Page 86 of Capacity
It couldn’t be my son. I just came from his grave. But the little boy zig-zagging through the cars in the garage looked exactly like him.
Exactly.
I stopped dead in my tracks, letting Cecily’s arm fall as my eyes locked onto the laughing little boy. He got closer and closer to us until he bumped into my legs, confirming what I thought I was seeing.
He could have been Kaiden’s twin. There were very slight and few differences to his features but he looked so much like my baby it was enough to bring me to my knees.
“Ms. Foster are you okay?” Cecily’s voice faded once she looked at the child in front of me. “Oh my god,” she stammered.
Without warning or permission my arms darted out and I hugged the little boy. He froze in my arms and it hurled me back to the icy reality that my son was gone. Whoever this child was didn’t belong to me.
“Hey, sweetie where are your mommy and daddy?” Cecily asked him in a kind voice. He pointed behind him and my eyes followed his gaze only to see another ghost.
“Jacob?” I stood to my feet and wiped my tears away. I didn’t want it to be true but I couldn’t deny my ex. I’d know him any-fucking-where.
“Daddy, she was nice. She hugged me. But she’s sad,” the little boy said tugging on Jacob’s pant leg. A woman walked up beside Jacob and scooped the little boy into her arms, balancing him on her hip and angling him away from me. She cut her eyes at me like I was a predator and pressed her son’s head to her chest protectively.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to…” My words fell away as she rushed past me to their car, which was a few spaces down from Bear’s car.
“Lumi, I uh…wow. It’s been a long time.” Jacob flashed me a smile baring perfect white teeth.
I hated him. I wanted to rip his throat out with my bare hands.
“Youmotherfucker.” The words trembled out from between gritted teeth.
“We have a problem here?” Bear took one long-legged step in front of me, positioning himself between Jacob and me. I was grateful because I needed a moment to breathe. Even a second was better than nothing. I nearly had my heart ripped from my body as my worse fear came to fruition. I saw a child who looked exactly like my son and it turned me to dust.
Quickly trying to recompose myself and wipe my tears away, I steadied my breathing and put my hand on Bear’s hard-as-stone shoulder. “It’s okay. He’s my ex,” I explained to the tall, hulking man who seemed like no stranger to protecting those he loved.
Bear grunted at Jacob then looked at me. “You sure? I’ll stand here while you and Cecily get in the car.”
“I’m sure, Bear.” He stood tall like a redwood for a few extra seconds then moved aside but he was still within arm’s reach. “Jacob, what the hell?” I said, still feeling the marrow-deep burn of seeing the little boy who seemed to have stolen my son’s entire face.
“Lumi, can we talk away from the audience?” He lowered his brows in Bear’s direction and I cringed inside. I didn’t know Bear well but from what I saw, he was extremely quiet and observant. Not the kind of man you wanted to push buttons on and Jacob was a professional button-pusher.
“I like my audience,” I snapped. “Who is that?” I pointed a shaky finger in the direction of the boy and his mother.
“My wife, Sharon and our son.” He knew he was a piece of shit. He knew it. He held his head down and refused to meet my eyes because he fuckingknew.
“Your wife andson?” My maniacal laugh bounced off the concrete walls and chilled the stale air. “You had an entire fucking family while you left me and Kaiden to suffer alone?” My fist flew out, striking him in the chest. He winced from the pain and glared at me causing Bear to shift and grow agitated.
“I know I made a few mistakes but…”
“Mistakes?!” My voice exploded from my chest in a war-streaked growl. “I told you I was pregnant and you vanished! I hope your wife hears every word about what kind of monster she married. The kind of monster who would leave his woman and unborn child to fend for themselves without so much as a fucking call or happy birthday.”
“Maybe…” He swallowed and took a step closer. Close enough for me to smell his expensive cologne. “We can link up later and talk in private.” Every word he uttered was covered in black oil and sludge. “I need to apologize in ways I can’t do in front of everyone else. You know I’m sorry. I haven’t had a way to contact you in years though.”
“Are you really trying to get me alone? What the fuck?”
That was always his MO, he tried to fuck his way in and out of everything. Even with his goddamn wife and son mere feet away he was up to his old tactics. It made my skin crawl and my belly burn with rage.
“I need to talk to you, that’s all. You look so damn good.” He ran a slimy finger down my arm and I froze on contact. Time clicked back into place and I shoved him hard as I could since I was half his size.
Bear’s long arm swept me to the side beside Cecily while he stepped in. With eerie ease, he pushed the side of his suit jacket back, resting his hand on his narrow hip where a black-handled gun was tucked against his side. “You put another finger on her and I promise you’ll go home with a hole in your hand.” I was stunned silent. I knew I got a dark vibe from Bear but holy shit.
Jacob’s face lost all its brown color becoming a pale tan that made him look sickly. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it,” he stammered.
“You’re disgusting, Jacob.” I shook my head. “Our son died and you didn’t even show up to his funeral.” Tears dripped from my lashes and I hated myself for allowing that bastard to see me cry. “You didn’t even know him. You never held him or told him you existed.”
