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“What doyou mean Chase is in danger!?” His words stop me in my tracks and I take a few steps back to them. What a crazy thing to say! I’m in disbelief yet my stomach starts to knot at the potential. Instinctively, my hand reaches out for Luke before I’ve even formulated the words. Luckily, his hold is right there waiting for me, grasping mine and bathing me in a strength that I don’t have.
“You better start talking, Priest,” Luke says, walking forward. Billy seems to have retreated into himself, his eyes haunted, and frustration locking his features. He looks just about ready to tear out his hair when Luke speaks again, in a lower, even more deadly tone. “Now!"
I almost gape at him. I’ve never heard his voice like that before - dark and murderous. His eyes are fixed intensely on Billy, like he wants to tear the man apart.
I've always had a feeling that there was more to Luke than his happy-go-lucky, mischievous side, or his caretaker side. Now I see that I was right.
A ferocious being lies under the surface, and is now just about ready to attack. He was already pissed at Billy, from yelling at Chase, before I even walked up. I'm mad at Billy too, honestly, but I hope that I don't have to pull Luke off Billy, because this isn't the time for it.
Luckily, Billy catches sight of Luke’s face and a look of resignation crashes into his features.
“I didn’t tell you two everything,” he says and for the first time, he doesn’t look at me when he talks. His shoulders sag and he actively avoids my gaze. "I didn’t tell you the truth about why I’m in town. Or why I left."
"Oh gee, really?” Luke’s sarcastic tone rings out and I resist the urge to nudge him in the stomach. I understand his frustration, but this isn’t the time. We need to find out how my son could possibly be in danger.
"We already know you're a liar, Priest," Luke comments cynically, impatience in his tone. "Now get to the point."
Billy shakes his head sorrowfully. “I know, and I’m sorry for being so shady but…. we don’t have time to get into it. I promise I'll tell you the truth later, but wereallyneed to go get Chase right now.”
I’m torn. On one hand, I want to go find my son right now and comfort him, after he just heard life-changing news. On the other hand, I need to know what we're protecting him from. I don’t even really believe Billy because that’s a crazy thing to say but if it’s true, I need to know what danger Billy, and I by association, have put Chase in. The guilt is tearing me up inside, and the fact that I don't even know what's going on has anxiety spiraling through me. Ultimately, my maternal instinct kicks in and I want to go be with him.
“I’m going to go get my son,” I interject, then jog to the front of the building.
I push out of the front doors and look to the right, then to the left, expecting to see Chase against the building wall, on the sidewalk. He’s not there. I run to our car to see if he’s standing by it. He’s not. My heart starts to pound. I run back in and check the bathroom. He’s not there.
I've heard of fight or flight, but I've never had this knee-locking, bone-tingling fear before. My son is in danger? A danger I don’t even understand yet. I need to know what’s happening.
I run back to the boys.
“He’s not out there! He’s not in the bathroom! Where could he have gone?”
“Let’s walk and talk,” Luke says, in an urgent tone. “You can tell us what we need to know as we look,” turning to Billy.
“It might be faster if we search individually,” Billy says.
“Maybe, but hell if I’m leaving Mia or Mikey alone. And I think it’ll be faster if we know what the hell is going on!"
Billy looks like he wants to argue but then again, Luke’s words leave no room for refusal. Luke doesn't even wait for an answer, leaning down and swinging Mikey up in his arms. The poor boy looks freaked out by our conversation, and I wish I could protect him from all this.
Luke presses a kiss to his son's hair and murmurs something to him. Mikey nods and leans his head on his shoulder and Luke immediately starts in a stride, taking my hand as he moves. “Come on. We're wasting time.” I know that the last part was for Billy's benefit, so he immediately falls in step with us.
Mikey typically doesn’t like being touched but I give his hand a reassuring squeeze, and he squeezes back.
"Chase is fine," I say as confidently as I can. "He probably just took a walk."
Mikey nods slowly, but he doesn't look as convinced.
“Chase," Luke calls as we get outside. The parking lot is pretty much deserted by now and there’s no answer but the nippy wind. He tries again. “Chase, come on man. You’re mother is worried out of her mind. If you’re hiding somewhere, come on out. You can punish us later, but we need to make sure you're safe.”
I glance at him. Luke seems to be more terrified than I am. He hides his terror pretty well, but the tension is rolling off him.
“You gonna start talking any time soon, Billy boy, or am I going to have to hit you first?”
We continue to walk toward the back of the building, where a thicket of bushes leads into a small, narrow, wooded area.
“I’ll start talking,” he says. “It's just, I don’t even know where to start. It’s not exactly an easy story to tell.”
“Start at the beginning.”
