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Miguel wrapped his hand around my throat and pulled me close so I could taste his breath. It was fresh, as per usual, and memories flooded back to me. Memories of good times, memories of bad times. Memories I would prefer not to have.
“You will not talk back to me. You will do as I say when I say. I can hurt you or I can protect you.Youdecide which one.”
“Leave my mom alone!” Charlie bashed his small fists against Miguel.
Miguel chuckled as he let me go. “I have to give it to you, Livvy, you’re raising him right. He’s one tough little guy. He’ll make a great heir someday.”
My mouth fell open. “What?”
“That’s why I’m here. I’m taking my son back to Columbia with me. He needs to learn the family business.” He pointed at our child, the one good thing that ever came from our brief union.
“You can’t take my son from me!”
“He’sourson, in case you’ve forgotten. I want you to come, too, because you’re his mother and the transition will go easier if he has you with him.”
“No!”
Miguel gritted his teeth. “You’ve gotten too damn good at saying that word. I’m taking the boy whether you come or not. You can fight me on this, or you can make this amicable for his sake.”
I didn’t know what to do. Miguel was powerful enough to take Charlie from me by force if he wanted to. I knew if that happened, I’d never see my son again. I wanted to protect him, and I couldn’t do that if he was taken away. For now, I’d have to play along. An idea formed in my mind—an idea I hoped would save both Charlie and me.
I schooled my face to appear calm. “Fine, Miguel. Let me pack some things.”
“Good choice.”
I stood and took Charlie’s hand in mine. “Come with me, sweetie.”
“Okay,” Charlie mumbled.
With my bag held tight against my side, I walked us into the bedroom and grabbed a suitcase from the closet that I’d left behind.
“Mom, are we going with the bad man?” Charlie whispered.
I pressed a finger to my lips and shook my head once. I pulled my cell phone out of my bag and handed it to him. “Go to the bathroom, pretend you need to use the toilet, and ring Emmett. Tell him we need help, okay? Do you understand?”
Charlie nodded.
“What’s going on?” Miguel appeared in the doorway.
Charlie quickly pocketed the phone. He was such a smart boy.
I got to my feet. “Oh, you know kids. Always need to use the bathroom before a big trip.”
“Hurry up about it. We need to get going.” Miguel walked back out to the living area.
I nodded at Charlie and closed the door for him. I opened and closed the closet doors and the drawers on my bedside table. There was nothing here, of course—all our things were at Emmett’s—but I needed to create the illusion to buy us time. I didn’t know how much time we had, though, considering I could hear Miguel pacing impatiently in the living room.
Charlie came out of the bathroom a few minutes later looking pale as can be.
I cupped his cheek with my hand. “Are you okay?”
He hugged me and whispered in my ear, “Emmett’s still on the phone.”
“Okay, let’s get going.” I gave Charlie a nod to let him know I understood. I zipped up my empty suitcase and took a deep breath.
“Come on. We’ve got to get going. The plane is waiting for us.”
Charlie’s eyes lit up at Miguel’s words. “We’re going on another plane? I love planes! Will I get another activity book?”
