Those words…kill.
I reach inside the small purse I brought with me. There’s nothing inside but two items, because of the security. Both things are pictures. I take them out and place them on the table beside us. A picture of the newly finished nursery, that moments ago I had been so proud of. And the picture the doctor printed off of my last sonogram.
“I don’t know what you wanted to accomplish today, Max. If it was hurting me, then your mission was accomplished. I brought these for you. I stupidly thought you’d want to see your daughter. You can just throw them away,” I tell him quietly, my voice thick with tears. A few have escaped, but I’m doing my best to keep them in, at least until I get out of here.
“My daughter?” he asks, but I’ve already turned away. I can’t stay here, not now. I pause at the door, trying to breathe through the pain.
“Goodbye, Max.”
He’ll never know how hard those words were for me to say. Then again, apparently he doesn’t care.
44
Max
The guard pushes me down in the seat. I don’t bother giving him the time of the day. It doesn’t matter. Nothing does these days. Nothing except this visit. These visits from Marcum keep me sane. I don’t know how he did it, and I don’t ask, but these days we get to talk sitting across from each other at a table. No more glass between us. That, at least, makes me feel less caged.
“You’re looking rough, boy.” Marcum says, and I give him a one finger salute.
“How are Tess and the baby?” I ask getting straight to the point.
“Why are you asking? You’re the fucker who pushed her away.”
“She needed to stop dreaming of a life with me. She needed to live her life,” I explain again, even if the thoughts of her with another man destroys me.
“Then I’ll guess you’ll be happy to know Officer De Luca has taken a liking to her,” Marcum says leaning back in his seat like he doesn’t have a care in the world. The words are like acid.
“That fucking detective?” I bark, not liking the idea of his pretty boy face anywhere near Tess.
“Hey, what do you care right? He’ll take care of our girl, keep your kid safe. He’ll be honest as the day is long, and Tess can have the home in the suburbs you say she wants. All’s well that ends well, right, boy?”
“He’s not right for Tess,” I tell him, not even bothering to act uninterested. Marcum would see through that shit anyway.
“He doesn’t seem to agree. Been over at her house four times in the last two weeks.”
“What the fuck for?”
“Says he’s making sure her and the baby are okay and don’t need anything.”
“The fuck he is. He’s after, Tess.”
“Probably, she’s a damn fine woman. And thanks to you being a stupid, she’s free.”
“You and the boys need to have a talk with the asshole. He needs to stay away from Tess.”
“Why, boy? Isn’t that what you wanted? A nice, stable, honest man for our girl?”
“Fuck, I don’t know what I wanted. I just didn’t want her pining away for something that wasn’t going to happen, Marcum.”
The old man exhales and then slides up, so he’s leaning his upper body on the table.
“It may not be overnight, but it’s going to happen, boy. You need to get your head out of your ass and give my girl some hope.”
“Your girl?”
“She’s the smartest thing you’ve ever done in your life, Maxwell. The club has claimed her; we’re keeping her and little Maddy.”
“Maddy?”
“She named the baby, Madison. Little Maddy is damn cute. Looks so much like her mom it’s unreal.”
“She had the baby? She wasn’t due till next week,” I say, feeling like I’m coming apart at the seams. My baby…she’s here…and I haven’t got to touch her or see her. Fuck. My hands shake as I reach for the photo that Marcum pushes across the table to me.
Tess. My precious Tess is holding a child. She looks so tired and worn out, but she’s smiling down at this small bundle in her hands like she’s holding the world…and she is; this small, wrinkled, beautiful baby girl, staring back at me. She’s got a head full of dark black hair, and it’s sticking up in places, Tess’s hand is lovingly placed on the top trying to calm it down. These midnight-dark eyes stare back at me, and her small little lips have a half smile on them. She’s gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life. That’s not what makes me feel like someone is squeezing my heart and killing me though. No, that’s baby Maddy’s smile. It’s so much like Tess’s it takes my breath away.