Page 42 of Crazy Love

“You're not going back there, I promise. I don't care what we have to do. I won’t let them take you from me this time. But we have to go to the doctor—we need to report this.” I glance at Addy and she nods.

“Okay,” Sam says, his voice weak. “Thanks, Addy.”

“Of course. I wish I could do more,” she says.

I squeeze her shoulder, thanking her too.

“How did you get here?” I ask Sam.

“I took the bus and walked.”

He leans into me as we walk outside. I can feel him shaking against me and it fucking kills me.

“Oh, my man. I’m so sorry.”

“Wait, you’re not going without me,” Addy calls, rushing behind us.

We get in the SUV, Addy in the back seat and Sam in the front. He’s leaning his head back and she’s leaning forward, trying to make him more comfortable. She brushes his hair back and sets the tissues near him.

“I should’ve grabbed ice before we left,” she says apologetically.

I keep looking over there to make sure he's okay. Tears run down his face. But he's quiet, and it cracks my heart wide open. I rush to the ER and as soon as they’ve taken us back to a room, I walk into the hall to call Mrs. Murphy.

“It’s Penn Hudson. I’m with Sam. They hit him…his fucking foster parents hit him,” I say. I stare up at the ceiling, trying to rein in the rage. “We’re at the hospital. We need your help. Please don't let us down this time.”

“I’ll be right there,” she says.

We hang up and I call David.

We have a lot of great lawyers through the team, but for matters related to Sam, I’ve been talking to Weston’s dad, David. He and his wife, Lane, and Weston’s sister, Olivia are all partners at the Law Offices of Shaw & Shaw.

“Whatever it takes,” I tell him, “just please help me. I want to adopt him. I don’t want there to be any risk of this happening to him again. I can't send him back there.”

“No, no, you can’t,” he says. “I’ll get to work on everything.”

We're there for a couple of hours and they check everything out. He doesn’t have a concussion, and overall, he seems physically okay. Just scarred, traumatized…the things that go deeper than a fist. The things he's seen, the things he’s been through...I can’t stand to think about it, but it’s time we all dealt with it head-on.

My phone buzzes and I open the text thread with the guys.

Weston

Sadie and I are grilling tonight. Anyone want in?

Rhodes

Hell, yes. Elle and I were just talking about how we didn’t feel like cooking tonight. What can we bring?

Hey guys. I’m at the ER with Sam…and Addy too. Sam was beaten up pretty bad at his foster house today.

Henley

Holy fuck. What the hell happened?

It was his foster dad.

There’s a knock on the door and I hurriedly text.

I need to get off my phone. I’ll touch base later.

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