The child was a product of love, and she’d been wrong to let her fears overcome her emotions. She blinked back tears.
“Are you okay?” Dr. Mendez asked, handing Maxie a tissue.
She wiped at her eyes. “Yes. Does everything look okay?” she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“Perfect. Because it’s so early, you’ll have to come back in a few weeks to hear the heartbeat. Eight weeks. You’re about at four.” The doctor grasped her hand. “I know how stressful this pregnancy is going to feel. Please come back any time. Call me if you need anything. Next time, make a list of questions and bring someone to help you remember the answers.”
Maxie sniffed, the tears running down her face unchecked. All she wanted now was to get home and tell Lucas he was going to be a father.
She dressed and took the elevator back downstairs, in even more of a daze than she’d been in before. She would have preferred to head straight over to Lucas’ office, but she had to work, so she’d have to settle for telling him at home tonight.
No, she realized. Work had to wait. Now that she’d wrapped her head around the notion, she had to share the news and tell Lucas they were having a baby. He deserved to be there from the beginning, and this was as close to that as she could give him.
Her fears weren’t gone, and she’d need every bit of his support to get through the next eight months. Not that she couldn’t handle whatever life threw at her alone, but she chose not to. And that was the difference between her relationship with Keith and the one she shared with Lucas.
She’d been coming around, beginning to understand it before the pregnancy news had blindsided her and put her in a state of frozen fear. But while lying on the exam table, looking at that tiny blip on the screen, clarity had descended over her.
She wanted this baby, and she wanted to raise him or her with the man she loved. All of which meant she had a lot of explaining to do after withdrawing and pushing him away. He deserved so much better than what she’d been giving him, and from now on, she intended to give him everything. Her whole heart.
She stepped onto the curb, but before she could turn toward the subway entrance, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly against him.
“You and your boyfriend have been more trouble than you’re worth,” a familiar voice said in her ear. “Act normal. We’re taking a walk.”
Fear raced through her, but she did as he said, managing to put one foot in front of the other. “I don’t get it. They said you were in custody!”
He yanked her closer to him and continued down the street. “When something looks too easy, it usually is, and I didn’t get where I am without being damned careful. No way was I going to do the pickup and risk getting arrested,” he muttered. “Moron island cops picked up a dummy looking to make a buck who looked like me.”
Gold hadn’t waited for actual confirmation they had the right man before letting Maxie and Lucas think they were off the hook. She bit the inside of her cheek, Bernardi’s rough grip dragging her along.
“What do you want with me now?” she asked.
He stopped but held on to her tightly, meeting her gaze. “You’re my ticket out of this country. Your boyfriend is going to give me the money I need to disappear before the Feds fingerprint the guy they have in custody and come looking for me.”
She blinked back tears. “You’re going to what? Kidnap me?” She pressed her hand over her belly. “Please, I’m pregnant. Just let me go. I’ll make sure Lucas pays you this time. I—”
“No more games or trust,” he snarled. “Let’s go. My car’s on the next corner.”
Maxie knew she couldn’t go anywhere with him. Her only chance was to escape him now, when there were people around to see and hear her scream. Or pass out.
She slowed her feet. “I’m not feeling well,” she said, forcing him to shorten his steps.
Panic threatened to overwhelm her, but she thought about the baby inside her and the life she could have if she survived. Don’t get into a car with a kidnapper. She knew this.
“Come on.” He yanked on her arm.
At that moment, she let her knees buckle and slid to the ground.
“Fuck!” He yanked so hard on her arm he nearly pulled it out of the socket, but she kept her body weight close to the ground, unwilling to be his victim. “Help!” she screamed, knowing the street wasn’t packed but had people walking by.
“You stupid bitch!” He leaned down, getting so close his fetid breath hit her nostrils. “Get up.”
“No.” She spat in his face and lay down close to the sidewalk, unwilling to give him any leverage to haul her up and drag her with him.
