by Susan Stoker
Hope rolled her eyes at her friend. Calder had been calling at regular intervals to say hello, to make sure all was well with Joseph, and just to chat. It felt nice. Comfortable.
She pushed back from the table and went into the kitchen to grab her phone where she’d left it earlier when she’d gotten drinks for everyone.
It wasn’t Calder though. She saw it was the school calling. Looking at her watch, Hope realized it was nearly time for Billy to be getting on the bus. She had roughly thirty minutes before she had to go meet him at the bus stop.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Drayden?”
“This is she.”
“This is Mrs. Melton from Cougar Elementary. There’s been an incident, and I needed to call to tell you about it.”
“Oh my God, is Billy okay?” Hope asked.
Within seconds, she felt both Mickie and Hayden flanking her. Supporting her. She would’ve been emotional about that if she wasn’t so scared that something had happened to her son.
“Billy’s fine,” the secretary said quickly. “A man came in and said he was Billy’s father and was here to pick him up. Of course, when we checked his file, we didn’t see that his father was on the approved list. We told the man to wait and that we’d call you to double check, but he got upset and stormed out of the building.”
“Billy doesn’t have a father,” Hope said quietly. “I mean, he does, but he’s not in the picture at all.”
“That’s what Billy told us. Well, he wrote it down, you know what I mean,” Mrs. Melton said. “We’re keeping him in the office with us until his bus arrives and we’ll escort him to it personally.”
“No!” Hope exclaimed. “I’ll come and get him. Oh, wait, crap, I can’t leave…” She looked at Mickie and Hayden in a panic.
“We can stay with Joseph until you get back,” Mickie said. “Do what you have to do.”
Hope nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay, I can come and get him. Will you keep him there in the office with you until I arrive?”
“Of course.”
“Okay, thanks for calling. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Drive safely.”
Hope hung up and quickly explained what was going on to her friends.
Hayden immediately pulled out her phone.
“Who are you calling?” Hope asked.
“My supervisor. Then Beth. Schools all have video surveillance nowadays. I know they’ll show you the footage, I mean, it was your son who the person was asking for, there’s no way they wouldn’t show it to you. But the faster we can get our hands on the video, the faster you can see if you recognize the person and we can find him and see what the fuck he’s up to.”
“And if I don’t recognize him?” Hope asked.
“That’s where Beth comes in. She can see what she can do to use her facial recognition software and figure out who he is.”
Hope nodded. She hadn’t even thought about that.
“Call Calder,” Mickie ordered, nodding at the phone still in Hope’s hand.
“Oh, but—”
“No. Call him,” she interrupted.
Hope took a deep breath. “Okay. You’re right.” She dialed Calder’s number and waited impatiently for him to pick up. She couldn’t remember if he had an autopsy scheduled that day or not. Or he could’ve gotten called out on a job. He might not be available to—
“Hey, sweetheart,” Calder said in greeting.
“Someone tried to pick Billy up from school. The staff wouldn’t let him take him, since the guy wasn’t on the approved list, but I’m freaking out,” she said in a rush.
“I’m on my way to the school now,” Calder said.
She heard rustling in the background and she could imagine him immediately standing up and headed for the door. “Oh, but, I’m leaving in a couple minutes,” Hope told him. “Mickie and Hayden are here and they’ll stay with Joseph.”
“Stay put,” Calder ordered. “I’ll go get him. Is he safe until I can get there?”
“Yes. The secretary said she’d keep him in the office with her.”
“Good.”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“You and Billy are more important than work,” Calder retorted. “It’ll take me about fifteen minutes to get there.”
“I could be there in five,” Hope protested.
“Hon, I want you safe at our house with Hayden. Not gallivanting around by yourself when someone may or may not be on the lookout for you. This could’ve been a ploy to draw you out. Stay put.”
Hope closed her eyes. There he went, protecting her again. “Okay. Calder?”
“Yeah?”
“We need to talk. This…there’s some stuff I need to tell you.”
“I need to tell you about my trip last month too,” Calder admitted. “But in the meantime, I need you to be safe. Okay? Hang tight, stay with Hayden and Mickie, and I’ll have your son back to you as soon as I can.”
“Thank God I put you on the approved list,” Hope mumbled.
“Try to relax,” Calder told her. “I’ll be home before you know it.”
“Drive safe.”
“Always. Later.”
“Bye.”
Hope clicked off the phone and thought about what Calder said. Home. He’d be home soon. She should be stressed that she wasn’t going to pick up Billy. But this was Calder. He’d do everything possible to keep her son safe. She knew that down to the marrow of her bones. She had nothing to worry about with Calder on his way to the school. He’d figure out what was going on and whether it was something to worry about.
“He’s on his way to get him?” Hayden asked.
Hope nodded. “Said I was safer here than driving around by myself.”
“That’s true.”
“Come on. Let’s go see if Joseph is awake and get him in his wheelchair. He’s going to want to be up and ready when Billy gets home,” Mickie said.
Hope knew she was trying to take her mind off what had happened, and she appreciated it.
Taking a deep breath and trying not to worry, Hope followed Mickie and Hayden to Joseph’s room. Calder would have Billy home safe and sound as soon as he could. She knew that without a doubt.
