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Chapter 6
Patrick
Amara must have driven like she was in NASCAR because by the time I get to her apartment complex, she looks like she’s been pacing outside for hours.
“They aren’t here.” She runs toward me, her hands shaking.
I take hold of them and pull her into my arms. “Hey, it's going to be alright. Let me make a quick call and we’ll find out where Justin is.” I keep rubbing her back with one hand while the other calls my contact at the Agency.
“I need you to track the phone of Justin Wilson.”
An unnamed man responds. “The same deal as last time?”
“Yes.” Sometimes the Agency deals in cash, but sometimes they want favors. I’ll agree to anything if it helps Amara find her son.
There’s some clicking in the background, like he’s working on a keyboard. Within a minute, he’s done. “I just sent the location to your phone with a personalized tracking app for his, and only his, phone.”
“Thank you.”
He hangs up without responding. Fine with me. I open the app immediately, then show the screen to Amara. “Babe, look. Justin’s right around the corner. He’ll be here within two minutes. We’ll find out what’s going on.”
It’s evident that two minutes felt like eternity to Amara. When Justin pulls into the parking lot, we can clearly see the top of Josiah’s head in the passenger seat of the car. Briefly, Amara sags into me with apparent relief.
“He’s okay. Thank god he’s okay.” She wipes the tears from her eyes before straightening, adjusts her shirt, and marches to where Justin has parked the car.
“Hey, J-Baby.” Amara opens the passenger door and pulls Josiah into a hug. Her relief is like a palpable force, wrapping securely around her son. She holds him for a minute. The sight of them together makes my chest tighten. I want that. I want to wrap my arms around both of them, protect them from the world, and become one of the people they love.
“Josiah, sweetie, go inside and get cleaned up. I think we have some cookies in the cupboard. Have a snack and I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Okay, Mom.” He scampers to the apartment, waving at me along the way. “Hi, Mr. Pat!”
I wave back but keep most of my attention on Amara and Justin. Joining them, I put my arm around her shoulders to maintain the charade that we’re together. Though it won’t be a charade for long if I have anything to say about it.
“Justin.” Amara sounds furious. “What the hell? You can’t just pick Josiah up from school without telling me.”
“He’s my son too.” He sounds like a tool.
“That has nothing to do with it. I thought he’d been kidnapped! I was two minutes away from calling the police.”
He rolls his eyes. “Calm down. I just wanted to take him out for a burger. You’re the one making it into a big deal.”
If I wasn’t worried about Josiah peeking out a window, I’d punch this douche in the face. The way he disrespects Amara infuriates me. He hasn’t seen how hard she works, both at work and at home. He hasn’t seen how she makes things work, even when life gets challenging. Hell, he didn’t even show up to Josiah’s birthday party and now he has the balls to tell her to calm down.
What a dick.
Amara apparently agrees with me. “Get out of here,” she hisses. “You don’t deserve me or Josiah. As soon as you leave, I’m calling my lawyer.”
Justin just shrugs and walks back to his car, adopting one of those swaggers that only the douchiest of douches use.
After he drives away, Amara and I turn to each other. She’s so beautiful, even with the evidence of her tears. It doesn’t detract in any way from her commitment to, and obvious love for, her son.
“Thank you for helping me find him.” A summer storm brews in her wide, grey eyes.
“Of course. I’m happy to do it.”
“I know. And I appreciate it.” She takes a deep breath, and I watch her gather her resolve. “But we can’t continue this way.”
“Say what you mean.” A sense of foreboding fills me.
“Josiah has to be my number one priority. Today, as soon as I got distracted, something happened to him.” She wrings her hands, begging me with her eyes to understand. “I can’t afford to mess around with you if it means not being there when my son needs me.”
“Amara, no. This had nothing to do with us.” I’m a smart man; I can connect the dots. She feels guilty because we shared an intimate moment at the same time Justin was taking her kid. But I connect the dots differently. He had no way of knowing what Amara and I were doing in the office. He would have done this regardless. “This is on Justin. He’s the one who broke your trust.”
“I’m sorry, but we need to keep things strictly professional from now on.”
Shaking my head, I stare down at her. “I understand what you’re trying to do. I understand that you’ve been hurt, and that you believe the safest option is to go back to doing everything on your own.
“But if you think a scumbag like Justin gets to determine our relationship, you’re dead wrong. I’m here for you and Josiah. I’ve proved it and I will keep proving it. I’m in. I’m not going anywhere. You just need to believe it.”
