Page 5 of Complicated Past

“It’ll take me about twenty minutes to get there.”Ifbase ops got the message that he’d be back and transported his car from the storage lot to the airfield. If not, he’d call for a ride. Whatever it took to keep Jalen out of the foster care system.

Linc parkeda few spaces from an occupied car in front of Bri’s building. A woman got out and opened the back door. In the dim light, he recognized Kendra.

“Uncle Linc!” Jalen sprinted to him.

Linc caught him mid-leap and hugged him to his chest for several beats before joining Kendra.

While she still had a nice, curvy figure, she looked thinner than he remembered, though it’d been roughly four years since he’d seen her. She also didn’t smile at him, not that he could blame her, considering she was still working at nine at night. She handed him the child-sized camouflage backpack he’d bought Jalen for school. Linc’s gaze flicked to her bare ring finger on her left hand.

He shook it off. She was not why he was here, and she’d blown him off when he asked her out giving some lame excuse about a conflict of interest, being Bri’s case worker. By that point, she knew his general history as well as Bri’s. If anyone should understand and give him the benefit of the doubt, he’d thought a social worker, and one who, like him, was multi- or bi-racial wouldn’t hold his past against him and dismiss him as unworthy.

“You aren’t going to write this up in Bri’s file, are you?” he asked.

“Technically, she’s out of the system, but I’m supposed to document this. If you had called me sooner?—”

“I called you the second I got your message. I was on a plane over the Atlantic.”

“Oh.” Kendra broke eye contact and swallowed. “Where is Bri?”

“I’m not sure.” Totally clueless. “I’ve been on deployment in Europe.” He didn’t tell her about Bri’s frantic message about doing something stupid. Thatwouldgo in her file, and he wasn’t doing that to her or Jalen. “Her work voicemail said she was out of the office for the week. Jalen, do you know where your mom went?”

The boy nodded right in Linc’s face.

“Where?”

“A trip.”

Not helpful, not that he expected much from a four-year-old. Maybe there’d be some information in the apartment.

He didn’t see Georgia plates on any cars parked near Bri’s building, though Regina might have flown up. Then she would have needed Bri’s car, which he didn’t see either. “Let’s go see if Grams is here.” He set Jalen on the ground.

“Are you coming wif me to see Champ?” Jalen took hold of Kendra’s hand.

“Yes, you promised to show me.”

Great. Linc had planned to say goodnight and goodbye right here. He didn’t know what he’d find inside Bri’s apartment. What if Kendra found something to warrant taking custody of Jalen?

“How old is your grandmother?” Kendra asked Linc, following him toward the building.

“She’s notmygrandmother.” And she had let him know he wasn’t a blood relative after his and Bri’s mother were killed in the auto accident with Regina’s son, Clifton, driving whilestoned out of his mind. “But I’m guessing she’s at least in her mid to late seventies.”

“Is she in good health?” Kendra’s tone clued Linc into what she was thinking.

“I think so.”

As they climbed the stairs, a knot formed in Linc’s throat. He might not like Regina, but he didn’t want to find her lying on Bri’s floor. She might still act fearful and avoid eye contact with him, but the few times he’d been around Regina for things like holidays and Jalen’s birthday parties, Jalen had changed her perspective. At least she’d acceptedhim.

He knocked on Bri’s door, hoping it would miraculously open to Regina or, better yet, Bri. The second time, he pounded harder. He tried the knob. Of course, it was locked. He pulled his wallet from his uniform pocket and removed his lockpick set. Dropping to a knee, he inserted the two picks into the deadbolt.

“You can’t break into her apartment,” Kendra protested.

“Yes, I can.” A tumbler fell into place. “I’m on the lease, so technically, it’s my apartment too. But I don’t have a key on me.” He didn’t elaborate that Bri had taken away his key and accused him of not trusting her ability to take care of Jalen. He’d bought food at the post exchange and dropped it off at the apartment to help her out. It’s not like he had anyone else in his life to spend money on. But, growing up the way they had made her independent to a fault. That’s why he didn’t take her reaching out to him lightly.

The last tumbler clicked, and he turned the bolt. “Wait outside with Jalen while I check the apartment.”

“Good idea.” She held Jalen back, even though he whined about wanting his mom.

“Just a minute, J-man.”

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