“Not another step.” Brad pokes the gun into Eli’s head again. It makes him yelp in pain. “Or else I’ll change my plans.”
“You do that, you’ll be dead before you?—”
“Stop!” I get between them. Panic is rising inside me, ruling over any rational thought. “Yulian, don’t come any closer. J-Just do as he says. Please.”
He locks eyes with me. He can see the sheer terror in me, the same way I can see how afraid he truly is. There aren’t many things that can scare Yulian Lozhkin, but clearly, the prospect of losing his son is one of them.
His son.I should be correcting myself, but I don’t. Because the truth is, as much as I’ve wanted to salvage something of Brad and Eli’s relationship for Eli’s future?—
As much as I’ve wanted my son to have a father?—
It turns out, he already did. All along for this past year, he’s had the best father in the universe.
And now, they might lose each other because of me.
No.I won’t let that happen. Not today, not tomorrow, not for anything in the world. There’s only one way Bradley Baldwin is walking out of here with our son.
Over my dead fucking body.
“Brad.” I try to make my voice calmer, softer, like I did before. But the truth is, I’m all out of lies. “Look at me. You don’t want to do this.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you love him,” I say. “You do. That’s why you wanted custody in the first place, right? It wasn’t just to hurt me. It was because you missed him.”
“That’s bullshit,” Brad spits.
“Is it?” I take one bold step. Brad’s gun flinches, but he doesn’t move otherwise. “Because I remember how it was. Back at your place, last winter—you were really trying, weren’t you?” Tearswell up into my eyes, but I don’t give up. “You wanted to make it work. You just didn’t know how.”
“Shut up.”
“Because your father never showed you.”
“Shutup.”
“Because all he taught you was violence, and when he died, you thought you had to become him to survive.”
“SHUT UP!” His gun starts shaking hard. “One more step, and I swear, I’ll fucking shoot him!”
I swallow a scream. Force myself to keep talking, to keep him sane. As long as I’m talking, Eli will keep breathing.
Unless that gun goes off by accident.
“I know why you’re really doing this.” My voice breaks, but I keep talking. “It’s because you weren’t ready to let go, right?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I understand.” I force a smile through the tears. “Because I’m not ready to let go, either. I love him too much.” I hook Brad’s gaze. “And so do you.”
I can see it then: a glimpse of hesitation. One last spark of the boy he used to be. Of the man he could have been, had he chosen differently.
But it isn’t too late to choose. For us, yes—but not for this.
“Please, Brad,” I whisper. “Please, let him go. If you ever loved him, let him go.”
Brad’s eyes are lucid. It’s an odd thing—seeing him show emotion. Something other than anger, lust, hatred.
“Dad, please,” Eli sobs quietly. “I don’t want to die.”
