Last Hit (Hitman) (44 page)

The teacher’s assistant handed Bo, who was sitting at the end of our table, a sheet and he scribbled his name and another. I wondered who he was partnering with and why he wasn’t sitting next to that person. I didn’t know what to write down, given that I avoided all the other students and knew only a few names, none of whom were sitting in this room. But Bo didn’t hand me the sheet when he was done. Instead, he leaned past me and laid it on the far side of the empty table, where another student grabbed it and started writing.

“Hey,” I said, trying to reach for the paper, but Bo covered my hand and jerked his chin at the first-year to go ahead.

I rounded on Bo. “I didn’t get to write my name down.”

“You don’t have to,” Bo said, still holding my hand in his. His large hand made me feel tiny and fragile and, briefly, I allowed myself to enjoy the feeling of being protected, like Bo was the shell of my frail turtle body. I shook it off and reminded myself I had my own protective casing called self-reliance. I tugged gently, but he refused to let me go. “We’re going to be lab partners.”

“We? As in you and I?”

“That would be the correct composition of individuals making up the ‘we’ in my sentence.”

“But…” I wasn’t sure whether I was secretly indignant or relieved.

“You don’t want to be stuck with a first-year. You’re smart, given that you were in advanced theory last semester. You’ll be a good lab partner.”

“But are you a good lab partner for me? You’re taking a first-year elective in your third year. You were in advanced economic theory with me, a sophomore.”

Bo laughed but then grew serious. “Fair enough. Yes. I have good grades, and I never let a teammate down.”

A tremor shot through me at Bo’s words. I didn’t have many people on my team, and this guy, this much-wanted guy, was suggesting he was going to stand beside me?
It
’
s for the class
, I cautioned myself. But the part that crushed on Bo all last semester? That small, secret part was whispering things I knew I should not allow myself to believe. Like that Bo wanted to be on
my
team.

I looked down at my hand, still engulfed in Bo’s, and knew that
want
was winning the battle against
fear
.

Contact Me

Bo and AnnMarie's story is told in
Unspoken
, the second in the Woodlands series. It is available now at
Amazon
.

If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review at Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any other reader site or blog you frequent.

I love hearing from my readers, so drop me a line at [email protected]. You can also find me on Facebook (
Facebook.com/AuthorJenFredrick
) or Twitter (
@jenSfred
).

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblence to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 Jessica Clare | Jen Frederick

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduce in any fashion without the express, written consent of the copyright holder.

PEAR TREE LLC

Cover Photo Cover Photo © zamphotography - Fotolia.com

Cover Design by Meljean Brook

ISBN-13: 9780989247962

First Edition: December 2013

www.jillmyles.com | www.jenfrederick.com