Jet, who’s clearly waiting for her son to finish so that she can talk to me. “Major league, huh? At twelve? You must be pretty good.”
He blushes a little. “I do a’ight.”
Having paid sufficient court to Kevin, I ask him to excuse his mother and me for a couple of minutes. Kevin doesn’t look too put out at being left with Nadine.
I lead Jet to the automatic doors and wait for them to slide open. I can almost sense her heart pounding. Beyond the doors, the sidewalk recedes into a circle of black asphalt designed for easy entry and egress by wheelchairs. A few shrubs line the circle, apparently to give visitors and employees a place to throw their cigarette butts. We walk out into the industrial glow of sodium-vapor streetlamps, moving far enough from the building for privacy, but remaining within sight of Kevin and Nadine, who are visible through a large picture window with its blinds turned open.
“Where’s Paul?” I ask in a low voice. “What’s happened?”
“Paul’s in the ER.”
This can only be bad news. “Is he hurt?”
“No. Don’t react when I say this, okay? Be stone cold. Max is in the ER. He’s the patient. Paul’s here for Max. And he could be watching us right now.”
Chapter 41
Jet might as well have sucker-punched me in the throat. “Dr. Lacey must have figured he’d die without emergency care,” I reason, glancing back at the hospital entrance. “Turn your back to the doors, so I can watch for Paul over your shoulder without being obvious.”
Jet turns until I have a clear line of sight to the main doors without moving my head.
“Has Max said anything about the attack?”
“I have no idea. I don’t know if he can even talk. Two doctors are working on him now, and they’ve called the helicopter to take him to Jackson.”
“Oh, man. Have you been alone with Paul?”
Jet looks like she’s gritting her teeth hard enough to crush a stone. “Not since we got here. He was drunk when I got home, and he drank some more after. We only got the call a half hour ago. I was going to leave Kevin with Tallulah, but she wasn’t in her house or Max’s. She didn’t answer her phone, either. Marshall, I have no idea what to do. What if Max accuses me of trying to kill him?”
“He won’t. He’d have to explain too much.”
“What if he doesn’t care anymore? What if he’s ready to blow everything up? The whole family?”
“Jet, he can’t. It just hit me: Max can’t implicate you in this assault—he can’t even use the video he shot of us. It’s all a bluff.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ve got the nuclear option in this war, not him. If he comes at you with anything, you can charge him with rape. Kevin is living proof of his guilt.”
Jet opens her mouth, but no sound emerges. Her eyes seem to dilate, as though the prospect of escape from Max’s power has intoxicated her. But then she shakes her head. “That’s a weapon I can never use. It would destroy Kevin. And Paul.”
“I’m not saying you use it first. Or ever. I’m saying it’s a deterrent. A neutron bomb. If Max believes you’ll use it, then he can’t hurt you. Not without hurting himself worse.”
She’s breathing harder. “I’ll lose that game, Marshall. Max can stand more pain than I can. Not me, but . . . you know. I can’t watch Kevin suffer through that.”
I want to hold her close and comfort her, but I can’t do it out here. Looking over her shoulder at the brightly lit hospital entrance, I see Nadine and Kevin sitting on a couch just inside the big glass doors.
“Max isn’t going to say anything. It’ll be just like when you stabbed him with the steak knife. But if he does, you only have one play. And you can’t hesitate. Max tried to rape you tonight—you defended yourself. You fought for your life, and not for the first time. Tell Paul about the stab wound. Max will still have a scar from that. Tell Paul you kept all this from him because you didn’t want to destroy the family. But now Max has lost his mind. He killed Sally, and now he’s obsessed with you.”
“I think I’m going to puke,” Jet says, looking back at the lighted doors. “Seriously, I can’t get my breath.”
“You’re having a panic attack. Try to breathe slowly. You’ve been under massive pressure for a decade.