I loosened my tie and took a deep breath, feeling the space closing in on me. Once again, Jade had put me in unfamiliar territory. I had all these questions and not a single answer, which made me feel helpless. It was high time that I took back control of the situation. The boy's eyes and age were too difficult to ignore and pass off as coincidences, and I had to know for sure.
"Fuck!" I swore, running a hand over my face.
How had my life come to this? Savannah had been a business trip for me, and now it was turning into a damned soap opera! I pulled out my phone and called the one person I could trust to get things done in this city.
"Get me the best private investigator in the city," I said as soon as my assistant answered the phone.
I was done with Jade's secrets and lies. She had said that her life was none of my business, but I was about to make it mine.
11
Jade
I sneezed as the detergent filled my nostrils, a signal that I probably needed to take a rest now. After dropping Robin at his friend's, I had been cleaning all afternoon, taking advantage of having the apartment to myself. They were having a slumber party, and I trusted Tommy's mother to take good care of him, even though I didn't envy her having to monitor six little boys for the night.
My phone rang, giving me the chance to rest for a little as I went to answer it. I took off my gloves before picking the phone up from the kitchen table, seeing Tammie's name on the screen.
I smiled as I answered. "Hey, are you home now?"
"Just got in, but we might have a problem."
I laughed, knowing that Tammie's definition of problems ranged from bad hair dyes and needing help to break up with boyfriends. Whatever it was, it was never boring, which is why I was shocked when the next words out of Tammie's mouth were that Michael had called her.
"Michael called you?" I repeated, certain that I hadn't heard that correctly the first time.
"He wanted to know where you are, Jade," Tammie replied, now sounding panicked.
My previous humor vanished completely, replaced with a cold feeling down my spine.
"He said that he knows the truth," my friend added.
I almost dropped my phone but quickly composed myself, taking a seat and a deep breath. There were a million questions that I was trying to process right now—starting with how Michael had found me through Tammie and if he knew the truth.
"I'm texting you his number. Please call him and talk to him before this whole thing explodes."
"Okay," was all I could say.
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
"No, it's okay. I'll see you tomorrow. I need to deal with this alone."
"Okay, but if you need me, call me right away. Okay?"
I told her I would and hung up, looking at the number she had sent. I don't know how long I stared at my phone, trying to gather the courage to dial Michael's number.
How many times had I dreamt of having this number so that I could get in touch with Michael again? Yet now, staring at the number was all I could do. I put my phone down and tried to go back to cleaning, telling myself that calling Michael could wait. Seven years had already passed, and what were a few more minutes? He couldn't just boss me around and expect me to jump just because he said so.
A little part of me reminded me that if he knew the truth, I owed him an explanation. But what I owed him or didn't owe him had become a blurred line ever since he tried to start a scene in front of my son. Not that his anger equaled being kept from his son, but I deserved a little time to try and process how I would handle this.
I looked at my phone and sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to pretend like this wasn't happening. If I was honest, I wanted to know what Michael knew. I hated the fact that he had called Tammie and upset her. I wanted him to fight with me and not anyone else I cared about. Was I afraid? Hell yes! But I looked up and saw a framed picture of my son on the wall, reminding me that this wasn't about me at all. My time with Michael had come and gone, and it was all about Robin now. I couldn't afford to be paralyzed by fear when I had a little boy who needed me to be strong.
I finally took my phone and listened to it ring for a few seconds. Each ring gave me a chance to calm down, reminding me that Michael was just human.
"Yes?" His deep voice finally answered.
Even how he answered the phone was authoritative like he expected the entire world to be at his beck and call.
"Hi," I said, then cleared my throat when it suddenly felt like it was constricting. "It's Jade."