Chapter 21
It took Liz another week to break through Maria’s brittle defences and finally discover her true feelings about selling her baby.
It happened almost by accident. They returned home from walking to the grocery store together and found a small package sitting outside Maria’s door. Maria bent with difficulty to pick it up. “Wonder what this is?”
Liz shifted the small bag of groceries she’d just purchased to her other arm. “Come on in for coffee. You can open it at my place, if you want.”
Maria nodded, suspiciously examining the brown-paper-wrapped box.
Liz put away the few supplies she’d purchased and put water on to boil for instant coffee. “You going to open that or stare a hole through it?” she asked Maria, who was still studying the package.
Maria shrugged. “Guess I’ll open it.” She ripped the paper and tossed it to one side, revealing a small, inch thick white gift box. She lifted the lid.
Her breath caught audibly. Liz stepped closer to see what had caused Maria’s look of stunned disbelief.
The baby outfit was incredibly soft looking. It was made of white cotton, a one-piece garment suitable for a newborn girl or boy- and was accompanied by little white booties. “It’s adorable,” Liz said. “Who’s it from?”
With hands that weren’t quite steady, Maria plucked a small square card from the box. “It’s from McCauley,’ she said, her voice carefully uninflected. “It says she wanted me to have something for the kid to wear home from the hospital.”
“How weird,” Liz said, frowning. “I wouldn’t have thought she’d do something like this.” It seemed unbelievably cruel, under the circumstances.
Maria shrugged, her eyes locked on the tiny outfit still in the box. “I guess she knew I wouldn’t think to buy anything. They want the baby to look good to anyone who’s interested enough to notice.”
“Oh.” Liz reached toward the box. “Mind if I look at it?”
“No, go ahead,” Maria said, though Liz noted she’d stiffened a bit.
Liz held the little garment up in front of her. “It’s so soft,” she murmured. “So tiny.”
Maria looked away, but not before Liz had seen the flash of pain that crossed her face. “You’d better put it back in the box,” Maria muttered. “Don’t want to get it dirty.”
Liz carefully folded the garment and tucked it back into the box. And then she rested a gentle hand on Maria’s stiff shoulder. “Maria? You don’t really want to give your baby up, do you?” she asked quietly.
“Don’t be stupid.”
“I’m not being stupid. I’m being a friend. And I can see that you’re hurting.”
Maria shook her head fiercely, her face still averted. “You’re nuts. I never wanted this kid. Certainly didn’t plan it. I should have gotten rid of it as soon as I found out about it, but I went temporarily crazy, I guess, and then it was too late. But that don’t mean I’m not smart enough to get something out of it.”
“You really think you can be happy living on money you received from selling your own child?”
Maria gasped at the question. She stood so fast her chair clattered against the floor. “What the hell? I thought you said you were my friend!”
“I am,” Liz insisted. “I like you. Quite a bit, actually. And I think you’re making a horrible mistake.”
Maria reached out for the gift box. “I’m getting out of here,” she mumbled. “If you feel like this, there’s nothing more for us to say.”
“Maria,” Liz said quickly, hoping she hadn’t just ruined everything. “I won’t say any more about it. If you can look at me and tell me without hesitation that it won’t tear you apart to hand your baby over to McCauley and Mia.”
Maria looked sullen. “I don’t have to tell you nothing.”
“No. But why shouldn’t you tell me-if it’s true? Unless you’re afraid to admit the real truth?”
Maria jerked her head. “I ain’t afraid of nothing.”
Liz didn’t respond, just looked at her.
Maria sighed. “You can be a real pain in the butt, Powers.”
Liz’s lips twitched just a bit. “That’s what Max tells me.”
Maria’s scowl deepened even further at the comparison to the man she detested. “Okay,” she said flatly. “Maybe it won’t be so easy giving Mia the baby. I wish the whole thing could be arranged a little different-you know, where I’d never have to see the kid. But this is the way it works. And it ain’t like I got any other choices, remember?”
“You could keep the baby.”
Maria snorted. “Yeah, right. Me, raising a kid? I wouldn’t know what to feed it, what to do if it got sick-hell, I couldn’t even help it with homework.”
“There are people who can help you with all if that.”
“I can’t be nobody’s mother, Liz,” Maria repeated miserably. “You don’t understand.”
“You think not?”
Maria shook her head. “It’s what I am, you see. What I’ve been. I mean, I’m planning to change everything once I start over in Michigan. Get real job, maybe. But I can’t start over with a baby to worry about.”
“Of course you can, if you want.”
“How? By going back on the streets? Just the kind of Mum the kid needs, right?”
“You don’t have to go back on the streets.”
Maria shrugged. “You don’t understand,” she repeated. “Hell, you probably never even met a hooker before.”
“What does that have to do with it? I don’t have to approve of your past to be your friend now.”
Defensive again, Maria crossed her arms over her swollen stomach. “I never asked for your approval. Or nobody’s else’s.”
“I know that. It’s your life. Your choices. And now you have another choice. You can sell your baby to these people who care more about money than human life-or you can keep it. Raise it. Do something worthwhile with the rest of your life.”
For a quick, revealing moment, Maria looked terrified.
