Page 61 of Single Mom's Biker Brigade
Cody hugged her tight then flew to the bed and launched himself into the middle, grabbing the covers and yanking them up to his chin. “Closet, Colt.” He pointed, covers over his mouth and nose.
I opened the closet door and stuck my head into the empty space. My stomach turned over at the reminder they had nothing here. The clothes Cody wore came from an early morning ride to the store. Callie had little more than the clothes on her back. “Clear.”
“Louder.” Cody nestled into the bed. “And check the window.”
I did as he requested, checking everything until he felt safe in his space. “That it?”
Cody settled against the pillow. “Mom usually reads to me, but I don’t have any books here.”
“What are your favorites?” I’d have them here tomorrow night. I might be shit at a lot of things, but I could make sure my kid had clothes and his favorite toys and books.
He rattled off a list and I typed them into my phone.
“Colt?”
“Yeah?”
Eyes closed, Colt turned on his side and curled into a ball. “Thanks for fixing my car.”
“You’re welcome.” I backed out of the room. “Light on or off?”
“Off.” He yawned and I eased the door closed.
I didn’t know my son’s nighttime routine because Callie kept him from me. That white-hot twisting feeling gained momentum. She had to correct me about the monsters. I could’ve been offended but the I focused on the other feeling, the one that demanded answers.
The kitchen was quiet when I entered. Someone had left the coffee on, and Callie poured a cup and stood at the counter with both hands wrapped around the mug. Her back was to me, but I didn’t exactly try to sneak into the room.
I pulled out a chair and sat. “I need you to tell me why you left. Now.”
She turned slowly, setting the mug on the counter. “You sure?”
“You kept my son from me.” The hot feeling in my chest burned with enough force that I tried to rub it away. “I deserve an answer.”
“Fine.” She dragged out a second chair and sat with her hands in her lap. “I found out I was pregnant the same day I heard about the Hellhounds asking for me. Rita explained what that meant, that my life was never going to be my own.”
My teeth ached from clenching my jaw, but I didn’t interrupt.
“I realized I couldn’t tell Hawk because he’d lock me down. I couldn’t tell you because you’d blow up, then you’d tell Hawk on your way out of town.”
“You don’t know that.” I tried to keep my tone even, but it all went to shit as I surged to my feet.
Callie rose too, putting us toe to toe. “Really? What don’t I know? Because from where I’m standing, Hawk is still trying to lock me down.”
“I’m. Here.” I drilled my finger into the table with each word. “You had no right to take my son and assume that I would abandon him. That I’d abandon you.”
“Then tell me why every time I tried to talk to any of you about the threats, you all told me to calm down? You patted me on the head and told me to let you all worry about it. Like I was already no longer in control of my life. You all discussed me like I was a problem, a liability you had to handle. I wasnevera part of your life. Running was the only move I had, the only choice you gave me. Because it was mine.” She poked me in the chest with the last word.
I captured her hand in both of mine. Guilt settled hard and cold in my gut, chilling the rage as the truth wrapped around my heart and squeezed. I’d failed her. “You’re right, I didn’t listen. I’m sorry that I brushed off your concerns. We did believe you, we were trying to take care of everything without scaring you.”
“Don’t ever do that again. Don’t ever make me feel unheard while you work behind my back. It’s my life, and I will be a part of every decision, or I will be out that door with Cody so fast you won’t even see it happen.”
The threat lingered between us. The heat of her promise hit me square in the chest. She meant every word, and I couldn’t even blame her. “I won’t.” I matched her promise for promise.
Her gaze shot to my lips, then up again. She still had her finger in my chest, and my hands tightened around hers. She’d taken off the gauze at some point, and the soft flesh had to ache, but she never made a sound. I released her hand but didn’t move away. “What do you need from me?”
Hawk and Diesel moved in from my left, entering from the side door that led outside.
Tension thickened the air. Callie looked from me to Diesel and Hawk and back. Her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip, and she didn’t have to say a word for me to understand she remembered our time together as we created a small circle around her.
