The deputies finally decided they should do something and moved toward Hawk. He moved to intercept before they reached Callie.
Cody tugged Callie’s jeans. “Mom. Maybe we should go with them. Vigilantes keep people safe too.”
Her lashes fluttered, and she rubbed a hand back and forth over her neck, her fingertip tapping the notch there.
“It’s okay if we do.” Cody gulped air, and for the first time tonight he looked his age despite the wisdom coming from his mouth. “He’s tall and fast.” He pointed at me, then swung around to Colt. “He’s funny and makes me laugh.” He glanced at Hawk, and his voice went reverent. “And he knows what he’s doing. They seem like good guys.”
Callie’s throat moved in a hard swallow. She raised her head to the sky and blinked several times. The kid didn’t understand what he was asking her, but we did.
“We can go home after.” Cody left Colt and moved to stand in front of Callie. He wrapped his arms around her waist and dug his chin into her belly button.
“We don’t have to.”
“Please. Just for now.”
If she said no to this kid, her heart had gone harder than I ever dreamed possible. We should be reassuring her that it would all be okay. I didn’t say a damned word. I wanted her at the clubhouse where I could make sure no one came within a hundred yards of her.
Seven years ago, she’d asked me if she was a problem I wanted but couldn’t keep. I hadn’t answered fast enough, and I’d taken too much time after to come up with a proper explanation. I’d answered with protocol instead of a promise, and that silence had helped drive her away. I needed to apologize but the situation was too volatile for me to risk opening my mouth and letting the wrong thing come out.
Then again, maybe she needed a reminder with her favorite word. “Unsecured targets become leverage.”
Her jaw shifted, the grinding sound telling me I hit the mark.
“Someone cut that mark tonight. They were here, and they watched the fire. They gave us a warning shot. There won’t be another.”
“I know what it means.” Her body kept stiffening. She squeezed her arms, then lowered her hands to Cody’s shoulders. He hadn’t moved from in front of her, and she bent to kiss the center of his forehead.
“Then you know staying loose is not an option.”
“What I know is that last time I was on your property, I ended up regretting everything.” She smoothed both hands over Cody’s cheeks. “Everything except this.”
“I know.” And I did. I wasn’t going to even try and dress up our mistakes as anything but the biggest fuckup in my life. “Please, Callie. We can’t force your hand, but we’re the safest bet you have right now.”
16
CALLIE
The ceiling was the same. I registered that before my brain fully woke up. The water stain I’d noticed the couple of nights I stayed in this room behind that locked door with the key clutched in my hand, I’d called myself all kinds of a fool.
I did the same as I rolled upright and attempted to rebraid my hair into a manageable mess. My hands throbbed under the gauze, and after losing the strands of hair three times, I gave up. A burning sensation raced up my arm when I rolled my shoulder. I must have scraped it when we went through the door, or banged it up more than I realized when I hit the gravels.
I winced when I swallowed, the sting of smoke clinging to the back of my throat.
“Cody, time to get up, buddy.”
No answer. My pulse spiked as I turned my head to the second bed Diesel had brought in last night before Hawk handed me the key and promised he’d see me in the morning.
Promise or threat? I still hadn’t decided.
“Cody?” The covers had been thrown back, the bed empty, and Cody’s shoes were missing from the corner where he’d put them last night. No.
I leaped out of the bed and wrenched the door open. Unlocked.Fuck.Who had unlocked the door? Hawk had reassured me last night that I still held the only key. Motherfuckingliar.I should have known better than to trust him.
My bare feet slapped on the cold hardwood as I careened down the hall.
Laughter trickled toward me. Cody’s laughter.
Relief hit so hard I staggered into the wall, pressing the heel of my hand to my sternum and waiting for my heart rate to slow. The mirror on the wall in front of me flashed my reflection at me, highlighting the dark circles under my eyes and the rat nest my hair had become.
