Page 72 of Hold

“Uh-huh.” Jake had already opened the fire door, so Liam followed him.

“I didn’t know, Jakey,” Sean called from the middle of the room. “If you’d wanted a construction job, I would have—”

But another voice sounded from the staircase. “Jake?”

Holy shit. Liam recognized that voice even though he’d heard it only once before, and that through a whirlwind of pain.

Jake froze in the doorway. Through the half-open door, Liam saw Gabriel come up the stairs. He couldn’t see Jake’s face, as it was turned toward his father.

“Jake,” Gabriel said, smiling big. “I’m so pleased to see you.”

“Well, I’m not pleased to see you,” Jake retorted. “We’re just leaving.”

“No, wait.” Gabe’s smile fell off his face. “You came this far to see me, didn’t you? How did you get here? Come on in and see—I’ve got an office and all now.”

No one else moved. There was no way to make this end well for anyone. Gabe pulled the door open wider as he spoke and took Jake’s arm to gently propel him in front of him.

Jake’s face was a study in misery, anger, and fear. Dammit. Liam had no idea that this was where Jake’s father worked. Why would he? He’d never heard of a Gabe working for Sean, which sounded about right, given what he did know of him. If he’d known there was the slightest chance Jake would meet his father here, he never would have brought him. Hell, he’d probably have avoided coming himself.

Well, he was here now, and the boy looked on the verge of collapse. Gabe didn’t sound like the kind of guy who’d notice this, so Liam squared off in front of him. He didn’t like that one of his hands was occupied with the roll of plans.

Between one step and the next, Gabe registered that Liam was blocking his way, and who Liam was. “Oh, it’s you,” he smirked, his voice completely different from the one he used with Jake. His twisted little smile was vindictive in perceived victory. “Got an eyeful the other night, didn’t you?” He still had Jake’s arm. Jake looked too limp to remove it. “What brings you here? Actually, you know what? I don’t care. Excuse me, my son and I have to have a little talk.”

That gave Jake the strength to wrench his arm away. “No, we don’t.” He scowled. “You have nothing to say to me. Liam, can we go now? Please?”

“Of course,” Liam said as Gabe said, “What are you asking him for?” and the wheels turned almost visibly behind his eyes. Suddenly, he was leaping across the space, fists clenched and aiming for Liam’s jaw.

It was Sean who caught him, but even his bulk wouldn’t have been enough if Mary-Ann hadn’t stepped in front of him and put her shoulder to his, grabbing one fist in her grip. “What are you doing, you idiot?” she said in an almost-conversational tone.

“That fucker’s screwing my wife!” Gabriel shouted. No more smugness here, no engaging smiles and winning ways. Spittle flew, and Liam could see white all around his eyes.

“Get the boy out of here,” Sean said, still holding a struggling Gabe. Liam didn’t need to be told twice. He’d pushed Jake out of the way as soon as he’d seen Gabe lunge, and now Jake lay half-sprawled across Mary-Ann’s desk. Liam grabbed the boy’s arm, pulled him to his feet, and walked him to the door.

“This isn’t over!” Gabe yelled over Sean’s shoulder. “Not by a long shot! Just stay away from my wife!”

“Ex-wife,” Liam was compelled to say. “One you left—”

“Is that what she told you?” Now Gabe had stopped struggling, and his face was triumphant. “Go on, Weasley. Ask her if she could forget about me long enough to divorce me.”

Liam pushed Jake the last foot out the door, and they went down the stairs in silence. Jake was shaking. Liam felt like shaking himself. Thea had letthatstay in her life for thirteen years? Fifteen years? Had she really not divorced him after more than a year of abandonment? Liam knew all the different forms of divorce from his own experience, and he knew she could have filed after a year of no contact.

Shit.

Still, Jake was more important now. Liam figured his best bet was to get him in the van and out of sight as quickly as possible, so he did. Jake folded up into the passenger seat and continued to shake all the way to Liam’s house. Liam wanted to comfort him but figured touching him wouldn’t help.

Jake only roused when Jake stopped the van. “Where are we?”

“My house. I figured I’d drop off the plans and then take you home. Unless you want to hang here while I go get Benji.”

“No, I… I don’t want to go home.” Jake looked away from Liam, out of the window. Liam hoped like hell Gabe’s words weren’t echoing in his mind, but it was a slim chance. “Can I come with you to get Benji?”

“Sure. Let’s get a cup of coffee first, huh?” He’d never seen Jake drink coffee, but he wanted to put some sugar and caffeine in the kid to counteract the shock. Maybe Jake didn’t want to get out of the van because his legs were still shaking.

They stopped at a coffee shop, and Jake got a drink that was more cream and sugar than coffee. Liam got his usual and ordered them both huge cinnamon rolls. Jake wasn’t the only one who could use some comfort food.

Chapter 21

“Hey, girl,” came Sam’s voice through the speakers as Thea drove home from work.

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