Dani motioned him in so that he could hear what Maria was telling Deacon. Diesel’s shoulders sagged. “Kaiser?” he murmured.

Dani shrugged. “I don’t know.” But she did. And so did Diesel.

He rubbed his hand over his head, a gesture that was becoming increasingly familiar. “He needed to confirm that Michael was an eyewitness. Needed to know if he’d given the cops that sketch.”

“We can’t tell Michael,” Dani whispered. “Not yet. He feels guilty enough about Stone and Decker getting hurt.”

Diesel nodded. “He’s fragile right now. I heard Meredith come out of the office. She’s wearing her face.” He grimaced. “You know what I mean.”

Dani knew what he meant. She’d seen it, too. The mask of serenity.

“Oh,” Maria said, sinking into one of the soft chairs in front of the huge TV. “I never even thought about that. Th-thank you. I will. Good-bye.” She handed the phone to Dani. “He’s sending a team to investigate,” she said quietly. “I’m not supposed to leave by myself. He’s assigning me an escort. He says I may be in danger because I’ve been interpreting Michael’s therapy sessions.” She looked up, her eyes full of fear. “I have kids. What about my kids?”

“Where are they?” Dani asked, then texted the children’s school information to Deacon. “He’ll take care of it.”

The three of them left the TV room, only to be met by the sound of Joshua’s sobs. Dani ran for the kitchen and stopped short. Joshua sat at the table, his head on his crossed arms, crying like his heart was broken.

Something had actually broken, though. Remnants of a colorful plate lay on the kitchen floor in pieces. Meredith sat with Joshua, rubbing his back. “Michael came out of the office,” she said quietly. “Started to make himself a sandwich. Joshua got up to hug him, but Michael pushed him away. The two of them signed something I didn’t understand. Then Michael threw the plate on the floor. He’s out there.” She pointed to the sliding glass doors.

Michael stood on the terrace, his back to them, but his shoulders were shaking. He was crying, too.

Dani let out a breath, trying to stay calm when she also wanted to cry. “Joshua, honey, what happened?”

“He pushed me down. Michael pushed me.”

Dani crouched beside his chair, ignoring the broken plate. They all were wearing shoes and the mess could wait. “Are you hurt?”

Joshua shook his head, then lifted it, the picture of misery. “But he never pushes me. Never. He’s never mad at me. But he is now.”

Dani brushed the tears from his cheeks, biting back the urge to make excuses for Michael. Not until she understood the facts. “That wasn’t okay of him to push you. That’s not ever okay. What did you say to him?” she asked gently.