For long moments they engaged in a staring contest. Lucky shifted his attention from one to the other. Neither blinked.
At last Walter settled back in his chair. “I see. You’re certain?”
Bo maintained his stiff posture. “We’ve never been surer of anything.”
“As your employer, your friend, and a man who upholds the law, I’ll ask again. Are. You. Sure?”
“We appreciate your concern.” Bo never flinched; his conviction clear on his face.
Walter turned his gaze from Bo to Lucky, raising one brow. In answer, Lucky placed his hand on Bo’s knee, presenting a united front.
Walter shifted focus back to Bo. “Can anyone fault you? Claim you coerced the mother?”
“It was her idea.”
“I’d heard she’d asked lots of questions about you. Interviewing?”
Bo nodded, losing a bit of the tension in his shoulders. “I believe so.”
“You know I trust you two with my life, in fact I have, literally. However, I want to speak with her as soon as she’s ready. We still need her testimony.” At least Walter hadn’t switched to interrogator mode, so they still had hope of him being on their side.
Time for Lucky to speak up. “We’ll get it from Mexico. She has bad memories of the United States. She doesn’t want to come back.”
“Understood.” The firm set of Walter’s jowls relaxed. “So, when do I get to meet your son? Alejandro, is it? What story will you tell?”
Bo resumed the telling, like he and Lucky practiced in the car on the drive over. They’d worked out the details last night instead of sleeping. “He’s not out of the woods yet, but we’re hoping to bring him home in about a month. As to what we’ll say, those close to us know Lucky and I have been talking about having a child through a surrogate. It just happened earlier than we planned.”
“Well, I look forward to meeting him. Legalities?” Again Walter raised one bushy gray brow. Kinda looked like a caterpillar crawling across his face.
The moment of truth arrived. Lucky swallowed hard and spoke up. “Won’t you be better off not knowing? Plausible deniability and all that?” The fewer people who knew the truth, the better.
“Lucky, I’ve told you before, though I wouldn’t dare say so at work, but I think of you as a son. This includes you, Bo. Yes, I want to know what I should prepare for should I need to vouch for you.”
Bo blew out a heavy breath. “Without my knowledge, Yolanda listed me as the father on Alejandro’s birth certificate. I never asked her to, and I only found out yesterday.”
“What if her family challenges you? Or the father’s family?”
“She has no family except for the father who pretty much sold her into slavery and disappeared. She’s not sure who her baby’s father is, and has reason to want to forget her time with the cartel.” Bo paused for a long moment. “It wasn’t consensual.”
Walter closed his eyes and released a forceful exhale. “That poor girl.”
“Even with the circumstances of her son’s birth, she wanted him in a good family, not shuffled from home to home, or worse, winding up a pawn to the cartels.” Bo sank against the back of the couch, touching Lucky at shoulder and thigh.
Lucky put his arm around Bo. This couldn’t be easy for him. He needed support. Support Lucky could give.
Slowly, slowly, Walter opened his eyes, cutting a sharp glance to Bo, then to Lucky. “I’ll be talking to the mother, but under the circumstances, I fully understand and can’t say I’d act any differently in your shoes.”
The stiffness in Bo’s shoulders relaxed, returning a moment later with Walter’s added, “However, you’re acting with your heart. I’ve made it my life’s work to uphold the law.”
Oh, fuck. Walter wasn’t going to support them on this? He’d counted on the boss to help him research the legal pros and cons of the situation.
Walter directed a rather stern gaze at Bo. “I understand you not wanting the child in the foster system, and your willingness to take any risks to prevent the mother more pain. Tomorrow morning, I’m making a few phone calls. When you take your son home from the hospital, it will be with a clear conscience.”
Was he saying…
“But, Bo”—Walter’s demeanor softened, laugh lines forming around his eyes. “Youwillbe takingyourson home.”
Oh, fuck. Bo clung to Lucky, tears in his eyes. Had anyone ever died of relief? “Thank you, sir. Oh, God, thank you so much.”
