a hooker, Earlene,” he lied. He wasn’t about to tell her his wallet and keys were gone. Suddenly the thought someone had the keys to his house made him feel sick. Maury didn’t realize who had his keys, or he’d be really stressed out.
“And the car… This is the second car you’ve ruined. If you want to call those pieces of junk, we ride around in cars.”
Maury raised his head, exasperated. His eyes were rimmed with red and dark circles shadowed the skin beneath them.
Something akin to sympathy bloomed in his wife. She rushed to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. Regardless of the vicious fights they’d had over the years, she was still his wife. She could feel his shoulders shake as he sobbed. She leaned down and hugged him, offering soothing words of how she would stand by her man. Blah, blah, blah.
Her voice faded like a whisper-thin cloud in the wind. The farthest thing from Maury’s mind was his wife’s love for him. The need to find his wallet, keys, and phone weighed heavily on him. The need for revenge weighed heavier.
It angered the man whose perception was skewed. No amount of truth would ever cause a man like Maury to see the man in the mirror for the monster he was. When he looked in the mirror, he saw a victim, and that made him angry. These women were disrespecting him, making him look weak; he couldn’t allow that.
Maury had been trying to avenge himself long enough to know stalking an enemy to exact revenge costs time and money. He had plenty of time with his non-working-ass, but money was tight.
The longer he thought about how to get even the angrier he became. Like a pressure cooker with no escape valve, sooner or later… Maury was going to blow.
Chapter Fifteen
“We need to talk, babe.” A mixture of determination and worry showed in his expression. He didn’t want to lose her, but he wasn’t going to pussy out for her or anyone else. She would have to love him just the way he was. Calix wasn’t the type of man to turn sugary sweet just because he fell in love. If anything, he had become more ominous. Every cell in his body was honed-in on protecting Rum and Saint.
Rum saw Calix's eyes smile when she absentmindedly rubbed her stomach as she walked over to sit beside him on the bed. Not much made a smile reach his eyes, and one reached hers when that thought went through her mind.
“What are you smiling about,” he kissed her temple when she sat beside him.
“I’m happy you’re a family man. I’m happy you’re excited about the baby, but, most of all, I’m happy both my children will have their father.”
“Saint’s mine.”
“I know that.”
“You are too.”
Rum took a moment to study Calix's expression. There was a cold wind that blew over his facial expression when he spoke of her or the kids. She worried he would do something that would get him locked-up. She didn’t want her children to grow up visiting their father behind plexiglass. Knowing Calix, he wouldn’t allow them to be subjected to that trauma. He would forbid her from visiting if he got locked up. His next statement confirmed what she already knew: he would never let this go. The man who tried to kill her would pay.
“I won’t let this go. There is no way I’m allowing the man who tried to kill my woman to go free. This isn’t about street cred; it’s about principle. Abusing a woman is never okay. Abusing my woman is a death sentence. Maury’s a dead man walking. He knows it, I know it, and you need to know it.” He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Don’t even think about trying to talk me out of this. Let’s just say it’s a hard limit.”
“I know I can’t talk you out of doing what you feel like you need to do. I’m asking you not to get caught. You can’t expect me not to be worried. On the one hand, if you kill him, you could go to jail, and if you don’t, he could come back and finish the job.”
“Exactly. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you or one of the kids.”
Calix wiped away the lone tear that made a path down her cheek. It spoke more than sobs could. He pulled her close and kissed her. She was the