Something must’ve happened.

“I have to take this,” I said, putting down my kickstand as I swung off the bicycle. I swiped my finger across the phone, walking away from Shade so I could answer.

“We have to leave now,” Hannah said, her voice frantic. “Like, right now. All of us.”

“Calm down,” I told her in a low voice, glancing back toward Shade. He’d gotten off his own bike and was walking toward me. I turned and started walking faster. “Tell me what happened.”

“Three guys showed up right after you left,” Hannah said. “I recognized one of them—he used to come around and talk to Randy sometimes. The other two were strangers. They said Randy owes them money. They… Mandy, they grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. Really hard. I thought it was going to break. Then the bastard told me that Randy needs to pay up or they’ll hurt the girls. One of the other guys was staring at Callie and it wasn’t right. Like, I think he’s into her. Wants to… Mandy, I think he wants to do things to her. I’m so scared. I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my life.”

“Fuck,” I said, the words hitting me like a blow. I swayed, stunned. “You’re right. We have to get the hell away from this town. Now.”

“I know,” she said. “Call Sara. Call her right now and see if we can get a ride or borrow her car or something. I can throw some things into a backpack and—”

Abruptly, the phone was taken out of my hand. Shade caught my arm, spinning me to face him as he raised it to his ear.

“She’ll call you later,” he said, then hung it up. Fucking bastard! I slapped at him, lunging for the phone. He grabbed me by the waist from the side, then lifted me, my back to his stomach. I kicked back, trying to get him, but nothing worked. “Settle the fuck down. No phone until you tell me what’s really going on.”

Fury filled me. I wanted to kill him.

No, Wonder Woman said. You have to calm down. Manage this. Work the situation and protect the girls. They’re all that matters.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to settle. Shade held me, leaning forward to speak directly into my ear.

“You ready to talk to me or what?”

No, I was ready to kill him.

“Yes,” I managed to say, gritting my teeth. “Let me go.”

He lowered me but kept one wrist held tight. Then he twisted it around behind me, forcing me into his body. He’d caught me this way the first time we kissed, but this time his eyes weren’t full of heat. They were cold. Angry. I stared up at him, chest heaving, hating him and Randy and Trevor and every other man who’d ever fucked up my life.

“Tell me what happened,” he said, his voice icy. It was an order, not a request. The phone buzzed and I knew Hannah had to be frantic. Shade’s face was grim—he wasn’t going to give up until he got what he wanted.

“Hannah’s ex is causing trouble,” I said quickly. “We have to leave town. Today. I’m going to pick up my money so we can buy bus tickets. You need to let me go right now, okay? It’s none of your business.”

His fingers tightened on me. “And were you planning to give me a heads-up about this?”

“No,” I said. “I was too busy worrying about my sister and her kids. You’re just a fucking one-night stand, okay?”

“Yeah, well, we never had breakfast,” he said. “That means the night isn’t over and you’re trying to sneak out before I wake up. That’s bullshit and you know it.”

“It’s not about you,” I hissed. “It just isn’t. You don’t get a vote in this. I have to go and I have to go now.”

Shade let the one hand go, keeping my other wrist captive. I jerked hard, trying to get away. Might as well have been cuffed to him. He gave me the phone.

“Call your sister,” Shade said, his voice softening. “Tell her I’m bringing you back to the trailer. The two of you are going to tell me everything. Everything. Think it through, babe. If you really need to bug out, you’re not gonna get far without a car. We’ll talk it over and find a solution. You can bullshit all you want about sex and one-night stands, but I’m not done with you yet and you know it. I get what I want, and I want you. If I have to deal with some drama to make it happen, then I guess I’ll deal with some drama.”

“This isn’t drama, Shade. This is serious shit.”

He caught and held my gaze. “Serious shit is what I do, Mandy. We can handle it.”

There was something in his face, something strong and dangerous that almost had me believing he meant it. God, if only… I dialed Hannah’s number and she picked up almost instantly.

“What happened?” she asked. “Did they find you?”

“No,” I told her. “But Shade’s here. He’s bringing me home and then we’re going to talk.”

“You didn’t tell him, did you?”

“Not all of it, but enough… He says we need to talk about it. Maybe he can help.”

She fell silent for a moment. “He can’t help, can he?”

“Honestly? I don’t know,” I whispered. “We’ll be there in a few minutes. Try not to freak out too much. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Hanging up, I turned to Shade. The sun was behind him, turning him into a dark, looming profile of a man. Threatening. Intimidating. Implacable. I should’ve stayed away from him. I thought I’d met fun, sexy Shade, but that’d only been a front. He’d been scary Shade all along. I’d just been in denial.

“Leave the bicycle over there,” he said, nodding toward a fence. “We’ll come pick it up later. Then get your ass on the back of my bike.”

Shade

I listened as Mandy and Hannah told me the whole story, wishing I could feel surprised. I’d seen a lot of ugly in the world, though. Far too much ugly to doubt for a second that they were in real danger. The situation didn’t set right. Wasn’t a big fan of pedophiles. Also wasn’t a big fan of men who’d sell out their own kids for drugs.

I’d have been willing to step in on this one even if I wasn’t fuckin’ Mandy, and that was the truth.

As for her and her sister, they were like two kicked puppies. Mandy looked defeated. Hannah, too. All the while, her little girls were running around, playing some sort of elaborate game with sticks and leaves in the dust. I supposed they were cute enough. You know, if you liked children. I never had. Even so, the thought of some asshole touching them… Nope.