Carson’s head snaps up. “You were there?” He grabs him by the front of Carver’s cut. “The Scorpions didn’t see you, did they?”
Carver looks at me. “Who the fuck does this kid think he is?”
“Did they know you were there or not?” Carson demands.
“No one but her,” Carver says, shoving Carson away from him. “Don’t ever fucking grab me like that again.”
Carson pulls his phone out of his pocket.
“What is going on?” I ask way more calmly than I feel.
His shoulders fall in relief after he looks at his messages. He ignores me to take a selfie. He sends it to someone with a quick text and then, only then, does he fucking look at me.
“I’ve got everything under control, boss,” he says coolly.
“Under control would be my woman safe and sound. Is she safe and sound?”
“She is.” He glances around our group as we sit together under a big tent. “We should get the troops together and head on over to the concert.”
Carver makes another sound I can’t decipher, but he stands and whistles. Shelly hands Mila over to me. “I hear music,” she says, cupping her hands behind her little ears.
“When we get inside, you have to put your headphones on,” I remind her. “It will keep Mila’s ears safe.”
She smiles wide, and my heart fills with gratitude and love. At the same time, it bleeds for Serenity. I wish she was here with us. This whole situation makes me feel as helpless as I did on the nights I sat vigil outside Janet’s trailer.
“For Mila,”Serenity whispers on the wind.
Mila looks up to the sky and shields her eyes with one hand while patting me on the face with the other. “Birdie!”
I stop, tipping my head back to watch a hawk fly overhead. We watch until it’s no longer visible. Suddenly, I realize we’ve held up the entire group.
Carson walks up behind me. “It’s cool, brother. We’re in no hurry.” He waves everyone else on ahead.
“I can’t take one more step until I know she’s safe. It’s taking everything in me not to go and drag her back home myself.”
“The best man I know has eyes on her,” he assures me.
There’s no doubt in my mind as to who he’s talking about. “Why would he do that?”
Mila leans toward him, and he takes her from my arms. “He protects his family.”
“Serenity is not his family.”
“No, but I am and she’s part of mine.”
Again, his confidence in his family is so immense, I know he had to have been raised by incredibly good humans. If he trusts Serenity is safe, then I can too … at least I can try.
He juggles my sister to one side as he pulls out his phone to show me a picture his mom sent him a few minutes ago. “The calm before the storm,” he reads the caption out loud.
I stare at the calm lake, the storm clouds reflecting off the glassy surface. This was taken at the Skull’s warehouse.
“She’s letting me know all is well.”
“But the storm hasn’t passed?”
He shakes his head. “No, but it won’t be long.”
“Uncle CC,” Mila says, patting his face so she has all of his attention. She points to the grandstands ahead of us. “Let’s go.”