Page 47 of The Doctor

It could only be Jared. He had been working at the office most days, but when he’d picked up Landon earlier, he said he had some information and wanted to run it by me. He was bound to stay a while after he picked the boys up from preschool.

I checked the app to make sure it was his car and watched as he got out. One by one, he helped all three boys out.

I quickly disarmed the alarm and opened the door for them. The three boys ran to the door and the world turned as I heard the most beautiful sound.

Landon came running to me with open arms. “Bets.” His shriek was full of glee and I swear I’d never heard anything more beautiful. He was holding a paper and what looked like a drawing.

I didn’t even think as I pulled him up into my arms as soon as he reached me. “Hello, sweet boy. Did you have a good day?”

He nodded and I didn’t even care. He could use head gestures all the time if he was this happy to see me after school. He shoved the piece of paper at me. “You.”

“Me?” He nodded and I took the page from him and straightened it as best I could. There was a very rudimentary face drawn with big brown circles for eyes and long brown strokes for the hair. “Is this me?”

He nodded. “Pretty.”

“It is very pretty.” I lowered him to the floor and he made his way over to Dom. I, on the other hand, went searching for tape. I knew we didn’t have fridge magnets and I would rectify that thenext time I did some online shopping. In the meantime, I was determined to display the picture on the fridge and show Logan as soon as he got home.

Jared followed me inside. “I have news.”

I turned to Dom. “Will you watch the boys in Landon’s room?”

It wasn’t really that I wanted the boys out of the way, though they could get rowdy. I just didn’t want Dom to hear what Jared had to say. Not that I would keep things from him, but I would rather filter it.

Dom shook his head, but did as I asked. No doubt he was rolling those eyes and I would hear later about treating him like a kid. Except he was a kid, and shielding him was my job.

As soon as I picked up Vicky again, Jared and I went to sit in the living room. He took the huge armchair none of us liked because we couldn’t see the television. I took the sofa and laid Vicky out with my leg preventing her from falling off.

Jared smiled at me. “Motherhood looks good on you.”

“Shush.” But I couldn’t resist smiling at the statement and dropping my eyes to the little girl lying next to me. “I don’t want to get my hopes up. A judge could still take it all away.”

“Bex, I think it's too late for that. Your hopes are up and your heart is invested. Its gonna hurt like a mother fucker if you get some asshole judge who can’t see how good you and Logan are for the kids.”

His words were true and I let them wash over me for just a moment before turning back to him. “You said you have information.”

“Yes.” He placed the folder he was holding on the table and leaned back. I knew he was about to recite the contents of the folder. “So, William Pederson, or Bill, grew up in the Tenderloin district, now part of what’s called Little Saigon. The area has been riddled with crime and small-time gang activity. Anyway,growing up, Bill was constantly in trouble with two others. Boyd Marsh, who my sources say is a Lieutenant for one of the gangs was one of them. And Samantha Lang, known to her friends as Sam, was the other.”

I frowned at him. That second name sounds familiar. “Wait, that's the State’s Attorney.”

“Exactly.” He leaned forward and pinned with a stare. “There’s more.”

“Okay.”

“Sam has a brother. His name is Martin Lang.” He pointed to the folder. “I included a photo in the file. But he is a dead ringer for the man Dom described to the sketch artist.”

“She’s the leak, Jared.” Fear rumbled through me.

“That would be my guess.”

“No, Jared.” I picked up Vicky and started pacing. “I’m not guessing. She is the leak. She knew where the safe house was in San Francisco. When she had no idea where Dom was, she considered filing kidnapping charges. That would’ve meant we’d have to disclose where he was. Then the only time a move is made against my kid is when that bitch is in town. She’s the leak, Jared.”

Vicky started crying and I tried to sway her. It wasn’t working

“Fuck.” Jared took Vicky from me and calmly rubbed her back. “Babies can sense tension. Does this woman know where he is now?”

“No. All they know is that he is with Salinger Security.” I nodded and he continued to hold Vicky. My entire body turned to ice as another thought occurred to me. I sat down, trying to come up with a plan B.

“She knows Dom’s not dead.”

---