The ER's Newest Dad

She moved through the next thirty minutes without anything really registering except that she ached inside as she’d never ached before.

Ross stayed at her side, holding her, letting her cry, helping her when her hands shook too much for her to remove the photo of Justice from her wallet to give to the police.

“We’ll have all units on the look out and give you folks a call if we hear anything. I suggest you go home and see if he’s gone there.”

Hope lit in Brielle’s heart. Was it possible that Justice had gone home?

Had he run away from the preschool? Her mind had gone in a hundred directions, all of which involved someone snatching her son.

But what if Justice had left on his own?

Why would he do that?

She glanced at Ross, the truth dawning and hope growing that Justice was okay. “He’s not at home.”

“How do you know that?”

“He’s gone to find you.”

Ross’s brows lifted. “But I told him I’d come back, that I was only going to be in Boston for a few days.”

He’d gone to Boston? Why?

“Obviously he didn

’t want to wait a moment longer to find you. He kept saying we needed to go find you.”

She closed her eyes, remorse filling her.

Oh, Justice. She should have taken more notice of his questions, known that her brilliant son would be a person of action, not waiting around for something he wanted desperately.

“We’ll check at local bus stops and contact the local taxi services to see if anyone remembers seeing him,” the officer informed them, putting a call in to the communication center.

Brielle nodded then jumped as her phone started ringing. Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please, be Justice, she prayed.

Vann’s number showed on the screen. She winced. She hadn’t even thought to call her brother. Vann. Justice would have gone to Vann for help.

She hit the answer icon on her phone. “Is Justice with you?”

“Yeah, he just showed up. Alone. What’s up?”

Her body sagged with relief. “Thank God. Oh, Vann, thank God.”

“He’s with Vann?” Ross asked, relief evident in his voice as well.

She nodded, listening to her brother explain how Justice had shown up at the hospital where he worked in a taxi, stating he needed Vann’s help to find his daddy.

Brielle started crying and couldn’t quit. Not silent tears but full-out, shaking-her-entire-body sobs.

Ross wrapped his arms around her. “Shh, baby, it’s going to be okay. He’s all right. He’s with Vann and he’s bringing him back to us.”

After letting the police and the preschool know what had happened, they left and went to Brielle’s house to wait for Vann to arrive.

“I won’t stop him from seeing you. Ever,” Brielle informed him when they were sitting on her kitchen bar stools. Ross had forced her to sit, and drink a glass of water. She knew he was just trying to distract her while they waited, anything to help pass the time.

“I know. I feel the same. He needs us both.”

Swiping at her eyes, which were wet again, she nodded. “He does.” She glanced at Ross, met his red-rimmed eyes and realized that her eyes weren’t the only ones that were wet. “Oh, Ross. I’m so sorry. For everything.”