With a deep breath, I let the story out. “Her sister was married to Simon. Didn’t know for sure until this morning, but after that call to Derrick, I sure do. The worst part, I don’t know how she’ll handle it when I tell her I could have stopped him, but I didn’t.” I rest my head forward on my hands and let out a heavy sigh, “I could have stopped him, and she wouldn’t have lost her sister. Holding that shit heavy, Ax.”
After a long period of silence, he speaks and I can tell by his tone that what I just put out there shocks him. “I don’t even know what is the most fucked up part of all that. The fact that there is this messed up connection between the two of you or that you actually blame yourself for that shit that happened. You know just as well as I do that there wasn’t anything you could have done to that bastard. You didn’t have any proof, Greg. Nothing. You can’t keep blaming yourself for something that you couldn’t control.”
“The hell I couldn’t! I could have taken his ass out a long time ago, and you know it.”
“And what? Spent the next lifetime locked up? You know Grace wouldn’t have wanted that life for you, Greg. You know she would want you to be happy.” His eyes have that look that he used to give Izzy when she would go back into herself. The look she got when she remembered that I almost died to save her. The same thing I should have been able to do for Grace and Sofia. I hate being on the receiving end of that look.
“How am I supposed to tell her that I not only know who her nephew’s father is, but that I tried and failed to find something to put him away before he fucked up another woman?” Frustration doesn’t even come close to how I feel right now. I know that what I’ve found with Melissa is worth exploring, and I will be damned if I let Simon fuck with that from the grave.
“Don’t tell her right away, man. You just met, and if you are serious about her and this relationship, you need to find out if it’s worth it. Because you know that no matter how you lay that out there, she isn’t going to take it well. She needs to know you first. But, don’t let this sit too long, Greg; it’ll be worse and it might not be fixable.”
“I hear you, but I don’t like the idea of starting something new on a foundation that isn’t solid.” I lean back in my chair and look him in the eye. “I feel it Ax, that connection that you can’t ignore. And I want it.”
His eyes widen slightly, but before he can speak, we hear a commotion coming from the front.
“What the hell happened to you?” We hear a bellow from the front of the office, followed by Coop’s cackles down the hall.
“Shut up!” Maddox’s lethal tone cuts him silent.
The sight that greets Axel and me when we reach the lobby is one that has me struggling with my own laughter.
There stands Maddox Locke, all six-foot-four inches of pissed off and rumpled man. The best part is the gold paint and glitter covers every inch of his body from his hair to his boots.
“You look ridiculous,” I laugh, unable to control it.
“Did you tell Mr. Happiness next door to make a golden brick road out there?” He starts walking over to me and I notice his slight limp, which sobers my humor instantly.
“You okay?” He doesn’t miss my question but ignores me and stalks off to the back of the office.
Looking over at Axel, he catches my concern and takes off to make sure everything is okay with Maddox. It might be funny, but in all seriousness, we all worry about him. Looking over at Coop to make sure he is keeping his shit in check, I find him following Axel into the back.
“Em babe, where is Beck?” She looks up and I can’t help but notice the pain in her eyes. “Em? What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Greg. I’m fine. Beck left about five minutes before Maddox got here. He was going to check on some cases,” she says. She clears her throat and her eyes are begging me to stop, pleading with me to not ask any more questions.
“Emmy. You know my history and you know I am here for you, so please tell me what has taken your smile.” The guys take great pleasure in making fun of how much I father these girls, but when it comes down to it, I can’t stomach the thought that someone is hurting them. I made a vow to myself a few years after I lost Grace, after too many years of careless and reckless abandon, that I would never let anything happen to another woman in my life.
“It really is nothing. Okay?” She sighs, “Let’s just say it was made painfully clear that I will never be what he wants.” She doesn’t need to say more for me to know that the he is the one and only Maddox Locke. Poor girl has had it bad for him for too long.
“Emmy, you do know it isn’t anything about you, right?” I round the desk and kneel in front of her, spinning the chair so that I can look her in the eye. “Sometimes there is nothing you can do, no matter how pure your heart is, to clear the darkness from someone’s past. He’s got some shit that would even dim your light, babe. Leave it and just be there for him if he asks, yeah?” It doesn’t sit well with me that this sweet and innocent woman has her sights set on Maddox, the one we have dubbed ‘the dark one’ for years.