“I’m going.” Sissy stomped to the stairway in a teenage snit that had her believing she was right and everyone else was screwed up. “Willa, the next time you go out, I’ll watch the kids.” Her hands were clenched by her sides when she made her demand.
“No, Sissy, you won’t. It’s not about proving you’re capable of watching them or that you can make me give in to you; it’s about their safety.”
“Are you saying they aren’t safe with me?” she spat at her hatefully.
“I’m saying I won’t take the chance with their safety,” she countered.
“I’m going to prove you wrong. I’ll make sure we’re here only long enough for me to turn eighteen.”
“Go for it, Sissy. Prove me wrong. No one will be on your side, cheering you on as much as me.”
Sissy’s mouth tightened into a sneer. “I hate you!”
“I love you,” Willa replied, listening to the girl run up the steps and slamming her bedroom door.
“Lord, give me the strength to deal with her pain. Can my life become any more difficult?” she mumbled the question out loud to herself as she straightened the couch cushions.
Loud music blared down the steps.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Chapter 6
A knock sounded at the door as Willa was placing a cake in the oven. Using a dish towel, she wiped the powdered sugar from her fingertips as she went to answer it.
“I’ve got it.”
Willa watched as Sissy came down the steps, dressed in a short skirt and cream tank top. Sissy opened the door, revealing a young man Willa wished she didn’t recognize.
“Hey, Sissy, you ready?” Jace asked, his eyes going over Sissy’s trim body appreciatively.
Before she could answer, Willa broke in. “Where are you going?”
Sissy rolled her eyes at Jace before she answered. “We’re going to a movie. I’ll be back later.”
“I’ll expect you by ten,” Willa stated firmly.
Sissy brushed past Jace, leaving without either confirming or denying she would keep her curfew.
“I’ll have her back by ten,” Jace promised before following after the headstrong girl.
“Thanks,” Willa said, closing the door after them.
Returning to the kitchen, she continued with her baking. She had several orders to complete tonight so they could be delivered in the morning.
She worked steadily until she had frosted the last order of two dozen cupcakes for a birthday party. Closing the pretty pink box, she glanced at the clock, frowning when she saw the time—ten forty-five.
“So much for Jace’s promises.” Biting her lip, she went to her living room window, looking outside at the empty street.
Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, she called Sissy’s phone. When she didn’t answer, she called Drake, Jace’s father.
“Hello.”
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Drake, but are Jace and Sissy there?”
“No, Jace isn’t here. Why would Sissy be here?” he said sharply.
“They went out earlier tonight. I asked Sissy to be home by ten, and she’s not home yet.”
“He’s out with Sissy?”
“Yes. Do you have a problem with him dating Sissy?” Willa began to feel outrage on behalf of Sissy.
“I don’t”—his voice was filled with amusement—“but his girlfriend Nicole might.”
“Oh. Do you have any idea where they could be?”
“No, Jace doesn’t confide in me where he takes his women.”
“Sissy is just seventeen. She’s a child,” Willa snapped.
“Maybe to you and me, but not to Jace.” Willa sensed that Drake thought she was overreacting. “Hang on, Willa. I have another call.” The other end of the phone went silent.
She was about to hang up in frustration when he came back on the line.
“I know where they are. I’ll be there in five minutes to pick you up.”
“Wait, I have the other children … I can’t just leave.”
“They’re at the sheriff’s office.” His statement had Willa’s protests dying on her lips.
“I’ll be ready.” Willa disconnected the call before hastily punching in another number. Thankfully, her neighbor from across the street agreed to come over.
Willa was stepping out her front door when Drake pulled up in her driveway.
“What did they do?” Willa asked as soon as she closed his car door.
“You know as much as I do. Knox told me he would talk to both of us when we reached his office.”
“Do you think it’s really bad?” Willa asked worriedly, never having dealt with a problem like this before.
Drake took his eyes off the road for a second. “Yes, Willa, I think it’s bad.”
His grim response had her apprehension increasing until her nerves were wrung tightly. When they arrived at the sheriff’s office, she followed Drake, who seemed much more familiar with the situation than she was.
They took a seat until Knox called them into his office. Then Drake demanded answers as soon as Knox closed his door, confirming her suspicions that Drake had been in this position before.
“What did Jace do this time?”
Knox motioned for them to take a seat. When they were both seated, the sheriff took the chair behind his desk.
“Jace, Cal, and Sissy were caught breaking into the factory of The Last Riders.”