And now the coach was suspicious. He was being nice and all, but Michael wasn’t stupid. He knew the big man was biding his time before pressing him for why he’d been so terrified when he had first seen him at the soccer field. He certainly didn’t want to tell the coach about the guy who’d killed Brewer. Coach already knew that his mother had thrown the bowl at his head that morning. Joshua had a big mouth.

Michael couldn’t blame his brother, though. He was only five and the coach was a nice man. I hope. Please let him be a nice man. Please don’t let him be like Brewer.

The door opened and four women entered, crowding the already cramped space. One was the doctor, two were women Michael had never seen before, and the fourth—

Michael blinked. The fourth woman was taller than the others and she wore a uniform. A cop.

They’d called the cops. Michael jerked his gaze to Coach Diesel. “I didn’t do anything,” he signed, his heart beating like crazy once again.

Diesel nodded calmly. “We know.”

Dr. Dani stepped close to him, leaning in to sign in very small movements that the other three women couldn’t see. It was as close to privacy as they would get. “She’s not here because you did anything. She’s here because your mother hurt you. She’ll take your statement. That’s all. She’s a friend of mine. She won’t hurt you, Michael.”

Michael’s chest suddenly hurt and it was hard to breathe, because everything was starting to fall into place. His mother’s words bounced around his mind—if the cops took Joshua and him away from her, they’d separate them and Michael wouldn’t be able to watch over his brother. Terrible things would happen. Joshua would get hurt. Like Brewer hurt me.

That couldn’t happen. Michael could not allow that to happen. Ever.

Don’t panic. Not now. Please. “One of them’s a social worker,” he signed, pointing a trembling finger at one of the women.

Dr. Dani nodded. “And the other is your interpreter.”

Michael didn’t care about the interpreter. “The social worker will take Joshua. She’ll put him in foster care. She’ll separate us.”

Dr. Dani held up both hands to calm him before resuming her signing. “I’ll do my best to see that that doesn’t happen, okay?”

Michael swallowed hard. The doctor’s best wasn’t nearly good enough. “I need to go.” He tried to push past her, but Coach Diesel stood and blocked his path.

“Michael, please. Wait,” he said. “Don’t jump to . . .” He grimaced before spelling out conclusions, his hand clumsy. “Not yet. Let Dr. Dani help you and then we’ll figure this out. But you guys can’t go home. What if your mother throws something and hits Joshua next time?”