“Even if you decide you don’t want that responsibility, you can still do the right thing by your child,” Liz persisted. “You can give it to a legitimate adoption agency, people who will carefully screen the potential parents. Who’ll make sure that your baby goes to the people who are most qualified to raise it-not to the ones with the most cash available to buy a child.”
“You really are naïve, aren’t you?” Maria whispered. “You believe an ex-hooker can be a good mother-and that so-called legitimate adoption guarantees a happy, safe home for a kid. And you really think Mia’s going to stand back and let me change my mind about doing business with her. I guess you’re going to tell me there’s no way I’d end up floating in the river.”
“I’m not quite as naïve as you think,” Liz argued, though the words stung a bit, especially since Max had thrown them at her recently. She wasn’t naïve-life had seen to that. But was there anything wrong with learning to hope for the best? With being determined to succeed, no matter how hard it might be?
She knew life didn’t always work out for the best. In her job, she’d seen the worst it had to offer-and occasionally caught glimpses of the best. She’d seen the rare acts of heroism amongst the carnage, had met those few who’d triumphed over seemingly insurmountable odds to make a real difference in the often-ugly world around them. She’d made the conscious decision at the age of eighteen that she wanted to be one of the good guys; one of the ones who tried to make a difference, even if her efforts were thwarted more often than they succeeded. She still had to try.
“I just want you to be happy,” she said, busily making plans.
Maria shrugged and looked away. “I’ll settle for having enough money to get by for awhile,” she muttered. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this anymore, you hear? Not now, not ever. I’m starting to worry about trying to help you. You ain’t careful, you’re going to get both of us tossed in the river.”
“I’ll be careful,” Liz promised.
“Then just keep your mouth shut from now on, okay? You do whatever you want about your kid, and let me take care of mine. If you don’t want to del with Mia, then you’d better disappear. Find another place to stay. It ain’t safe for you here.”
“Thank you for caring.”
Pushed to the edge, Maria rubbed a weary hand at the small of her back and shook her head. “You’re too much, Powers.” She snatched up the box. “See you around.”
“Will you still go with me to the clinic in the morning? You promised you would.”
Maria grimaced. “I don’t know……”
“Please, Maria. I’m afraid of doctors. Max always went with me before. He didn’t like it, either, but he went.”
“Oh, hell. All right, I’ll go. Damn it, Powers, sometimes I wish you’d never shown up around here.”
“I know.” And you haven’t heard anything, yet, she could have added, thinking of her plan for the next day.
Maria left without saying anything else. Liz knew she’d done all she could to convince Maria of the harmful path she’d set out on.
Now it was up to Maria to decide whether she wanted to willingly cooperate with Liz’s next request.
TBC…………
Undercover - CC/AU M/L ADULT [COMPLETE]
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Erina, Hunter, Forum Moderators
Chapter 22
Chapter 22
The free clinic was a madhouse, as always. Pregnant women crowded into an undersize waiting area, several of them accompanied by small children who ripped through the room, whooping and squealing. Computers hummed, names were shouted, babies screamed from the indignities of examinations or the pain of immunizations. Liz wondered how the women working behind the reception desk managed to look so calm and unruffled. “I’m Liz Powers,” she said, making sure Maria was close by. “I believe I’m expected.”
The women didn’t even blink. “Down the hallway, third door on the left,” she said.
Liz turned to Maria, who looked a bit surprised by the exchange. “You’ll come with me, won’t you?”
“Into the exam room? C’mon, Liz, give me a break.”
“Please? I really don’t want to go in there alone. You’re used to this by now.”
Maria grimaced and rubbed her stomach. “Yeah, but…”
“Would you rather stay out here? With all this?” Liz asked, nearly stumbling when a small child barreled into her from behind, leaving sticky handprints on Liz’s maternity jeans.
Maria took one look around and turned back to Liz. “Okay, I’ll come with you. If the doctor don’t mind.”
“He won’t mind,” Liz assured her, and led the way down the hallway. When she reached the third door on the left, she paused, took a deep breath, said a quick, mental prayer and reached for the doorknob. “Okay, here goes.”
Liz motioned Maria to precede her into the room. She followed, closing the door firmly behind her. The room was already occupied; the man stood with his back to the door, apparently absorbed in studying some complex-looking medical equipment arranged on a wall behind the paper-covered exam table. He looked around when they entered.
Maria stiffened, stopping in her tracks.
Liz swallowed, and mentally crossed her fingers. “Hi, Max.”
He walked around the end of the table, then leaned comfortably against it. “Hi,” he said, his watchful eyes never leaving Maria’s frown. “Hello, Maria.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Maria demanded, and turned to Liz. “If you knew he was going to be here, what did you want me for?”
“Max and I want to talk to you, Maria,” Liz said quietly. “It’s about your baby. We want to help you. We can help you, if you’ll let us.”
Maria’s eyes narrowed-and then suddenly widened. “Oh, hell,” she muttered, stumbling back a step. “Oh, shit.”
Max moved quickly, blocking Maria’s path to the door.
Liz reached out; afraid Maria would fall over the stool so close behind her. “Be careful,” she warned.
