Realizing I am doing a terrible job of explaining myself, I pace to the documents I placed on my coffee table earlier. I honestly believe my darkest day will always be the day Luca passed away, but this day gave it a run for its money. Even producing more dribble than a dirty old man at a strip club, Axel is the most adorable little guy I’ve ever met. His two-teeth grin and dimpled smile were literally minutes from being non-existent only twelve months ago. I’m so glad Raquel made the decision she did.
Alex’s strides into my living room slow when he spots the document I’m holding. He knows what it is even without glancing at it. I watch his throat work hard to swallow before he raises his eyes to mine. The pain, hurt, and frustration in them mimics what my eyes held the day I drove Raquel to her appointment. It was her body, so it was her choice, but it still stung like a thousand bees.
The flutter in Alex’s neck stops beating when I explain, “Axel is my nephew. This receipt was for my sister, Raquel. She changed her mind with barely a minute to spare.”
Alex’s eyes bounce between mine. “She didn’t have an abortion?”
I shake my head. “And neither did I.”
Even angry that he was spying on me months after we broke up, tears still burn my eyes. You can’t see what I’m seeing. The relief in his wide gaze as anger fades from his face is an incredible visual, nearly as enticing as Axel’s chubby cheeks. He looks truly relieved, like twelve months of tension has vanished in an instant.
I’m glad he’s finally understanding what happened that day, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let him off scot-free. “If you weren’t spying on me, you would have never had the wrong idea.”
“I wasn’t spying on you, Rae. I just wanted you to talk to me.”
When he steps closer to me, I take a step back, the desperation in his voice too great to ignore.
His approach stops as the tick in his jaw ramps up. “You never gave me a chance to explain anything. You still aren’t.”
“Explain what? That you lied to me?” I ask, my heart hammering in my voice.
He nods, finally admitting to some of the errors he made.
His nods switches to a shake when I add on, “That you were only with me to advance your career?”
“No, Rae.Never.”
I grit my teeth, more in warning that the stupid tears in my eyes better stay in there than at the honesty shining in his.
His eyes bounce between mine as he bridges the small gap between us. “Everything that happened between us was true. I’d never hurt you like that, Rae. I cared for you too much to hurt you like that.”
When I shake my head, denying his claims, he grips the top of my arms to silently coerce my eyes to him. I shouldn’t give them to him. I should tell him to go rot in hell. But instead, for the first time the past twelve months, I listen to my heart instead of my head.
Stupid move. His face is sterner than I remember, his jaw tighter. But his eyes. . . my god. They still have that same look, the ones that prove he hasn’t inhaled a full breath since I walked out on him, as if he truly can’t breathe without me in his life.
“What I said that morning was true, Rae. Every single fucking word.” He brushes away a tear gliding down my cheek so fast, I barely register its descent before returning his hand to my arm. “Then you threw it all away. . .for him.”
My hackles bristle from the sneer of his last two words, but I take it in stride, recognizing the wrongs I also did. “I didn’t che—”
Before I can finalize my sentence, my cell phone buzzes on my entranceway table. If it were my standard number every man in the tri-state area knows, I’d ignore it and sock Alex in the stomach like he deserves, but since it is the number very few have and only use in dire situations, I push off my feet to answer it.
“I’ll only be a minute.”
Alex groans, his annoyance for the interruption all over his face.
Upon spotting the name splashed across the screen, I send Alex an apologetic glance before darting into the hallway separating my bedroom from the main living area. I can feel Alex’s eyes on me, but I’m unsure if the heat of his gaze is suspicion or jealousy.
“The IA’s case against Isabelle is being quashed as we speak. They had nothing to stand on.” I say my comment loud enough Alex can hear. He needs to know whose team I am on, and it isn’t about Isaac or him. It is about the innocent people being dragged into a fight they don’t belong in, the women like Isabelle and me.
Isaac releases a quick breath before saying, “I need you at Ravenshoe Police Station, now.”
I feel like I’ve been sucker-punched. “What did you do this time?” Although my comment comes out playful, I’m feeling anything but.
“For once, it isn’t me,” Isaac responds, grateful for my attempt to stifle the tension radiating down the phone. “But I need you to treat this case as if it were me, Regan. I need you at your very best. This case is more important than any case you've worked on for me previously.”
“Come on, Isaac, you know me: I always bring my bat to the game.” My pompous and conceited tone hides my worry. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Not giving him the chance to reply, I disconnect our call and spin around to face Alex, only to discover he is gone.
