Tears stung his eyes. “Yeah, it’s me. Come on, talk to me. I’m not going anywhere.” He laid his hand firmly on Stevie’s back and rubbed it in a soothing circular motion. “It’ll be all right.” Behind him he heard Rachel and Mike. The whole protection squad was here to rally around this broken child.
When Stevie finally picked up his head, Ash’s breath caught in his throat. Both eyes were blackened, and his nose was swollen. Dark bruises mottled his throat and the top of his chest where his collarbone stuck out. The skin on his knuckles was scraped raw, as if he’d tried to defend himself.
For a moment everything went black before his eyes. Bile rose in his mouth, and a faint buzzing sounded in his ears. If he didn’t get control of himself, he’d pass out. Several deep breaths later, he had it under control. “Who did this to you? Was it Jimmy and Donny?”
Stevie shook his head. “No. I was jumped by some random kids. I swear.”
But Ash had seen the flicker in Stevie’s eyes and knew he wasn’t telling the truth. Those boys who should’ve been looking out for him had, instead, brutalized him.
“Did they hurt you any other place, Stevie?” Ash held the boy’s gaze, searching his eyes for the truth. But Stevie wouldn’t look him in the eye when he answered.
“No, I’m really fine. I don’t know why I came here. I didn’t wanna go home, ’cause my foster mom and dad are out tonight.” He shifted on the couch and sat up, wincing a little at the movement.
Ash spoke over his shoulder. “Jordan, you checked him out already?”
“Yeah. No broken bones. The nose will be swollen for a while and turn all sorts of amazing colors.”
Mike stepped up next to Ash. “Hey, buddy boy. Can I check your mouth?” At Stevie’s nod, he manipulated his jaw and checked his teeth. After he was finished, he stood back, hands on his hips.
“Hmm. I’d like you to come in for some X-rays tomorrow. I need to check to make sure your teeth are secure. Okay?”
Stevie nodded. He pulled on Ash’s shirtsleeve. “Can I talk to you and Dr. Drew?”
“Sure, kiddo.” He got to his feet and approached Drew, who was in the center of the group. And there was his girlfriend, in the middle of telling Rachel how Stevie had shown up at the apartment while they were eating dinner. Never one to care about what people thought of him, Ash interrupted her.
“Drew, Stevie wants to talk to us.”
The conversation halted in midsentence. Drew left the circle and came over to him. “Did he talk to you? The only thing he said to me was that he wanted to see you, but when he went to your apartment, you weren’t there.”
Guilt squeezed in his chest. Right, he’d been busy stalking Luke’s apartment building. Helping no one and failing everyone again.
“Hi, I’m Shelly, Drew’s girlfriend.” Her smile faded when he failed to return it with one of his own.
“I’m not here to make friends, sweetheart. This isn’t a dinner party.” It didn’t bother him in the least to see her face flame with embarrassment and her big brown eyes fill with tears.
“Don’t be such a prick, Ash.” Drew kissed Shelly’s cheek and murmured something in her ear. She shot Ash an unreadable look, then returned to the others.
“Was that really necessary? She didn’t mean any harm.” Drew’s exasperated tone bugged the shit out of him.
“Yes, it was. I’m not going to be her friend. I’m here for Stevie.” Ash glared at him. “I never would’ve come back here if it wasn’t for him. Christ, Drew, I’m barely your friend anymore.”
“Whose fault is that, you bastard? You walked out on me,” Drew shot back, obviously a little louder than intended as the room quieted around them.
Ash cocked his brow. “Are we done? I want to talk to Stevie and go home.”
Drew, pale and scowling, brushed by him to sit with Stevie on the couch. “What’s up, buddy? Are you gonna let Keith arrest those two now?”
Alarm flared in Stevie’s eyes. “No. It wasn’t them. I swear. Don’t do anything, please, Dr. Drew.”
Ash knew child services had again been to the house on Keith’s urging. Nothing untoward had been found. The home was neat, there was food in the refrigerator, and the fact that Stevie was doing much better in school as well as holding down an after-school job lent credence to his foster mother’s claim that everything was going well. There had never been any reports of abuse from either the children in the home, the school, or neighbors. In other words, as of now, there was no reason to remove Stevie from the home. Drew held the young boy close. “Please tell us the truth, Stevie.”
“I am. I swear. I was jumped coming home from the bus stop.”
Maybe his story was true. Ash knew the neighborhood was a dangerous one, and for a slight boy like Stevie, it made him an all too easy target.
Ash smiled at Stevie. “How about you spend the night at my house tonight? Call home and tell them you’re with a friend from school.” He put his arm around Stevie, and after the boy said his good-byes, they left together.
Ash didn’t say good-bye to Drew, as his little girlfriend had plastered herself to his side. But when he glanced up at the window of the apartment after he shut the car door on Stevie’s side, he saw Drew watching. His figure, silhouetted in the lamplight, was shrouded in shadows, but Ash knew. Like a sixth sense, he always knew where Drew was when they were together.
