14. Finn #2
“Fuck no,” I grumbled under my breath, panic rising. I was now completely hidden behind Walker’s broad, muscled back.
“What’s wrong?” Walker asked, voice still light, playing dumb. “Are you okay, man? You look like you’ve had a rough day.”
“I said, who the hell are you?” Jamie’s dad spat.
“I’m nobody,” Walker insisted, voice still high with fake fear.
“I want my kid! Jamie! Come out here now, you little shit!”
Walker stepped closer. “Hey, man. We can talk this out.”
“Get away from the fucking teacher!” Jamie’s dad growled and lunged forward to press the gun against Walker’s head.
Walker moved like lightning, grabbing his wrist and twisting it sharply.
Jamie’s dad gasped in pain, the fight draining from him as Walker wrenched his arm behind his back and pinned him against the wall, causing him to drop his gun.
I kicked the gun, which skittered across the floor and slid under the dinosaur display in the corner.
My heart pounded so fiercely that I thought my chest might explode.
My breath came in quick, ragged bursts, and my legs threatened to give out.
Panic surged, making my hands shake as I grabbed my phone.
I barely remembered lifting it to my ear, my voice frantic. “Hurry, please, oh God, hurry!”
Jamie’s dad fought like a cornered animal, thrashing wildly, scratching and biting like a wildcat and drawing blood from Walker.
He didn’t falter. With his muscles flexing, he had Jamie’s dad restrained as he cursed and struggled.
Once Walker had him completely immobile, I caught snatches of what Walker was cursing into his ear—low, furious words filled with barely controlled rage.
“You’re a fucking father,” Walker ground out between clenched teeth. “And you wanna bruise your son? Hurt him? Fucking kill him? I should tear you apart limb from fucking limb. Preying on kids, scaring the shit out of a child… ”
His grip tightened, and Jamie’s dad yelped in pain, face pressed hard against the wall. “But I won’t,” Walker muttered darkly. “Because Jamie’s got to believe there’s something better than men like you.”
The wail of sirens pierced the air. Within seconds, officers swarmed the room, shouting commands. “Hands up! Both of you!” one of them barked. As the officers advanced, Walker froze, lifting his hands, and they treated him as part of the threat.
“Wait!” I cried, grabbing Walker’s arm. “He’s with me.
He helped me!” My voice cracked with urgency, and one of the officers hesitated, glancing between us.
“He stopped him. He saved us,” I insisted.
Slowly, they lowered their weapons, one of the officers stepping forward to cuff Jamie’s dad instead and dragging him away.
Only when he was gone did I go to Jamie.
“Jamie, it’s okay. You can come out now,” I said against the door. Walker was hovering behind me, still in protector mode.
“I want my mommy!” Jamie wailed from inside.
“She’ll be here soon, Jamie. You need to come out now.”
I knelt as the cupboard door creaked open.
Jamie’s face was blotchy, his eyes wide and glassy with shock.
His legs buckled as he stumbled forward, then his breath hitched.
His hands twisted into the fabric of his shirt, knuckles white, as if holding himself together was the only thing keeping him from shattering.
He stumbled out, shaking so hard his teeth chattered.
His whole body trembled as he staggered forward, blinking rapidly.
“Where’s my mommy?” Jamie’s voice was barely above a whisper, raw and broken. “I want my mommy.”
“It’s all good,” I lied, my voice breaking. I had no way of knowing if his mom was even alive, and I hoped to hell she was found okay. I reached out, but he flinched, his little hands curling into fists. Tears streaked his face, and he sucked in quick, panicked breaths, his chest heaving.
“I want my mommy,” he repeated, sobbing now.
Jamie’s aunt appeared in the doorway, her face pale. When he saw her, he ran to her, and she caught him in her arms. Her eyes met mine, wide with shock and gratitude.
“Where’s my mommy!” Jamie sobbed.
“She’s okay,” his aunt reassured. As she mouthed, “Hospital. Okay,” relief flooded me so hard my legs nearly gave out. Jamie burrowed closer to her, his tiny hands gripping her sweater like a lifeline. Seeing him safe in her arms was the moment my fear finally broke.
Walker hovered nearby, keeping watch until the police took my statement. He held my hand, and I waited as he gave his statement. We agreed to go to the station tomorrow for a formal interview since Principal Lewis was waiting for us in the hall.
“How did he get in?” I demanded of her as soon as she’d finished talking to a cop, my voice shaking with disbelief and fury. “We have lockdown procedures, we had security, we had… ” I trailed off, choking on the words. “How did he get in?”
Principal Lewis swallowed hard, her voice brittle.
“He forced the side door open. Broke the glass and let himself in. The silent alarm triggered, but he was in before anyone could do anything.” Her eyes were bright with tears, and she rubbed a shaking hand down her face.
“The cops are speaking to the security company now.”
I glanced toward the hallway where officers lingered, their radios crackling as they controlled the growing crowd of reporters outside.
Bright camera lights flashed against the windows, and through it all, the overwhelming sense of disbelief clung to me like a second skin.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not here. Not at my school.
Not with my kids.
Walker put his arm over my shoulder, pulling me close, his warmth grounding me in a way I hadn’t realized I needed.
I let myself breathe for the first time in what felt like forever, but it had only been ten minutes or less.
I clenched my eyes shut, trying to hold back the tears.
I didn’t notice how tightly I’d been wound until now, not until I felt his solid presence beside me, reminding me I wasn’t alone.
The fear, the helplessness, all of it began to crack open inside me.
My fingers twisted into his shirt, and he held me tight as though afraid to let go.
“How did you know to come?” My voice wavered, still raw with everything that had happened.
“I was here to say sorry,” he admitted. “But when the secretary ran out, screaming that there was a shooter… ” He trailed off, shaking his head.
“I couldn’t leave you and the kid in here.
” His voice was low, rough around the edges, as if he’d barely kept himself together.
I stared at him, my heart hammering in my chest. The words landed hard, sticking in my throat.
He couldn’t leave me. Walker could’ve been killed, and yet he’d walked in here without hesitation.
Because of me. Because of Jamie. Because he couldn’t turn away.
I didn’t know whether to hug him or scream at him.
“You should have left,” I said. “Waited for the cops… you didn’t have to put yourself in danger.”
“I couldn’t.” Walker’s voice was firm now, low and steady. “I couldn’t walk away. I couldn’t let another kid suffer like… like I did.” His voice broke, the words catching in his throat.
I closed my eyes briefly, swallowing hard before leaning closer and pressing my forehead to his shoulder.
My breath hitched, and suddenly, everything I’d held back—the fear, the panic, the helplessness—surged up inside me.
My fingers twisted into his shirt, gripping tight as though he was the only thing keeping me upright.
“And I couldn’t… I couldn’t let anyone hurt the man I love,” Walker confessed, his voice rough with emotion. His words hit me like a lightning bolt, cracking open something I hadn’t even realized I’d kept locked away.
“What?” My voice barely worked, a whisper that caught in my throat. “You love me?”
Walker huffed a small, breathless laugh, then pressed a lingering kiss to my head. “From the moment you faced a classroom of puck pushers and faced all that anger, I loved your fire, your courage… and I… I just… it was easy… I love you.”
I blinked rapidly, too overwhelmed to say anything meaningful. Instead, I squeezed him tighter, whispering, “I love you, too.”
He exhaled, the tension in his body finally unraveling. “Let’s go back to your place, yeah?”