The Seal's Secret Child. Elisabeth Rees
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hide.”
“What about the little girl?” Detective Sykes asked. “Surely her family doesn’t want to be living in proximity to their child’s alleged kidnapper.”
“The Brown family moved from the street within a few weeks of the incident, so there’s no chance of Norman running into them.” She shrugged. “But Norman never goes outside, anyway. He’s too terrified. The community doesn’t want him back in their neighborhood, and he knows it.”
“But how does he manage being housebound?” Blade asked. “He has to eat.”
“I take groceries to him once a week and make sure he’s okay.”
Detective Pullman raised an eyebrow. “It sounds like you’re dedicating a lot of your schedule to this client. How do you find the time to work on anything else?”
“Norman is my only client until the trial is over,” Josie said. “Since I became the target of threats, the public defender’s office decided to allocate my other cases to alternate attorneys. I simply can’t offer anybody else quality service while this situation continues, so Norman gets me all to himself. And it’s probably a good thing, as he has nobody else to take care of him right now.”
“But he’s not in danger, is he?” Blade asked. “He’s not getting bricks through his window or nasty phone calls?”
“No,” she replied. “That’s the odd thing. The letters and phone calls have been directed at me.” She stopped to steady her voice. “And now it’s gone way beyond that. Now somebody doesn’t just want to frighten me. They want to kill me.”
Detective Sykes closed her notepad. “This situation does appear to have intensified in these last few hours, and it’s now too serious for the Sedgwick Police Department to monitor. I recommend that you and your family move to a safe house for the duration of the trial. The public defender’s office has informed us that they will spare no expense in ensuring your protection.”
“Neither will I,” Blade said. He turned to Josie. “I’ll make some calls and put a temporary manager in charge of my business so I can stay here in Sedgwick for however long it takes.”
Josie found her mouth dropping in disbelief. “You want to come to a safe house with us.”
“Of course,” he replied as if the question was ridiculous. “I promised Archie that I’d take care of you, and I meant it.”
She began to panic, imagining being forced to spend each day with the man she had once loved but no longer knew. “But...but...my dad and I are perfectly capable of looking after my son by ourselves.”
“Our son,” Blade corrected her. “Archie is mine, too.”
“I know,” she said. “But I’ve been taking care of him by myself for such a long time. It would be difficult for him to adjust to his father’s sudden presence in his life every day.” She knew this was a lame excuse, designed to suit her delicate emotions rather than Archie’s. “We should wait until this is all over before making visitation arrangements.”
Blade’s expression looked genuinely hurt and, for a few moments, Josie deeply regretted her words. After all, she had dreamed of the day when her son would finally meet his father, fulfilling his longest-held wish. This should have been a day of joy for her. So why did she feel so tormented inside? Why did she feel that Archie might be slipping from her grasp?
“I don’t want to wait,” Blade said quietly. “I want to be around constantly to make sure that you’re both okay.”
The detectives clearly sensed the need to give the two parents time alone to discuss the matter, and they both rose in unison.
“We’ll give you a few minutes to talk it over,” Detective Pullman said. “We’ll go check on the progress of the cleanup.”
“Thank you,” Josie said. “I’ll be ready to leave soon, I promise.”
As soon as the detectives had left the room, Blade went to sit close to Josie.
“Why do I get the feeling you’d rather I wasn’t here?” he asked. “Are you sorry that Archie found me?”
“No, not at all.”
Blade’s blue eyes were wide and intense, a mirror image of Archie’s. “So why the reluctance to let me stay with you?”
“Because...” She struggled to find any words that wouldn’t make her sound like the most selfish, awful person in the world. “Because I never felt such primal and fierce love before Archie came along. I would literally kill anybody who tried to hurt my son.” She shook her head. “Our son. And I’ve been solely responsible for his welfare until now.”
Blade obviously knew exactly what she was trying to say. “And you don’t think you can share him twenty-four hours a day.”
She crossed her arms and sighed. He had hit the nail on the head. Yes, she most definitely was the most selfish, awful person in the world.
“No, it’s not that,” she protested weakly, before bowing her head in shame. “Actually, you’re right. I always wanted you in his life, but I never knew how hard it would be until this moment.”
Blade put a hand on her shoulder. His fingers applied a gentle pressure, and she felt their warmth through her thin cashmere cardigan.
“We’re only just learning how to do this,” he said. “Let’s take it one step at a time. I’ll try to be sensitive to your feelings and not tread on your toes, but I have a right to be with our son while he faces such a serious threat.”
Josie nodded. “Of course you do.” She silently admonished herself. “You’re very welcome to come with us to the safe house.”
“Thank you.”
She rose from the chair. “I’ll need to go pack some things.”
In truth, she was desperate to get away from Blade, to gather her thoughts and say a prayer to soothe all her anxieties and fears.
“Sure,” he said, standing with her.
She brushed past him and headed out the door, not knowing which aspect of today’s developments had scared her the most. Was it the man taking aim at her home with a gun, or the man taking aim at her son’s heart with a fatherly love that potentially would usurp her own?
* * *
Blade watched his son struggle toward the door, clutching a stuffed dog in one hand and a huge birdcage in the other, covered with a white sheet. Josie was a couple of paces behind, also struggling with a suitcase on wheels and a huge file of papers.
He stepped forward and reached for the handle of the case in Josie’s hand. “I’ve got this.”
“It’s better if I keep it,” she said. “It’s heavy and awkward.”
“All the more reason for me to take it,” he said, casting aside her concerned expression with a smile and pulling the case from her grasp. “I’m more than capable.” She didn’t look convinced, and the smile became fixed on his face. “I’ll put it in the car.”
He then turned to Archie and knelt to the floor. Just looking at the boy’s face still took his breath away. The freckles, the piercing blue eyes, the impish grin and blond curls—they were all features that could be clearly seen in old photographs of him as a child.
“Who is this little guy?” Blade asked, pointing to the black-and-white toy dog.
“It’s Oscar,” Archie replied. He held up the cage. “And this is Sherbet. He’s a blue parakeet and he’s two years old. I’m covering him so he doesn’t get scared by the lights on the police car.”
“It’s okay,” Blade replied. “It’s an unmarked car, and they won’t be using any flashing lights.” He lifted up the sheet to see a small bird with a beautiful bright