Nodding lightly so I didn’t dislodge her grasp, I touched her wrists and leaned into the touch. “Yeah, we’re good. While we were there?—”
Before I could finish that sentence, my phone rang. Thinking it was Rooster, I grimaced and pulled away to take the call. That uneasy feeling still hadn’t gone away, and I was worried about him.
Except, it wasn’t Rooster’s name on the caller ID. It was Prez’s.
“Yeah, Prez?”
“Zero. Were you with Rooster this afternoon?”
Frowning, I replied, “Yeah. He was with me and the boys until like thirty minutes ago. Why?”
My first thought was that someone had done a stupid prank or something and he was looking for the most likely culprit. I was more than happy to be Rooster’s alibi if that was the case. He didn’t do anything wrong. But before I could ask, Prez cut me off.
“He’s on his way to the hospital. Get to the clubhouse. Now. We’re having an emergency meeting.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
SIMONE
I watched as the blood drained out of Elias’s face as he listened to the other end of the line. Whatever had happened at the mall, whatever the phone call was about, I got the feeling they were both connected, and none of it was good.
“Yeah, Prez. I’m on my way. I understand.”
He hung up and tucked his phone away, but he didn’t automatically speak to tell me what was happening. He actually swayed a little, like whatever he was told scared him so much, he couldn’t remain upright. I put my hands on his chest automatically, supporting him. His arms came around me and when he dropped his forehead onto my shoulder, I cupped the back of his neck, hugging him as tightly as I could.
“Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay.”
His hold tightened a little, but he didn’t answer. Just held me until his hands stopped shaking and he could stand without swaying. When he straightened, he had a grimace on his face. “I hate to ask, you’ve done so much for me already, but–”
“Go. I’ll watch the kids,” I told him without waiting for him to ask. Whatever was happening was obviously important and I didn’t mind sticking around. I’d already planned on spending the evening here anyway.
He didn’t argue this time or try to justify his request. He just nodded, kissed my cheek, and walked out, closing the door and locking it behind him. That was telling in and of itself. I had a lot of questions, and I figured if Elias couldn’t answer them for me, then Jasper could.
Heading up the stairs, I heard drawers opening and closing like Jasper was looking for something. His door opened roughly when I reached the top of the stairs, but he didn’t look at me, heading for Isla’s room with her on his hip and a duffel bag over one shoulder. I watched as he set her down gently and then started ripping open drawers in her room too, grabbing handfuls of clothes and stuffing them into the bag.
“Jasper? What are you doing?”
He didn’t answer me, twisting around to the closet to grab more clothes for Isla. His movements were frantic and caused more clothes to fall onto the floor than in the bag, but it was the terror in his eyes that made me step in. He was scared. Scared teenagers were impulsive, and from the look of it, he was going to run and take his sister with him if I didn’t intervene.
“Jasper. I need you to stop for a second. Put the shirt down.”
For a moment, it looked like he was going to ignore me, his hands shaking as he grabbed a pack of diapers and tried to stuff them in the duffel. I didn’t physically stop him, that would only make things worse, but I wasn’t sure he could pull out of the fear spiral on his own. I put my hand on his, squeezing gently, projecting reassurance without forcing him to put the bag down. His movements hesitated, which was when I noticed he was breathing heavily, almost like he was close to having a panic attack.
“You’re scared,” I murmured, studying his face. His eyes darted around and his face was pale. Something was very wrong. “You’re allowed to feel like that. But you don’t run with an infant without telling an adult why. Tell me what happened, Jasper, so I can help you.”
His eyes snapped to mine and anger tried to replace the fear. He was fighting to regain control, and lashing out was his go-to when he felt out of control.
“You won’t help me! You’re with him! All you care about is what he wants! I don’t care what he wants! I have to keep Isla safe! I promised!”
I didn’t flinch or waver, keeping my tone low and steady to remind him I wasn’t going to back down when he was like this. My teacher voice seemed to be the only thing he was willing to listen to right now. “I understand you want to keep Isla safe. I do too. But I can’t help you do that if I don’t know what you’re afraid of. What’s going on, Jasper? What happened at the mall?”
His breathing got sharper and tears welled in his eyes. To settle him a little, I grabbed Isla from where she’d been playing with the spilled clothes on the floor, handing her to Jasper without a word. He dropped the duffel and held her tight, backing up until his back was against the wall and he had nowhere else to go.
“Look. She’s safe. She’s here with you and no one is going to hurt her. Tell me what happened.”
Just like I’d hoped, holding Isla went a long way in steadying him. He’d always prioritized her. He might be scared, but he refused to scare her in turn by shouting while holding her. Instead, he hugged her tighter as he finally told me what happened.
“We were approached at the mall. Some bikers from that crew causing trouble kept trying to convince me to go with them. When I refused, they started asking about Isla. Said I couldn’texpect Zero to protect her. It sounded like a threat.” Setting his jaw stubbornly, he lifted his chin. “I promised I’d protect her. It’s not safe to stay here. We have to go.”