He slapped her hard, her head hitting the concrete.
He pulled out a gun and aimed it at her stomach. “You really think I’m going to jail?”
Before she could answer, which wouldn’t be easy given the way her head was spinning, someone tackled Bernardi, slamming him to the ground by her side.
His gun fell from his hand and skidded across the sidewalk. She grabbed it, holding it on him with shaking hands. A crowd had formed around them, and a tall man knelt down beside her. “Here. Let me,” he said in a kind voice as he extended his hand.
She gave him the weapon, collapsing to the ground in relief.
Chapter Eleven
Lucas, Kade, and Derek sat with Blink’s accountants, listening to them drone on about expenses, taxes, and other things, which Lucas tuned out, his mind elsewhere. With all that had been going on in his life, it was a miracle he still had a business, but he had his partners to thank for stepping up when he had other problems going on.
Tonight he planned to corner Maxie and find out what was bothering her, once and for all. They had nothing if they didn’t have honesty. She would have to spill her guts, and he was going to have to be man enough to hear it.
His cell rang mid-meeting. He’d forgotten to turn off the ringer, another testament to his focus being elsewhere.
“Sorry.” He pulled it out of his pocket, planning to shut it off when Gold’s name came up on the screen—the Fed who’d given him the all clear this morning.
“Excuse me,” he said to the others in the room, answering before he’d walked out. “Monroe.”
“Mr. Monroe, it’s Federal Agent Gold.”
Lucas’ skin began to tingle uncomfortably. “What’s wrong?”
The other man cleared his throat. “There was a mix-up in the Caymans. The island police picked up a man who looked like Vincent Bernardi as he was trying to access your brother’s account. But when my men arrived to take custody, it wasn’t the right man.”
“Fuck!” Lucas exploded. “Are you kidding me?”
The agent groaned into the phone. “My men knew it wasn’t Bernardi immediately, but we don’t have jurisdiction there. We had to let the locals make the arrest.”
Lucas thought his head might detonate, so great was his anger. “Well, you didn’t have to tell me it was a done deal and he was in custody until you knew for sure.”
Lucas’ hands began to shake as he realized he had to call Maxie. “You’d better hope Bernardi hasn’t gotten to Maxie, or I’m going to make sure you lose your job and reputation.”
He cut off the call and dialed Maxie’s cell phone, but it went directly to voice mail as it sometimes did when she was at work. He wasn’t reassured and called Nick Power, Maxie’s boss, on his cell.
“Nick, it’s Lucas Monroe,” Lucas said when Nick answered on the first ring.
“What can I do for you?” Nick asked.
Lucas ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I know I sound like a crazy man, but can you ask Maxie to call me? It’s urgent,” Lucas said, his heart pounding in his chest for reasons he couldn’t put into words.
Logic said he had time to get in touch with her, but his gut screamed something else.
“Andrea, can you give Maxie a message?” Lucas heard Nick ask someone in the office.
He couldn’t hear the
rest of the conversation.
“Okay, as soon as she’s back from her doctor’s appointment, Andrea will let her know,” Nick said.
“Thanks,” Lucas said numbly and disconnected the call. Doctor? She hadn’t mentioned an appointment at any time this week or when he’d dropped her off at work this morning.
Not that he needed to know everything, but when he added her behavior to her secrecy, his feeling of unease grew. Was she sick and hiding it from him? he wondered, his stomach churning.
Okay, he thought, trying to calm himself down. He needed to prioritize. First up, he needed to let her know about Bernardi, so he called her back and left a message to call him, that it was urgent. Then he dialed Tyler Dare and had him work on getting security in place again as soon as possible.
Unable to bring himself to rejoin the business meeting in the conference room, he headed for his office, where he paced the floors. Nothing about today made sense, and he wasn’t comfortable.
At all.
Kade and Derek met up with him after their meeting ended, shutting themselves in his office, giving them privacy.
