“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.
* * *