“A parade?” Her eyes narrowed. “I’ve literally been with one man since the divorce. Meanwhile, before Tiffani, you had a new woman every week. And you sure didn’t hesitate to dump babysitting responsibilities on them. You let a lot of random women babysit our son while you ran off to do whatever you wanted. Now that you have Tiffani you don’t even see Finn at all.”
“Don’t try to justify your behavior to me,” Gary said. “You’re an unfit mother.”
Her eyes glistened with tears; seeing her in so much pain sent an indescribable rage through Simon. It felt like his blood was on fire, and all he wanted to do was make Gary pay for the pain he was causing her.
“Think whatever you want, Gary, but all I’ve ever tried to do is be a good mom.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Please just tell me that Finn is okay.”
“He’s fine,” Gary said. “I’ve got him and he’s safe. I’m trying to protect him, Heather. That’s what any good father would do. Maybe if you stop messing with the wrong kind of guys we can work something out.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, the hope in her voice unmistakable. “You’ll give Finn back?”
“Not until I know that it’s safe for him to be around you,” Gary muttered.
“But you know it’s against the judge’s order to take him,” she pointed out.
“Not if I’m protecting him,” Gary insisted. “Which is what I’m doing. Protecting my son from you.”
“Please just let me talk to him,” she said desperately. “He’s probably confused and scared. Give me a chance to talk to Finn.”
“No,” Gary said flatly. “We’ll talk about this later, after you’ve calmed down.”
Gary hung up abruptly, leaving Heather staring at the phone in disbelief, her face streaked with tears.
“No.” A small cry escaped her throat.
Simon wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. It was like the strength was evaporating from her as she sagged against him in despair.
“We have to call the police,” he said gently. “If Gary has taken Finn illegally they’ll be able to do something about this.”
“Not the police,” she begged, her shoulders heaving. “The divorce has been so hard on Finn already. Involving the police is going to traumatize him. He’s just a kid. I don’t want to scare him or hurt him.”
He ran his hand through her hair, trying to soothe her. “I’m not going to leave until we get him back, Heather. Whatever you need, I’m here. You’re not alone.”
“Thank you.”
She felt so fragile in his arms, as if at any moment she might break into a million pieces. No parent should have to be bullied the way Gary was bullying her.
Sparks of rage coursed through him. Made his body coil with tension. If he could get his hands on Gary, he would make him pay for the pain he was causing Heather.
She pulled away from him and started brushing her tears away. “Gary isn’t doing this to protect our son. He’s trying to punish me for moving on.”
Gary’s jealousy was more than apparent. Simon understood being jealous over another man’s attention to Heather, but Gary’s behavior was completely insane. “I don’t think your ex has gotten over you,” Simon said darkly.
“He’s just trying to punish me for being with you,” she said. “I guess it’s okay for him to date whoever he wants, but he can’t stand to see me do the same.”
He tried not to listen to the part of his mind that started to hope. Started to hope that she thought of them as dating. As a couple. Because, as dangerous as that was, it was precisely what Simon wanted. There was no use denying it anymore. He wanted Heather. No matter how difficult pursuing a relationship with her was going to be, he was willing to go through the fire for her.
And right now, he had to protect her no matter the cost.
An idea occurred to him. “How about I get you a good family lawyer? Someone who could scare Gary into giving Finn back.”
“I had a lawyer during the divorce,” she said. “He wasn’t some fancy lawyer or anything, but maybe he could help.”