Down by Contact (The Barons 2)

Judd didn’t react. My first hint that he knew Brayden was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be and he still wasn’t home.

“Was he alone?”

“No, sir,” Simeon said, ever the sweet little Southern boy. “He was with a woman.”

“Fucking shit.” Judd backed into the apartment and sharply waved us in. “I knew this was happening. I goddamn knew it.”

“What’s happening?” I demanded, following him inside. The door opened into a living room crowded with about a million DVDs and VHS tapes on a variety of shelves and bookcases. There was a television that was way too big for the room, and two armchairs. “Is he okay?”

“I have no idea.” Judd crossed the room in two strides and leaned down to peer out the window. “Was she older than him? Maybe it was some girl he’s dating.”

“Nah, she’s older. Has to be in her early forties or late thirties. I’ve seen them together a few times now.”

Judd’s back snapped straight. He whipped around with wide eyes and a seriously pissed-off look blooming over his face. I’d seen it a ton of times before—when my own father had been hit by a realization way after it should have already come to mind. But with Judd, he sent his frustration slamming into me with a single demanded question: “You’ve seen them together before?”

“A few times. Always in the same spot at the pier. My apartment overlooks it so I’ve noticed.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

My head jerked back. “Whoa, wait up, now. I didn’t really think it was any of my business to be reporting on your kid’s movements to you.”

“My son is only thirteen. You didn’t think I should know that he’s meeting a grown woman at the pier every day?”

I glanced at Simeon, flailing for some help or a defense, but he was too busy frowning at the back of Judd’s head to catch my alarmed glance. How was this my fault?

“Look, man, I never saw anything inappropriate going on. They legit stood there and chatted and went their separate ways. Always right there out in the open on that pier.”

Judd shook his head, seething. “She wouldn’t have done anything inappropriate. She’s his mother.”

What the fuck drama had I swanned my way into?

“Okay, is he not supposed to see her? Because when we started, Yaritza had us go over emergency contacts just so we knew who was who. And she never mentioned any alerts on his file that he wasn’t supposed to have contact with anyone in particular.”

“It’s not about that,” Judd gritted out. “You just should have told me.”

I threw my hands up. “Dude, the way you stay hanging around Simeon, maybe you should have dropped a hint that Brayden wasn’t allowed to see his own mother. For fuck’s sake, man. You’re his pops—not me. I’m a football coach, not a monitor. It’s not my job to keep tabs on your kid after hours. And along that line, how the hell you didn’t know where he was? My mom would have had a GPS up my ass when I was his age.”

“How dare you?” Judd took a step forward, his pale skin flushing red as anger settled over him. “You don’t know anything about my family so don’t make assumptions. It’s not like you care—”

“Okay, that’s enough, now.” Simeon stepped around Judd so he was between us, his big, broad back blocking my view of Judd’s angry face. “It was Adrián who suggested we go check on Brayden. He does care. Don’t put your family problems on him, Judd. It’s not cool.”

I wished I could have seen Judd deflate, but I only heard the hot air leaking out of him like a balloon. It wasn’t the time or place to get indignant, especially because he was just worried about his kid, but I couldn’t help it.

“What do you want us to do?” I asked, stepping around Simeon so we were shoulder to shoulder. “I came here because I wanted to help, not get screamed at. So just tell us how we can do that.”

Judd looked like he’d rather drink a bottle of Fabuloso than ask for my help, so he directed his words at Simeon.

“I just got back from looking for him, and I was ready to call his friends.”

“Can we keep looking?” Simeon asked. “Adrián made it out like they never spent too much time together by the pier. He could have ducked into a friend’s house to get out of the rain. It’s cats and dogs out there.”

Way for him to be adorable in the middle of a crisis.

“If you really don’t mind, that would be amazing,” Judd said. “Please call me to come get him if you find him. It isn’t her weekend with him, and she has no business coming here when he’s with me.”

“All right, J. I’ll let you know.”