Maria had backed almost against the wall. “You’re a cop,” she said, her whispered voice dripping with accusation. “You’re a goddamned cop.”
“I’m afraid so. We both are.”
“Oh, hell,” Maria said again, her eyes fuming with betrayed fury. “So much for friendship.”
Liz winced. “I’d like to think we have become friends, Maria. But I don’t blame you for being angry.”
“Am I under arrest?”
“You aren’t under arrest,’ Liz assured her. “You haven’t really done anything wrong-not yet. We’re here to offer you immunity and assistance. In exchange for your cooperation, of course.”
Maria’s reply was pithy and succinct.
Liz sighed. “I figured you’d react that way. At first.”
Maria stood like a sullen statue during the next fifteen minutes while Liz outlined what they wanted her to do in exchange for the immunity they’d promised. Max wisely stayed out of it, his back against the door, his arms crossed over his chest, certainly aware, as Liz was, that Maria was more likely to be persuaded by Liz.
“And if I say no?” Maria demanded.
Liz looked sympathetic. “Then we spread a few rumors that you’ve been talking with the police. Even if they have no proof, Mia and her friends can’t take the risk that it’s true. They’ll either disappear-or you will.”
“And if I choose to do that, anyway?” Maria challenged. “If I walk out of here and get on a bus to somewhere?”
“You could do that, of course,” Liz admitted. “We can’t legally stop you. But you’ll only end up alone in a strange town, with a baby due at any time and no one to care about you.”
“No one cares about me now,” Maria said bitterly. “You only want me to help you bust Mia and McCauley.”
It stung, but Liz didn’t try to argue. When it came right down to it, Maria was right, in some ways. If Liz were forced to choose between her fondness for Maria and her job, she would choose her job. It would sadden her to have to arrest Maria-but she would do it, should it become necessary for any reason. “We can help you,” was all she could say. “You and your baby.”
Maria touched her stomach. Fleetingly. And then she glanced down at Liz’s middle. “So where did they find a pregnant cop, anyway?” she grumbled.
Liz smiled. “They didn’t,” she replied, and lifted the hem of her blouse.
Maria took one look at the harness and swore. Fluently. At length. Liz waited patiently.
When Maria had vented until she’d run out of breath, Liz stepped forward. She didn’t touch Maria, knew her touch wouldn’t be welcome just now, but she tried to express her concern with her eyes, her voice. “You don’t want to sell your baby to these people, Maria. We know about people like them-about the ones they do business with. Don’t you realize the buyers are usually people who have been turned down by legitimate agencies-for good reason? Do you really want to put your defenseless baby in their hands?”
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” Maria muttered, her eyes overly bright. “The only thing I knew to do.”
“I know. You didn’t realize you had any other choice. But you do. You can keep your baby; take advantage of the programs that would help you raise it-or you can make sure it goes to a good home. One that you choose, if you like. You don’t have to sell it like a piece of merchandise.” The way you’re so often sold yourself, Liz could have added, but didn’t. The unspoken words hung in the air anyway.
Maria took a deep breath. ‘They’ll kill me.”
“No,” Max said, speaking for the first time since greeting Maria. “They won’t hurt you. Not if you’re willing to cooperate.”
“I’ve heard of other people who cooperated with the cops and ended up dead.”
Max inclined his head. “It’s happened,” he admitted. “But it won’t this time. For one thing, we’re dealing with a small-potatoes organization here. We’ve traced Mia, and she’s a storefront attorney who’s been investigated more than once for shady business practices. She’s probably working with her boyfriend, who’s got a record for running scams. McCauley is probably the only person they’ve brought in to help them with this. We don’t have enough evidence to prosecute any of them, but with your help we can bust them. They don’t have enough clout to be any danger to you after that. We’ll keep you safe.”
“I’d step in front of a bullet myself to keep you and your baby out of danger,” Liz said evenly.
Maria took a deep breath. “Big words,” she accused, sounding disbelieving. But Liz could see that she wasn’t entirely unaffected by the rash promise.
“That won’t be necessary,” Max said sharply, shooting a frown at Liz.
She smiled at him. “No. I’m sure it won’t.” But she’d meant it anyway, and they both knew it.
Max might as well know now that she would always perform her job with everything she had. She wouldn’t take unnecessary risks; she didn’t want to die, even heroically. But the danger would always be there. The last man she’d dated hadn’t been able to handle it. She didn’t know Max’s personal experience with the job would make it easier for him to accept the risks-or harder.
Maria was looking from Liz to Max, watching the silent exchange between them. “You two are really a couple, aren’t you?” she asked curiously.
Liz cleared her throat and felt her cheeks warm. Max seemed suddenly fascinated by the array of wrapped tongue depressors and cotton swabs scattered across the countertop beside him. “We, uh, we’re partners,” Liz said then quickly changed the subject. “Are you going to help us?”
“Why should I?” Maria demanded, holding Liz’s gaze.
“For your baby,” Liz replied, risking everything on her instincts about Maria’s true nature.
Maria inhaled deeply. “Damn.”
Liz only waited.