Chapter Twelve
The moment Calder walked into his house with Billy, Hope was there. He’d called Quint the second he’d gotten in his truck and informed him of what happened. The other man said he’d already gotten a call from Hayden’s supervisor. He was going to head to the school as soon as he could and get the video. Whoever had dared try to take Billy would be caught red-handed.
Calder knew he needed to talk to Hope. He should’ve told her before now that her ex-boyfriend most likely wasn’t behind the fire at the diner, but he’d wanted to keep her as worry-free as possible. And if it wasn’t Earle, then who was it?
He had no idea what the deal was with the message spray painted on the building. What did the perpetrator think was theirs? And now with Billy being threatened, the mystery only deepened—and the stakes were much higher.
He was going to sit down with Hope tonight and tell her the real reason for his trip out west last month. Explain what he and his friends had discussed as far as possible motives and suspects in the arson, and tell her once and for all how he felt about her. The last two months had been both the best in his life, and the most frustrating.
Calder hated saying goodnight to Hope at the door to his guest room every evening. Hated not taking her in his arms and kissing her senseless in the mornings when he woke up. Every morning in the shower, he fantasized about her being in there with him. He’d never been so horny in his life, but it was more than that.
He wanted the right to call her his own. He liked being her friend, but he felt as if they were so much more than that. She got him. When he had a shitty day at work, she was the first person he wanted to talk to about it. He couldn’t wait to get home to hear about her day. He loved watching Hope spar with Joseph and browbeat him into ea
ting, or exercising, or doing his physical therapy. The relationship she had with her son was simply beautiful. She encouraged Billy to be who he was without stifling him.
All in all, he wanted Hope in every way. He’d be the first to admit he’d been reluctant to start a physical relationship because he knew as soon as he did, he’d want to keep her forever, and if she didn’t want the same thing, it would crush him. But after Joseph had been hurt, could have easily been killed, Calder decided life was too short not to go for what he wanted…Hope in his bed.
But then she’d been the one who’d said she wasn’t ready. So he’d been patient and backed off, not wanting to pressure her. But he could tell something was weighing heavily on her mind. He wasn’t sure she had any suspicions about the fire at the diner, but whatever was worrying Hope, it was preventing her from taking the final step in their relationship.
Calder knew it didn’t matter if they made love or not…he was already attached. She wanted him; he felt it. Hell, she’d told him. Not just with words either. He saw the way she watched him. Saw how she broke out in goosebumps when he kissed the back of her hand. Recognized the longing in her eyes because he felt the same thing. But she was holding back.
Tonight was the night they got everything out in the open. Because now that someone had threatened Billy, nothing was off the table. He’d do whatever it took to keep that little boy safe. He loved Billy as much as he loved his mom.
“Billy!” Hope cried as Billy ran ahead of Calder into the house. She went to a knee and hugged her son as he crashed into her.
Calder shut the door and was careful to lock it behind him. Nothing could’ve stopped him from crouching down behind Billy and taking both him and Hope into his arms. He heard Hayden and Mickie come into the foyer but didn’t look up.
Having both Hope and Billy safe, here in his house, went a long way toward making the panicky feeling he’d had in the pit of his stomach ever since Hope had called him go away.
He pulled back. “You okay?” he asked Hope softly.
She nodded. “Now that you’re both here, yes.”
Her answer made that pit in his belly disappear altogether.
Calder scooted around until he could see both Billy and Hope’s faces. “I feel like I have to say something here. I don’t want to…and it kills me that I have to at all. But we need to have this conversation. Billy, it sucks that you have to hear this, but you, of all people, will understand. Can you handle it?”
Billy nodded, but Hope just stared at him, distress easy to see in her eyes.
Calder palmed the side of her head and said softly, “Trust me.”
Finally, she nodded.
“Billy, your mom and I have talked to you about safety in the past, but I want to make sure you didn’t forget. If at any time someone comes up to you and tells you to get in a car, or grabs you and tries to forcefully put you in a car or van or whatever…under no circumstances should you allow that to happen. Even if they have a knife or something and are threatening you. Do whatever it takes to get away. Hit, wiggle, kick, bite, pinch…all of it. Even if it hurts. Got it?”
Billy nodded solemnly.
“Do you know why you shouldn’t get in the car?”
Billy shook his head.
“Calder, I don’t think—”
“No, he needs to hear this,” Calder said gently then turned to face Billy head on. “Because the person can take you somewhere private, where there’s no one to help, and hurt you more. Do you understand?”
Billy’s eyes got wide and he made a little sound in his throat as he nodded.
“I’m not telling you this to scare you, but, Buddy, you remember how the bad guy tied you up and put you in that closet in the empty building, right?”
The little boy nodded again.
“He hid you so good it would’ve taken someone a really long time to find you. You don’t want that to happen again. So if anyone tries to make you go somewhere with them, and you don’t know them or don’t want to go, you run away as fast as you can and find someplace safe to hide or someone you trust to help you. If they grab you to try to force you, again, kick, bite, hit, whatever it takes to get away, then run. Got it?”
