And with that, I’d been left on my own again.
Without contact with the outside world, I was getting more and more anxious by the minute. All my worst nightmares were coming to life in my head: Lucy being taken back to my parents, destined to more physical and emotional abuse until she was old enough to get away from them; Isaac being deported to Portugal for being involved in this so-called kidnapping; me being trialed for a crime I didn’t commit.
When I thought of Isaac, my heart sank, and I felt so sick I thought I was going to throw up the contents of my nearly empty stomach.
Isaac couldn’t be in a relationship with me. His job and the kids he worked so hard to help were too important. He couldn’t afford to be associated with someone accused of kidnapping a teenager.
But I knew he wasn’t going to let me go; he was too good of a person, I knew that much. I was going to have to be the one to take that step, no matter how much it would break my heart.
Part of me wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all, part of me wanted to laugh at all the possibilities going around in my head.After all, what kind of evidence would there be against me? I hadn’t even known about Lucy until a week ago. She would be able to tell everyone thatshe’d run away from home and she wanted to stay with me. Wouldn’t she?
“Fuck!” I shouted to no one.
With exhaustion settling in and the frustration with the situation, I finally lost it and let go. I cried until I had no tears left because I knew what I would have to do as soon as I could see Isaac again. I just hoped my memories of our time together were enough to last me for the rest of my life.
* * *
I hadn’t realized I’d fallen asleep until there was a knock on the door to tell me I had a visitor. I shot up from the bed ready to get out of there.
The door opened and a tall, broad-chested, blond officer came in holding a paper bag and closed the door behind him. He looked to be in his early forties. There was something about him, an air of self-assurance and confidence, but also kindness. His expression as he asked me to sit down again was like a silent apology.
He pulled a chair and sat in front of me. He wasn’t armed like the lieutenant had been. Maybe he knew he didn’t need it since it was unlikely I’d be strong enough to match him. Despite the age difference and my relative good fitness level, I wasn’t trained to defend myself in a fight. I didn’t even enjoy action movies all that much.
“Mr. James, I’m Deputy Chief Micah Nowac. Please accept my apologies for keeping you here all night.”
He handed over the bag he was carrying. Inside, there was a coffee and a bagel. I wasn’t sure my stomach could take anything, but as soon as the comforting smell of coffee hit me, I decided to at least have some of it.
“Can I call you Max?”
“It depends on whether I can go home after this talk or not, Deputy Chief Nowac.”
He laughed.
“You are a free man, Mr. James. You can go home whenever you want, but I would like to talk to you about some things, and in particular, the reason for keeping you here all night. And you can call me Micah, please.”
“Right, well if I can go home after this, you can call me whatever you like.”
The coffee was strong and hot and just what I needed to prepare for whatever Micah was about to tell me, and I was dying to get home to Isaac and Lucy.
“Max, first I want to assure you that Lucy is okay. She’s at home with Isaac. I have one of my officers supervising them.”
“Why do they need supervision? Are they in danger?” I couldn’t believe I was asking the question. What the fuck was happening to my life?
“No, they’re not in any danger. It’s just a precaution and to help with evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
“That Lucy is better off with you than with that piece of shit that is her father.”
I nearly choked on the bagel at the sudden display of emotion from the deputy chief.
“You know my dad?”
He shook his head.
“I knew Valeria Lopez.”
It took me a few seconds to figure out what he’d said. He’d known Lucy’s mom.
