It’s time I dig a little deeper into Rylee’s life. The obsession is getting out of hand. Once I know she’s not the woman who slid under my skin, branded parts of me I didn’t know existed, and fled, I can move on. I’m unsure if I’m chasing the woman from that night or the man I once was. I miss the time when things were far less complicated, and I didn’t have to watch my back every second of the day. Nostalgia can be like quicksand, pulling you down and refusing to let you go. I can’t stay lost in the past when the rest of the world moves forward.
***
THREE WEEKS LATER,I’m seated outside Rylee Paulson’s apartment building. It’s amazing what you can discover when you have money and a top-notch hacker. After her day shift at Zippy’s, she should be arriving home.
What the hell am I looking for?
It’d be easier to come out and ask her, but placing all my cards on the table is an amateur move. The bus pulls up at the stop, and I watch as she gets off, holding the hand of a small boy who can’t be over five. Calculating, I sit up straight in the driver’s seat. His hair is coal-black, but I know that cowlick and the waves. Golden-brown, he has a skin tone a few shades lighter than his mother’s.
They turn to walk toward me, and I’m confronted by a miniature copy of–me. His lips, cheekbones, and forehead are reminiscent of his mother’s, but the angular face, jawline, and eye shape areme. The boy is an incredible blend of both of us. Ears ringing. I grip the steering wheel as my pulse throbs in my temple.Son. I have a son.I’ve been a father for five years and didn’t even know it. Shell-shocked, I take in every detail as they pass the car.
Talking animatedly, he appears healthy and confident as he expresses himself. Rylee grins at him like he’s her entire world. She’s taken good care of him, from what I can see.
Why did she hide him from me?
Anger flares in my gut. I slowly count to ten as I fight the urge to get out and tell her exactly how I feel. A distressed cry brings my attention to Rylee ripping a pink sheet of paper from the front door.
Are they being evicted?There’s no way in hell my son is going to be homeless.
“Fuck this.” I move from the car, striding toward them quickly.
The boy turns to look at me, and his face scrunches up. He tugs his mom’s hand. “Mom.” The fear-filled voice breaks my heart.
“I’m sorry, Jaycee. The letter just surprised me.”
“No. ho’s him?”
She turns, and her mouth forms an O. Closing it, she shakes her head. “Lenkov?”
I remove the paper from her hand and read over the letter. They’re giving her thirty days to vacate because a new company has taken over the building, and she hasn’t come up with their new rental price.
Scum.
They say men like my family and I are the problem, yet they allow things like this to go on when they should be illegal.
“You’re coming home with me.”
“What?” she squeaks.
“You know my last name?” I ask.
She nods.
“So, you know that running would be a terrible choice for you. It’s not a bluff when I say ‘I’d find you’.”
“I understand.” Her lower lip trembles, and I smile down at the boy. “Who’s this handsome young man?”
“This is Jaycee.” Her eyes water.
“Hi, Jaycee. I’m Lenkov, but you can call me Lenk. It’s nice to meet you.” I hold out my hand. He glances up at Rylee.
“It’s okay, baby. You can shake Lenk’s hand.” She trips over my name.
I hold my breath as he moves to hold out his tiny, pudgy hand. I grip it gingerly with my own, marveling at the soft baby skin and how his eyes are identical to mine in shape and color.
“Hi.”
It takes everything in me to release him and keep my cool when my blood is boiling.Mine.I never knew I could feel this much love for a tiny human I hadn’t laid eyes on until moments earlier. I scan the area. It’s not the worst, but it’s not the best. I want to sweep him and his mother away from this. ever could I let my son live in an area where I don’t control the crimes occurring. I’m not naïve enough to believe I can keep him from being exposed to the evil nature of man, but I can do my damndest to be the threat that makes people think twice and walk away.