Hooked on You: An Annapolis Harbor Series Prequel, Lea Coll [love letters to the dead .txt] 📗

in my pockets so she wouldn’t see how my fingers had formed fists, but I couldn’t relax my tight muscles or stop the muscle from ticking in my jaw. “Is Zach okay?”

“My office received a concerned call about Zach so we’re conducting an investigation—talking to everyone in his life.” She continued to stare pointedly at me as if I was the cause for concern.

I don’t know why I’d thought things could be different in my life. It always came back to this—if there was trouble, I was the cause.

How would she know Zach was in my life unless she talked to Lizzie, Taylor, or Isaac? I didn’t think Isaac would willingly call family services. He hated authority and law enforcement as much as I did. He’d never talk to someone without talking to me first. So that left Lizzie and Taylor and right now, I was leaning toward Lizzie.

“Who called?” I tried to keep my voice nice and even so my anger wouldn’t be evident, but I was livid.

“I can’t divulge that information.” Her face remained impassive as she watched me warily.

I needed to keep my cool. I didn’t have Taylor here to smooth things over and I wanted Ms. Glover to have a good impression of me. I needed to dissuade her from whatever she believed about me. “Why not?”

“It’s an open investigation.”

I started sweating then. My mind went back to my first thought, that Lizzie accused me of sexually abusing Zach. Feeling light-headed and slightly ill, I sat down. What was I going to do if she had? I already had a record of theft, which Taylor said attorneys equate to being untruthful, so my word wasn’t as good as someone who didn’t have the same record. If Lizzie wrongly accused me of something that could be an issue.

No one would believe me when I said I didn’t do anything. Strange men involved in children’s lives were always suspected of something inappropriate. Even if Zach defended me, people would think I’d done something. Why would anyone believe an ex-convict wanted to help a troubled teen?

“I have to interview people he interacts with on a daily basis. That’s all you need to know for now.”

“Okay.”

“How do you know Zach? He mentioned that he talks to you daily.”

So, she had talked to Zach. My only chance was telling her the truth—everything that had happened since I first noticed Zach. Taking a deep breath, I said, “I observed Zach in the apartment building for a while before I ever spoke to him. He always seemed to be alone and when I brought food home with me, he seemed hungry. Initially, I offered him my food and he’d take it. Then I started ordering two meals so I could give him one. I wanted to know more about him and his situation, so I invited him to my apartment to cook for him. I wanted to know why he was always alone, why he was hungry, and where his parents were.”

“You didn’t think to call us?” She’d taken out a notebook at some point while I was talking and took notes.

I laughed bitterly. “If you’d grown up like I did—like Zach did—you’d understand why not. I don’t exactly trust the authorities to do the right thing.” I explained everything I’d learned about Zach’s living situation, how Lizzie was pressuring him to quit school, and how I’d confronted her about it.

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Adler.” She stood as if to leave, her face expressionless.

“That’s it?” I stood too, not knowing what to think. If she was accusing me of something wouldn’t she ask more questions? Ask if I’d ever touched him inappropriately? Maybe Lizzie hadn’t said anything.

“That’s all I have for now. I’ll be back if I have more questions.”

My neck felt hot and chilly at the same time, so I rubbed my hand down it trying to erase the bad feeling I had from the encounter.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Adler.”

“Sure.” I couldn’t say the same. I was sure her visit didn’t mean good news—not for me and certainly not for Zach. My mom always warned me that nothing good happened when the government got involved. But I had nothing to hide.

When the door closed behind her, I pulled out my phone, sending Taylor a message.

Gabe:Can you meet up today? Zach is working at Omar’s. Or at least he was supposed to but I didn’t know if the family services worker had removed him or not.

Taylor: Of course.

It was a bit of an odd request because we’d spent every night together. Taylor would be with Zach at my home in the evening or she’d show up at the bar at some point and we’d leave together. She’d seamlessly fit into my life and I didn’t want to think she’d had something to do with this. But she worked with social workers. I had to ask her. I had to find out for sure it wasn’t her because if it was, I didn’t know what I’d do. And I had to do this in person so I could see her face.

I was stressed at work—nervous to talk to Taylor but anxious to see her.

“What the fuck’s up with you tonight?” Isaac asked when I checked the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time.

I just shook my head. “Nothing.”

A few minutes later, Taylor finally walked in and Isaac raised his brow and asked, “Trouble in paradise?”

“I’m not sure yet. Can I take a break?” The bar was busy, but we weren’t overwhelmed at the moment. “I need to talk to Taylor.” Whatever was on my face must have convinced him it was urgent because he said, “Okay, but don’t take too long. We’re going to be busy tonight.”

“Thanks.” Then I walked around the bar to greet Taylor.

“Hey, I missed you.” She placed her small hands on my chest and went up on tiptoes to kiss me but I kept it light.

I wanted to respond in kind but the words stuck in