The Rules of Dating(107)

DECISION



Thank you for submitting your Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under section 204(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

After a thorough review of your application and supporting documents and testimony, unfortunately, we must inform you that we are denying your application for the following reasons:

Inconsistent testimonies given at interview



Insufficient evidence of a bona fide relationship



Adverse information gathered in USCIS’ investigation, including home visit





My head spun so fast that the letters on the rest of the page became jumbled even though my eyes kept scanning—the words fraud and deportation in the last paragraphs were clear as fucking day.

What the fuck? Why did Maya tell me she didn’t know what decision had been made if she already had the letter? When the answer hit me, I ran to the bathroom and lost my lunch in the toilet.

I held open the front door to my fucking apartment so she could walk out with my daughter and never come back.

I yanked on clothes and ran out the door, sprinting down sixteen flights of stairs. The shirt I’d grabbed from the bathroom floor was inside out, my hair was still dripping from the shower, and I hadn’t bothered with socks before jamming my feet into my dress shoes. But none of that mattered. Only getting to the ice cream shop did.

Running at full speed down the Manhattan street at the tail end of rush hour wasn’t an easy task. I knocked into or shoved a dozen people as I raced my way to the store. Whipping the door open when I arrived, I scanned the room for Saylor.

“Table for one?” The hostess lifted a menu. “Would you like to sit at the counter?”

“Have you seen a little girl with blond hair…about four and a woman with long, dark hair in her mid-twenties?”

The woman’s brows pulled together as she glanced around the ice cream parlor. There were a half-a-dozen tables with people, none of which had my little girl.

“I don’t see anyone who looks like that.”

“Did anyone like I described leave recently?”

She shook her head. “I’ve been here since three. I don’t think so.”

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuuuuuuck!

I ran back out to the street and looked right and left. Where the hell did I go now? This city had eight-million people, and it felt like they were all blocking my view at the moment. Maya could have taken her anywhere! Where the fuck did I even start to look?

Think.

Think.

Think.

If I needed to get out of town undetected, how would I do it?

Maya wouldn’t want to fly because she was here illegally. She’d be too afraid of getting caught by security at the airport. She also didn’t have a driver’s license to rent a car.

Then it hit me. The bus depot was only about three blocks away. So I ran toward it. Of course, just like the rest of the damn city, it was packed. I frantically weaved in and out of people, but there was no sign of either of them anywhere. Unsure what the hell to do next, I whipped out my phone to enlist the help of my friends. We could split up the city and check more places.

Holden didn’t answer, so I left a message. “I need your help! Maya took Saylor! Call me back!”

Then I dialed Owen. My damn call went straight to voicemail. Fuck.

My fingers shook as I searched through my contacts for Brayden’s number. But before I could hit enter, my phone buzzed with an incoming call.

Billie.

I swiped to answer.

“I can’t talk. Maya took Saylor!”

“I know. She brought her here.”

“What?”

“She’s here with me at the shop, Colby. That’s why I’m calling. I thought it was strange. Maya just showed up two minutes ago with her, handed me a letter to give you, and told me to take good care of Saylor.”

My heart pounded. “Saylor’s okay?”

“Yes, Colby. She’s fine. What’s going on?”

I leaned over with my hands on my knees to catch my breath. “Holy shit. Thank God.”

“You’re scaring me. What happened?”

“I’m not sure. But I’ll be there in two minutes. Just don’t let Saylor out of your sight, please.”

“I won’t.”

Even though Saylor was apparently safe, I ran the entire way to the tattoo shop. When I walked into the back, my little girl’s eyes lit up. “Daddy!”

I wrapped her in my arms so tight. “Where did you go, sweetheart?”

“Maya took me for ice cream.”

“At Coyle’s?”

She shook her head. “No. The ice cream man was parked outside, and I wanted a cone with sprinkles.”

I pulled back and looked her up and down. There was a giant brown spot on her shirt. “I guess you got chocolate.”

She nodded.

I pulled her to me once again, hugging her tightly.

Saylor laughed. “You’re acting weird, Daddy.”

I took a deep breath before releasing her. “Sorry. I missed you, that’s all.”

Deek, whom I hadn’t even noticed in the room until now, walked over. “Hey, kiddo. We just got some new glow-in-the-dark paints. How ’bout you paint your name and then we’ll turn off the lights in the bathroom and check it out?”