Caught by Emma Louise
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Are you sure this is going to work?” I ask Crew the question that has been plaguing me for days now.
“It will work,” he assures me. “Although, we could always go with plan B if you aren't so sure.” The smirk on his face tells me that he’s hoping I’ll give him the go-ahead to activate his plan. A plan that would leave Serena with not just a crappy divorce settlement, but probably without her business at the end of it. As tempting as it is to see that happen to her, after everything she’s put me through, I hesitate to let him go through with it.
In the beginning of this nightmare, part of me simply didn't want to engage in her bullshit. I thought it would be easier to wait her out, let her throw her tantrums. Being married to her didn't have any real negative effect on me. I was happy to wait for her to run out of ways to try to fuck me over. And then there was the part of me that remembered the girl I married. The one who needed me as much as I needed her, at least the stability she seemed to be able to provide back then. But that was before she became an obstacle between me and what I want.
A life with Darcey and Cassidy. It might be too early to say it without scaring her, but I know down to my bones that she's it. The real deal. I'm going to wife her. I'm going to adopt Cassidy, give them both my last name, and I'm going to plant as many babies in her as she'll let me. I just need the past to be the past first. If Serena and I can both walk away from the last few years in one piece, I have to at least try. If it fails, then all bets are off. Crew can do his worst, and whatever happens to her will be her own doing.
"And Darcey's shit? You sure there's nothing to worry about there?"
"The cops are sure it was a random robbery attempt; I've looked into it and can't see any links to the guy who cornered her at the coffee shop. His alibi was solid. I'm pretty certain she's safe."
"Keep me updated." I rap my knuckles against his desk as I head out of the office. Moving into the surveillance room, I'm happy to find Felix is in there alone. I need to put this tension with him to bed. We're a team here, and having us on each other's asses isn’t going to work. It's time to make him see that he needs to back off. I love that he cares about Darcey, but it isn't his place to keep asserting himself into her life or our relationship. I’ve watched his name light up her phone way too many times over the last few days. She has me to look after her and Cass now. There will come a time when I'll appreciate that he cares for them, but that won't be while he still looks at her like he wants her for himself.
"Do you have a minute?" I ask, closing the door behind me. The last thing I need is for Darcey to overhear this conversation; nothing good ever comes from her eavesdropping.
"We don't need to do this. We're good," he answers, not looking away from the wall of screens in front of him.
"You sure about that?"
"You here to get my blessing, Max? Or are you just trying to rub my face in it? You got her. End of discussion." Surprisingly, there’s no malice in the words, no anger. He’s just stating a fact.
"You and I going to have a problem?" I ask the only question that matters right now. Felix isn’t just an employee, he’s a friend. Fuck that, he’s a brother.
"As long as she's good, we'll be good."
"Are you in love with her?" I don't know why I ask. The question just falls out of my mouth before I can do anything to stop it. I wait for him to bust out laughing at the very idea of being in love, but he just gives me a silent, assessing stare. I don't look away, needing him to see how serious I am right now.
He breaks first.
"No. I'm not in love with her, but she's obviously been through shit. She needs someone to care about her. To care about Cass."
"And you don't think that's me?"
"I know it could be you. But are you really sure you're ready? You haven't been on so much as a date in years, and now you're jumping into a relationship? And not just a relationship with Darcey, but Cass too?"
The tension that's holding onto every one of my muscles fades slightly when it dawns on me that his anger comes from a place of concern. Not just for Darcey, but me too.
“Brother…” I start, not knowing exactly what it is I want to say to him, but knowing that I don’t want us to have this straining our friendship further than it already has.
“Looks like it should be me asking if you’re the one in love.” Felix asks, one eyebrow raised in question and a cocky smirk plastered across his face.
“Easy there, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I fire back, getting a loud bark of laughter from my friend.
“I’m happy for you.” He finally says when the humor fades from his voice. “I’m happy for the both of you.” He says, slapping me on the shoulder before he turns to go back to his work, leaving me to do the same.
* * *
My last meeting of the day ran longer than I wanted it to, so I wasn’t able to bring Darcey home with me like we planned. Luck hasn't been on my side at all today, and I haven't had any time alone with her at all. She was at lunch when I left, and she hasn't been answering my calls; texts are coming back, but only with one word answers. I would be concerned about her if I didn't know for certain that she's home safe and sound. Crew already called to tell me he collected Darcey from the office and Cassidy from school before dropping them at the house. The alarm system shows that she's still there and hasn't left. I have no doubt that she has some shit in her head about us and is probably at home trying to think of ways to end us. Things might have been fine when I kissed her goodbye earlier, but I’ve learned that Darcey tends to get lost inside her mind sometimes. It scares me that she might be pulling away from me.
