I frowned at his tone. “I said I wouldn’t stop you. That’s why I’m here, remember?”

Sleep deprivation made me snippy. I sucked in more coffee to counteract the bitchiness seeping into my tone.

River shook his head, leaning forward. “I don’t mean once every now and then. I want him to know me, know us. I want him to be able to lean on us. We can’t do that if we live half a country away in Michigan. I don’t want to be just a name that comes and visits him once every five years.”

“We want custody of Huey. We are willing to reimburse you for the privilege,” Devan said, his dark blue eyes staring at me.

My jaw unhinged. “He’s not a fucking puppy you can buy!” I hissed, trying not to draw attention. “The court appointed me as his parent for a reason. You mightn’t like that, but it's the truth. I don’t care how much fucking money you want to throw at me.”

How dare they? What kind of person do they think I am?

I tried to stand, but Rigby put his hand on my arm. “Nova, wait, please.” He gave the other two men a stern look, like they were idiots. “That’s not what they meant—”

“Don’t lie to me. Yes, it was.”

Rigby sighed, screwing his face up into a wince. “Okay, yes, it was. But…” He looked at River beseechingly. “You have to understand the guys. The promises they made to Alana. They’re many things… Idiots, sometimes,” he muttered. “But their word is their bond. And the bond they had with Alana and Huey is something they take very seriously.”

I shook my arm out from underneath Rigby’s distractingly warm, large hand. “You don’t understand. Huey is all I have left. Without him, I’m alone.” My voice was shakier than I would’ve liked, but the truth of that fact hit hard.

River placed both large hands on the table. “I will pay you twenty-five million dollars to relocate to our home in Ann Arbor with Huey.”

That's when white spots danced across my vision.

Chapter Five

DEVAN

“Are you out of your freaking ever-loving mind?” Nova hissed, and I shifted the now sleeping Huey back into his stroller. It hurt me to think that this might be the last time I held him, especially if this went badly.

I cleared my throat. “I was there the moment he was born. I was the second person to ever hold him in their arms. I looked down at this scrunched, potato-looking alien thing and told him I’d love him forever, and do anything for him. I don’t intend to take that back now when he needs me the most,” I said in a soft voice.