Maria finally sighed. “All right, I’ll do it,” she muttered. “I’ll probably end up dead, but I’ll do it. It ain’t like you two have given me any other choice,” she added resentfully.
“You will end up dead if you aren’t very careful,” Max warned. “You’ve got to play this straight, Maria. You’ve got to watch what you say and how you say it. McCauley and her friends can’t even get a hint that anything has changed.”
Maria cocked one hip and tossed back her hair. “I know how to run a scam.”
“I’m sure you do,” Max murmured, making no effort to hide his amusement.
The look Maria gave him should have singed his hair. Liz shot him a repressive frown.
Max held up both hands in surrender. “All right, it’s up to you two now. Good Luck.”
“Something tells me we’re going to need it,” Maria mumbled.
Liz silently agreed.
“Am I free to leave now?” Maria asked, her voice still laced with defiant sarcasm, her only pretense at control now that her choices seemed to have been made for her.
“We’ll leave together, the way we came in.” Liz answered.
Max touched her arm. “Maria, would you wait in the reception area for just a few minutes? I need to talk to Liz, but I’ll make it quick.”
Maria gave a long-suffering sigh, rolled her eyes, then glanced at her watch. “Ten minutes,” she said. “Then I’m out of here, with you or without you,” she told Liz flatly.
Liz nodded agreement. She waited until Maria had closed the door behind her before turning to Max in question.
He tilted her chin up with two fingers and studied her face. “You look tired.”
She shrugged, self-conscious beneath his scrutiny. “I’ve slept better,” she admitted. “I wasn’t sure how this would go down with her.” She didn’t see any need to add that her concerns about her tenuous relationship with him had caused her more restless hours than the assignment had.
“Is she going to help us?”
“She said she would.”
Max nodded. “Yeah. But will she do it?”
“Yes,” Liz said, suddenly certain. “She’ll do it. I think she’s glad to have an excuse to change her mind. She can blame it on us, if she wants, but deep down, it’s what she’s been looking for as her time drew closer.”
“Still trying to turn her into a latent Girl Scout?” Max said, his voice laced with amusement.
His indulgence annoyed her. Liz pulled her chin out of his loose grasp and shook her head. “I know exactly what she is. But I like her anyway. Her kid could end up with someone a hell of a lot worse.” From personal experience, she could have recited plenty of examples. She didn’t bother.
“Okay, so maybe you were right about her. Maybe she’ll make it.”
“Some do.”
“I know. Not very many, but a few.”
Liz wiped her palms nervously against the legs of her jeans. “I’d better get out there. Maria will be getting restless.”
“Hold on a minute, okay? There’s something I wanted to tell you.”
She watched as he ran a finger around the open collar of his white shirt, wondering why he suddenly looked rather nervous. Her stomach tightened beneath her harness. “What is it?” she asked, her voice sounding strained in her ears.
Max was watching her as closely as she studied him, making her all the more certain that what he had to say was important to them on a personal level. “Valenti called me in this morning. Said he has some good news for me.”
When he paused, Liz motioned impatiently. “What good news?” she prodded.
“I’ve been offered a promotion. Head of the homicide division in the Fifth Precinct. Valenti said it was a hell of an achievement at my age. Said I should be proud.”
Liz’s throat tightened to match her stomach. “He’s right,” she managed. “You should be very proud. What did you say to him?”
“Told him I’d think about it.”
She knotted her hands in the hem of her loose shirt. “And have you been thinking about it?”
He ran a hand through his hair and nodded. “Yeah. Sure. Of course, I’ve only had a few hours….”
“And?”
He shrugged.
Liz heartily regretted Max’s timing in bringing this up now, with Maria waiting impatiently for her. This was definitely something they needed to discuss in depth….but there just wasn’t time. Or maybe, she thought with a sudden, sinking feeling, Max didn’t intend to discuss it with her. It was his decision to make, not hers. They certainly didn’t have any real commitment.
“When are you planning to give an answer?” she asked.
He shrugged again. “I don’t know. I told Valenti I want to get this case out of the way before I make any decisions.”
Again, no mention of discussing it with her first. So why had he told her about it now if he didn’t want her opinion? But then, she’d never been the type to wait for an invitation before expressing her opinion-especially now when it mattered this much. “It’s not what you want, Max,” she couldn’t resist telling him.
He avoided her eyes. “Maybe it is,” he disagreed. “It would be a change of pace, a desk job, a significant pay raise.”
“It’s not what you want.”
He shot her an impatient look in response to her repetition. “You can’t know that. Even I don’t know what I want these days.”
“I do.” She gestured around the examining room in which they stood, indicating the exam table, the shelves of medical supplied, the complicated equipment that had so intrigued Max when she and Maria had entered, “This is what you want. It’s what you’ve always wanted.”
The flash of old, painful hunger appeared and vanished so quickly from his eyes that Liz almost missed it. There was no expression at all on his face when he answered. “We’ve already talked about that. It’s too late now. I’d be an idiot to chuck a good career, a guaranteed future, to go chasing after some dream I had when I was just a green kid.”
“You’d be an idiot to give up your dreams just because you’re scared to go after them,” Liz retorted with her usual tact and delicacy.