By the time I'm pulling into my garage, I’ve psyched myself up, ready to fight whatever nonsense she's about to land on me.
The delicious smell of tomato sauce and garlic hits me as I walk through the kitchen, and I'm surprised to see Darcey standing at the stove stirring something in a pan. She changed out of her sexy as fuck work outfit of tight skirt and high heels and is now wearing equally sexy tight jeans, a tank, and her feet are bare. Her hair is up in a loose mess on her head, and I swear to God she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She's singing along softly to the pop song that's playing on the radio. Cass is seated at the island, coloring books and pencils spread out in front of her. Her head is tipped down toward the paper in front of her, the tip of her tongue poking from her lips as she concentrates hard on whatever it is she’s working on.
My heart beats hard and fast in my chest as it hits me how damn perfect the scene before me is. We’ve barely even started this whole being together thing, but I already know that I’m addicted to her and likely always will be. My need for her is an itch that is only soothed by her touch. She’s a craving, a bone-deep necessity. I have no idea how it happened so fast, but I’m not about to fight against it. I already know I’ll have enough of a fight getting Darcey on the same page as me.
"Max! Look at what I drawed! Can we put it on the fwidge?" Cass yells when she sees I’m home, launching herself off the stool, pink construction paper tightly gripped in one hand. She runs at me, wrapping her tiny arms around my legs and squeezing. I don't have to look at the picture to know that it's going on the fridge; fuck, if it wasn't completely weird, I'd probably frame whatever it is she's drawn. Reaching down, I lift her up and rest her against my hip as she shoves the paper in my face. Pulling it back, I look at it, turn it around and then look again. I have no idea what the hell it is. "That's me.” She stabs a pudgy finger into the paper. “And that's the fishes I'm going to catch when Mommy takes me fishing," she says excitedly.
"Well, of course it's a picture of you," I lie straight to her pretty little face. "And this definitely needs to be on display. Go put it up there, kid," I say, dropping her to her feet and watching as she rushes to the refrigerator. I take a risk and look over at Darcey, unsure of what to expect from her, but I'm almost knocked on my ass when I find her watching me with a gorgeous soft smile on her face.
"You good?" I ask without moving in her direction, not trusting myself to be able to keep from kissing the shit out of her in front of her daughter.
"I am now that you're here."
* * *
"You wanna tell me what was wrong earlier?" It's late evening, dinner has been eaten, and Cass is bathed and in bed for the night. On the surface, Darcey has been fine with me, even sneaking in a much-needed kiss when Cass wasn't paying attention to us. But I'm no fool, and I know that something is on her mind. She's spinning something around in her head, and I really want to know what it is so I can fix it for her.
"What do you mean?" She doesn't look away from the TV show she's pretending to be interested in.
"The one-word text messages? Ignoring my calls?"
"It was a busy day, that's all." She shrugs before taking a sip of the tea she's been nursing for the last half hour. I debate with myself whether or not to push this with her. We're new, and I have to face facts; I don't know her that well. She could have had a crazy day and just needs quiet to decompress, but something nags at the back of my mind; something feels off with her. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that it’s something from her past. I’m fully aware she never talks about it, or about Cassidy’s father. All I can do is be there for her when she’s ready to share. I hope I’m strong enough for the both of us, whenever that time finally comes.
Pointing the remote at the TV, I click it off. "Hey! I was watching that." She scowls over at me, but I ignore her. Reaching out, I gently pull her into my lap. "You could just ask me to move, you know. You don't have to manhandle me." She pouts.
"We don't know each other all that well yet." I ignore her complaints and get right to the point. "So if you tell me you've had a bad day, and that's why you're being so quiet, I have no choice but to believe you." Her eyes flare in what looks too much like panic for my liking. The urge to force her to talk is so fucking strong that I can almost taste it.
"Max—" She tries to cut me off.
"I'm not going to push this, but you have to know that I'm here if you need me. Anything at all, baby."
"Thank you." she says softly as she melts against me. Sliding her arms over my shoulders, she pulls me in for a kiss. I should slam the brakes on, it's obvious she's trying to distract me away from something, but I'm weak.
Only for her, I'm so fucking weak.
The rest of the night is spent the same way all our nights together have been. With her in my bed. By the time she finally falls asleep on my chest, she is sated and still full of me, the way I’ve come to love.