by Susan Stoker
The woman steered Frankie around Kiera and toward the car once more.
Making a split-second decision, Kiera quickly shot off a quick sign to the children standing in the playground watching them. She wanted to scream out to Cooper and Swede, but didn’t want to do anything that would put Frankie in even more danger than she instinctively felt he was already in. Without waiting to see what they’d do, she ran to catch up with the surprisingly fast woman and Frankie.
No one was allowed to take a child from the school that wasn’t on an approved person list. They were supposed to go to the main office and check the child out…after the secretary made sure it was permitted. And it was certainly not okay for Frankie’s mom to pick him up. Not even close.
She grabbed hold of Frankie’s shoulder and tried to wrench his mom’s grasp off his bicep, but the other woman held on, squeezing her son’s arm even tighter, and punched out at Kiera with her free hand.
Kiera let go of Frankie to protect herself, and felt the air whoosh by her face as his mom’s fist barely missed her. By the time she stepped back toward the duo, she’d already opened the back door and had shoved her son inside.
Not knowing what else she was supposed to do, Kiera ran around to the other side of the vehicle and breathed a sigh of relief when the door on the opposite side was unlocked. She slipped inside the car and slammed the door behind her.
What am I doing? This is insane. I should leave this to the cops. But I can’t let her take Frankie. No way.
She signed in relief when the man behind the wheel didn’t immediately drive off. If she’d yelled for Cooper or his friend he most certainly would have. It might take longer for help to arrive as a result, but every second she could keep the two adults talking was another second Cooper had to get to her and Frankie.
“Get out,” the woman snarled at Kiera.
She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “No.”
“What the fuck?” the man in the driver’s seat swore. “You didn’t say nothin’ about no other woman comin’ with us, Twila.”
“That’s because she’s not. Get out,” Twila ordered again.
“No,” Kiera repeated. “You need me to translate for Frankie.” It was stupid, but it was the first thing she thought of.
“He’s my son. I don’t need you to tell him what I’m sayin’.”
“You know sign language?” Kiera asked, already knowing the answer from what Frankie’s dad had told her.
“No. But no son of mine is gonna do that sissy talking with his hands. He needs to learn how to read lips and say what he wants.”
“We gotta get the fuck outta here,” the man snarled.
“Then fucking drive,” Twila told him with narrowed eyes.
“I’m not kidnappin’ no fucking woman.”
“But you’ll kidnap a kid?” Kiera asked, knowing she should keep her mouth shut, but she was so appalled at what the man implied, it popped out without thought.
“It ain’t kidnapping since it’s her own fucking kid.”
Kiera was glad Frankie couldn’t hear. The man had an obvious love of the word fuck, and that wasn’t something Frankie needed to pick up. Using her right hand, she reached over and grabbed Frankie’s, giving him moral support as she continued to stall for time.
“Um, the courts would disagree,” Kiera told him. “And Frankie isn’t your kid, so it most definitely is kidnapping since you’re driving.”
“Just drive slow, we’ll shove her ass out when we get to the main road,” Twila said.
Kiera’s hand tightened on Frankie’s. She wasn’t getting out of this car without him. No way. She signed the word “run” with her left hand, hoping Frankie saw it as she continued to engage Frankie’s mom and the thug behind the wheel.
“Look, whatever you think you’re going to do with Frankie isn’t going to work, he—”
“What I’m going to do is make sure he learns how to talk, instead of grunting and using his hands to try to fucking talk. Then he’s gonna learn how to read lips. It’s much more manly than using his hands.”
“Reading lips is extremely difficult,” Kiera told Twila. “It can take years for someone to learn how to do that. Frankie needs to learn how to read first, and since he can’t hear, he needs to associate the words on a page with something. It’s not as easy as it seems.” She’d had this argument with a few parents over the years but at the moment, she didn’t really care if Twila believed her or not, she only needed to stall.
She noted that they were moving very slowly toward the school’s exit. She’d prefer they were stationary while they had their talk, but she’d take slow. Come on, Cooper. I need you.
“On second thought, why don’t we keep ’er?” the slimy man asked. “We owe money to Bud. Maybe he’d take her. High-class pussy that hasn’t fucked every man on the block might appeal to him.”
Kiera inhaled. “Are you seriously talking about trading me, a human being, for drugs?”
“No,” Twila said immediately, and Kiera relaxed a fraction. But her next words had her gasping in shock. “He’s talking about giving you to the leader of a gang so he can pimp you out in exchange for drugs.” Twila turned her gaze to the man. “I think she’d probably be more trouble than it’d be worth.”
“What about it?” the man asked her, catching her eyes in the rearview mirror. “You gonna be trouble?”
Chapter 10
Cooper laughed as Swede barely missed being hit by the small plastic ball. He had no idea what they were doing, but the kids were having a good time running around after the balls while he and Swede tried to keep them away from them. There weren’t any official rules, but not getting hit by a ball seemed to be one. They were also trying to prevent the kids from getting from one end of the field to the other. It seemed to be a mixture of soccer and dodgeball.
