“Please, just go.” There’s an edge of desperation in my voice, and that’s always a mistake. That gives bullies more power, but part of me has trouble realizing, even after all this time, that the man I loved was a bully.
“Mm. No. I don’t think I will. I promised my mom I’d get her grandson back for her.”
“But the letter.” I can’t make more words. Everything in me is going numb. I forget how to breathe. My arms and legs are full of pins and needles. “You can’t.”I’m having a panic attack. I can’t. Zack needs me to fight for him. Protect him.“I still have custody. I’ll—”
“I’ll explain things to Eli, sweetheart.”
Warmth floods me, and breathing is no longer just a memory.
“Who the fuck are—” Eli’s bombastic posturing and tone die off when Mercer arrives, drawn up like a wave ready to sink a ship, face grave but relaxed.
“Hi, I’m Madelyn’s fiancé.” Mercer puts the gift bag and presents he’s carrying under one arm and in one tentacle, and holds the other hand out for Eli to shake.
Eli doesn’t move.
“Tut. You can’t raise a son without basic manners,” Mercer chides. He wraps a tentacle around Eli’s arm and hauls him closer, his hand shutting over Eli’s and engulfing it in his powerful fist. He shakes his arm once, and it’s gratifying to see Eli's startled face turn into a pained wince.
“I’m having a conversation about my kid, so if you could move it, that’d be great,” Eli says, snatching his hand back once it’s free.
“Oh. Your kid? The one you’ve never claimed, hugged, or been here for? The one you threatened to take away from the only parent who has ever raised him? The one you offered to leave alone if you could keep your precious money?” Mercer’s grin is something out of a nightmare now. “I don’t think he’s your son anymore. I think that he’s mine. My wife and I will raise him to be the kind of wonderful, caring, brave soul that you are obviously unfamiliar with.”
“Mercer, go keep Zack company. I’ll deal with this,” I whisper.
“No. Oh, I know that you can, but this is my house, too, and this man is unwelcome.”
I know Mercer is just bluffing to intimidate Eli, but it’s nice to have someone on my side.
“You live here? You didn’t get my permission to—”
“You are divorced. You and Madelyn owe each other no explanation when you move on and findtruelove. And what is it you were saying as you were boasting and threatening? You have money and a two-caregiver family? So does Madelyn. My money is her money—and you cannot imagine the vast wealth that krakens can draw upon. A little perk of being part of the ‘monster’ community,” Mercer says with a chuckle that would make lesser men run.
Eli is a lesser man, and he scoots away. “I don’t know anything about you—”
“I know about you, though. I know you sent a certified letter offering Madelyn a kindness. No more money for you, and you’ll stay far from Zack for the rest of his life. Isn’t that the gist? You’ll have our certified letter of response this week. We accept—and if you think about trying to get out of the promises you made in notarized ink, I have some of your choice words on video.” Mercer holds up his phone, pulling it from the gift bag swaying over one tentacle. “Ah. Here we go.”
Eli’s tinny, distorted voice snaps out.
“No. Oh, my God. Eli, just keep talking like that, and Zack will never even see your picture again. That kind of racist, speciesist talk is going to make every judge in the country aware of what a rotten father you’d be. What a terrible, prejudiced, sexist role model.”
“Not the right judge—and there are a few out there that prefer the old days before the Great Revelation.”
“When they hear about this—”
“No one is going to hear about this. It’s going to be my word against yours, and the judge is already on my side.”
Mercer turns off the camera just in time for an elegantly dressed woman in black with gold accents and her gray hair in a stylish bun to come marching around the large oak in the front lawn.
“Eli!” she hisses.
“Hi, Linda,” I say weakly.
“Mom!”
“Eli!” Linda looks at the tableau of people, then notices Zack in the window, green frosting all over his face. She stops, beams, and blows him a kiss.
“This must be Nana.” Mercer’s deep voice is now in a different timbre, warm and rich. “You sent Zack all of those wonderful books. We just love them.”
“I... Thank you. I... Eli, what horrible threats are you making? You have to stop. Madelyn is the only mother Zack has known, and you... You said she’d be glad to give him up so she could start over with someone new, but that’s not what this sounds like.”
