5. Jade #2
“He acts like it when it’s convenient. When he wants leverage over me.”
Understanding flashes across Hawk’s face. “He uses the kid to control you.”
“Used to. I’m done with that.”
“That why you were running last night?”
“Part of it.”
Hawk and Razor exchange another look. Shadow pushes off the counter and comes to the table, pulling out a chair next to me. He sits down, and his presence is somehow less threatening than the other two. More human.
“Listen,” Shadow says gently. “I know this is scary. I know you want to get back to your son. But right now, making a phone call is the best we can do. Your sister’s got him. He’s safe with her, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then he stays safe as long as you stay safe. And staying safe means staying here until we can figure out how to get you home without getting you killed in the process.”
Tears burn behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I will not cry in front of these men. Will not show that kind of weakness.
“How long?” My voice comes out rough.
“We don’t know yet.”
“Best guess.”
Hawk answers. “Forty-eight hours. Maybe less. We need to figure out what the Feds know, what the Ruthless Saints are planning, and how to get you clear of both.”
“And your club?”
“I’ll handle Reaper.”
“How?”
“By being convincing.”
That’s not an answer. But it’s probably the best I’m going to get.
“The phone call,” I say. “Can I make it now?”
Hawk nods to Shadow, who pulls a phone from his pocket. A burner, by the looks of it. Cheap flip phone, the kind you buy with cash at a gas station.
“One call,” Hawk reminds me. “We’re listening to every word.”
Shadow hands me the phone. Our fingers brush, and I feel the calluses on his palm, rough and worn. Working man’s hands.
I flip open the phone and dial Linda’s number from memory. My hands are shaking. I press the phone to my ear and listen to it ring.
Once. Twice. Three times.
“Hello?” Linda’s voice, sharp and worried.
“Lin, it’s me.”
“JADE! Oh my God, where have you been?! I’ve been calling you all night! Your phone goes straight to voicemail, and you never came to get Mason, and I thought—I didn’t know what to think!”
“I’m fine. I’m sorry. I should have called sooner.”
“Should have called? Jade, you left me a message saying you were coming to get Mason, and then you disappeared! What the hell happened?”
I can hear the fear in her voice. The anger born from worry. Linda’s always been the responsible one. The older sister who has her life together, who followed all the rules, who never understood why I kept making the choices I made.
“I had car trouble,” I say, keeping my voice calm. “Bad car trouble. I broke down, and my phone died, and I’ve been dealing with it all morning.”
“Car trouble.” Linda doesn’t believe me. I can hear it in her voice. “Jade, your message sounded terrified. You said not to let anyone near Mason. What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain everything when I see you. But right now, I need you to trust me. Is Mason okay?”
“He’s fine. He’s here. He keeps asking when you’re coming.”
My heart clenches. “Tell him I’ll be there soon. Tell him—” My voice cracks. “Tell him Mama loves him. Tell him I’m okay and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Jade, you’re scaring me.”
“I know. I’m sorry. But I need you to keep him there. Don’t take him anywhere public. Don’t tell anyone where he is. And if my ex shows up?—”
“I’m not letting him near Mason. I never liked that man anyway.”
“Good. That’s good. Keep him safe for me, okay? I’ll be there soon.”
“How soon?”
I look at Hawk. He holds up two fingers.
“Two days,” I say. “Maybe less. I need to sort some things out.”
“What things? Jade, what is going on?”
“I can’t explain right now. But I promise, I’m okay. I’m safe. I’m staying with a friend.”
“What friend? You don’t have any friends.”
That hurts, but it’s not wrong. I’ve spent the last four years isolated from everyone except Tyler and his crew.
“Someone I know from work,” I lie. “They’re helping me figure out the car situation. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Jade—”
“I have to go. But please, Lin. Keep Mason safe. Don’t let anyone know where he is.”
“Okay. Okay, I will. But you’d better call me tomorrow, or I’m calling the police.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Jade, please be careful.”
“I will.”
I hang up before she can ask more questions. Hand the phone back to Shadow. My hands are still shaking. I press them flat against the table, trying to steady myself.
“She doesn’t believe you,” Razor observes.