All his attention was on the four balls being kicked and thrown around the small area and not on what was going on around him, but when he heard an urgent grunting, he whipped his head up and scanned the area.
There were four children running pell-mell toward their group playing with the balls. They were all vocalizing their urgency. They weren’t screaming or talking, but the noises coming out of their mouths were definitely panicked.
“What the hell?” Swede asked, coming up beside him.
Cooper barely noticed, his attention was on the children’s hands.
“They left by the gate.”
“Teacher said to get help.”
“Teacher signed kidnap.”
“They got in a car.”
“Help, help, help!”
The signs were being repeated over and over and Cooper almost didn’t understand them, they were so frantic. But as soon as he realized what was happening, his eyes searched the playground for Kiera. The last time he’d seen her, she was walking on the far side of the play area near the fence.
“What color car?” Cooper signed as soon as the kids got to him.
“What’s going on?” Swede asked.
Without taking his eyes from the children giving him information, he explained, “They say a teacher and a kid were kidnapped. They got in a blue car outside the gate.”
“Fuck,” Swede swore.
Both men were on the move before anything else was said. Cooper ran backward and quickly signed, “Get all the kids inside. Find a teacher and call the police.”
As soon as he saw the kids understood him, he turned and sprinted for where the kids had pointed they’d last seen the car.
He couldn’t outrun a vehicle, but he had to see if he could catch up enough to read the license plate. He knew it was Kiera in the car. First, she was the only teacher on the playground, and second, if someone had tried to kidnap one of the children, he knew without a doubt she wouldn’t just stand by and let it happen.
“Go,” Swede said, falling behind. “My leg won’t let me go as fast as you, I’m right behind you.”
Cooper didn’t bother to respond. He jus
t ran faster. He leaped over the four-foot fence as if he was a world-class hurdler—and couldn’t believe it when he saw an older-model navy-blue Mustang going only a couple miles an hour toward the exit.
What the hell was the driver doing? If he or she had just kidnapped a kid, and Kiera, they should be driving like a bat out of hell to escape.
Everything inside him became focused on the car. It was still there. It wasn’t too late. If they got out of the parking lot, it would be almost impossible to find…at least quickly. And giving a kidnapper time to hurt Kiera wasn’t something he was willing to do. His muscles responded without input from his brain, his SEAL training kicking in.
Seeing the direction the car was going, he ran diagonally across the lot, never taking his eyes off it. Cooper could see two people in the front and two in the backseat, one being a child. He could tell it was Kiera in the car, even from just the back of her head. He’d recognize her anywhere.
The adrenaline surged through his body. No fucking way was anyone going to take away the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Running through his options, Cooper shoved his hand in his pocket. Jackpot. Having his key ring and the tool on it would make entry into the kidnapper’s vehicle easy, but everything else was a crap shoot. He knew Swede would be at his back as soon as he caught up. He had no idea how Kiera would react, but he had to think she’d do whatever she could to protect the child. He could take care of the two assholes in the front.
Time slowed as he approached the getaway car from the driver’s side. As he got closer, Cooper could see it was Frankie in the backseat with Kiera. His teeth ground together.
No. Just no. No one was going to hurt that little boy. Not on his watch.
He gripped his keys tightly and timed his actions. He had to strike at the perfect time. Too soon and he’d lose the element of surprise and the driver would most likely take off. Too late and the car would turn onto the main road and be gone. No, he had to time this perfectly.
Kiera couldn’t believe Frankie’s mom and the thug were talking about selling her to a man so he could pimp her out. It was unbelievable. It was ridiculous. It was terrifying. “Am I going to be trouble?” she asked, repeating his question. “Yeah, you bet your ass I am. Look, Twila, you haven’t done anything yet. You haven’t even left the school premises. Just stop the car and let me and Frankie get out. We won’t say anything.”
“You think I believe that?” she asked.
“You should. I don’t want to be sold so people can have sex with me, and I think your son would truly love a relationship with you that doesn’t include being scared for his life. But you won’t have that unless you let us out right now.”
“Let’s dump her ass,” the man said. “She talks too much.”
“I agree,” Twila said, then turned in her seat and pointed at Kiera. “Get out.”
“No,” Kiera said. “I’m not leaving without Frankie.”
Twila fiddled with something in her lap, and the next thing Kiera knew, she was looking down the barrel of a gun. “I said, get out.”
Kiera had never even held a gun in her life, let alone looked down the ass end of one. “N-no.” she stammered. “You don’t want to shoot me in front of your son.”
“Why not?” Twila asked, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “It might make him more of a man.”
Kiera snorted. “You think making him watch his beloved teacher get shot right in front of him will make him more of a man? It’ll probably make him a psychotic mess who will end up killing you when he’s in his twenties for making his life a living hell.”
“You’re a little dramatic,” Twila observed.
“And you’re a little insane.”
