I don't know who. He says he wants to be involved. That he made a mistake. That he wants to. She pressed her lips together.
He used the word rights. He used the word rights in reference to Noah. He wants custody. James said flat. He says he wants to talk about arrangements.
But the way he said it, she shook her head. It didn't feel like a conversation. It felt like a setup. Is he the reason you left Atlanta? Sophia didn't answer immediately.
And in that pause, James had his answer before she gave it. Partly, she said. What's the other part? He showed up at my apartment. She said twice.
The first time I didn't answer the door. The second time he left a letter. The letter said that if I didn't agree to discuss arrangements, he was going to pursue legal action. She set her mug down because her hands weren't quite steady. He has money, James.
His family has money and I had $23 and no job and I couldn't. She stopped. I couldn't fight that from where I was. James stood in his kitchen holding this 8-month-old baby and felt something rise in him that was cold and clear and very focused, which was a specific kind of anger he rarely let out because once it was out, it tended to move things. You should have told me this the first night.
He said, "I know, Sophia. If this man is a threat, he's not. I don't think he'd actually. You don't know what a man with money and lawyers will do when he decides he wants something." James's voice was level, but it had an edge to it now.
Does he know where you are? I don't think so. I got a new number when I left Atlanta. I didn't tell anyone where I was going. I didn't post anything.
She met his eyes. I was careful. How careful? Very careful. He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he said, "I know someone, family law attorney, Marcus's sister-in-law. She's good and she's aggressive and she will tell you exactly what you're dealing with." He shifted Noah again. You are not going to handle this alone. You understand me?