He smirks, then disappears into the crowd. In class, I can't focus. Patch's warning echoes in my head. Someone's targeting you. To get to us, the final bell is a relief.
I wheel out quickly, scanning the parking lot for Patch. He's not there. Instead, a police cruiser idles by the curb. Deputy Hargrove steps out, adjusts his belt. Eli, he calls.
Your mom asked me to pick you up. I frown. She did? He nods. She got held up at work.
Called the station. That doesn't sound like mom. She knows I'm supposed to wait for Patch. I'll wait for Patch. I say.
Deputy Hargrove smile is tight. Your mom was very specific. Eli, she doesn't want you with those bikers anymore, especially after what happened to your chair. How does he know about my chair? I don't believe you.
I say. His smile disappears. Get in the car, Eli. Don't make this difficult. Students watch from the sidewalk.
A teacher pauses on the steps. I'm trapped and Deputy Hargrove knows it. Fine, I say. He helps me into the cruiser, folds my chair, puts it in the trunk. As we pull away, I look back at the school.
No sign of patch. Where are we going? I ask. Station first. Deputy Harg says.
Your mom's meeting us there. That sounds wrong, too. Mom would never leave work to meet me at the police station. I reach under my seat, feeling for the compartment Pat showed me. The phone is there.
I pull it out carefully, keeping it hidden from Harrove's rearview mirror. One number is programmed in. I press call. The phone rings once, twice, then Hawk's voice. Eli.
He sounds tense. Deputy Hargrove picked me up from school. I whisper as quietly as I can. Says, "Mom sent him. " "I don't. " Deputy Hargrove's hand reaches back, snatches the phone. "Who is this? " he demands into it, his face darken.
"You stay away from the boy, Jen. He's not your concern anymore. " He rolls down the window, throws the phone out. "That was stupid, Eli," he says. Very stupid. Fear coils in my stomach.
Where are we really going? Deputy Hargrove meets my eyes in the rearview mirror. Somewhere we can talk about your new friends. About the trouble they're bringing to my town. They're not trouble.
I say they're helping me. He laughs. Is that what you think? They're using you, boy. To get to me to mess with my operation.
What operation? He doesn't answer. We turn onto a road I don't recognize heading out of town. My mom doesn't know where I am, does she? I ask.
She'll know soon enough. Deputy Harrove says, "When I explain how the hell angels kidnapped you, how they're a danger to the town, nobody will believe that they will when they find your blood on Hawk's knife. Ice floods my veins. You're going to kill me. " "No," he says calmly. "Jensen is or that's how it'll look. " The road narrows.
Trees close in on either side. We're heading into the woods away from witnesses. "Why? " I ask, my voice shakes. "Why me? " Deputy Hargrove size. "Wrong place, wrong time, kid.