Hard Break (Deadlines & Diamonds, #5) Read Online Free Page A

knuckles. Sadie hiked her backpack up on her shoulder.
    “Can you take Pene and sit at those tables for a minute?” The trio all nodded and went to the tables in the front foyer, sitting on the benches. Chase watched him with eagle eyes. The kid knew something was up, something big, but he didn’t ask.
    Ian leaned over the high counter to whisper to Ms. Disapproving. “The kids probably won’t be back for a few days. Maybe a week or so. If you can have their teachers put together homework packets, I’ll pick them up and see that the kids get them done.”
    She stood, her rolling chair slamming back into the desk behind her. “You, sir, do not have authority to check them out for days .”
    “Again,” Ian said in a calm whisper , “when you understand the circumstances of my picking them up today, you’re going to feel like a first class bitch.”
    “They’re not going anywhere with you.” She grabbed the phone. “I’m calling the police.”
    Ian’s patience snapped. “Yeah, they’re a little busy mourning the death of one of their own.”
    Her eyes went Hoot Owl.
    He dug a business card out of his pocket. “My cell is on there. Please don’t bother Kayla right now. She’s got enough to deal with.”
    He didn’t wait for a response, just showed her his backside and left, posting a big smile on his face to greet the kids. “Who wants ice cream?”
    Two feminine, “Me!” came back at him. And one crystal blue set of eyes held his. Ian hadn’t ever realized how much Chase looked like his father. Interrogation seeped from every part of the boy. He wanted answers, answers Ian had promised not to give.

 
    Four
     
     
    W hen the four of them entered the house, the grandfather clock had just started chiming five o’clock. Ian had purposely gone the McDonald’s route, not for the make-believe ice cream, but for the playground which would give the kids some fun before their world got turned upside down and give Kayla time to…
    Ah, hell, he’d never be able to offer Kayla enough time to recover from losing Leon. He was her whole world. In the past, that fact damn near killed Ian. It did the same now, but in a very different way.
    H e’d do anything to spare her—and those three amazing kids—the pain lying ahead of them.
    The kids raced into the house. “Mommy?”
    “Why don’t you guys get started on your homework? I’ll track down your mom.”
    “Ian?” Chase slid out a chair from the table.
    “Yeah, bud.”
    He swallowed. “Why are you here?”
    “Just helping out.” Ian hoped to complete the nonchalant.
    “You’ve never picked us up from school before.”
    Ian tried for a smile. “You complainin’?”
    “No.”
    “Get started on your homework. I’ll go find your mom.”
    Chase dragged his backpack off to the kitchen.
    Ian stood at the bottom of the stairs and feared what he’d find at the top. He didn’t expect to find Kayla smiling when they’d returned, but he did have to admit to being surprised she hadn’t come downstairs. But then, hell, he didn’t kn ow why he should be surprised. Kayla had been dealt the biggest blow of her life. Strong as she was, a couple of hours wouldn’t be enough for her to bounce back. If she ever bounced back.
    He stalked up the stairs, his shoes whoosh ing on the carpeting. He knocked on the jamb of her bedroom door, stuck his head in. “Kayla?”
    “Yeah,” she called. “You can come in.”
    In the bathroom, she tugged at her hair, pulling it into a ponytail. She pressed at her puffy eyes with her fingertips and gave him a watery smile. “I’m a sight, huh?”
    “You’re beautiful.”
    She choked on a blubbery laugh. “You’re a liar.”
    “The kids are doing their homework. Chase knows something is wrong. The girls are pretty oblivious. Do you want me to stay?”
    “No.” She blinked, long and tight. Opening her eyes, she sniffed. “Yes. Please.”
    Tears sli d over her lids to cascade down her cheeks.
    He snapped a tissue