Page 22 of Peaks and Promises

I didn’t answer.

“Look, Sum Sum—”

“Don’t call me that.”

“I just want to see my kid.”

“No.”

“Come on, the past is in the past. Let me take him to get a burger or something.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“I have a right to see my son.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I know I’ve made mistakes. Are you going to make me pay for them forever?”

“I’m going to keep my son safe.”

A minivan pulled up and parked a few spaces away. Axel’s eyes flicked to the couple as they got out. I glanced at them, noticing the man hesitating, his gaze moving between me and Axel.

“We’ll talk more later,” Axel said.

Backing up toward my car, I watched Axel cross the street and return to his bike, starting the engine with a roar. A second later, he drove away, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

Seeming satisfied that nothing was going on, the couple from the minivan headed for the school. I let out a relieved breath and knocked on the driver’s-side window so Nate would unlock the doors. I got in and quickly locked them again.

“Who was that?” Nate asked.

I didn’t want to lie to him, but I didn’t want to tell him, either. Not right then, at least. Maybe a half-truth until I had time to think things through. “He’s someone I used to know.”

“Why did you make me lock the doors?”

“He’s a bad person.”

Trying to keep my hands from shaking, I fastened my seat belt and pulled out of the parking lot onto the street.

Axel. I’d been afraid he’d show up one day. The fact that he’d been outside Nate’s school was so not okay. How had he known? Had he followed me?

“Is he why you always tell me not to talk to guys who ride motorcycles?”

“He’s one of the reasons.”

Although I’d watched him drive away, I checked my rearview repeatedly as I drove, half-expecting Axel to appear behind me.

“Is he in a gang?” Nate asked.

I glanced at him. “How do you know about gangs?”

He shrugged. “I saw it in a movie.”

I’d not only kept him away from Axel—not difficult, given his criminal history—I’d kept him away from my mom and her boyfriend. She’d seen Nate over the years, but only on my terms—no matter how hard she tried to guilt-trip me over it. And she tried very hard.

But he was my son, and I was keeping him away from that world. No matter what it cost me.

“Yes, he’s in a gang.” Might as well tell him that much. “But they call it a motorcycle club.”