Anger fills me. “You want me to believe you did all this for my safety? I call bullshit.”
He leans back in his chair arrogantly. “Read me, Hailey.” His eyes instantly soften. “I never lied to you, never beat on you. We both had a role to play, and in the beginning mine was to keep you safe. Then your mom died, and you had no one, so I made sure you got Marisa. I made sure to hide your pills so you couldn’t take them. I didn’t want you to be alone.”
“You want me to believe you gave me my daughter out of the kindness of your heart?”
“I don’t give a shit what you believe, Hailey. You should also know I don’t have a heart, so it wasn’t that. It was you. There is a softness under the hard that calls to a man. You are the best place to fall at end of the day. Any man who had a chance at that little bit of tender in his sheets would be a fool to pass it up.”
“Then why the game with Morrison? Why put a price on Marisa?”
“You still don’t see. You can’t find the read. Hailey, Aces had to be out of the game permanently. You can’t stay here with no debt to me. You made the choice to walk into a room of players and sit at the table. You made the choice with your man to publically repay the debt. In a world of checks and balances, you tipped the scales of your safety in a way I couldn’t keep under wraps. Word was getting out about you and Aces, and I couldn’t have that if he was gonna stay in the league.”
“Fine, but he was out of the game, so why try to kill him?” My hands tremble and my voice shakes. How twisted can one person be? He really believes in his mind that everything he did was to protect me? In my day-to-day existence, Monte was an ass of epic proportion. He disgraced and threatened me using Marisa, in order to control and manipulate me. There is nothing he can do or say now that could make me trust or like him, if he’s even being serious.
“He came back. If he was going to keep you and your girl safe, he shouldn’t have been in Vegas. You left, and he should’ve been with you. He wasn’t, and I needed you away from the players.”
The door opens again, and the DA calls out, “Time’s up, Hailey.”
Pulling the papers from my purse, I push them in front of him. “Sign over your rights. You took away my choices.” I reach back and pretend to straighten my dress pants under me. Reality is, I am rubbing my ass to remind myself of who I really am. I am Caldwell’s little momma, and I’m done with the markers and the games. I want my daughter, and I’m going to get her. “You said you gave her to me as a gift since I lost Momma. Give her to me, Monte. Sign your rights away. If all you say is true, if you really wanted to keep me safe, then prove it.”
“I’m about to go away, Hailey.” He looks to the two-way mirror. “Your boy needs to know: If I find him in Vegas, if I find him in my city, even from prison, he will pay. He’s been retired to keep you and Marisa from my past. Leave it there. Walk away today and stay the fuck away. I wanted to give you better than I had, and whether you believe that or not, I did. If Aces returns to my world, I’ll get to him. No. Matter. What. The part you need to comprehend is you’re over to me—debt paid. Now it’s about my life. No one’s gonna take me out for something that’s done and over, and that is you. Aces, you, and Marisa stay the fuck away or you’re dead. Got it?”
I nod my head, seeing just how serious he is. My mind can’t process all that has transpired here today. Somehow, in his mind, Monte has justified what he did to me. He doesn’t give me an apology. He doesn’t ask for forgiveness, not that I ever thought he would. He doesn’t clue me in on the dangers I may face. Once again, he is in control.
As he looks over the papers, my mind races. Will he sign them?
Finally, he picks up the pen and twirls it in his fingers. Minutes tick by, feeling like hours, before he looks at me.
“If he fucks up, Hailey…I don’t even need to say it again, comprehend?” At those last words, he signs the documents, relinquishing all rights to Marisa.
I blow out a breath as the door opens and two guards come in to escort Monte to the courtroom.
He signed the papers. I am done with Sean “Monte” Timmons. I have my baby girl, free and clear.
Morrison enters the room, pulls me into his arms, and kisses me as if I am his last breath. I grip his sports coat as I get dizzy from the emotions and his kiss. Then the DA comes in and clears his throat, breaking our moment.