Page 93 of Cupcake of the Month
“Mom said the police were looking for the two of them, so having me along would make three and help them escape. They even had a passport for me with a new name and everything.” Zach told him. “It’s your fault they couldn’t leave. Why couldn’t you let us go?”
“Zach.” Josh put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Mom and Dad have to go to jail. They did some bad things to a lot of people.”
“I told you they said they didn’t do it.” Zach lowered his chin, eyes downcast.
Shondra entered the room. “Josh, the FBI wants to talk with Zach.”
Zach’s eyes widened and he jumped out of his seat. “The FBI? Are they here to arrest me?”
“No. No one is arresting you.” Josh stood with him. “They’re here because what happened with Mom and Dad was a federal case.” And possibly because they kidnapped someone across state lines, but Zach didn’t need to know that.
“But they didn’t do anything! They’re innocent of everything,” Zach protested.
“They want to ask you a few questions” Shondra said. “Come with me, please. You need to be there, too, Josh.”
Zach burrowed himself against Josh’s body. “I don’t want to go.” Fear laced his voice. “Josh, they’ll take me away. They could arrest you, too! Josh, please!”
“Hey.” Josh leaned down so he was eye-level with his brother. “They won’t take you away.”
“You promise?” His eyes flicked to Jordan.
“We won’t let them,” Jordan’s voice was strong and unwavering. God, he loved this woman. Knowing she was there for both him and Zach gave him the fortitude he needed to face anything, including an angry and lost thirteen year old. “No way.”
“Okay?” Josh asked.
Zach nodded, and Josh led him out of the room, a hand still on his shoulder. Josh reached behind him, ready to lower his hand and make it seem like a casual action if needed.
It wasn’t needed. Jordan scooped it up in hers and held on. Shondra followed behind them.
Zach stopped short when his father was led out of another room, struggling with the agents holding him. “I didn’t kidnap him! He’s my son!”
“We’ll get it straightened out at the office,” one of the agents said.
“Dad!” Zach ran up to Clint and wrapped him in a hug. His dad hung his chin over Zach’s shoulder.
Icy anger burned inside Josh’s veins, and he clenched his hands into fists. As much as he itched to pull Zach away from his dad, Josh held still. Let him have this last goodbye.
Clint glared at Josh over Zach’s back. “Of course you’re still here. I could have been above the Atlantic by now, but you had to get yourself involved. This is all your fault. Right, Zach? You know this whole thing is Josh’s fault. He kept you away from us.”
Mottled red crossed Josh’s vision at the venom and lies spewing from the man’s lips, but he held tight, focusing on thefeeling of Jordan’s smooth fingers in his hand. Zach needed him to be calm more than he needed a hotheaded brother.
“You know that’s not true, Clint,” Josh said quietly. “You left him. Alone and crying and needing his mom and dad. Your sentence could have been over by now if you’d taken responsibility for what you did, and you could have been a family.”
Zach let go of his dad. “Is that true?”
“I’m not going to let you destroy Zach’s life.” The anger Josh worked to control seeped into his voice. “Snatch him away from the stability I’ve worked so hard to give him.” He kneeled so he was more even with his brother. “The day I was approved for guardianship of you was one of the brightest moments of my life, Zach. I love you so much, and if your mom and dad had been in prison, I would have taken you to visit whenever we could.”
“If you love him so much, why did he run away to be with us?” Clint sneered.
“If you love him so much, why did you wait eight years to do something about it?” Josh countered.
Zach’s eyes flashed between the two men, and he shifted slightly to stand closer to Josh. Josh put his hand on his brother’s shoulder and gave a small squeeze, a flash of relief tempering the fury raging though this body at Clint’s words.
Because Zach needed him more.
“You never came to see me. You did all this while hiding from the police, but you never found a way to see me.” Zach waved his arm to encompass the agents and the hallway. “Josh was taking care of me and you knew where I was and you never came.”
Clint’s mouth opened and closed, but he said nothing.
