CHAPTER 9
Seth
Before Henry could catch Waylan, she ran around him to come to my side. I tried to block her from seeing the asshole at my feet but she saw him and stumbled to a stop. Her blue eyes widened and then narrowed. I let out a surprised grunt as I had to catch her when she tried to throw herself at him.
“He hurt my mom! He’s not supposed to be here! He hurt Mom!” She was wild with rage, her eyes wild and ringlets flying everywhere as she struggled to get free. “Let me go! He’s bad!”
I heard a loud thunk and heard Henry swear. Nellie stood up holding her head and grimacing but when she saw Waylan in my arms she hurried over and took her from me. “Look at me, Way. I took care of it. Now Seth, Henry, and Woodrow are going to take over. You don’t need to worry about this.”
Waylan locked her arms and legs around her mom, her little body shaking as her chest heaved for breath. “Are you okay, Mommy?”
Nellie squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before backing away. “I’m fine, baby. You don’t have to worry about Mom. I’m tough.”
I frowned as I watched her talk Waylan down and wondered what they’d gone through that had made the kid so protective of her mother. Wanting to get closer to them I grabbed a few zip ties from my saddlebag and tied the abusive asshole to his bike so he wouldn’t be able to move.
I moved up behind Nellie and Waylan and awkwardly patted the kid’s head. “There, there.”
Nellie spun around and raised her eyes to mine. “There, there?”
I shifted my weight from foot to foot. “Just trying to comfort her.”
Her lips curved down as her brows furrowed in concentration. I wasn’t sure how I felt about being the subject of it but she quickly blinked and turned away.
“Your head okay? I think you dented the car.” Henry looked like he was struggling not to smile.
“Kinda feels like someone hit me in the head with a wrench.” Nellie glanced back at Hammer with a dark gleam in her eyes before forcing out a sigh and carrying Waylan towards the house. “Alright, baby. I need to finish working on Beatrix. Think you can wait inside for me? Hammer isn’t going to get to me. I promise.”
Waylan clung to her mom like a monkey. “No! I’m not leaving you.”
My older sister, Kris, had two kids around the same age as Waylan but they were both already so obsessed with their tablets and phones that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen them cling to their mother. I studied Waylan and Nellie, unsure if I should try to help reassure the kid. I didn’t spend that much time with my niece and nephew and I’d never been around other kids for longer than a few minutes, so Waylan might as well have been an alien to me.
Thankfully, Woodrow pulled up in the cruiser so I didn’t have to make a fool of myself by trying to calm the kid down. I breathed out a sigh of relief and went back to police work. That was something I understood. Cutting the zip ties, I hauled Hammer to his feet and loaded him in the very back of the older Jeep.
He gagged and struggled as I folded him in. It was clear he had a concussion but I couldn’t find it in myself to feel bad for him. He’d damn near crushed Nellie’s wrist. I slammed the back hatch shut and walked over to Woodrow.
“I’ll take him to the clinic and then meet you at the station.” I glanced back at Nellie and Waylan and felt the urge to get away. There was something about seeing their love so up close and personal that made me uncomfortable. The demons hiding at the back of my mind rattled their chains and I wanted nothing more to do with the pair.
“Want us to wait for you to get started with Nellie’s statement?” Woodrow had known me for around eight months and most of that time he’d been under the impression that I was a criminal in a biker gang. I was sure he’d run a background check on me and knew some of my history but I could see his brain working, trying to figure out why I sounded even more gruff than usual.
“No.” I took the keys from him and nodded to Henry before pulling away from the curb and heading towards the clinic. I called ahead and talked directly to Bianca to let her know I was coming with an inmate while I made the short trip. She was ready for me when I got there.
I handcuffed Hammer to the exam table and sat with him while Bianca examined him. When she found out how he’d been hurt, she smirked.
“Nellie was never one to back down from a fight. She okay?” Bianca shined a light in Hammer’s eyes and made a note before moving on.
“Seemed fine.”
“No one knew she had a kid. I don’t think anyone around here spoke to her once in the entire decade she was gone. Not even Vera or Maxie.” Stepping away from Hammer, she frowned and tapped her pen to her chin. “He’s definitely concussed. His eyes are responsive and he seems coherent, despite how quiet he’s being. Just make sure someone keeps an eye on him. If he starts vomiting, call me.”
Once I was in the Jeep with Hammer again, he groaned and spoke. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know about Nellie if you let me go.”
I scowled at him in the rearview mirror. “I don’t need to know anything about Nellie. You assaulted a woman in my town and you’re not going to walk away from that.”
“You trying to be her hero, are you? I can tell you right now, man, that bird don’t sing if you know what I mean. She’s fucking frigid.” He winced when I hit the brakes. “Jesus, man, didn’t you hear that bitch doctor? I got a concussion. You want to drive a little easier?”
I tapped them again and shot him a dark smile. “You’re lucky I’m trying to stick to the law, asshole.”
“Fuck you.”
“Just shut the fuck up. We’ll have you in a nice, comfortable jail cell soon enough.” I turned into the lot behind the station and turned the cruiser off. “We’re going to walk in without any trouble. Understand me?”
I led him into the station and straight to one of the two cells at the back of the building. Pushing him inside, I closed the cell door and locked it.
“I need my phone call.”
I grunted. “You’ll get it.”
“When?” He gripped the bars and glared at me. “I got rights, asshole.”
I smiled. “Of course, you do. You have the right to shut the fuck up until I get you processed. That reminds me…”
He swore at me while I read him his rights and then spit at me. It landed just in front of my boot. “Go fuck yourself, pig.”
“Sure thing.” I ignored his shouting and moved through the doorway which separated the cells from the rest of the station. I pulled the door shut and grimaced. His shouting was still loud but it was better.
Nellie and Waylan were both sitting in the sheriff’s office, behind the giant wooden desk that took up most of the room. They both looked extra small sitting there.
Waylan raised her eyes to me and grinned. “They won’t let me shoot their guns. Can I shoot yours?”