“You take control, Josh, until Foster gets in. Thank you so much.”
As I push past him, putting him in charge, and I run outside. Once the fresh air hits me, I press my phone to my ear, needing to at least try to speak to Hayley before this gets wild. It’s hard to get through the streets, crowds fill the whole place, this fucking marathon will be the death of me.
“Oh, I see, now you respond to me.” Her manipulative voice sends a chill through me.
“Hayley, where is Alex? What the fuck are you playing at?” I can hear crying in the background. My child.
“I just want you to give me what I need.”
“Is this still about money? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s your child. He sounds terrified.”
“He’s fine. He’s just having a tantrum.” She doesn’t know her child at all. Alex hasn’t thrown tantrums for ages. And that is him afraid. “I couldn’t make you listen to me in any other way.”
“So, you kidnapped your own child for money?”
“Do you finally understand how desperate I am?”
I rake my fingers violently through my hair. “Do you understand how psycho you are?”
“Look, I need money. Me and my man are in the middle of a sticky situation and we need cash…”
“The guy you left me for? You want me to give him money?”
“I want you to give me money to save my life. You loved me once.”
“And what happens if I don’t?”
She pauses for long enough for my heart to beat loudly about ten times. “Then you won’t see Alex again.”
“You can’t do that to me. I’m his father.”
“I’m his mother. You kept me away from him.”
“No, you walked off. Don’t put this on me.”
“What do you think a court of law will say? I’m pretty sure they always favor the mother.”
I fucking know that she’s right and I’m about ready to flip my fucking lid. It’s really hard for me to keep my cool but I know that I need to if I don’t want something to wreck all of this.
“So, are you ready to hear me out now, Noah?”
“I don’t have any fucking choice, do I?”
“Ooh, I don’t know if I like that language. You might have to be a bit more polite with me.”
“Don’t wind me up, Hayley.”
“Just say sorry, then we can move on.”
She’s pulling a power play and since she has the most ammo I don’t know what the hell I can do aside from go along with her bullshit. There isn’t anyone else in the world I would do this for.
“Sorry, Hayley,” I spit out. “Now can you tell me what the hell is going on?”
“I want you to bring me money, obviously.”
“How much?”
“I need ten million dollars.”