Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,13
children?”
“I’ll just send her a message now that we’re on our way, and will let her know about the recording device.” She types quickly on an open laptop to her left, smiling when she strikes the last key.
“She’s aware, and they’re ready for you.”
With a polite nod to Miss Crabtree, I collect my files and tape recorder, and follow the superintendent to the closed office I’d passed earlier. Knocking quietly, she opens the door, apologizes for interrupting, and introduces me to the counselor, Mrs. Parks, who waves me inside. The second I walk over the threshold, two pairs of eyes focus intently on me, like they know I’m here for them.
Dear God. There’s no doubt the images I have are of the same children sitting in front of me, their worry clear as day on their faces. The same eyes. Same faces. By all appearances, they look healthy, but physical health doesn’t prove there’s no physical abuse, if that’s the case here.
Stepping inside the office, I nod when Ms. Pyle closes the door behind us. Taking the only available seat in the room next to Natalie, I tuck my briefcase beside my feet on the floor, but quickly conceal the recorder on the top of it, away from the kids’ line of sight. She recoils back in her chair and leans closer to her brother, who’s staring a hole right through me with angry eyes.
“Who’s she?” Kevin mutters to the counselor.
“A friend,” I reply sweetly. “My name is Grace. What’s your name?”
“A friend would know our name,” he fires back.
I smile. “Of course.”
“Kevin Tucker,” Mrs. Parks admonishes.
Kevin eyes me up and down, analyzing every inch of me, like he’s one of those X-ray scanners at the airport looking for dangerous objects. He frowns, unamused at my assumption of being their friend. If I had been in the system for as long as they had, I’d be wary of anyone claiming to be my friend as well. I have to play this carefully, or risk losing the chance of speaking to them one-on-one. Well, one-on-two.
“I understand you’re both new here. Did you just move?”
Natalie remains quiet, while Kevin rolls his eyes at me. “Why does that matter?”
“It’s just a part of getting to know you both as new students,” Mrs. Parks coolly lies. “Please answer the question, Kevin.”
“Yes. We moved here a few weeks ago.”
“With your family?”
Natalie shoots a puzzled look over to her brother before leaning in to whisper in his ear, but he shakes his head to silence her.
“With our uncle.”
Uncle? What about their mother? She’s their legal guardian, so for the kids to be living with another family member strikes me as odd. Curious, even, because not a single family member came forward to take custody of them when their mother had been arrested. If this uncle can take them in now, why didn’t he previously? The more I think about it, the more the swirling pit of uneasiness unfurls inside of me.
It’s plausible she handed over custody to their uncle, but we should’ve been notified with the change of status in their prior cases. A search of the court case records should give me insight into if it was legally done, but the problem will be if there is even a record at all. So many custodial parents with a history of drug abuse or criminal activity dump their kids on a family member’s doorstep, never to be seen again. The key to all of this is finding out how they ended up with his man, and where their mother is.
“What’s your uncle’s name?”
“Jud—Uncle Eugene.”
“Do you like where you live?”
His body tenses. Too soon, Grace. Too soon. Get back on track.
“You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to, Kevin.”
“Can we go back to class now? My sister and I have been sick. I don’t want to fall further behind in our schoolwork.”
The urgency to flee is obvious in his voice. He’s uncomfortable with my line of questions. Mrs. Parks shoots over a concerned glare. I’m losing him, and pressing more might shut him down completely. I’m at a proverbial dead end until I can verify all the information now in my possession and speak with their uncle. My time is up.
“Seriously, can we leave now?” he asks, this time with a little more attitude as he gets to his feet and reaches out for his sister.
“It’s okay, Kevin. You and Natalie can go back to class.”
Without another word, they leave the room like it’s