Max scowled, and Liz wished she’d expressed herself a bit differently. But, damn it; it made her so mad when anyone just gave up on their dreams without a fight. Had she done so, she’d be right out there on those streets beside all those Maria’s who hadn’t believed they had any other choices.
“I don’t remember asking for your advice,” Max said coolly.
Even though she knew he was worried, knew he was dealing with his own insecurities, his own pain, his words still hurt her. She managed a curt nod. “You’re right, of course. This is none of my business.”
“Damn it.” He reached out to her, his expression a mixture of regret and annoyance. “Liz…”
She evaded his touch by stepping back toward the door. “I’ve got to go. Maria won’t wait long, and she and I really should go back together.”
“Look, Liz I…”
Her hand was already on the doorknob. “I have a job to do, Max,” she reminded him unnecessarily. “I have to get back to it.”
His hand fell to his side. “I know.”
She opened the door.
Max caught her shoulder before she could step out into the hallway. “Take care of yourself,” He murmured. “Don’t do anything stupid, you hear?”
“Telling me how to do my job again, Evans?” she asked, her bruised ego still smarting.
He forced a smile. “Telling you that I care what happens to you,” he corrected.
There didn’t seem to be anything she could say to that. Her eyes burning, Liz nodded, hitched the harness more comfortably against her stomach, and walked away from him.
TBC……
The free clinic was a madhouse, as always. Pregnant women crowded into an undersize waiting area, several of them accompanied by small children who ripped through the room, whooping and squealing. Computers hummed, names were shouted, babies screamed from the indignities of examinations or the pain of immunizations. Liz wondered how the women working behind the reception desk managed to look so calm and unruffled. “I’m Liz Powers,” she said, making sure Maria was close by. “I believe I’m expected.”
The women didn’t even blink. “Down the hallway, third door on the left,” she said.
Liz turned to Maria, who looked a bit surprised by the exchange. “You’ll come with me, won’t you?”
“Into the exam room? C’mon, Liz, give me a break.”
“Please? I really don’t want to go in there alone. You’re used to this by now.”
Maria grimaced and rubbed her stomach. “Yeah, but…”
“Would you rather stay out here? With all this?” Liz asked, nearly stumbling when a small child barreled into her from behind, leaving sticky handprints on Liz’s maternity jeans.
Maria took one look around and turned back to Liz. “Okay, I’ll come with you. If the doctor don’t mind.”
“He won’t mind,” Liz assured her, and led the way down the hallway. When she reached the third door on the left, she paused, took a deep breath, said a quick, mental prayer and reached for the doorknob. “Okay, here goes.”
Liz motioned Maria to precede her into the room. She followed, closing the door firmly behind her. The room was already occupied; the man stood with his back to the door, apparently absorbed in studying some complex-looking medical equipment arranged on a wall behind the paper-covered exam table. He looked around when they entered.
Maria stiffened, stopping in her tracks.
Liz swallowed, and mentally crossed her fingers. “Hi, Max.”
He walked around the end of the table, then leaned comfortably against it. “Hi,” he said, his watchful eyes never leaving Maria’s frown. “Hello, Maria.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Maria demanded, and turned to Liz. “If you knew he was going to be here, what did you want me for?”
“Max and I want to talk to you, Maria,” Liz said quietly. “It’s about your baby. We want to help you. We can help you, if you’ll let us.”
Maria’s eyes narrowed-and then suddenly widened. “Oh, hell,” she muttered, stumbling back a step. “Oh, shit.”
Max moved quickly, blocking Maria’s path to the door.
Liz reached out; afraid Maria would fall over the stool so close behind her. “Be careful,” she warned.
Maria had backed almost against the wall. “You’re a cop,” she said, her whispered voice dripping with accusation. “You’re a goddamned cop.”
“I’m afraid so. We both are.”
“Oh, hell,” Maria said again, her eyes fuming with betrayed fury. “So much for friendship.”
Liz winced. “I’d like to think we have become friends, Maria. But I don’t blame you for being angry.”
“Am I under arrest?”
“You aren’t under arrest,’ Liz assured her. “You haven’t really done anything wrong-not yet. We’re here to offer you immunity and assistance. In exchange for your cooperation, of course.”
Maria’s reply was pithy and succinct.
Liz sighed. “I figured you’d react that way. At first.”
Maria stood like a sullen statue during the next fifteen minutes while Liz outlined what they wanted her to do in exchange for the immunity they’d promised. Max wisely stayed out of it, his back against the door, his arms crossed over his chest, certainly aware, as Liz was, that Maria was more likely to be persuaded by Liz.
“And if I say no?” Maria demanded.
Liz looked sympathetic. “Then we spread a few rumors that you’ve been talking with the police. Even if they have no proof, Mia and her friends can’t take the risk that it’s true. They’ll either disappear-or you will.”
“And if I choose to do that, anyway?” Maria challenged. “If I walk out of here and get on a bus to somewhere?”
“You could do that, of course,” Liz admitted. “We can’t legally stop you. But you’ll only end up alone in a strange town, with a baby due at any time and no one to care about you.”
“No one cares about me now,” Maria said bitterly. “You only want me to help you bust Mia and McCauley.”
