but there were only so many people that might call me.
“It’s probably Cap. Let me just tell him to fuck off.”
I slipped out of Alec’s arms and stumbled over to my bag to grab my phone. I felt the swat of Alec’s hand against my ass and glared at him, even though I wasn’t angry.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Younge?”
My stomach dropped. It was the social worker. This was the call we had been waiting for. “Yes.”
“This is Rachel DeWitt, Reid’s-”
“Yes, I remember.”
“We’ve gotten the test results back from the couple in Utah. They are a positive match to Reid.”
I swallowed hard, nodding even though she couldn’t see me. “Okay, what does that mean?”
I felt Alec’s arms wrap around me and leaned back into him for comfort.
“It means that they are who they say they are. Mr. And Mrs. Fuller are his aunt and uncle on his father’s side. They’re seeking custody of Reid.”
“When?”
“I’ll be filing the paperwork with the court tomorrow morning. When I know the court date, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly, not sure what else to say. I hung up without another word and turned into Alec, burying my face in his chest. His hand ran up and down my back soothingly, but even his touch wasn’t enough to calm me right now. I felt like I was having Reid ripped away from me, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with that.
“It’ll be okay,” Alec whispered. “We’ll get through this.”
“What if they take him away?”
“We just have to fight. That’s what we do, Florrie. We fight for those we love.”
“But what if we can’t win this one?”
“Hey,” he pulled back and stared down at me. “Let’s not think like that right now. We just have to think positively right now. This isn’t the end of the line. We’ll meet with the lawyers and do everything possible to keep him with us.”
But I knew deep down that we weren’t going to win. I could feel it in my heart. These people were related to Reid, and aside from them being psychotic, what were the chances that the judge would grant us custody?
“What do we tell Reid?”
He sighed and pulled me back into his chest. “I think we tell him the truth. But we have to keep things normal for him. We can’t walk around like we’re going to lose him. We need to keep his life as normal as possible. We can’t talk about this all the time or we’ll freak him out. The last thing that kid needs to worry about is this shit.”
“I fucking hate this.”
“So do I,” he muttered.
✯✯✯✯✯
“Ms. Younge, Mr. Wesley.” The lawyer sat down across from us in the conference room looking a little grim. “I’m sorry to meet again under these circumstances. I’ve looked into the case that Ms. DeWitt has started, and I’ve had my investigators start digging into their lives. Hopefully we’ll find something we can use against them.”
“Mr. Claussen, I’m confused,” I started. “We have legal guardianship of Reid. Doesn’t that give us some kind of leverage against these people?”
“If it was anyone else petitioning for custody, then it would, but these are relatives. The courts always try to keep families together, so it’s very likely that a judge would rule in favor of Mr. and Mrs. Fuller.”
“Even though he’s been with us for eight months,” Alec stated.
“Again, it’s up to the judge and what he thinks is best for the child. Now, Reid can talk to the judge and give his preference, but that doesn’t mean that the judge will grant you custody based on what he says. And anything he says could end up hurting you.”
“How?” I asked incredulously. “We’ve been good for him.”
“I can guarantee that opposing counsel will bring up the fact that you two aren’t married. On top of that, you live in a panic room-”
“Which keeps him safe,” I snapped.
“And would make the judge question what you’re keeping him safe from,” the lawyer continued. “Look, the fact is that the government can’t come in and take your biological children from you because you choose to live in a bunker or are armed to the teeth. But they can decide that you wouldn’t make good guardians to an impressionable young man that needs to learn his way in the world. Now, I’m not saying that what you’re doing is wrong, but a judge may not see things the same way.”
Alec grabbed my hand to keep me from snapping at the lawyer. “Alright,