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.