“Hey, man. What’s wrong?” Derek asked.
“The Feds fucked up and I can’t locate Maxie.” He explained the phone call and Maxie’s unexpected, at least to Lucas, doctor’s appointment. “My skin is itching like something is seriously wrong.”
Kade frowned. “Want me to ask Lexie if she knows anything?”
“Would you? I’m losing my mind.”
Kade pulled out his phone and made the call. “Hey, baby. Have you heard from Maxie?” He listened, glanced at Lucas, and shook his head.
Shit.
Lucas forced himself to breathe.
Kade wrapped up the call and refocused on the problem at hand. “Try her cell again,” he said, not once questioning Lucas’ gut or worry, which he appreciated.
He walked over to his desk, where he’d placed his cell, and the phone rang. He answered immediately.
“Mr. Monroe? This is Officer Jones. I’m calling at the request of Ms. Maxie Sullivan.”
His heart almost stopped beating, and he lowered himself into his chair. “What happened?”
His friends immediately surrounded him.
“We’re still sorting out details, but she’s being taken by ambulance to Lenox Hill Hospital. You can meet her there.”
Kade insisted on taking his driver. The man always insisted on the finer things in life, and a little while later, Lucas sat in an emergency room, waiting for news on Maxie. And because he wasn’t related or her husband, he couldn’t demand to be let in to see her until the doctors were good and ready.
It was déjà vu all over again.
If he hadn’t already seen the result of Kade’s fist hitting a hard wall, he’d be tempted to do some punching of his own. As it was, he was stuck feeling helpless while time passed slowly and he could do nothing but wait. At least this time he wasn’t alone. Kade and Derek had accompanied him here, along with Lexie, who’d met them. Understanding he didn’t want to talk, they provided moral support and left him to brood in peace.
An officer had stopped by to question Lucas about Vincent Bernardi and had filled Lucas in on what had happened to Maxie outside the doctor’s office. Lucas was furious that the man had gotten near Maxie again, and if he hadn’t wanted to be here the minute he could see her, he would’ve been at Gold’s office wringing the man’s neck. As it was, Lucas directed the police to Gold for more information. If it was the last thing Lucas did, he’d make sure the man lost his job.
He couldn’t begin to imagine Maxie’s fear and panic when Bernardi had grabbed her, but he admired that she was smart enough not to go with the man and to take the risk to fight him in public. He clenched and unclenched his fists, the hands on the clock on the wall dragging as they moved.
The longer he sat, the further back his thoughts traveled, to the night she’d called him when she’d lost the baby. The panicked trip to the hospital. The long, interminable time alone in a small room with ancient magazines as he waited for news. And he came to one solid conclusion.
This was the last time he’d be kept away from Maxie because they weren’t married. They were damn well going to work through her issues and get married as soon as possible. In his book, their I love yous weren’t new, they were years in the feeling … and they’d wasted enough time apart.
“Mr. Monroe?” A nurse walked through the door and called out his name.
Lucas nodded. “That’s me.”
His friends turned, as eager for news as he was.
“You can come back and see Ms. Sullivan now.”
Lucas expelled a long breath of relief. “I’ll fill you guys in as soon as I can,” he promised, and followed the woman through the double doors.
They passed a row of closed curtains and finally came to the corner cubicle. “In here. She’s expecting you,” the nurse said.
Lucas nodded. “Thank you.” His heart galloped inside his chest as he pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the small enclosed area.
Maxie lay on a hospital bed, her head back against the pillows, her skin pale. A slight bruise marred one cheek, and anger swamped Lucas along with a sense of futility that he hadn’t been there to prevent her from getting hurt. Logically he knew he couldn’t be with her every minute of every day, but in this case, his anger was warranted. He’d relied on false information, and she’d been out alone, exposed to Bernardi.
