Page 43 of The Fix

Cami spotted the police down the hall when they arrived at the hospital midmorning the next day.

She saw Rex glance at her from her peripheral vision as they moved toward Detective Mauro and the uniformed officer and felt comforted by his concern.

She wondered momentarily if he realized he did that—constantly and briefly evaluated her mental and emotional state.

And she also wondered if that came from pure concern, or from the fact that he knew she’d been through a harrowing event once before.

Was he unknowingly expecting her to fall apart at any moment?

Or was it simply his way to care for her?

Either way, it was kind, and her appreciation for him grew by the day.

She also realized her gratitude caused him to doubt her overarching intentions toward him.

But frankly, she was a little foggy on her intentions, too, so Rex had probably been wise to reject her advances the night before, even if it’d stung.

Even if later, she’d lain in bed clutching her pillow to keep herself from going down the hall and knocking on his door.

But for what? He’d already made it clear he preferred to keep their relationship platonic.

Whether that was for now, or forever, she couldn’t think too much about, not only because it made her crazy but also because she had enough on her plate as it was.

“Detective Mauro,” Rex said, reaching out his hand. They shook, and then Cami did, too, as she greeted the man with a nod.

The detective inclined his head, and they turned and followed him a little way down the hall so their voices couldn’t be overheard from within Cyrus’s guarded room. There’d been a police car outside their rental all night, too, which had made her breathe easier.

“I was able to get some more information on Cyrus’s adoptive parents and the accident that killed them.”

Cami braced, and she wasn’t sure exactly why.

Maybe because the couple that she’d only once seen a photo of, and then pictured in misty renderings over the years, was about to come into sharp focus.

“The whole family was in the car when the accident occurred. Cyrus’s adoptive father, Gray Sanders, was driving.

He was a disabled veteran who was injured in an IED explosion in the Middle East, and though he had a vehicle adapted to his injury, that didn’t seem to be a factor. ”

She felt a jolt of confusion. “A disability? Was he injured before Cyrus’s adoption?”

“Yes. He’d suffered PTSD in the wake of his deployment but sought therapy. There’s no indication of a relapse. He held a steady job and, by all accounts, was a well-liked and respected man in the community.”

“The adoption agency, who did a thorough background check, should have known about his mental health struggles,” Rex said.

“Correct. It’s not always immediate grounds for disqualification, depending on the circumstances, but it should have been disclosed.”

Cami blew out a breath. “Because it speaks to future risk.” And perhaps even something that would have changed her mind.

Regardless of what her own decision might have been, she knew for sure her father would have encouraged her to pass on the Sanders family.

Why risk her infant with someone who may or may not be 100 percent stable, when there were so many other couples looking to adopt?

Her dad had worked in the justice system—he was up close and personal with the way mental health crises ravaged families.

“They should have. I would think there’s a lawsuit there, if you choose to go that route,” the detective said.

She nodded distractedly. Maybe she’d think about that later.

Although, how would that help in her specific case?

The agency wasn’t even in business anymore, and the Sanderses were gone.

She didn’t know Mr. Sanders or why he’d withheld the information of his injury, but she remembered his photo, remembered his steady gaze and the way she’d felt somehow .

.. comforted when she’d looked at him. Mrs. Sanders had appeared kind and nurturing as well, but it was that steady gaze that had made up her mind to choose them to parent her baby.

She felt a shiver of grief on Cyrus’s behalf, followed by a pinch of fear.

God, Cyrus was doubly lucky to be alive.

In recent years, he’d walked away from a deadly car accident and a kidnapping.

Her main concern was the emotional damage he’d suffered, both from those traumatic events and also from the terrible loss he’d suffered.

And forevermore, she’d have to grapple with the fact that it was her fault.

Perhaps she’d chosen wrongly. Even if his parents had been good to him, perhaps if she’d kept him herself, his young life wouldn’t have been filled with so much adversity.

A do-over indeed. Only that was impossible.

She didn’t get to go back. She didn’t get to know what outcome would have served him better.

“So no foul play at all then?” Rex asked. “With the accident?”

“None that the investigators found. It appeared to be weather related. A truck hydroplaned on ice and hit their car head-on. The driver wasn’t charged. He did everything he could to avoid their vehicle.”

“God, poor Cyrus,” Cami murmured. He must have been so scared.

So helpless. A little boy sitting in the car’s back seat as a truck barreled toward them.

The picture she conjured was terrifying, even in her imagination, and she’d have given anything to be placed back there with him, to do something. To protect him any way she was able.

“The good news is that the kid is resilient,” Detective Mauro said. “He’s got all the nurses charmed and is kicking butt with a chess set he requested from the gift shop.”

“Can I see him now?” Cami asked. All this worry, all these imaginings and what-ifs had lit a flame inside of her, and the need to see him with her own eyes. To know he was well.

As if on cue, the door to his room down the hall opened, and a smiling nurse exited. She nodded to the officer and then began walking toward the three of them. “How’s he looking?” Detective Mauro asked.

“My grandmother would have said he’s a little pistol,” the nurse said affectionately.

“There’s no reason he needs to be here any longer.

I just need to have the doctor sign off real quick, and he’s set to go.

” She looked over at Cami as though she’d assumed immediately—correctly, as it were—that she was his mother.

“I’d get him scheduled with a therapist who’s good with kids as soon as possible.

It’s the ones who show a lot of bravado who we often don’t know are really struggling.

Even if he’s not, it couldn’t hurt to talk about what he’s been through. ”

She smiled kindly, and Cami nodded, and then the nurse turned and headed toward a man in a white coat standing near the nurses’ station down the hall.

