The Price of Disrespect (Gray Spear Society Book 6) by Alex Siegel Page B

had been at it for hours. Leanna spoke to him in a low, quiet voice.
    Aaron's math education had ended at first year calculus in college. It appeared Wesley was solving complex algebra problems and would be ready for calculus soon.
    "That's pretty hairy stuff for a ten year-old," Aaron said.
    Leanna looked up at him. "Wesley is very smart, sir. It's fun teaching him."
    "As smart as you?"
    "No, but he knows which equations are true just by looking at them."
    "Convenient," he said.
    Wesley was concentrating on a problem with three equations and three variables. It looked difficult. Aaron wasn't sure he could solve it even if he had plenty of time to work on it.
    He walked over to the refrigerator. "Did you guys eat lunch?"
    "Norbert fed us," Leanna said.
    "Wesley and Bethany?"
    "Yes, sir. All three of us."
    Aaron looked in the refrigerator. He needed to send somebody off on a major shopping trip, but there was enough food for a simple lunch. He started grabbing the components of a turkey and cheese sandwich.
    Wesley put down his pencil with a loud thunk. "I got it," he said proudly.
    "That's the correct answer," Leanna said.
    Wesley looked at Aaron. "Where were you this morning?"
    "Ask me again," Aaron said, "but this time in a polite and respectful manner."
    Wesley hesitated. "Please, tell me where you were, sir."
    "I got Tawni out of jail and visited her mother."
    "Why didn't you bring me?"
    "Are we going to have this conversation every time I leave the building?" Aaron stared at Wesley.
    "You promised we would go out together."
    "Later."
    "When?" Wesley said.
    Aaron snarled. This situation was intolerable, but he didn't know what to do about it. "Tonight. We're going to observe a protest in front of the Art Institute. It could turn into a riot, so we'll have to prepare for trouble. Norbert and Tawni will be with us." He rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm taking the Voice of Truth to a riot."
    "Thank you, sir," Wesley said. "It sounds interesting."
    "I'm going to eat my lunch now and take a nap. I'm exhausted. I was on security duty last night, and it was a very tiring shift."
    "Carlos?"
    "How did you know?" Aaron said.
    "He does that kind of thing. Creepy jerk. If you had woke me up, I could've sent him away."
    "Can you tell me how he penetrated all of my security without lighting up a single alarm?"
    "He's dead," Wesley said. "He can become a ghost. He walks through walls."
    "So he's invulnerable, and there's no way to contain him?"
    "And he can suck out your life by just touching you. God was in a very bad mood when He made Carlos."
    Aaron sighed. "No wonder everybody is so damn scared."
    * * *
    "That will be a hundred and twenty dollars," the teller said.
    Tawni handed over her credit card. A minute later, she received a one-way bus ticket to Indianapolis. An old boyfriend lived there and was eager to renew their romance. More importantly, it was a good place for her to hide for a while. In retrospect, she should've left town weeks ago.
    She walked over to one of the plastic benches in the bus station and sat down. Voices echoed from the hard walls and floor in the cavernous space. Two boys were trying to steal candy from a vending machine by sticking their thin arms up the slot. Four nuns wearing habits stood in a small circle and glanced nervously at the people around them. A man wearing filthy clothes sat in the corner with his legs sticking out. It wouldn't be long before the police moved him along.
    Tawni looked down at her purple suitcase. It contained all her possessions, at least the ones worth keeping. She didn't know when she would be back in Chicago. Possibly never. She was planning to start a whole new life. This time she wouldn't make the same stupid mistakes, she hoped.
    She looked up at the clock on the wall. Her bus would be here in ten minutes.
    Twenty minutes later, she was starting to get concerned. The bus system wasn't known for always being on-time, but there had been no announcement. She urgently