AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He recoiled from her touch, stepping back.
I pushed past her, ignoring her outraged cry. “My lawyer will be in touch.”
She cackled, knowing me too well for me to get away with the lie. “Stop this now before it gets ugly.” Turning to face me, hands on her hips, she gloated. “I have a lot more to offer him than you. And you’re only his guardian.”
Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, I got my keys out, handing them to Lenny before whispering to him, “Go inside. I’ll be right there.”
He crossed his arms, getting ready to argue. But desperation must have been written all over my face because he sighed and went upstairs.
Turning to Mom, I ignored her sneer. “Now why don’t you tell me why you’re really here. Do you want more money?”
I’d been paying her ten thousand dollars every month since I moved out with Lenny. She’d agreed to stay out of our lives in exchange. And as much as I hated to give her more, I’d do anything to keep her away from him. She thought I was selling myself to get that much money, but didn’t care as long as she got paid. If she knew what I really did for it she would be horrified, but still take the money.
“You don’t have enough money to make me disappear. Not this time.”
She must have landed on her feet somehow. I wondered who she was squeezing money out of.
“And you don’t have a chance in hell in taking Lenny from me,” I seethed.
“Oh, Ariel, you stupid little girl. If I want him back, I’m getting him back. And this time it’s not just me.”
“Bring it on, Mom. Because you seem to forget that I’ll stop at nothing to keep Lenny safe. I don’t care what I have to do.”
Someone came up next to me, brushing against my arm. The familiar cologne told me it was Jude. He might dress like a lumberjack, but he smelled like an executive. “This is private property, and you’ve been asked to leave.”
Mom took him in from the tips of his hair to the sole of his shoes, a sneer on her face. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Her landlord.”
My mouth dropped open, and I snapped my head up to Jude. He only winked at me, then nudged me gently.
I turned back to Mom, whose eyes flashed with malice, and a smile stole over her face. “Then you should know who you’re renting an apartment to. She kidnapped my child and refuses to give him back.”
Jude didn’t move next to me, his tone bored as he asked, “So why aren’t the cops here?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she pouted at him. “I was trying to solve this without getting the authorities involved.”
She sounded so sincere that even I almost believed her. But I wouldn’t back down, not when something this important was on the line. “Is that why you got a lawyer to write me a threatening letter, hoping I’ll get scared and just hand Lenny over?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Since you won’t talk to me, I had to.”
I’d been careful to keep under the radar. But somehow she’d found us. I should have changed our names, but I didn’t want to confuse Lenny, who’d already had a hard time dealing with our sudden change in circumstances.
“I suggest you leave it up to the lawyers, then.” Jude spoke up again, sounding much more together than I did.
“I would if she had one.”
The vitriol in her voice hit me, breaking past the barriers I’d built up over the years. She didn’t care about Lenny. She only cared about what she could get out of him. And there was something in it for her or she wouldn’t suddenly show up again.
Jude stepped forward. “I’ll ask you one last time to get off my property or I’ll be forced to call the cops.”
Mom’s face went tight. She hated being dismissed. But before she got a word out, she was somehow in front of her car. I had no idea how Jude got her there without touching her or making himself appear threatening.
He waited with crossed arms until she was in her car, spluttering the whole time as she buckled her seat belt and turned the ignition. As soon as she’d disappeared around the corner, my legs gave up, and I crumpled onto the bottom step.
There was no way I could fight her in court. The judge would take one look at me, then Mom, and take away my guardianship. I was a twenty-three-year-old Walmart employee with no formal education living in a crappy apartment.
But Mom couldn’t get her hands on him. He was too soft. He’d break. And I couldn’t endure seeing his gentle spirit destroyed. And destruction was all Mom knew.
