Lifting his eyes to mine, he grits his teeth and I swear there are tears in his eyes.
“One word,” he rasps. “Help.”
Suddenly my stomach drops, and I feel like I’m watching a horror movie. You know the killer is behind the door and instead of running, you’re rooted in place watching the knob slowly turn.
“Do you know that was when I realized I loved him? I looked into his eyes and I listened as he repeated the single word and I knew there was nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for him. I’d kill, cheat, and steal. I’d break through locked doors. I’d do whatever I could to help him.”
He shakes his head.
“I should’ve killed him,” he sneers.
“Who?”
“Pete, I should’ve left the visit and fucking killed him for touching my boy. Instead, I told the caseworker.”
My blood runs cold as I swallow.
“He hit him?” I question, dreading the answer. Laying a hand on an innocent child is never okay, but anything else…well, it’s fucking unspeakable. It’s fucking vile. It’s everything ugly in the world.
“No,” he said hoarsely. His eyes meet mine and he shakes his head. “Don’t make me connect the dots for you, man,” he pleads. “I can’t take much more.”
Swallowing, I nod, and I remember the picture I’m holding. My eyes divert towards the little boy and anger boils in my veins. It doesn’t matter that I’ve never met the kid. I know his story now and I’ll never forget it. I’ll never forget him.
“What happened?” I ask, lifting my head. Bishop swipes a hand over his face and draws in a wrangled breath before continuing.
“I told the caseworker. I demanded she not let him go back there, but there’s a protocol for shit like this. The state would rather leave a kid in a house with a pedophile than give him to his father who fucked up a few times. I thought about kidnapping my own kid how’s that for desperation? But Shay talked me out of it.”
“I’m assuming Shay is the caseworker?”
He nods.
“The system is fucked, man, and I knew the only way to get Conner out of there was to lawyer up. I didn’t have two fucking nickels to rub together, though, and so, I took to my old ways. All I needed was one score to get me above water, but as luck would have it, I got pinched in the middle of the robbery and now, here I am.”
“What about Connor?” I question as I comb my fingers roughly through my hair. “Don’t tell me that piece of shit still has him.”
“Child services have him, but if Connor doesn’t testify against him, they’re gonna send him back there,” he says. “At least that’s what my fucking lawyer just told me. The kid is afraid, man. He’s got no one. He’s just a little boy. He doesn’t know I went to jail trying to help him. As far as he knows, I abandoned him in his time of need.”
“No,” I argue. “The social worker had to have told him—”
“Told him what? That his father went to prison because he robbed a house? Man, wake the fuck up.”
I don’t know if it’s because of the situation and that there is an innocent child at stake or if I’m looking for something to take my mind off my own shit, but before I can figure it out, I find myself offering a helping hand to the man who threatened to kill me if I so much as looked at his son’s picture.
“I’m part of a motorcycle club,” I reveal. “Maybe you’ve heard of them, The Satan’s Knights?”
“What the fuck is it to me?”
Gritting my teeth, I draw in a deep breath and will my patience to return.
“Well, we work closely with Bikers Against Child Abuse. It’s an organization that helps kids like yours. I don’t know when I’ll get word to my club, but when I do, I can have someone reach out to B.A.C.A. There is a charter in Staten Island and they’d probably send one of their guys here to talk to you. You would need to tell them the situation and they’ll arrange to be with Connor. He won’t have to be afraid to testify against that motherfucker and they’ll help get him out of there.”
Silently, he stares at me and the scowl slowly fades from his face.
“Why?”
“Why, what?”
“Why would you offer to help me? You don’t know me, and I’ve been nothing but a fuck since you entered this cell.”
“Consider it a thank you,” I tell him as I shrug my shoulders. “You might be a motherfucker, Bishop, but you taught me a lesson.”
He looks at me baffled.
“What lesson might that be?”
Crossing my arms, I cock my head to the side.
“I’ve been having a hard time since I found out I’m going to be a father. Been letting my demons get the best of me, but looking at you and hearing your story, I realize I don’t got to be worthy of shit to be a good dad. All I gotta do is try to never give up on my kid.”
“Petra!”
At the sound of my name, I turn. A guard I’ve never seen before stands before the bars and slowly slides them open.
“Let’s go,” he says, smacking a nightstick into the palm of his hand.
“Go where?” I question as I lift my eyes from the offensive object in his hands. A sinister smile spreads across his thin lips before he answers.
“Church.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Lacey
There was no time for me to fall into a depression after I left the doctor. I picked up Danny and brought him back to my house. I fixed him a snack as he did his homework and listened to him go on about his day. My little brother was the perfect distraction and quickly becoming the best medicine. A little while later my father called, announcing Reina was asking for Danny.
Twenty minutes later my father arrived, and my brother’s eyes lit up when he shared the news that he was taking him to see Reina. He hurried up the stairs to get the drawings he had made for her, leaving me and my dad alone in the kitchen.
“I take it since you’re bringing Danny to the hospital, things are looking up for Reina?” I question, trying to hide the bitterness in my tone. It’s not that I don’t want Reina to regain her memory. It’s just I’m afraid of what happens when I’m not needed anymore. Looking after Danny has been my saving grace, the one thing that forces me to keep it together. The days I don’t have him are the days I fall apart and lose myself to my mind.
“We had a good morning. Made some progress, and she wants to see him,” my dad says. I can feel the intensity of his dark eyes as he pulls out a chair and I can’t help but wonder if he sees right through me.
Straddling the back, he falls into the seat and narrows his eyes on me.
“I’m sorry I’ve been MIA the last few days.”
“It’s fine,” I reply with a shrug. “It was easier to bring Danny home with me than travel back and forth to Brooklyn. If you don’t mind, I’d like him to stay with me until Reina comes home from the hospital and you two settle in.”
“Whatever works for you,” he replies evenly. “I’m feeling better too so I can take him at night. Give you a break.”