“Jesus…” Angel had sworn a millisecond before his hand closed around my trembling arm and he led me toward the chair. “Sit before you drop him.”

I sat and immediately leaned in to smell Caylen’s scent. He smelled clean, and his skin was no longer pale. It was a while before I noticed the silence. Z was gone, but Angel stood near the door again where he watched us.

“Who has been taking care of him?”

“I’ve been personally seeing to it.”

“You think you’re capable of caring formy son?”

“You should know the rules of this game by now. He belongs to me until I have my property back.”

“Have you lost your mind?” I hissed. It was a struggle not to keep my voice level. I didn’t want to scare Caylen. “He’s not property to be bartered. He’s a human being, and he’s my son.”

“That’s your opinion,” he answered smoothly.

“It’s fact. We are not yours.”

“You’re both guests in my home until I decide otherwise. You have nowhere to go unless I say so. You will not eat or drink unless I say so. You will do what I say when I say. I think that does make you mine. If you want the best for your son, I suggest you make do with that.”

“And if I refuse?”

“I’ll take your son from you, and you’ll never see him again. That includes anyone you care for.”

Suspicion crept down my spine. “There’s no one else.”

“So you say.”

“My dad is in prison. You can’t touch him.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“What do you want from me? My story checked out, didn’t it? Why are we still here?”

“You know why. You were the last person in my home before the book that ensures my family’s legacy continues went missing.”

“But you know I didn’t take it.”

“If that’s true, you have nothing to worry about. When it’s recovered, you’ll be free to go.”

“But that’s what you said about the watch!”

“Things changed.”

“Like hell.”

“In the meantime,” he continued, “what we want from you, you won’t fight it, will you?”

“We?”

“Will. You?”

I studied him—the evil in his eyes and the confident way he held himself. I needed to protect my son from him. Maybe that meant losing a few battles to win the war.

I nodded and swallowed back the bile that rushed up.

Just then, Caylen started to fuss until his fussing turned into a cry. Soon he was screaming at the top of his lungs. My attention had already turned to him, so I missed the concern etched on Angel’s face, but I heard it when he asked, “What’s wrong with him?”

I ignored him and felt Caylen’s diaper. “He’s probably hungry.” The last thing I wanted was to ask him for anything but my hand was forced. “I need his food.”

He was focused on his phone, so I questioned if he heard him until he cleared his throat and said, “He had a virus called respiratory syncytial.”

“What?” It wasn’t the response I was expecting.

“I thought you might want to know what was making him sick.”

I glanced down at Caylen who didn’t look ill anymore. I was so happy to see him alive that I hadn’t noticed.“Oh, God. Why didn’t I see? The doctor… he warned me RSV was common. I should have known. I should have—” I stopped. Breaking apart wouldn’t cure my baby.“I need to get him help.My voice shuddered so I took a deep breath and begged for the sake of my son. “I know your heart is cold, but you still have one—”

“It’s been taken care of.”

“It’s been taken care of…” I repeated slowly.

“The doctor said these things normally cure themselves, but for babies, it’s much more sensitive. He would have been at risk for lung failure.”

“Are there antibiotics…” He was already shaking his head.

“He kept him on a ventilator to make breathing easier, but within a few days, he was already getting better.” The door opened, and Z stepped through. Angel’s gaze never left us as he said, “Take him.”

“What? No!”

“I can’t let you be with him. The virus was contagious and until I’m sure you don’t have it—”

“But I’m not sick!”

“You could be.”

I shot up from the chair and backed away. Caylen sensed my distress and released a heart-piercing cry. “Please, Angel.”

“Mian.” His voice was surprisingly tender. “I am not doing this to hurt you. I amtellingyou to do what’s best for him.”

“He needs me.”

“Right now, he needs his health.” I shook my head and backed away until the wall stopped me. “Don’t make me take him from you by force.” He stepped forward to back up his claim.

Caylen’s face was completely red now. His cries grew, and my heart broke into little pieces when I realizedIwas the one doing this to him.

The rational part of me knew Angel was right. Viruses usually carried an incubation period before symptoms showed and the host became contagious. It was quite possible that I could be infected which meant, right now, the only person who was a threat to my son’s health wasme.