He quietly stepped into the room, and she stirred, her big brown eyes settling on his. In that one instant, he affirmed that she was everything he wanted and cared about, and he’d do anything to fix whatever had been wrong over the last several weeks or so.
Anything to make her his for good.
* * *
Maxie was dizzy and her head hurt, but there was no better sight than Lucas walking in. She’d been asking for him for the past hour, but they’d insisted on checking her for injuries and making sure the baby was okay. She’d have been happier if Lucas had been here the entire time. But at least he was here now.
He strode over and clasped her hand, but it wasn’t enough. The next thing she knew, his arms were wrapped solidly around her, holding her tight, and the tears she’d been holding back since Bernardi had approached her fell freely.
“I’m sorry,” she said, sniffling against his shirt.
“For what?” He pulled back and met her gaze, all the worry he’d been through in his expression, all the love he felt for her in his eyes.
She swallowed hard. “For how I’ve acted lately.”
A corner of his mouth kicked up in a half smile. “We’ll get to that.”
He brushed her hair off her face, studying her intently. “Are you really okay?”
She nodded, regretting it immediately. The pain seared through her skull. “Just a bad headache.”
“Are you up to telling me what happened?”
She wasn’t ready to tell him about the baby. Not until this mess with Keith was out and behind them. “Bernardi walked up to me on the street, grabbed my arm, and said I was coming with him. That the cops in the Caymans got a decoy he sent instead of going himself because he suspected a trap. I started walking with him, but the minute I saw the car, all the TV talk shows I’ve seen telling you not to get into a vehicle and go to a second location with a kidnapper came back to me. I knew I’d risk anything to stay where I was.”
“Smart girl,” he murmured.
She shrugged, trying not to remember the abject fear and just relay the story. “I let myself go limp and fell to the ground, lying down flat. He was so angry. He tried to yank me up, and when I wouldn’t go, he slapped me. That’s when my head hit the concrete.”
A low growl escaped Lucas’ throat. “Are you okay?”
“They’re watching me for a concussion.”
He pulled in a deep breath. “What happened next?”
“Next thing I knew, someone tackled him, throwing him off me. His gun fell near me, I grabbe
d it…”
His entire body trembled. “Jesus. And I thought there was nothing worse than getting the phone call from Gold telling me they’d gotten the wrong guy. I tried to reach you. I kept dialing. Eventually I called Nick, who said you were at a doctor’s appointment,” Lucas said, his gaze narrowing, as if that piece of information had been lost in his panic and he was just now remembering it.
Her face flushed with heat. “Right. About that…”
He pushed himself onto the edge of the bed, scooting in beside her. “You don’t have to report your every move to me, but—”
She drew a deep breath. “It’s all tied to how I’ve been acting lately.”
She drew nervous circles on the hospital blanket. “It turns out I’m pregnant.” She paused to let that piece of information sink in.
He blinked. “Pregnant.”
“Yep.”
“As in having a baby. My baby.”
She caught herself before nodding. “Yes. And I didn’t handle the news well at all. After everything I went through last time, I panicked. I couldn’t imagine living every day of the next nine months wondering when something was going to go wrong. I was petrified of losing the baby, of the pain, the depression, the hurt, the loss.” Tears were flowing freely now.
He brushed them away with his thumb, looking dazed himself. “Are you telling me you were at the doctor to… end the pregnancy?” he asked, the words sounding torn from his throat.
“No! No. I never once considered that possibility.”
The tension eased from his face, and his entire body fell lax in relief.
“It’s odd, actually. I never considered anything. It’s like I went numb to everything around me. I could only focus on what I couldn’t handle, and I felt like I was slipping back into the black hole that consumed me in those early days.”
“So where were you today?”
She realized he hadn’t yet expressed his feelings about the baby, but this wasn’t a normal set of circumstances, and she needed to give him time. Time to understand her and the hurt she’d inflicted these last weeks.
Going Down Fast (Billionaire Bad Boys Book 2) Page 15