It stung, but Liz didn’t try to argue. When it came right down to it, Maria was right, in some ways. If Liz were forced to choose between her fondness for Maria and her job, she would choose her job. It would sadden her to have to arrest Maria-but she would do it, should it become necessary for any reason. “We can help you,” was all she could say. “You and your baby.”
Maria touched her stomach. Fleetingly. And then she glanced down at Liz’s middle. “So where did they find a pregnant cop, anyway?” she grumbled.
Liz smiled. “They didn’t,” she replied, and lifted the hem of her blouse.
Maria took one look at the harness and swore. Fluently. At length. Liz waited patiently.
When Maria had vented until she’d run out of breath, Liz stepped forward. She didn’t touch Maria, knew her touch wouldn’t be welcome just now, but she tried to express her concern with her eyes, her voice. “You don’t want to sell your baby to these people, Maria. We know about people like them-about the ones they do business with. Don’t you realize the buyers are usually people who have been turned down by legitimate agencies-for good reason? Do you really want to put your defenseless baby in their hands?”
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” Maria muttered, her eyes overly bright. “The only thing I knew to do.”
“I know. You didn’t realize you had any other choice. But you do. You can keep your baby; take advantage of the programs that would help you raise it-or you can make sure it goes to a good home. One that you choose, if you like. You don’t have to sell it like a piece of merchandise.” The way you’re so often sold yourself, Liz could have added, but didn’t. The unspoken words hung in the air anyway.
Maria took a deep breath. ‘They’ll kill me.”
“No,” Max said, speaking for the first time since greeting Maria. “They won’t hurt you. Not if you’re willing to cooperate.”
“I’ve heard of other people who cooperated with the cops and ended up dead.”
Max inclined his head. “It’s happened,” he admitted. “But it won’t this time. For one thing, we’re dealing with a small-potatoes organization here. We’ve traced Mia, and she’s a storefront attorney who’s been investigated more than once for shady business practices. She’s probably working with her boyfriend, who’s got a record for running scams. McCauley is probably the only person they’ve brought in to help them with this. We don’t have enough evidence to prosecute any of them, but with your help we can bust them. They don’t have enough clout to be any danger to you after that. We’ll keep you safe.”
“I’d step in front of a bullet myself to keep you and your baby out of danger,” Liz said evenly.
Maria took a deep breath. “Big words,” she accused, sounding disbelieving. But Liz could see that she wasn’t entirely unaffected by the rash promise.
“That won’t be necessary,” Max said sharply, shooting a frown at Liz.
She smiled at him. “No. I’m sure it won’t.” But she’d meant it anyway, and they both knew it.
Max might as well know now that she would always perform her job with everything she had. She wouldn’t take unnecessary risks; she didn’t want to die, even heroically. But the danger would always be there. The last man she’d dated hadn’t been able to handle it. She didn’t know Max’s personal experience with the job would make it easier for him to accept the risks-or harder.
Maria was looking from Liz to Max, watching the silent exchange between them. “You two are really a couple, aren’t you?” she asked curiously.
Liz cleared her throat and felt her cheeks warm. Max seemed suddenly fascinated by the array of wrapped tongue depressors and cotton swabs scattered across the countertop beside him. “We, uh, we’re partners,” Liz said then quickly changed the subject. “Are you going to help us?”
“Why should I?” Maria demanded, holding Liz’s gaze.
“For your baby,” Liz replied, risking everything on her instincts about Maria’s true nature.
Maria inhaled deeply. “Damn.”
Liz only waited.
Maria finally sighed. “All right, I’ll do it,” she muttered. “I’ll probably end up dead, but I’ll do it. It ain’t like you two have given me any other choice,” she added resentfully.
“You will end up dead if you aren’t very careful,” Max warned. “You’ve got to play this straight, Maria. You’ve got to watch what you say and how you say it. McCauley and her friends can’t even get a hint that anything has changed.”
Maria cocked one hip and tossed back her hair. “I know how to run a scam.”
“I’m sure you do,” Max murmured, making no effort to hide his amusement.
The look Maria gave him should have singed his hair. Liz shot him a repressive frown.
Max held up both hands in surrender. “All right, it’s up to you two now. Good Luck.”
“Something tells me we’re going to need it,” Maria mumbled.
Liz silently agreed.
“Am I free to leave now?” Maria asked, her voice still laced with defiant sarcasm, her only pretense at control now that her choices seemed to have been made for her.
“We’ll leave together, the way we came in.” Liz answered.
Max touched her arm. “Maria, would you wait in the reception area for just a few minutes? I need to talk to Liz, but I’ll make it quick.”
Maria gave a long-suffering sigh, rolled her eyes, then glanced at her watch. “Ten minutes,” she said. “Then I’m out of here, with you or without you,” she told Liz flatly.
Liz nodded agreement. She waited until Maria had closed the door behind her before turning to Max in question.
He tilted her chin up with two fingers and studied her face. “You look tired.”
She shrugged, self-conscious beneath his scrutiny. “I’ve slept better,” she admitted. “I wasn’t sure how this would go down with her.” She didn’t see any need to add that her concerns about her tenuous relationship with him had caused her more restless hours than the assignment had.
