Page 78 of Single Mom's Biker Brigade
I knew that pose. I employed it on more than one occasion. Fury threatening to break sent Hawk into this kind of poised control. I examined his face, all the way down to the way his nostrils fluttered with every breath. Angry at me or the situation?
“None of this is your fault, Callie.” He pushed to his feet and leaned over the desk until we were eye to eye. Colt’s hand remained steady on my shoulder, and Hawk rested his thumb on my chin, his fingers curling underneath as he stroked my jawline. “None of this is your fault.”
I blinked against the sting of tears. I knew that.I knew that.So why the hell did his words heal some part of me that had been broken?
I didn’t want them to. I’d spent too long being the only person responsible for my own damage and creating my own armor. I stopped waiting for people to acknowledge the weight I carried, stopped needing them to see it. I hated him a little bit for healing that broken part of me when I couldn’t do it for myself.
“I hid the phone.” I swallowed hard enough to feel air gulp down my throat. “It’s in a safe location.”
“Let’s go.” I needed the motion and the chance to do something proactive with a clear direction and defined end point, because the alternative of staying here staring at images of Cody whilethe walls closed in was out of the question. I stood. Hawk moved with me, his body straightening. My phone buzzed from my back pocket. I winced at the sound. How long would it be before it no longer brought a rush of panic? I tugged it from my jeans and turned it over to check the screen.Cody’s Schoolappeared. Fuck. I sucked air, my hand trembling around the phone. They never called this early. Unless Cody was sick. That had to be it. An upset stomach, maybe, from all the changes and stress.
I swiped my thumb over the screen and held it to my ear. “Hello?”
“Miss Jameson?”
“Yes.”
“This is Sandra from the front office. I’m calling about Cody.”
The room went quiet around me, a quiet so deep the sound of my pulse hammered in my ears. “Is he okay?”
“There’s been a bit of a mixup with our sign-out sheet this morning, and we wanted to confirm that you sent someone out. Cody’s been picked up, and whoever it was didn’t sign the sheet like they were supposed to.”
I stopped hearing anything past that. It didn’t matter. Cody had been picked up, and the only people in my life who had my complete trust stood in the room with me.
28
CALLIE
Fuck. I needed to think. Why wouldn’t my mind work?
“Breathe.” Hawk took the phone and brought it to his ear, barking out questions that almost made me feel bad for the woman on the other end.
Almost.
Heat swirled in my chest and spread out, turning cold as it reached my extremities. They’d let someone check Cody out. My teeth sawed back and forth.
“How did this happen?” Hawk’s voice had gone low and deadly.
Colt stood beside me, his face completely empty. The sight of it twisted my stomach. I’d expected rage. I knew how to handle that. What was this look? It was almost like he’d been waiting for the moment when it all fell apart and now hated himself for expecting the worst.
Oh, wait. Maybe that was me projecting onto him.
Then again, we were enough alike that we might be thinking the same thing. Breathe. Just breathe. I could do that. I had to do that. I couldn’t help save Cody if I stopped breathing.
“Pulling traffic cam footage.” Diesel grabbed Hawk’s laptop and pulled it toward him. His fingers flew over the keys, the rapid tap, tap creating little jolts that encouraged me to lean over his shoulder.
Images flashed over the screen. Diesel examined them too quickly for my liking, but he must’ve known what to look for and how to discard the unnecessary pieces.
What could I do to help? My breath hitched, the air stopping in my throat when it tightened. I had one more ace up my sleeve, someone I hadn’t mentioned to anyone. Ever.
Mason Hart.
Diesel tapped the back of my hand. “Do you know him?” He pointed at the computer screen, where a wide angle shot of a man in a thick coat carried Cody toward a dark SUV. Teachers’ cars were parked behind the vehicle, and no one drove past. I checked the time stamp, noting it happened right before I’d gotten the call from the front office.
I shook my head. “No.”
The man moved with an unhurried stride, not looking left or right. Confident. Like he had nothing to worry about. Cody looked up at the man, his expression confused but trusting.
