Page 25 of Single Mom for the Bikers

It feels like forever, but it really only takes a minute. She smiles at all of them and pats Havoc on the arm. “Thank you for being such good sports, boys.” Then she turns to me. “See you on Sunday? For the Jensen house?”

“Yeah, I’ll meet you there.” I watch her go, at least until someone clears his throat behind me. I turn around to see three grumpy bikers staring at me.

“You ghosted me. What's going on?” Sledge still has his arms crossed in front of him. His knuckles are healing but they’re red and cracked. I hate that he probably lied to me about how he got hurt. It wasn’t even a big lie, but we connected when he came by the house, and now it feels a little cheap. Like I don’t know what was real or not.

“Easy,” Havoc says in a low, commanding tone. “She doesn’t owe you shit. Shel, relax. We aren’t fucking stalking you or anything. Sledge said you talked about picking you up to go for a ride, and then you went radio silent. I tried calling last night and you didn’t answer, so we tracked down your schedule to make sure nothing happened.”

They were worried about me? I’m not used to anyone paying attention. “I’m fine. I promise.”

“Then what’s the deal?”

“I… I heard about what happened at that bar,” I blurt out.

Phoenix’s easygoing mask crumbles away, leaving a stony expression behind. Havoc nods, and Sledge rubs his hands. None of them ask what I’m talking about or deny anything. It might as well be an admission. They don’t look guilty, though. Annoyed that I found out maybe, but not guilty.

“You guys really were there, weren’t you?” I ask quietly. “Did you go in and beat a bunch of people up?”

“If you think you know, what’s the point in asking?” Phoenix answers. “It was club business.”

Even Havoc, who knows my history, doesn’t jump in to clarify or defend himself.

“Are you mad? Do you want things to go back to how they were?” Sledge asks. I don’t get the feeling that the others know what happened between us, so they might not completely understand what he’s asking.

“I—” My phone rings. It’s Mia’s sitter. “Sorry, I have to take this.” I take a step away and answer. “Hello? Is everything okay, Anna?”

“It’s fine, Shelby. I just wanted to let you know that Mia’s backpack is still here. It has Mr. Bear in it so I didn’t want you to worry. You can tell her I’m keeping him safe until you can pick him up.”

“What?” I whisper, the blood draining from my face. “What do you mean?”

She keeps talking like she didn’t just slice me in half. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll be home all night so you can come by whenever.”

“Anna, I don’t have Mia. I just got off work. I haven’t picked her up yet.”

There’s a long pause on the other end. “I—I’m sure everything’s fine. Let me check the log. I had a migraine earlier and Camila was handling things. She probably just marked the wrong pickup. Let me double check everything and I’ll call you back.”

“I’m on my way.” I hang up without waiting.

“What’s going on?” Havoc asks. All three men are standing at attention like soldiers waiting for an order.

“That was the sitter. She thought I already picked Mia up. She said it was probably a mix up, but—Oh God.” I run for my car, no thought in my head except to get to my daughter.

In the back of my mind, I notice them following as I race to the sitter’s house, but I don’t have the time or energy to care. I park half up on Anna’s lawn and run for the house, leaving my car door wide open. “Mia!”

Anna meets me. Next to her is a younger, blonde woman. “Shelby, this is Camila, my cousin. Cam, tell her what happened.”

Camila looks like she’s about to throw up, which doesn’t make me feel any better. I keep waiting for Mia to pop out from her hiding spot and laugh. “Mia’s aunt Ginger picked her up about forty minutes ago. She signed the book and everything. I wrote everything down just like I was supposed to! She was… Let me think. Big red hair, definitely out of a box. Skinny. Wearing tight jeans and a tank top I think? Maybe it was a t-shirt. Oh! Her earrings, they were huge neon hoops. I remember because I asked where she got them and she said she couldn’t remember. Does any of that help?”

“Aunt Ginger? She doesn’t have any aunts! I’m the only family she has in this area, and my mother would never come to town and pick her up without telling me. Someone has taken her, and… I can’t breathe. Oh God. I can’t breathe.” Black spots swirl on the edges of my vision. The only thing that keeps me from hitting the floor is the strong arm that goes around my waist and helps me sit without falling.

“Close your eyes. Focus. You gotta stay strong for your girl,” Sledge’s deep voice says in my ear. I take a shaky breath, breathing in the scent of leather, oil, and something minty. “That’s right, Havoc’s going to talk to the people here and get this figured out, okay?”

I jerk my head up and down in a series of frantic nods. Someone puts Mia’s bag in front of me, and the sight of that stupid stuffed dog sticking out the top nearly kills me all over again.

“Did anyone else see her? Is there a security camera?” Havoc asks.

“Yes!” Anna answers. “Yes we do! I’ve never had to…. Let me just check the app. Forty minutes ago…”

I know in my heart of hearts that nobody here intentionally turned my daughter over to a stranger, but there’s a feral mamma bear inside my skin that’s itching to burst out and tear the place apart until we find who did this. Even if it means hurting everyone standing between me and Mia. I worked so hard to keep her safe. This was supposed to be our fresh start.

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