“Is she going to help us?”
“She said she would.”
Max nodded. “Yeah. But will she do it?”
“Yes,” Liz said, suddenly certain. “She’ll do it. I think she’s glad to have an excuse to change her mind. She can blame it on us, if she wants, but deep down, it’s what she’s been looking for as her time drew closer.”
“Still trying to turn her into a latent Girl Scout?” Max said, his voice laced with amusement.
His indulgence annoyed her. Liz pulled her chin out of his loose grasp and shook her head. “I know exactly what she is. But I like her anyway. Her kid could end up with someone a hell of a lot worse.” From personal experience, she could have recited plenty of examples. She didn’t bother.
“Okay, so maybe you were right about her. Maybe she’ll make it.”
“Some do.”
“I know. Not very many, but a few.”
Liz wiped her palms nervously against the legs of her jeans. “I’d better get out there. Maria will be getting restless.”
“Hold on a minute, okay? There’s something I wanted to tell you.”
She watched as he ran a finger around the open collar of his white shirt, wondering why he suddenly looked rather nervous. Her stomach tightened beneath her harness. “What is it?” she asked, her voice sounding strained in her ears.
Max was watching her as closely as she studied him, making her all the more certain that what he had to say was important to them on a personal level. “Valenti called me in this morning. Said he has some good news for me.”
When he paused, Liz motioned impatiently. “What good news?” she prodded.
“I’ve been offered a promotion. Head of the homicide division in the Fifth Precinct. Valenti said it was a hell of an achievement at my age. Said I should be proud.”
Liz’s throat tightened to match her stomach. “He’s right,” she managed. “You should be very proud. What did you say to him?”
“Told him I’d think about it.”
She knotted her hands in the hem of her loose shirt. “And have you been thinking about it?”
He ran a hand through his hair and nodded. “Yeah. Sure. Of course, I’ve only had a few hours….”
“And?”
He shrugged.
Liz heartily regretted Max’s timing in bringing this up now, with Maria waiting impatiently for her. This was definitely something they needed to discuss in depth….but there just wasn’t time. Or maybe, she thought with a sudden, sinking feeling, Max didn’t intend to discuss it with her. It was his decision to make, not hers. They certainly didn’t have any real commitment.
“When are you planning to give an answer?” she asked.
He shrugged again. “I don’t know. I told Valenti I want to get this case out of the way before I make any decisions.”
Again, no mention of discussing it with her first. So why had he told her about it now if he didn’t want her opinion? But then, she’d never been the type to wait for an invitation before expressing her opinion-especially now when it mattered this much. “It’s not what you want, Max,” she couldn’t resist telling him.
He avoided her eyes. “Maybe it is,” he disagreed. “It would be a change of pace, a desk job, a significant pay raise.”
“It’s not what you want.”
He shot her an impatient look in response to her repetition. “You can’t know that. Even I don’t know what I want these days.”
“I do.” She gestured around the examining room in which they stood, indicating the exam table, the shelves of medical supplied, the complicated equipment that had so intrigued Max when she and Maria had entered, “This is what you want. It’s what you’ve always wanted.”
The flash of old, painful hunger appeared and vanished so quickly from his eyes that Liz almost missed it. There was no expression at all on his face when he answered. “We’ve already talked about that. It’s too late now. I’d be an idiot to chuck a good career, a guaranteed future, to go chasing after some dream I had when I was just a green kid.”
“You’d be an idiot to give up your dreams just because you’re scared to go after them,” Liz retorted with her usual tact and delicacy.
Max scowled, and Liz wished she’d expressed herself a bit differently. But, damn it; it made her so mad when anyone just gave up on their dreams without a fight. Had she done so, she’d be right out there on those streets beside all those Maria’s who hadn’t believed they had any other choices.
“I don’t remember asking for your advice,” Max said coolly.
Even though she knew he was worried, knew he was dealing with his own insecurities, his own pain, his words still hurt her. She managed a curt nod. “You’re right, of course. This is none of my business.”
“Damn it.” He reached out to her, his expression a mixture of regret and annoyance. “Liz…”
She evaded his touch by stepping back toward the door. “I’ve got to go. Maria won’t wait long, and she and I really should go back together.”
“Look, Liz I…”
Her hand was already on the doorknob. “I have a job to do, Max,” she reminded him unnecessarily. “I have to get back to it.”
His hand fell to his side. “I know.”
She opened the door.
Max caught her shoulder before she could step out into the hallway. “Take care of yourself,” He murmured. “Don’t do anything stupid, you hear?”
“Telling me how to do my job again, Evans?” she asked, her bruised ego still smarting.
He forced a smile. “Telling you that I care what happens to you,” he corrected.
There didn’t seem to be anything she could say to that. Her eyes burning, Liz nodded, hitched the harness more comfortably against her stomach, and walked away from him.
TBC……
Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Two nights later, Liz was brought out of a sound sleep by a heavy pounding on her apartment door. Disoriented, she groped for the light, swore when she knocked the clock of the floor, then swung her legs over the edge of the bed. The pounding grew louder.
“Liz! Liz, hurry up!”