Instead of Billy looking scared now, he lifted his chin and nodded once.
“Good boy,” Calder praised. “Why don’t you go now and show Joseph what you made in school today. I know your mom will want to see it later too.”
Billy shrugged his backpack off and headed into the living room to find Joseph.
The second he was out of earshot, Hope stood and said, “I hate this.”
“I know. I do too. But the last thing either of us wants is someone kidnapping him again.”
Hope just stared at him solemnly. Then she asked gently, “You’ve seen what can happen, haven’t you?”
“More times than I care to remember. Assholes who prey on women and kids are generally cowards. They rely on their victims being scared and doing whatever they’re told to do. But I’ve heard of cases again and again where the victims fight back, and the perpetrators give up. They want someone weak. Someone they can force to do what they want. Promise me, Hope, that if for some reason I’m not with you and something happens, you won’t go with anyone willingly, for any reason.”
“I promise.”
Calder breathed out a sigh of relief then leaned forward and kissed Hope gently.
When he pulled back, she said, “Billy doesn’t look all that upset about what happened today, thank God. What did the people at the school say? Did they tell you what the guy looked like? Is Billy in danger? Maybe he shouldn’t go to school anymore.”
Calder put his hands on Hope’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “I think Billy’s okay. He didn’t even see the man. By the time he got to the office, whoever it was had taken off. The office staff told me mostly what they told you. That a man came in, said he was Billy’s dad and was there to pick him up. When they said they had to call you to approve the pick up, he left. That’s it.”
“What did he look like? Maybe it really was his father,” Hope said doubtfully.
“Fairly tall. Skinny. Had black hair and was wearing a pair of jeans and a leather jacket.”
Hope shook her head. “That doesn’t really sound like Ben.”
“That’s his name?”
“Yeah. Ben Montrone. But the last time I saw him was about seven and a half years ago. He could’ve changed a lot since then.”
“I’ll get a still from the surveillance tape,” Calder reassured her. “You can look at it and see if you recognize him. In the meantime, the staff at his school knows to be on the lookout. They aren’t going to let anyone other than you and me pick him up without calling to check to see if it’s okay.”
“I don’t want him taking the bus anymore,” Hope said.
“Me either. I can drop him off on my way to work, and if I’m not out on a call or in autopsy, I’ll pick him up in the afternoons too.”
“I can’t ask you to—”
“You didn’t ask,” Calder interrupted. “I volunteered. But, Hope, we need to talk. I’d prefer if you weren’t driving around by yourself until we catch this guy.”
“On that note,” Hayden said, “we’re going to get out of here.”
Calder turned, but kept one hand around Hope’s waist. “Thanks for staying with her,” he said.
“Anytime,” Hayden said firmly. “And I mean that. You’ve got over a dozen friends that will do whatever it takes to keep them safe.”
Calder met Hayden’s direct gaze and nodded. He heard what she was saying without her having to say it. She was one of the toughest cops he knew. Hands down. She’d move heaven and earth to protect those she considered friends.
“’Preciate it.”
“I called Cruz,” Mickie said softly. “Hope, he’s going to need to talk to you.”
Calder looked from Mickie to Hope and saw that she knew exactly what Mickie was talking about, even if he was in the dark.
/>
“Hope?”
“Later,” she told him.
Calder wanted to protest, but Mickie had come forward and was hugging Hope. Hayden also gave her a brief but heartfelt hug, and then they were alone in the foyer.
“Is Billy really okay?” Hope asked.
“Yeah. I told him that someone came to the school and wanted to pick him up, but that neither of us knew who it was.”
“How’d he react?”
“He seemed more curious than anything.”
“Really? I’m surprised. After Jonathan Jones kidnapped him, he panicked if anyone even looked at him for too long.”
Calder ran a hand over her head. “It was a while ago. Kids are resilient. He won’t ever forget, but he’s got you, and me, and he feels safe now. Besides, since he never saw whoever it was, it’s harder to really feel like you’re in danger.”
Hope closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she looked up at Calder. “What am I going to do?”
“You’re going to trust me. I’ll keep you both safe.”
“From who, though? And why?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out. We’ll figure it out. What was Mickie talking about?”
Hope opened her mouth, but was interrupted by Joseph yelling, “Billy’s hungry! Kid can’t do homework on an empty stomach!”
Hope seemed relieved by the change in subject.
“We’ll talk tonight?” Calder asked.
Hope nodded. “Promise.”
“Good.”
And with that, Calder put his arm around Hope and led her into the other room to see about getting her son a snack.
Later that night, after Billy had been tucked into bed and Joseph was back in his room, and all the doors and windows in the house had been double checked, Calder settled into the beanbag with Hope.
Beth had gotten a copy of the surveillance tape from the school and had sent over a couple of stills from it. Hope hadn’t recognized the man, and had gotten frustrated, but Beth had told her not to worry and that she was working on figuring out who he was.
Sitting in the beanbag together was a tight fit, but it had become their tradition. Besides, Calder loved the way they were smushed together as they sat in the unconventional chair. He wanted to be as close as he could when he told her he’d lied about his trip last month, and where he’d really been. He decided to just say it, not beat around the bush.