He didn’t react. He simply stared.
“I need to know he’s okay,” I pleaded this time. Fear that he was hiding something seized my emotions. “I need to see him.” His gaze never wavered, and doubt seeped in.
I may never get through to him.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I didn’t let go until I heard him speak.
“Bring the kid,” he ordered. He shoved his phone in his pocket, stood back, and fixed his jacket. When he caught me staring, he pointed toward the bathroom. “Go pull yourself together. Your son doesn’t need to see you like this.”
I didn’t move. I was afraid it could be a trick.
“It was not a request.”
I didn’t hesitate that time. I closed myself in the bathroom and washed the tracks from my face only for new ones to appear. It took me a few extra minutes to pull myself together.
I haven’t seen my son in a week. I would finally get to hold him close and smell his hair.
The unmistakable sound of my baby’s laughter drove me from the bathroom. I stood in the doorway and watched Z interact with my son. He made silly faces at Caylen who ate it up.
Angel’s gaze was fixed on the baby, but his expression was unreadable. I was nervous about what he was thinking. His mercy was likely holding on by a thread.
I held my breath as I closed the distance between Caylen and me. What I really wanted was to take my son and run as fast as I could. “May I hold him?”
Two sets of eyes immediately fell on me. Caylen was a little slower to take notice. With his fist now in his mouth, he finally noticed me and smiled.
He looked healthy and happy as he kicked his feet and made spit bubbles.
They hadn’t hurt him.
I got choked up as I reached out for him.
“Wait,” Angel ordered. “Put this on.” It was the robe Lucas tried to dress me in before. I hesitated, but the retribution in his eyes made me take it and slip it on. The material was soft and fine, and most of all, didn’t leave me so exposed even though I had been right about the length.
Z finally handed him to me, and when my arms closed around him, my heart folded in, and my body threatened to collapse.
“Jesus…” Angel had sworn a millisecond before his hand closed around my trembling arm and he led me toward the chair. “Sit before you drop him.”
I sat and immediately leaned in to smell Caylen’s scent. He smelled clean, and his skin was no longer pale. It was a while before I noticed the silence. Z was gone, but Angel stood near the door again where he watched us.
“Who has been taking care of him?”
“I’ve been personally seeing to it.”
“You think you’re capable of caring for my son ?”
“You should know the rules of this game by now. He belongs to me until I have my property back.”
“Have you lost your mind?” I hissed. It was a struggle not to keep my voice level. I didn’t want to scare Caylen. “He’s not property to be bartered. He’s a human being, and he’s my son.”
“That’s your opinion,” he answered smoothly.
“It’s fact. We are not yours.”
“You’re both guests in my home until I decide otherwise. You have nowhere to go unless I say so. You will not eat or drink unless I say so. You will do what I say when I say. I think that does make you mine. If you want the best for your son, I suggest you make do with that.”
“And if I refuse?”
“I’ll take your son from you, and you’ll never see him again. That includes anyone you care for.”
Suspicion crept down my spine. “There’s no one else.”
“So you say.”
“My dad is in prison. You can’t touch him.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“What do you want from me? My story checked out, didn’t it? Why are we still here?”
“You know why. You were the last person in my home before the book that ensures my family’s legacy continues went missing.”
“But you know I didn’t take it.”
“If that’s true, you have nothing to worry about. When it’s recovered, you’ll be free to go.”
“But that’s what you said about the watch!”
“Things changed.”
“Like hell.”
“In the meantime,” he continued, “what we want from you, you won’t fight it, will you?”
“ We ?”
“Will. You?”
I studied him—the evil in his eyes and the confident way he held himself. I needed to protect my son from him. Maybe that meant losing a few battles to win the war.
I nodded and swallowed back the bile that rushed up.
Just then, Caylen started to fuss until his fussing turned into a cry. Soon he was screaming at the top of his lungs. My attention had already turned to him, so I missed the concern etched on Angel’s face, but I heard it when he asked, “What’s wrong with him?”
I ignored him and felt Caylen’s diaper. “He’s probably hungry.” The last thing I wanted was to ask him for anything but my hand was forced. “I need his food.”