Page 3 of Uproot

"The back door was open, and we found his dad inside. He was..busywith a woman. But they are both high off of their asses. The bedroom he was in, there was enough pills in there to run Upwood Pharmacy," Rockwell explains, shaking his head.

My heart sinks, and tears spring to my eyes as my fears are confirmed. I knew in my heart that was what was behind all of this.

I nod, gathering myself and swiping my eyes, "Alright. You're bringing them out?"

"As soon as you're out of sight. Edison doesn't need to see it. Give us five minutes. Brandon will take him down to the precinct and I will wait out here for you," he says.

His jaw tenses, and he lowers his voice, "Selah, this place is going to be a zoo in the next half hour when we get more cops here. Edison can't stay, and from what we know so far, there's no family in town or near here he can go with. Would you be willing to take him tonight? Just until I can figure out next of kin and get things settled? Otherwise CPS is going to take him and-"

"No!" I interject immediately, already knowing how that will go. "No, Rockwell, he can stay with me tonight. It's no problem at all. I'll call Principal Harold and let him know the situation."

He nods, looking relieved, "Thank you Selah," he says looking back at my car. "I'll see what clothes I can find for him in there, and anything else he may need. He's damn lucky to have you advocating for him all of this time."

I turn to the car and see Edison's sweet face staring back at me. His blue eyes are sad and questioning.

I say a silent prayer that his luck will extend farther than just having me in his corner.

1

Beckett

New York, New York

"Mr. Kade, you have an urgent call from the Upwood Police department on line one. They said that they've been trying to reach you on your cell phone, but couldn't get through."

I look up from my computer, wondering why my assistant, Helen, is interrupting me with a call I don't want to take.

"Upwood? Where the hell is that?"

Helen fidgets with the doorknob, looking like she wants to disappear. She has worked for me for almost 2 years now, the longest any assistant has lasted with me before, but she still looks terrified every time I speak to her.

Like the majority of my employees.

Even though I'm younger than most CEO's, I'm not one of these new-age business owners that believe in being best friends with their employees. I pay them above average salaries, offer amazing benefits packages, bonuses, and paid leave. But we arenot going to be doing team building exercises, or sitting around chatting in the middle of the workday.

I make sure that there is a definitive line between us, and keep everything professional. We are all here to pour our hearts into our work, and that mentality is what has made this company grow more every year.

"I-I'm not quite sure, Sir," Helen says, finding her voice again. "The man on the phone said it has to do with your brother, Charlie."

"Fuck," I mutter, waving for her to leave as I pick up the phone.

I already have a really damn good idea what this call is going to be about, and I take a deep breath before answering the phone, wondering what the hell my half-brother and his redneck girlfriend have done now.

"Beckett Kade," I bark, turning my chair around and rubbing my temples. I figure that I can at least look at my nice view of Manhattan while these cops give me more bad news.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kade. This is Sheriff Vaughn at the Upwood Police Department. I'm sorry to interrupt you, Sir, but I've got a serious situation down here with your brother, Charlie Kade."

I let out a breath, ready to tell him that Charlie is no longer my problem. I gave up being a bail bondsman for him five years ago after he disappeared again.

People have to actually want help to change themselves, and Charlie was way too happy to continue destroying his life, time and time again.

"Sheriff, I appreciate the call, but whatever Charlie has gotten himself into this time, he can call one of his associates,or his girlfriend Maria to bail him out. I don't have time for this shit today, oranyday," I respond gruffly, already getting up and reaching for my suit jacket.

Sheriff Vaughn lets out a heavy breath on the other end of the line that makes me pause.

"Mr. Kade, I've looked at your brother's RAP sheet and this isn't what you probably are expecting. This isn't something that he can just wiggle his way out of this time. After his arraignment they're going to be taking him from my precinct here in Upwood in a few days down to the state prison two hours away. He wasn't just caught with some drugs he was using, he had enough on him to prove distribution to sell to our whole damn town. He's not getting out of this. Even with your help."

My hands drop away from my suit jacket and I stand frozen as I stare out of the window.

---