Page 28 of All Twisted Up
“She’s a drug addict with a long string of arrests for everything from possession to prostitution.” I glanced at the hallway before focusing on him. “Meggie and Pete have differentfathers as you can probably tell. When Meggie was born, she was addicted to coke just like my mother. In fact, she was born while my mother was incarcerated. I had to fight just to be able to keep her. We have no idea who her father is, so getting him to sign off on any kind of adoption was impossible, not that my scumbag of a mother would sign away her rights either. That was a whole other thing. She eventually got her back once she proved to the court that she was clean but by then, she was pregnant with Pete. His father is also unknown, believed to be one of her johns.”
“Wow.”
I nodded. “Yeah, it wasn’t until she was busted crossing the Mexican border with a tweaker boyfriend and a carload of drugs, that she finally gave up custody of the kids to me. I’m also Barbie’s legal guardian, and it wasn’t easy getting custody for her either. I was barely out of college and Barbie was just entering middle school.
“I had to prove where I worked, and Barbie homeschools so she can be here to watch them when I’m at work. Thankfully, I inherited this house from my grandparents, so there’s no mortgage on it. That doesn’t mean I don’t have all the other bills to pay. We don’t qualify for food stamps because the state says I make too much money. I work two jobs.” I wrung my hands. “And we’re constantly under threat that CPS can swoop in and take them.”
I leaned forward. “That’s why it’s so important that the FBI understands I really didn’t know anything about those awful cartel guys. We never would have gone there. I just didn’t know what to do about Billy. He was going alone, and I didn’t trust him to drive.” I felt tears pricking the back of my eyes and forcibly swallowed as I stared at him. “Please don’t take away my family.”
He shook his head. “That won’t happen, Joshua. I’m not with child services.” He looked around before returning his gaze to me. “Your house is clean. The kids are happy and deeply loved, which is easy to see. Barbie clearly adores you. I don’t think you were there to score drugs. Nor am I going to call anyone at CPS. The FBI doesn’t separate families unless there’s a clear case of child abuse or endangerment while we’re investigating a case.”
I blinked back tears, nodding.
“Can I ask one more thing?” His voice softened and sounded measured.
“Yeah.”
“Your father’s not in the picture? You haven’t mentioned him.”
I pushed away memories of the fights between my parents and the beatings my mother endured as I looked him straight in the eye. “He was a mean drunk who died in a bar fight when I was ten. Barbie was a newborn at the time. I can honestly say I don’t have a single good memory of him.”
He was silent for a long time as he stared at me. I could see him working up to something in his head and it was scary as hell. When he finally did speak, he sounded very hesitant. “I have something to tell you and after hearing all about your family, I can already tell, this is going to be hard.”
I felt my stomach turning as an icy chill ran over me. I swallowed hard. “What is it?”
“The FBI needs you to go into protective custody.”
I shook my head, sure I hadn’t heard him right. “What?”
He pointed to my wallet, still on the coffee table. “We found your wallet with your ID in the cartel’s apartment, Mr. Calder. There’s an outside chance that they might know where you live.”
“But they’re all dead. You guys killed them all.”
“We think we did, and chances are you’re right. Clean up is ongoing. We know that the man we were sent there to apprehend is dead, but he escaped the apartment during the raid. If someone else managed to get out and we don’t know about it, then it could mean you’re in danger.”
My eyes darted to the front door before I turned back, narrowing my eyes. “Is that why a cop car has been parked in front of the house all day?”
He nodded. “Yes, Mr. Calder. We’re dealing with a cartel here. These aren’t typical drug dealers. We can’t know if someone saw your ID and sent a picture to someone on the outside.”
“But I had it with me the whole time,” I said.
He shook his head. “We found it in the apartment, so no, I’m sorry, you didn’t.” He had very kind eyes and while talking with him, I realized I’d misjudged him back at the cartel’s apartment.
“I shouldn’t have called you an asshole,” I blurted before thinking. I wanted to roll the words back onto my tongue. I spoke more slowly. “What I mean is…that I’m really sorry about calling you that.”
He grinned and the smile tugged at my heart. He really was a beautiful man, the kind of guy I sought out when looking for a man to date, even though hook ups were rare. The well had been dry for a while now. “I shouldn’t have made fun of your knife.”
I nodded. “My grandfather gave it to me when I was little. I keep it with me always.”
He smiled. “That’s really nice.”
We both turned toward the door when someone rang the bell. I eyed him. “That’d be my boss with dinner.” I stood. “We should talk some more after. You’re staying, right?”
He nodded as he got off the couch. “We need to discuss your protection and what that means, so yes, I’m staying. Thank you.”
I bobbed my head as he followed me to the door without another word, not wanting to hear anything more about what was about to happen because the very thought of it…was terrifying.
Chapter Seven
