I had started to head out to the petting zoo, no way that small plot of land could be called a farm, but a commotion stopped me. Two drunks had got into a fight, and I’d had to help break it up. While Drew and Bow took witness statements, I watched over them in the cells. Damn idiots. Today was just as busy as yesterday. Gravey had reported chasing some lookie-loos away, and Tracker was with him today. The club’s private church and graveyard would be protected at all costs.
As much as I wanted to chase after Amy, I knew she was safe with Chill. I was sitting at Bow’s desk, leaning back in my chair with my feet on it, when the phone rang.
“Kyleah Adams, she’s a huge problem,” Leila said without a hello. The IT expert, basically the Hawthornes’ PI hacker, didn’t sound amused.
“What’s that cunt done now?” I stopped rocking and swung my legs down and sat up straight.
“The baby ain’t yours, but the daddy is a nasty piece of work. Kyleah ran from him but stole half a mill. He’s tracked her down and doesn’t want the kid but wants his money. Bitch told him you have it, and now the motherfucker’s hunting you.”
“Fuck!” I exclaimed. This was the last thing I needed on top of someone trying to kill Amy.
“Kyleah was also the one who outed Amy’s identity to the media and leaked her whereabouts,” Leila continued.
“I knew the damn whore had overheard what was said!” I growled out. Anger swept through me. Some cheap whore had put my woman’s life at risk. “Who’s the guy?”
“Stefan Marker. A big-time criminal in St. Louis. Kyleah ran from there and latched onto you,” Leila said.
“Can we arrange a meeting with him?”
“Vortex, this asshole is dangerous,” Leila stated.
“So am I. Set something up, Leila. I want Marker off my back with what’s happening with Amy. She’s my priority,” I replied.
“Fine. I’ll get back to you.”
I hung up; there wasn’t much more to say. Stefan Marker, I’d no idea who he was and couldn’t care less. His problem was with Kyleah, not me. Stefan could chase her until the ends of the earth, for all I cared.
Amy
The children took my mind off my problems, and we had a great time. Maybe too much fun. Poet overfilled the feeding troughs, and Cassian got attacked by furious chickens. We had to scatter seed for them to ignore him and give Cassian time to grab the eggs. Chill was full-on laughing when the teen emerged, looking pissed. It was easy to tell Cassian was deciding whether to break the eggs over Chill’s head.
“Don’t bother, or your mum will get a heads-up on who really blew the toilet up,” Chill threatened in a low tone.
Cassian looked betrayed, but held back.
“How’d you know?” Cassian demanded.
“Dude, never play poker, you can’t hide shit,” Chill retorted.
Cassian glared.
“Why did you do it?” I asked.
“Because we wanted to see the town. Mom wouldn’t let us have some time off, so I arranged it so we could,” Cassian replied simply.
Chill snorted, and I grinned. “As a schoolteacher, I shouldn’t be encouraging you, but that was a genius move. I bet half your friends are up here and silently thanking you.”
“You’re a teacher?” Cassian demanded, looking horrified.
“Kindergarten, you’re safe from me. Although if something blows up around me, I’ll look for you,” I replied.
“Shit,” Cassian muttered. “Ain’t you got some sort of code where you have to tell other teachers?”
“Nope. What you did isn’t safeguarding; it’s just teenage pranks. Chill, is there anything else for Cassian to do?”
Chill regarded him. “The feed truck will be here soon. Cassian can unload that, then we’ll go back and check he’s allowed to take the kids around town. If you are, stick to Main Street; your mom has enough worries.”
“Trust me, I know exactly how to look after my brother and sister,” Cassian replied.
