I lick at my dry lips and say, “I… I’m fine.”
“Well, if you need any assistance, or any resources for women who are trying to escape difficult situations, I want you to call or come by the office anytime. We’ll do everything we can to help you.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” I tell her as I stand up from the exam table and gather up my purse.
“Be careful, Constance. The number for the OBGYN is in your paperwork, or you can even make an appointment with the front desk on your way out. Take care,” she adds as she opens the door to leave.
I don’t make any follow-up appointments as I leave the office. My mind and stomach are in knots of anxiety as I try to decide what to do, and how to tell Maximo. I know I’m falling in love with him, but I have no idea how he’ll react to my news. What if he doesn’t want a baby, and he tries to push me for an abortion?
I shove that thought out of my head immediately. That isn’t something I even want to consider right now. I take a few deep breaths to calm myself, then walk back to the parking deck where Tony is waiting in his Escalade. He fires up the engine as soon as he spots me and falls in behind me again as I drive away. I ignore him and try to concentrate on clearing my head as Idrive to the alley behind Monroe’s, where I always leave my car when I’m home. I walk the last few blocks to Gino’s pizza with Tony driving along slowly nearby searching for a parking place at the curb.
Melissa is already inside waiting for me in a booth when I arrive. She’s easy to spot with her auburn hair. When she sees me, she stands up and waves me over, then wraps me up in a quick hug.
“God, it’s good to see you,” Melissa gushes. “I’ve been worried about you the last few weeks, ever since the funeral! You’ve barely texted. What have you been up to, besides getting shot? Come on, sit down and spill. I ordered a pitcher of beer.”
The waitress comes back with the pitcher and two mugs just as we sit down. I glance at the frosted glasses, then tell her, “Just a water for me, please.”
The woman nods and says, “I’ll be right back with that, and then get your order.”
“You’re turning down a beer?” Melissa teases me with a raised eyebrow. “What’s going on? Are you swearing off drinking after that night at the club? You did get pretty sick…”
I shake my head with a nervous laugh. “No, it’s not that. I wish I could have a drink, but that’s off the table for a few months because...I’m pregnant.”
Melissa’s mouth falls open in shock. “You’re fucking what? Pregnant? By whom? You didn’t even tell me you were dating anyone!”
“You know I’ve been spending a lot of time with Maximo. He wanted revenge for my dad as much as I did.”
“Yeah, you said that you were staying at his house for some reason. Constance, what the hell happened?”
“Well, he’s been helping. But he did stick one of his guards to me today which is annoying. Do you see that black Escalade over there?” I point through the window to where Tony’sparked up the street. “That’s one of Maximo’s men. I guess he’s following me to make sure I stay out of trouble.”
“Oh-kay…” Melissa draws the word out as she studies me. “Maximo Luciani is one of the richest people in New York. Why does he have ‘his men’ following you? Constance…is it his baby?”
My throat goes tight. Saying it out loud feels like choosing a side I’m not ready for.
I nod, then spill everything that’s happened the last few weeks in a gush of words. “Yes, the baby is Maximo’s. He insisted I stay with him while he investigated the fire, and then...” I tell her everything, about the Volkovs, the raids, the gunfights. I push up my sleeve without thinking, the thin scar catching her eye before I try to hide it.
Melissa looks at me in wide-eyed shock, speechless for once in her life. She continues staring at me in stunned silence until the waitress brings the pizza we ordered and presents it on the table between us. “Enjoy and let me know if you need anything else!” she says cheerfully.
Melissa takes a slice of pizza but just sets it on the plate in front of her.
She stares at me so long I wonder if I’ve broken her brain, before she finally says, “Connie, this is insane. Everyone thinks Maximo Luciani is just a businessman, but…” She lowers her voice and hisses, “You’re pregnant in what sounds like the middle of a mob war. You’ve already been shot! What if next time…”
I bite my lip and feel a flush creeping over my face. “I know. I think about it every second. But I don’t know how to walk away from him. He’s… Melissa, being with him is better than anything I imagined, but his world is more dangerous than I thought. I’m only now starting to realize what life with him would be like, you know, if we tried to move forward from here.”
Melissa reaches across the table and grips my hand. “What you need to be thinking about is that baby, and if you’re going to keep it. If you don’t know for certain that Maximo can keep you safe, you need to put some distance between you until you can be sure all this has blown over.”
“It’s not that easy.” I grimace. “Max is amazing, and I know he would try to protect me…” I can’t help but laugh when Melissa casts a meaningful look at the scar on my arm. “It’s not just how I feel about him, though,” I explain. “Even if I didn’t love him, he keeps files on people, things that would embarrass them or get them in trouble if they came to light…”
“That’s blackmail, Connie. Call it what it is,” Melissa remarks. “What could he possibly have on you that would get you into trouble?”
I hesitate, afraid to tell her what I’ve done and how far I’ve fallen since we last saw each other at the funeral. She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and I finally lean forward to whisper, “Max and some of his men took me out to a junkyard where they brought Kirill Volkov, the man who killed my father. I shot him, Melissa. I shot him, and Maximo has the surveillance footage of me doing it.”
I don’t know what I was expecting. I had this awful fear that Melissa, my oldest and closest friend, would just stand up and leave me sitting here to figure things out on my own. When she doesn’t, and instead gives my hand another reassuring squeeze, I feel a hot rush of tears well up in my eyes.
“You said that Maximo and his men were in the video too, right?” she asks me.
“Yes, although from the angle I saw, it only clearly showed me and Maximo.”
