“She was beaten pretty severely. Her social worker called to let us know she wouldn’t be in school. I know she’s a favorite of yours and you have a relationship with some of the people at VACA. I thought you’d want to know.”
Tinker. Oh, god. “I— I need to go.” She untied the smock and slipped it over her head, throwing it on her desk. “I need to— Shit. My class.”
“It’s okay. I’ll get someone to cover it. I’ll cover it myself if I need to. Go do what you need to do.”
Abby grabbed her purse from the table behind the door. She stopped in the doorway. “Thank you, Isaac.”
He nodded and she ran for the entrance, ignoring the call of one snarky student who told her no running in the halls.
Her phone rang through the car speakers as she pulled out of the teacher’s parking lot.
“Hello?”
“Abby, it’s Katherine. Have you spoken to Tinker in the last hour?”
“No, but I heard what happened. The school got a call,” Abby said.
“Have you tried calling him? He’s not answering his cell phone or his work phone,” Katherine said.
“I’m on my way there now.”
“Abby…Tinker is going to lose his shit when he finds out. He was really close to Melanie.”
“I know.” Abby came to a stop at the red light and tapped her thumb against the steering wheel. “How did this even happen?”
“The mom’s boyfriend was released on probation.”
Abby placed her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. “Jesus.” She could only imagine how Tinker was going to react when he heard. She jumped when a horn sounded behind her and raised her hand in apology.
“I’ll be at his office soon. I’ll call as soon as I can,” she promised.
“Okay,” Katherine said. “We’re here when you need us.”
Abby didn’t remember the rest of the drive to TLC, only the frantic urgency to get there as quickly as she could. Shoving through the exterior and interior glass doors of TLC’s entry, she found Graham Senior at the reception desk, magazine in hand and coffee cup in the other. So normal. Maybe Tinker hadn’t heard.
“Hey, pretty lady,” Graham Senior said. “Here to see Tinker?”
“He’s here?” she confirmed.
“Far as I know. Haven’t seen him pass through here since he came in this morning.” He must have sensed her panic because he set his mug and magazine down and straightened in his chair. “What’s wrong?”
A roar came from the hallway on her right that led to the offices. And Tinker.
“Abby wait?—”
But she couldn’t—she needed to get to Tinker. She raced down the short hallway. He was off to the side of the room, close to his desk. Paige, Graham, Angie, and a couple of guys whose names she couldn’t recall at the moment stood around him. They looked like game wardens trying to calm down a cornered animal. With his fists clenched, every muscle in his body clenched, neck tendons straining, that’s what he looked like—a cornered animal.
He roared again. Putting his whole body into releasing his anger.
Through the rage and anger she saw what was really driving him though. Pain. So much pain. The pain of someone who tried to take on the hurt of others and had failed.
“Christian,” she said softly.
His head jerked in her direction.
Graham saw where he looked and stepped toward him. “Tinker, calm down.”
Tinker shoved past him. If she didn’t know him, didn’t know how gentle and tender he could be, how caring he was down to his very core, she’d be afraid of the raging beast bearing down on her.
