Jax looked up when he heard the running footsteps. Then Annie came around the corner, pale and panting for breath. Her uniform was crumpled and stained with what looked like coffee and ketchup. She looked like hell.
“Jax!” she cried.
He glanced at Noah. King and Mac had been sitting with him for the past thirty minutes, looking at his baseball cards. They’d been playing some game where the guys asked Noah stats about different players, and Noah was happier and more engaged than Jax had ever seen him. But when he heard the panic in Annie’s voice, Noah looked tense again.
Jax got to his feet, met Sarah’s mother. He took her elbow gently.
“Let’s go talk over here, OK?” he said quietly. “Away from Noah?”
She looked at her son, blinked at Mac and King.
Jesus Christ, who the hell are thes
