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"No fucking way," I breathed, picking the newspaper up and scanning the article, unsuccessfully avoiding the picture of Porter, Tanner, and Lucas huddled together at a Braves game

Much like they had the day he had been kidnapped, the ically over the last six days, a barrage of pictures of the Reese fa around socialthat Tanner Reese was a household na kept fro sides with people they had neverup for a down-and-dirty custody battle over an innocent child I’d never beenthe hateful and disgusting comments on the one and only article I’d read online about our situation

Half of the Porter

All of them uninformed

I kept ht?"

He rested his elbows on his knees, steepling his fingers under his chin, and stated sly, "You finally ready to listen toan ass He hasn’t had any contact with Porter"

And he hadn’t Lucas asked for Porter more often than not It had killed, but I’d made up excuses I’d promised Brady I’d toe the line about contact with Porter, and until the investigation was concluded, I had every intention of keeping ain

"What about Tanner?" Brady shot back "Any more contact there?"

"It was only that once, and that wasn’thi away"

"You’re his parent, Charlotte Until he’s eighteen, everything he does is our choice"

I looked back to Lucas, playing with a reht hi his face

In the six days since we’d gotten him back, I’d seen him smile numerous times, but never like that His eyes were always cautious, and he wore a perht then, he had not a care in the world except for getting that brown-and-tan-caaze would find mine or Brady’s, his smile would disappear Most of the tirin on before we had the chance to question it But, each and every time, for those three seconds, his mask faltered and revealed his true e

"Tanner’s harmless," I said to Brady

"Oh, really?" He scoffed "You think it’s Porter paying for three new big-wig attorneys and a publicist to spin this whole bullshit social n their way?"

I threwknow Okay? I’ve never done this before"

"None of us have! But a little colared at him "I’ve kept my word He hasn’t talked to Porter or anyone else in the Reese faetting full custody"

He barked a huh "No Charlotte, he’s not Because there isn’t a chance in hell that he’s getting any custody ofbrother think they can march into that courtroom and try to take what’s mine, they’re in for the surprise of their lives I did not spend ten years searching to turn my son over to the man who kidnapped him"

"He didn’t kidnap him!" I snapped "Christ, Brady Even To him"

The aura around him suddenly became dense He had been pissed before, but with those four words, he’d become damn near livid He took only two steps, but there was noother than ahis voice low, he seethed, "Just because he didn’t physically take hi our son from us I don’t knohat the fuck that sick piece of shit did to brainwash you, but for over a ht in front of you while you chose not to see him You want to act like you still don’t see him Fine But I do And I won’t stop until that aped open, his words slashing through me with a vicious velocity Brady had said a lot of nasty things to me over the years Most of which were true, so I couldn’t even argue with him