“Was there a specific girl in his life at that time? Or Buck’s?” I asked, making sure not to refer to the man as Tate’s father.
Another shake of Tate’s head. “No,” was all he said. His lack of a response told me there was more to it than just that, but I didn’t press him. In reality, it didn’t matter.
“Look, if I knew more, I’d tell you,” Tate said as he finally lifted his eyes. “Just…just leave us alone, please? I can’t help you.”
I steeled myself to ignore the pleading in his voice as well as the pity I felt for him for Matty’s condition. It changed nothing. I held Tate’s gaze as I said, “Yeah, you can. And you will.”
Chapter Four
Tate
My whole body seized up at Hawke’s words and I knew I was fucked. I’d been foolish enough to forget for a few minutes that this man was not my friend. My desperation to have someone to share my burdens with had blinded me to who he was and why he was here. And as his hard blue eyes held mine, I felt the knot of tension in my gut build. I willed myself not to escape into my head like I wanted to because I couldn’t risk not being completely aware if he went after Matty to get to me.
But focusing was harder than I thought as I kept hearing the doctor’s mechanical voice repeating that same word over and over again.
Leukemia.
Cancer. Matty had cancer. My sweet, funny, kind-hearted little boy had cancer.
And he was just that – my little boy. He’d become that the moment I’d stolen him in the dead of night from the doublewide trailer I’d shared with Denny and Buck. I was his father and there was absolutely nothing I could do for him. I’d spent two years trying to protect him from the worst kind of evil, but I couldn’t protect him from the disease that coursed through his blood. And I couldn’t protect him from the man across from me either. I could try, but Hawke could best me physically and, based on the certainty of his voice a moment ago, he had already bested me mentally by taking away my choices. Despair rushed through me as I realized I was back exactly where I’d been two years earlier…only now I had a new jailer.
“What do you want?” I managed to ask, though my voice sounded like a hoarse croak.
“A couple of days of your time, that’s it,” Hawke said easily…too easily.
“For what?” I stammered. I hated that the man sat so comfortably in the chair across from me…like we were old buddies just shooting the breeze. I wondered if the son of a bitch liked playing with me because he had to know how scared I was.
“You come with me to Lulling…help me find Buck and Denny-”
“No,” I said before the last syllable even left his mouth. “Absolutely not.”
I finally saw a reaction in the man – an almost imperceptible hardening of his jaw – and I felt my heart lurch in my chest. “Matty needs to be admitted to the hospital within the next couple of days,” I added, hoping that would somehow make this man see that what he was asking was impossible. Even if Matty hadn’t been sick, my answer would have been the same, but I didn’t tell him that.
“I have some friends who can watch Matty while he’s getting treated.”
“Friends?” I asked stupidly.
“In Seattle.”
I laughed before I could stop myself and stood up. “You’re insane,” I snapped, my anger replacing my fear.
His irritation was no longer subtle as he got to his feet. I half expected to see him pull out the gun, but he didn’t. He just strode towards me and didn’t stop until he was just inches away. The kitchen counter was at my back so I had no way to escape him.
“Here’s my offer, Tate,” he bit out. I hated the way my name sounded on his lips – like a curse. “We leave for Seattle tomorrow. I’ll make sure Matty gets the finest care possible and I’ll pay for it…all of it, no matter how long it takes. In return, you give me a week in Lulling.”
I shook my head emphatically. “I am not leaving my son!”
I expected Hawke to point out that Matty wasn’t mine, but he didn’t. He just stepped even closer to me, his body almost brushing mine. I could feel the heat from his body drifting over me and I had the overwhelming urge to wrap my arms around him and try to soak some of it up because every part of me felt bitterly cold.
“One of my friends is a doctor-”
“I don’t care,” I snapped. Since he was taller than me, I was forced to look up at him and the move made me feel small and insignificant. Powerless.