“I know. But she won’t call the police. Not yet.”
“You sure about that?”
“She’ll give me the two days. Linda’s always given me chances I didn’t deserve. She’ll give me this one too.”
Hawk’s watching me closely. “Your kid. Mason. How much does your ex care about him?”
The question makes my blood run cold. “Why?”
“Because if he’s looking for you, and he thinks grabbing the kid will draw you out?—”
“He won’t.” I say it with more confidence than I feel. “He isn’t stupid. He knows if he touches Mason, Linda will call the cops and he’ll have real problems. Legal problems. The kind his club can’t fix.”
“You hope.”
“I know.”
But do I? Tyler’s unpredictable when he’s angry. And finding out I actually left him—really left him—is going to make him furious.
Hawk must see something in my face because his expression changes. Calculating. “We’ll keep an eye on your sister’s place. Make sure the kid’s safe.”
“How?”
“We have people. Connections. A couple of our guys can watch the house, make sure no one from your ex’s club gets close.”
“You’d do that?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Hawk’s quiet for a moment. Then he says, “Because kids shouldn’t pay for their parents’ mistakes. Because your boy shouldn’t be collateral damage any more than you should.”
The intensity in his voice when he says it catches me off guard. This isn’t just strategy. This isn’t just tactics. This is personal for him somehow.
I look at him—really look at him—and see something in his eyes I didn’t expect. Regret. Pain. The kind that comes from experience, from knowing what it’s like to fail a kid who needed you.
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
He nods once. “Don’t thank me yet. We’re not out of this mess.”
“But you’ll try. To keep him safe.”
“I’ll make sure nothing happens to your son.” He says it like a vow. Like a promise that actually means something.
And despite everything—despite the kidnapping and the zip ties and the fact that I’m trapped in a cabin with three dangerous men—I believe him.
I might be an idiot for believing him.
But looking into Hawk’s steel-blue eyes, hearing the conviction in his voice, I think maybe, just maybe, I can trust this man to keep his word.
At least about Mason.
Everything else is still a question mark. But Mason’s safety? That’s something I can believe in.
“Okay,” I say. “So what happens now?”
“Now?” Hawk stands, pushing back from the table. “Now you stay put, stay quiet, and let us handle the rest.”
“For how long?”
“As long as it takes.”
Not the answer I wanted. But probably the only honest one I’m going to get.
Shadow stands too, offering me a small smile. “You hungry? I can make lunch. Nothing fancy, but it’s better than starving.”
My stomach chooses that moment to growl loudly. I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon, over twenty-four hours ago.
“Yeah,” I admit. “I’m hungry.”
“Come on then.” He gestures toward the kitchen. “I’ll show you where everything is. Make yourself useful while you’re here.”
It’s almost funny. Being told to make myself useful by one of my kidnappers. Almost.
But I follow him to the kitchen because what else am I going to do?
Hawk and Razor move toward the door, pulling on jackets, checking weapons I try not to look at too closely.
“We’re going to scout the area,” Hawk says to Shadow. “Keep an eye on her.”
“Got it.”
They leave, the door closing behind them with a soft click.
I’m alone with Shadow in the kitchen. He’s already pulling out bread, lunch meat, and cheese from a refrigerator that looks older than I am. “Sandwiches okay?” he asks.
“Sure.”
We work in silence for a few minutes. He makes sandwiches, and I stand there feeling useless and out of place and trying not to think about Mason asking Linda when Mama’s coming home.
“He meant it, you know,” Shadow says suddenly. “Hawk. About keeping your kid safe. When he makes a promise like that, he keeps it.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I’ve known him for fifteen years. I’ve seen him keep promises that cost him everything. Your son will be safe. I’d stake my life on it.”
“You might have to.”
Shadow’s smile is sad. “Yeah. I might.”
He hands me a sandwich. I take it, our fingers brushing again. His hands are warm, steady. Nothing about him seems threatening right now.
It’s strange. Surreal. Standing in a kitchen with one of my kidnappers, eating a sandwich, talking about promises and safety like this is normal.
Nothing about this is normal.
But maybe, just maybe, I can survive it.
As long as Mason stays safe, I can survive anything.