“Speaking of that,” Detective Mauro said, “I got a call back from the judge at family court services this morning.”

Cami stilled, her eyes widening, barely wanting to allow hope to grow.

“He granted a petition of emergency custody.”

Hope didn’t only grow, it unfurled and blossomed into an internal tree of joy. “I can take him with me back to Virginia?”

“Yes. Again, only temporarily, and you’ll need to arrange for an in-home visit with your local agency. All that can be expedited considering the circumstances, and I’ll assist where I can.”

“That was quick,” she breathed. Thank goodness. Thank goodness.

“These judges are used to getting three a.m. calls about kids needing immediate placement. We’re also going to post a patrol car outside your rental house again tonight.

And I’ll put a call in to your local police, too, while we’re investigating your case.

I’d feel better if they set up a post as well. ”

She steepled her hands over her mouth for a moment.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” She had so much to figure out.

An in-home visit from social services first. Where would he sleep?

She only had a one-bedroom place. How much time could she take off work?

Clothes ... school. She’d need to get him registered for school.

What did she have in the refrigerator? Not much.

Box meals. That wouldn’t do. He needed vegetables. And fruit. Protein too.

Rex put a hand on her arm, stilling her thoughts. Her eyes felt glazed as she looked up at him. “One thing at a time,” he said as though he’d read her mind or as if her mental spiraling was visible.

She let out a small laugh that felt slightly delirious. “One thing at a time,” she repeated. Slow and steady wins the race.

“It was made easier by the fact that Cyrus requested to go home with you too,” the detective said.

Maybe that was because he’d been living in a really shitty circumstance.

Or maybe he trusted her because of their genetic connection.

Whatever it was, she’d keep that trust. She’d build on it.

Cami had no idea what their future looked like, but she knew one thing: Her little boy had been brought back to her for a reason, and she wasn’t going to let him go a second time. “Can we go see him now?”

“Of course.”

When they entered the hospital room, Cyrus was sitting on the edge of the bed putting on his shoes. She saw the holes in the bottom of one and the way his toe was sticking through the top. Shoes. Add shoes to the list.

Deep breath. Slow and steady . . . slow and steady . . .

He looked up, his smile tentative when he saw them. “How are you feeling?” Cami asked. She didn’t know what to say or how to be with him. She was his mother, and yet she was also a stranger. And she’d rarely spent time with kids.

“Good,” Cyrus said. Good. That seemed highly unlikely. Then again, she supposed children were more able to live in the moment, and compared to other recent moments, this was a good one.

She glanced at Rex, and she could only imagine her expression was helpless because he gave her a very small but encouraging nod. They both sat down on the chairs next to the bed, facing Cyrus.

She inclined her head toward the chessboard. “I heard you’ve been kicking ass.”

Cyrus grinned at that. His front two teeth were crooked, turned inward, and the bottom row was crowded.

Braces. He’d need braces eventually. That would be expensive.

She needed to start saving now. “I learned from Mr. Abdullah in the park. He taught me about strategy and the art of war. My book’s back at my foster house.

That’s the only thing I want from there. ”

Rex leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “Sun Tzu? ‘The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.’”

Cyrus’s eyes lit up. “You know it too?”

“Know it? I practically have it memorized. I have a copy. I’ll tell you what, when you get to Virginia, I’ll give you mine so you don’t ever have to step foot back in that house.”

Cyrus blinked, his eyes moving from Rex to Cami. “I’m going with you to Virginia?”

“The detective told me you were okay with that.”

He nodded vigorously. “I am. I’m okay with that.”

Cami felt tears stinging the backs of her eyes and willed them away. Tears would confuse Cyrus. “Awesome. My apartment is small but ...” She glanced at Rex to see his lips were curved in a gentle smile. “But we’ll figure it out.”

“Okay,” Cyrus said. He looked away for a moment, his little forehead lowered in worry. “Do you think ... my birth father would want to see me too? He lives near you, right?”

Cami’s heart gave a small jolt, followed by a squeeze. “I don’t know, Cyrus. Your birth father ... well, it’s a complicated situation. We’ll have to think about that one, okay?”

“I sent him a message,” Cyrus said. “But he never answered.”

That jolt again, only this one more powerful.

“What do you mean?” Rex asked. He must have sensed her inability to form words at that moment. Perhaps her gaping mouth was a clue. “Where did you send him a message?”

Cyrus sat up straight and tilted his chin. “Online at school. I got his email address from that website that talks about his campaign.”

“His campaign email?” Rex and Cami glanced at each other. Hairs raised on the nape of her neck, and her mind swirled as troubling questions took shape. Was it possible ... Oh God, she didn’t even want to consider that Hollis had been involved in Cyrus’s kidnapping. But why? To what end?

Cyrus nodded, his chin still jutted slightly as if he was expecting them to chastise him. “Cyrus,” Rex said, “did anyone ever tell you that you might want to consider going into law enforcement when you grow up?”

Cyrus nodded. “My dad said I’d make a good military man. But he didn’t want me to go to war. He said you only fight as a last resort.”

Cami felt more tears threaten. In some ways, it felt like her little boy had been to war. He deserved peace now. And she was going to do everything in her power to give that to him.

“He sounds wise,” Rex said.

Cyrus nodded gravely and then looked from Rex to Cami. “Is he your boyfriend?” he asked.

Cami released a breath of surprise. She glanced over at Rex, who looked slightly embarrassed. “No,” she said, their eyes holding. “He’s a friend. One of the best friends I’ve ever had. Without him, I wouldn’t have found you.”