All I could do was wait. Wait for someone else to determine my worth. Determine if my son belonged with me when I already knew that he did. He was the only good thing I’d ever done in my life, yet I was helpless to save him from those strangers who didn’t know anything about us.
“I can’t sit here and do nothing.” My voice didn’t sound like my own, but that of a woman broken who could no longer hide it.
“I know, but we can’t roll up to wherever they’ve got him and take him,” Patrick said through gritted teeth. “I want to, but we’ve got to play by their rules until we figure out a way around them.”
“How? How are we going to convince them they’re wrong?”
“Who’ll vouch for you? We need character witnesses.”
I gripped his thighs with fear. “I’m not a likable person. Nobody will take up for me.”
“I will. Your family will. But we need somebody more. Someone who isn’t related to you.”
“If her opinion counts, why can’t my real family?”
“In this situation, they have to err on the side of caution for the good of the child.”
“This isn’t good for Blake,” I shouted.
He caressed my stomach and nuzzled my hair. “I wasn’t finished. And you’re right. In this case, they did the worst possible thing for him.”
“What if they decide I’m unfit?”
“We won’t give them that choice.”
I slumped against him. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter. You’ve seen for yourself what the justice system can do.”
“Then we get him with your dad. Or Andrew or Holt.”
“Can you be sure?”
“No.”
Patrick’s phone vibrated against my back. After he answered, he held it up to my ear.
“Hello?”
“The hearing is at two. I may have to meet you at the courthouse instead of coming by to pick you up.” Andrew sounded as if he hadn’t slept.
“Today?”
“Yeah. They took him without a court order, so this is an emergency hearing.”
My heart thumped. “Will I get him back today?”
“If all goes according to plan.” It seemed like too much to hope for. “Let me talk to Patrick.”
I handed the phone back and closed my eyes. The process was moving too quickly and not fast enough. There was no way we’d have the evidence to prove I hadn’t hurt Blake by this afternoon.
“They had photos of Blake with bruises?” Patrick growled as he tossed the phone onto the floor.
“You know I’d never hit him,” I whispered.
“I know.” He stroked my hair. “Where would she get photos like that?”
“She never kept him on her own. I was always with them.”
“Did you see the pictures?”
I twisted around. “Yeah. They were awful.” Worse than that. Disgusting. The evidence of my so called abuse was damning. The boy in the images was no doubt my son. But the bruises on his skin? They’d never been there. Ever.
“Were they familiar?”
“What do you mean?”
“Had you seen the pictures before?” Patrick smoothed a thumb over my brows.
“I—” I hesitated, trying to wade through the blur of yesterday. I sat up straight. “The day Holt came over.” I gripped his thighs.
“Holt took them?”
“No. He showed up unannounced. That’s how he found out I’d been talking to her behind their backs.” I dropped my chin to my chest. She’d stolen the photos of my son while I'd been distracted. “Biggest mistake of my life. How could I ever have chosen her over them?”
He tipped my head up. “You didn’t know. And we always want to see the best in people.”
There was something in his expression that made my heart constrict. Like he wished I saw the best in him.
Oh my God. I’d been so unfair to him, completely blinded by what looked like the facts. This was the man I knew. The one who was always there for me.
I squeezed. Things had gotten so bad between us. I’d assumed the worst of him, yet here he was. But I’d have to apologize later. After Blake was back where he belonged.
“Do you have a copy of those pictures?” He took my fingers in his.
“The ones from the social worker?”
“The originals.”
“Originals?”
“The photos were altered. If we can prove that, I think we can get the little dude home.”
I popped to my feet. “I need my phone.”
Chapter Sixty-One
Patrick
I wrung my hands in my lap.
They’d been in there for two hours. What could be taking so long? We’d found the original photographs. This should’ve been a slam dunk.
Instead of being in the courtroom, I was stuck hiding outside. Andrew thought it would be best if I weren’t present. I understood, but Marlow and Blake needed me.
I sank into the leather backseat of the hired car. They had a whole ton of people both here and away. I’d spent the morning videoing some of the guys at the VA Hospital who were more than happy to share their thoughts on Wicked.
The truth was, I was here for me. Because I needed to know the second the judge came to a verdict. I couldn’t stand the thought of Blake spending one more night away from home. Except when I pictured him where he belonged, it wasn’t in that tomb of a house. Those handprints on my home office window would never be cleaned. They should be littered with fresh ones.
Did this mean I had forgiven Marlow? Or had we called a temporary truce in an emergency?
I couldn’t be with someone who didn’t believe in me, but the previous night was the first time I’d felt whole since we’d last been together. Our little boy was missing, but once we had him back, we could be a family.
Except we couldn’t. Once this was done, we were done.
I drummed my fingers on my knee. Checked the time again.
Finally, I leaned forward. “Take them anywhere they want to go. Just make sure they get in the
