back when Ms. Falk got here.”

Hell of a thing. “Any idea why he wants to see her?”

“The students like her,” the principal explained. “They say she understands them. Maybe that’s it.”

“Maybe.” And maybe not. After years on the force, Joe knew to assume nothing.

With relief evident in his face, Sherwood handed Joe the phone. Shelly led the school contingent a short distance away and Joe pressed redial.

On the other end, the boy answered, “Ms. Falk?”

“Hello, Holden. This is Sergeant Moretti. I’m a Special Unit officer.”

“I said no cops.” The boy’s voice was trembling, nervous. Not a good sign.

“I know you did, but the school had no choice. I have the training to deal with the situation you’ve created. Can I come in and see you?”

“No. And I’ll shoot one of the other kids unless I get to talk to Ms. Falk.”

Covering the mouthpiece, Joe motioned Shelly over. “Get the teacher. Tell her she’s not going into the lab, but to come down here right away.”

Back on the line, he made sure he remained calm. “Somebody’s getting Ms. Falk. What happened, Holden? Why you doing this?”

“I’m not talking to you.”

“I went to school here, you know.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I did. I loved the place. Why do you hate it?”

“I don’t hate it! I’m mad, is all.”

“About what?”

“I want Ms. Falk!” His voice raised a notch.

“Hold on a second.” Joe put the phone on mute.

From down the hall, a young teacher walked toward him. Hell, she looked about seventeen herself, with a sleek haircut and trendy clothes. He remembered the utter agony of being sixteen and having a hottie for a teacher. Maybe Ms. Falk’s
understanding
of her students wasn’t on Holden Rupert’s mind at all. Could he be trying to get her attention? Impress her in some convoluted way? He’d heard stupider stories for the eruption of violence.

When she and Shelly reached Joe, Sherwood joined them and made the introductions. “This is Evelyn Falk. Evie, this is Sergeant Moretti.”

“Thanks for coming.” He held up the phone. “Any idea why this is happening?”

“No. I can’t believe it. Holden was the best student in my English class last year and now in my summer AP prep course.”

“Anything happen today that might have set him off?”

“We had silent reading time after a brief discussion of a few chapters yesterday. Holden asked to talk to me after the bell rang, but I didn’t want him to be late for science.” She gestured to the lab. “Mr. Jacobs always reams me out for keeping his kids after class. And he’s given Holden a rough time. So I told Holden to come see me at lunchtime.”

Another piece of the puzzle. Joe asked, “What are you reading?”

“Catcher in the Rye.”

“The main character’s name is Holden in the story, Joe,” Shelly put in. She’d been observing and would catch things he missed. Not this one, though.

“Yeah, I remember.” It had been one of the few novels he’d read in high school. Most of the rest had never held his interest. “Could the boy’s actions relate to the book?”

“He
is
taken with the story.”

“Would you talk to him?”

“I guess.”

Drawing the teacher off to the right of the classroom, Joe spoke quietly to her. “Ask him to take the paper off the window of the door. Don’t go anywhere near it, though.”

She took the phone. “Holden, this is Ms. Falk.” A pause. “No, the police won’t let me inside. You can come out, though.” Another pause. “All right. Don’t get upset.” She glanced at Joe, then spoke to Holden again. “Can you remove the paper from the window so I can see you while we talk?”

After a moment, the paper disappeared. In a split second, Evie Falk stepped within view of the window; Joe leaped forward and pushed her out of sight range. She stumbled toward the wall.

A blast. Ear-shattering glass. Joe’s shoulder burned and he was thrown backward onto the floor. His head slammed on the vinyl. The world dimmed, and stinging pain clouded his vision, echoed in his brain. Then there was darkness.

o0o

Dana Devlin sat in a specially designed recliner with her computer perched on her lap. She was
talking
online with Craig Dawson, whom she’d met through a dating service called RightMatch.com. She had a week off from Devlin Dance before the last of the summer workshops started and she vowed not to go into her studio for seven whole days.

Craig returned her instant message, asking again for a date. Leaning back in the chair, sighing heavily, she hesitated. He was nice enough, attractive in his posted picture, and understanding. He even liked some of the same restaurants and shops in the city that she frequented.

But Dana had to admit she kept thinking about JoeyD, another man she’d corresponded with from the dating site. She hadn’t met him in person, either. From his photo, she could tell he was gorgeous, and from his emails, that he was funny, somewhat self-effacing and, shockingly, they had a lot in common. They both exercised religiously, enjoyed the same kind of movies and preferred similar food and desserts. From what she could tell, they had similar values—hard work, close relationships, enjoying simple fun.

Whenever she got the opportunity, she’d rush to open her email and more often than not, find one of his waiting in her inbox. For a while, it had been the highlight of her day. But she’d put him off when
he’d
asked to meet because she was afraid to get involved with someone as dynamic, outgoing and athletic as the handsome cop. At one time, she’d dated men like him routinely. But now, she avoided his type. She avoided any type, really.

Once again, she told Craig she wasn’t ready to meet yet, then discreetly ended the connection. For a few moments, she stared out the window. A breeze drifted inside, cool on her bare arms. Lush oak and maple trees swayed gently in the yard and she could hear the chatter of kids down the street. Dana loved this neighborhood, loved living here and appreciated the convenience of a house in the same suburb of Rockland, New York as her dance studio.

Ruth Cosgrove came rushing into the room. The older woman was a housemate, business partner and all around best friend. “You’ve got to see what’s on TV,” she said, already picking up the remote. Ruth switched on the large plasma television in the corner.