Fuck. What was I supposed to tell him?
He scanned my face, and I realized I didn’t have to say a damned thing. The kid was too smart for his own good, and he’d seen too much to be lied to.
“We’re going to do everything we can to protect you.” The promise grounded me, even if Cody gave me an incredulous look with both eyebrows arched.
His hazel eyes hardened, the look in them so like mine that my heart broke. No six year old should look like that. The worst thing he should have to worry about was whether he lost his favorite toy car.
Cody scooted across the bed and wrapped both of his arms around one of mine. He held on tight, a tremor shaking his body. “You have to look out for Mama too.”
A sleepy yawn interrupted him, and he nestled against my leg, turning so his back pressed into my thigh and he gripped my forearm.
I opened my hand, and he put his face in my palm.
God this kid. I would do anything for him.Anything.
No one was taking him from me. Not him or Callie. I’d die first. I’d kill every single person standing between us if I had to, but I would not ever give them up.
Cody trusted me. He didn’t know I was his father, but he trusted me. I brushed his hair away from his forehead and kissed the messy mop of tangles. “I got you, kid. It’s going to be okay.”
Someway, somehow, I’d keep that promise.
Cody sighed and snuggled in. I didn’t dare move, barely even breathed, until he fell asleep. Even then, I hesitated to break the moment.
I would have to eventually. Callie would want to go to bed, and I needed to talk to her too. The house settled around me with a few familiar creaks and groans. Light footsteps tracked down the hall, and I recognized Hawk’s tread on the stairs. He and Diesel would probably be up all night checking out the drone.
Cody’s lips parted with a puff of air, and he rolled away from me, releasing my hand and grabbing his pillow. He stuffed it beneath his head without opening his eyes, and the slack jaw gave way to a tiny grin and a chuckle as he dreamed.
I pushed to my feet and made my way to the door, leaving it cracked the same way I’d found it.
Where would Callie be? She hadn’t interrupted me, which was its own kind of surprise.
I backtracked toward the kitchen before realizing she’d want to be as far away from the fire as possible. Hawk told her to stay away from the shop, so that was out.
I paused at the end of the hallway and swung left, toward the back door.
Callie sat in a wooden chair a few feet from the door, her body curved forward with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. On anyone else, it would look like defeat. On Callie, it read as a warrior preparing for the next round. She raised her head at my approach but stayed seated.
“Hi.” I grabbed the nearest chair and set it in front of her, dropping into it and raking both hands through my hair.
Callie lifted her head and gave me a weary look, the kind she reserved for moments when she couldn’t decide how to deal with me.
I deserved it.
“Hey.” It came out rough, and she straightened in the chair.
I leaned forward and put my elbows on my knees, inviting her to return to her former posture. The porch light on the other side of the door shone across the yard, illuminating several trees and the men patrolling the perimeter. It also highlighted the dried tear streaks on her cheeks.
Fuck. “I’m sorry for being an asshole.”
She didn’t jump to defend me.
I hadn’t expected her to. I twisted the ring on my middle finger, warming the metal against my skin and giving my hands something to do so I wouldn’t drag her into my lap and beg her to stay with me. “There’s no excuse. I could give you a couple reasons why I do that, but the truth is, I’m scared and I don’t know what to do. But that’s no reason to take it out on you.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t.”
I dropped my hands between my knees. “I’m working on it, Callie. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you know that I’d never do anything to hurt you or Cody.”
She kept quiet a long time, her gaze skimming my face as she considered me. “You scared me tonight, but not the way you think.”
