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“Come on, we should get the kids,” I tell her, and Macey reaches in, giving her hand a squeeze before going back to her car.
Macey leaves first and we pull out behind her. We're nearly at the school when she, too, gets pulled over by the same officer.
“That prick!” I growl, watching Macey pull over to the curb in front of the school. Other parents are staring at her and the officer when he gets out of his car.
We pull up a few cars down from her. Macey is standing on the sidewalk, arms folded and looking furious.
“What did he getyoufor?” I ask when she catches up with us.
“Apparently, my blinker is broken, and even though I've been using them all day just fine, he reckons me turning them on was a fluke,” Macey states, glaring at the officer, who appears to be having far too much fun. The bell sounds and the children rush out. Macey, glancing at the kids, suddenly touches the officer, pulling his attention away from the students pouring from the school.
Zoe quickly rushes over, shielding Casey with her body and keeping her out of sight of the officer. Casey is staring at her mother as Zoe forces her in the car and straps her in quickly, clearly wondering why she's in such a rush. The other kids coming out all eye the officer and murmur that he has a gun. The other Rogue parents also rush off quickly, probably thinking he'll start booking everyone. I shake my head, holding my hand out for Valarian and helping him into the car.
“Want us to take Taylor?” I ask and Macey shakes her head.
“No, go ahead. I need to drop her at mom’s anyway,” she calls out, making sure to cut off any view of us behind her as she leans on her car. Once we're in and pulling away, I see Macey opening her back door and buckling Taylor into her booster seat.
We drive off and Zoe lets out a breath of relief. It's short-lived; as we're about to pull into the hotel’s driveway, we hear sirens blaring and the cop car coming up behind us at high speed.
“For fuck’ sake, not again!” Zoe says before her eyes dart to Casey in the back of the car.
“Swear jar,” Casey calls out.
“Casey, duck down in your seat for me,” Zoe tells her, and her little brows push together. Valarian studies them with his ever-watchful gaze as he glances between the officer and Casey, ducking down in her seat.
Zoe mutters under her breath. I see the officer get out of his car in the rearview mirror. Zoe immediately does the same, to prevent him from spotting Casey. As the officer approaches the car, I see him purposely peer into the trunk and rearview mirror. Just as he basically presses his nose against the window, Casey looks up. He looks next at Zoe, confused but mostly angry.
That's all it takes: one glance and you can sense your family, relatives, or mates—unless incapacitated by drugs or alcohol.
“That’s my son’s…. kid?” he snarls, pressing his hands against the glass and looking in while Zoe tries to stop him.
“Why do you have her? How… I don’t understand. Open this door now!” he bellows.
I get out of the car quickly. Zoe is pulling on the officer’s arm as he tries to make his way to Casey’s side of the vehicle.
“I will arrest you for kidnapping,” he snarls at Zoe.
“Get away from her! You aren’t taking her!” Zoe says, trying to shove him away from the car.
“Just try to stop me. Move.”
I stand in front of Casey’s door and he grips the handle before pushing me out of his way. Casey starts crying when I stumble, catching myself before I fall.
ChapterThirty-One
Ilook in the window to see Casey climbing out of her seat and moving closer to Valarian, who wraps his arms around her.
“Move, lady, I need to double-check something,” he snaps at Zoe, who tosses herself in front of the door, blocking him from opening it. Seemingly without thinking, she shoves him and I gasp.
“Get the fuck away from my daughter,” she growls in warning, her eyes turning obsidian and her canines and claws slip out.
The officer growls at her, but she doesn’t budge. He goes to grab her, but she slashes his arm with her claws. Furious now, he lunges at her, fumbling for his handcuffs. As he tries to snap them on her wrist, his gun falls from his holster.
The officer tosses her against the side of her car, trying to restrain her. Zoe struggles and I try to grab him to make him let her go. I've never seen anything like it before. Zoe is completely wild and crazed as she continues lashing out, her protective instincts kicking in.
A sick feeling grows in the pit of my stomach as I realize I'm watching my worst fear play out before my eyes. Seeing this, I think about how it would feel if someone took Valarian, and the pain hits me in my heart. Just as I'm thinking this, I feel a sharp pain collide with the side of my face. The officer backhands me, tossing me off, and I hit the ground. He looks at me briefly and curses. I feel blood trickle down my lip.
“I didn’t mean that. Fuck! He'll fucking kill me,” he says while trying to restrain Zoe. Both kids scream as they watch. Through my haze and headache, I hear a car skid to a stop. I turn to see Macey jump out of her car in a fury before she grips the officer’s shirt, ripping him off Zoe, and he stumbles back, shocked. Macey gets between them as I scramble to get to my feet.
