Page 96 of Truck Up
“Alright, Hannah,” Aaron says. “I’m going to try to make this as painless as possible.”
I glance over at Cameron and he’s shivering. Either he’s freezing or the adrenaline of the evening’s events is wearing off.
I grab another blanket and wrap it around his shoulders. He hardly responds to the action.Yep, he’s in shock.
“It’s okay.” I cup his cheek, and he looks up at me. “My brother is an excellent doctor. Your mom is in good hands.”
He nods and settles back into the couch, hugging the blanket around him. Now that he looks a little more comfortable, I head to the refrigerator and grab the milk so I can make Cameron a cup of hot chocolate. Hopefully, it will warm him and settle his nerves.
I glance over at Christian, and despite the horrific nature of this situation, I smile. He’s like a whole new man to me right now. A man I am very proud of.
I wish everyone could see him the way that I do. If only he’d let the rest of the world see just how good he is.
It would change everyone’s perspective of him. Every time I discover something new about him, it makes my love for him grow.
And tonight’s discovery changed my life forever.
“I don’t understand.”Mom huffs and tosses the flowers she just picked out on the counter. Her frustration is evident, and apparently, we all have to experience it with her. She’s been likethis all morning, throwing out random questions with no context to support them.
“What don’t you understand now, Mom?” I ask, even though I know I’ll regret it.
“Any of it.” She throws her hands in the air like she’s at her wit’s end.
I take a deep breath and bite back the irritated comment I want to make. Instead, I calm my voice and try to get her to get to the point. “Can you be more specific?”
She turns to me with her hands on her hips like she’s getting ready to launch into a lecture. I close my eyes and take several deep breaths.
Why did I ask?
“Where is Christian?” Her tone is firm, just like she used to do when we were kids and acting up.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t be coy with me. Rumor has it he’s the one who put Charlie Fisher in the hospital. What did that man do?”
I drop my face into my hands to hide a silent scream, even though I really want to let it rip.
“Mom, use logic and stop listening to rumors. Please. He was at Posey’s hanging out with his brothers last night. Why on earth would Christian beat-up Charlie, anyway?”
She huffs. “You tell me? And if he was at Posey’s, then why did the cops see his truck leaving the scene? What has that man gotten himself mixed up in now? And no one can find Hannah and her son. This is so concerning.”
I turn my back to Mom because I don’t want her to see the hurt on my face. While I understand why everyone jumps to negative conclusions where he’s concerned, they couldn’t be more wrong about him.
If they only knew what he was really doing, he’d be the town hero. So would Edge.
Lord knows his secret activities changed my life forever.
I knew he and Edge were friendly. Many have speculated for years that Christian is a secret member of the motorcycle club. He’s not. His connection to the club is much more personal.
I don’t know the specifics, but the club is somehow connected to his mom’s drug addiction and his initial introduction to drugs. The former president of the club was a terrible man. When Edge took over leadership, he changed a lot about the club’s operations. Their illegal drug operation was the first thing he dismantled.
The club is still operating outside the law, but what they’re doing now is good. Great actually. I’ve never been so proud of someone as I am of Christian and Aaron. Apparently, Aaron has been helping Edge for a while now too.
And I can’t tell anyone what they’re doing. They swore me to secrecy.
Which makes it impossible to answer Mom’s questions.
For several years now, they’ve both been helping Edge rescue abused women and children from life-threatening situations. When they rescued Hannah and Cameron last night, they risked exposing their operation to the world. They did it anyway to save Hannah.