“No. I’m handing you my brother’s secret account in the Caymans.” Lucas held out a piece of paper with the information written on it. “This account has your money. The amount you told Maxie she owed you. Go find a way to retrieve it, and get the fuck out of our lives.”
Bernardi stared at the paper in Lucas’ hand, as if he was undecided. Clearly he’d thought he’d be getting cash out of Lucas.
Well, tough shit. “That’s the money you asked for. It’s the best you’re going to get from me. I’m sure you’ll have no problem managing to finagle your way in to claim that money. Regardless, I’m out. Done.”
Bernardi snatched the sheet from his hand. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you and your lady.”
Lucas frowned, watching as the large man walked away. With any luck, never to be seen again.
* * *
While waiting for word that Bernardi had been taken into custody in the Caymans, Lucas kept security on Maxie and his parents. He was no longer worried, certain the man had left the country, but having bodyguards was the prudent thing to do.
Waiting kept him busy. Not busy enough, because he still drove himself crazy over the way Maxie had withdrawn. It reminded him of the time after she’d lost the baby, only not quite as dark.
He struggled to find a way to approach her, but he didn’t want to drag her back to that time for no reason. Everyone was entitled to downtime. Maybe work was hard on her.
Or maybe she was feeling confined, living with him, sleeping with him, and she needed space. He considered that possibility and discarded it, if only because Maxie was strong enough to tell him if the relationship wasn’t working for her. She certainly hadn’t held back when he’d fucked up.
None of which helped him figure out what was bothering her now.
Or what to do about it.
Finally, bright and early in the morning, Gold called him with the news that Bernardi had been taken into custody by island police at the Cayman Island’s bank while trying to access Keith’s bank accounts. Lucas assumed they would extradite him to the U.S. He didn’t know the details and he didn’t care. Gold promised that with the information they’d amassed, the man was going away for a good long time.
That same day, Maxie begged him to let the bodyguards go, and with Gold’s assurances, there didn’t seem to be a reason to keep them on.
* * *
Maxie scheduled a doctor’s appointment with her old obstetrician, needing to confirm her pregnancy before she accepted it in her mind and could bring herself to discuss it with Lucas. She was exhausted, not sleeping, worried about being pregnant, concerned she couldn’t carry to term and the doctors wouldn’t know it until it was too late.
She feared accepting the idea of this baby, getting emotionally attached, something she thus far refused to let herself do, and having her heart and guts ripped out again. And thanks to her worries, depression was beginning to settle over her like an unwelcome, long-lost friend.
Fate was on Maxie’s side. The day of her ob-gyn appointment, she found out Bernardi was out of her life for good, and she could finally put Keith behind her. And she could go to this appointment without worry that a bodyguard would report back to Lucas about where she was. She wanted to tell him on her terms, in her own time.
She headed to the doctor’s office, a medical building with multiple doctors on every floor, and exited on three. She checked in, and after a little while waiting, she was brought into the exam room, where she undressed and put on a robe. She sat twisting her hands, trying to remain calm, when the doctor finally walked in.
“Maxie, I’m so happy to see you again.” Dr. Mendez had been her regular obstetrician with her first pregnancy.
She hadn’t been on call the night she’d lost the baby. Dr. Mendez was a pretty, dark-haired woman in her late thirties, and Maxie had always been drawn to her warmth and caring.
“How have you been?” the doctor asked.
“Umm … things have been a little crazy lately,” Maxie said, thinking that was an understatement.
Dr. Mendez laughed. “Well, let’s see what’s going on. Now remember what I told you when you came to my office after … last time. There was nothing you could have done to prevent the miscarriage, and you aren’t in a high-risk category should you get pregnant again. Of course, we can discuss extra testing…”
The doctor went on, but Maxie’s ears were ringing, and she had trouble focusing. Just one reason she shouldn’t have come alone.
“So let’s move on to the exam. Your urine test already confirmed that you’re pregnant, but let’s do an exam and put your mind at ease.”
Maxie’s palms were sweaty as, a few awkward minutes later, she found herself in an all-too-familiar position, on the doctor’s examining table with a sonogram screen to her side.
Alone.
Keith had never made the time to go with her to her appointments, and she’d chosen not to have Lucas here today. Something she’d regretted the minute she stepped into the room and the walls seemed to close in on her.
The doctor chatted as she worked, and soon Maxie saw the flickering on the screen and the tiny image of her baby staring back at her. Her stomach flipped, and at that moment, she realized she’d been lying to herself. She didn’t have to worry about getting attached to this baby. She already was.