The two women glared at each other. Kiera heard Frankie making distressed noises in the back of his throat, but she refused to look away from the gun. If she only had a few more seconds left on this Earth, she wasn’t going to be a coward.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that.
The sound of breaking glass was loud in the small space of the car and Kiera flinched, thinking for a moment Twila had actually pulled the trigger.
The man driving swore and slammed on the brake. Since no one was wearing a seat belt, they all flew forward. Kiera saw an arm reach through the broken driver’s side window and pull the man driving out through the small space. But before she could move, Twila had recovered and was reaching into the backseat toward Frankie.
Kiera reacted without thought. She threw herself in front of the little boy and grabbed the handle of his door. As it popped open, she pushed Frankie with all her strength. He flew sideways and she saw his little feet go flying in the air as he landed on his back and butt on the ground outside the vehicle.
She hoped he’d do as she’d told him earlier and run, but Kiera didn’t have time to worry about him. Twila was pissed. And was acting like a woman possessed. She hit and clawed every inch of skin she could reach. Kiera turned her head to protect her eyes and did her best to keep Twila from hurting her.
Not able to see what was going on with the driver, only hearing grunts and the sounds of fists landing on bare skin, Kiera got up on her knees and began to fight back. It was awkward with the seat between them, but the thought of Twila overpowering her and getting her hands back on Frankie was enough to fuel Kiera’s adrenaline.
After an especially hard punch to the side of her head, Kiera decided to reciprocate. She fisted her hand and swung it at Twila. When she made contact with the woman’s face, it hurt, but she did it again, then again. With each strike, Twila would grunt, but then she’d come right back at Kiera.
Kiera hurt. Her hand hurt where she’d been hitting the other woman. Her face and head ached where Twila had landed blows, and she was tiring. She loved that Cooper worked out, but it wasn’t the top of her favorite things to do.
Just as she made the decision to back off and get out of the car and haul ass, which she should’ve done the second she pushed Frankie out, the front door next to Twila opened and a large arm reached into the car.
Twila was hauled out and away from Kiera, and she watched in relief as Swede easily manhandled the other woman into submission. He had one arm around her chest and the other around her neck. Even though she twisted, screamed, and fought against him, she wasn’t going anywhere.
“You all right?” Swede asked.
Remembering Frankie for the first time, Kiera didn’t answer him, but scooted toward the open side door and quickly stood. “Frankie!” she yelled frantically.
“He’s fine,” Swede told her. “Ran like the wind back toward the school. Smart kid.”
Kiera breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Kiera,” a voice said from next to her.
Whirling, and wincing at the pain it caused, she saw Cooper standing next to her. She’d never seen a more welcome sight in all her life. She threw herself at him and sighed in relief when she felt his arms close around her. She rested her cheek against his chest and clutched at the back of his T-shirt.
“Shhhhh, I got you,” Cooper murmured. “You’re safe.”
Kiera was shaking so hard she knew she wouldn’t be able to stand if Cooper wasn’t holding her up.
“I hear sirens,” Swede announced.
Kiera didn’t even lift her head. Sirens meant the cops, hopefully. “Where’s the driver?” she mumbled.
“Unconscious,” Swede told her.
Kiera lifted her head, which felt as if it weighed nine hundred pounds, and looked up at Cooper. He had a trickle of blood coming out of his left ear. She brought a hand up to his face and gently pushed. He allowed it, and she saw he no longer had his hearing aid in. Taking a deep breath, she brought her other hand up between them and signed, “Are you okay? You’re bleeding.”
“So are you,” Cooper said out loud. He traced a line down her cheek and she winced.
“You need to see a doctor about your ear. It’s bleeding,” Kiera insisted…as much as
she could insist through signing.
“He got a lucky shot. As I pulled him out of the car, he punched me in the side of the head. My hearing aid took the brunt of the damage. I’m okay, sweetheart.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay.” Kiera took him at his word. She wanted to know how he’d gotten in the car so easily, but it would have to wait. She was extremely grateful he’d shown up when he had. She’d hoped she could stall long enough that the students she’d signed to could get help, but she hadn’t been positive. They’d been so close to the main road. So close to having Twila succeed. So close to disaster.
But her SEAL had protected her. He’d gotten there in time. Everything else could wait.
Chapter 11
“Frankie, it’s your turn in the talk circle,” Kiera said gently. “Do you have anything you want to share?”
It had been a week since Frankie’s mom had tried to kidnap him, and today was the boy’s first day back in school. Kiera herself had taken a few days off, but even though she still had bruises and deep scratches on her face from Twila’s fingernails, Kiera refused to stay home.
She wanted to be with her kids. Not only the ones in her class, but all of them. Those who had run to get help, who gave her huge hugs in the hallways, and even the kids she didn’t know but who’d made it a point to stop her and tell her they were glad she was all right.
She hadn’t set out to be a hero, but when she’d seen Frankie being hauled away, she’d made the split-second decision to do everything she could to stop the abduction. Not only was it her obligation as a teacher at the school, but it was Frankie. She loved all the kids in her class, but he was special.