The voice was Maria’s. Liz snatched up the harness and stuffed it under her nightshirt, fastening only enough straps to keep it temporarily in place as she bolted for the door. Maria had been generally avoiding her for the past two days, still hurt and angry that Liz had lied to her. There was only one reason Liz could image that Maria was seeking her out now.
She jerked open the door. Maria stood in the hallway, gasping, her face pale without its usual coating of cosmetics, her hair limp around her shoulders. She was wearing an oversize satin nightgown. The front of it was soaked with a dark liquid.
“Your water broke?” Liz asked, glancing down.
Maria nodded, one hand pressed against her stomach. “I’m in labour. God, it hurts.”
Liz drew the women inside the apartment. “How far apart are the pains?”
“I don’t know. Not…” Maria winced and nearly doubled over with the force of a contraction. “Not very far,” she said when she could speak again.
“I’ll get some clothes on. Have you called anyone? A cab? An ambulance?” She knew Maria didn’t have a telephone with her, but she had to ask. Maybe she’d see a pay phone down in the lobby.
Maria shook her head. “I got rattled,” she admitted. “I couldn’t think what to do. This wasn’t supposed to happen for another week or two.”
“I know. Hold on just a second, I’ll be right back.” Liz sprinted for the bedroom. She threw on the blouse and jeans she’d worn earlier, slid her feet into a pair of sneakers and ran her fingers through her hair, wishing she had a phone.
Less than five minutes had passed when she rejoined Maria. Liz was appalled to find Maria writhing in the grip of another contraction. “Oh, shit,” she murmured. “They are close aren’t they?”
Maria only nodded, her lips tightly compressed.
Liz had been trained in first aid, knew the rudiments of delivering a baby if she had to. She very much hoped she wouldn’t have to. Her movements swift and efficient, voice brusque and bracing, she helped Maria remove her drenched nightgown and replace it with an oversize nightshirt of Liz’s. The garment usually hung on Liz; it barely stretched over Maria’s swollen stomach. Then Liz wrapped her in a blanket from her bed and hustled her toward the door. “Okay, let’s go,’ she said. “We’ll try to get a cab downstairs.”
She would have liked to call Max to come after them but regardless of the circumstances, she had to keep their cover in mind. To anyone watching, Liz was no more than Maria’s pregnant friend, offering support and assistance in Maria’s time of need.
They made it to the hospital with little time to spare. A harried nurse announced that Maria was already fully dilated and the baby had dropped into position. “You the coach?” the nurse asked Liz, glancing downward at Liz’s bulging middle. “If so, you’re going to have to wash up and try to get into a scrub suit.”
“Oh, I’m not…”
“Yes!” Maria gasped, reaching out to clutch Liz’s arm. She looked younger and more vulnerable without her armour of makeup and hairspray. And she looked scared. “She’s my coach,” she told the nurse. She looked at Liz from the wheelchair in which someone had stashed her. “Go in with me. You owe me this,” she added quietly.
Liz nodded. “All right. I’ll wash up.”
Maria’s daughter arrived less than an hour later-a fast, startlingly smooth delivery. The baby was wrinkled, gooey and loud in her protests at her abrupt change in surroundings. Looking at the tiny, disgruntled face surrounded by a mop of wet, dark curls, Liz thought she’d never seen anything more beautiful in her life.
A nurse with a smile in her eyes carefully deposited the minute bundle into Maria’s arms. Sweaty, exhausted and still dazed, Maria looked down at her daughter, and then up at Liz. Her eyes were filled with tears for the first time since Liz had known her. “She really is pretty, isn’t she?” Maria asked, her voice hoarse.
Liz had to swallow hard before she could answer. “She’s beautiful, Maria. She looks very much like you.”
“Yeah. She sort of does, doesn’t she?” Maria looked back down again, and laughed softly when the baby threw out a tiny hand and clipped her mother neatly across the chin.
It was nearly three in the morning when Liz dialed Max’s number from an isolated telephone in a conveniently deserted waiting room. His voice was gruff when he answered after three rings. She could picture him so clearly—his eyes heavy with sleep, his hair tousled, his chest bare above the gym shorts he favoured for sleeping. She closed her eyes and savoured the image, which had kept her company for the past two lonely days and nights. “It’s me,” she said.
He sounded instantly more alert. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to let you know that Maria had her baby. A girl. I was with her when it was born.”
“You delivered it?” he asked, sounding startled.
She smiled and shook her head, as though he could see her. “No. We made it to the hospital. I was her coach. She had it so quickly that there wasn’t time to give her any painkillers. She had to deliver naturally. She did great. Hardly even groaned, though I could tell it hurt like hell.”
“Maria’s tough,” Max reminded her.
Liz thought of the softness on Maria’s face when she’d looked down at her child. “In some ways,” she agreed.
“A girl huh?”
“Yes, and she’s perfect. All her fingers and toes. A head full of hair. She’s beautiful.”
“McCauley will like that.”
Liz almost shuddered at the unpleasant reminder. “Yeah.”
“You think Maria’s going to keep the kid? Once we have the brokers in custody, I mean.”
“I think so. I think she fell in love the minute they put the baby in her arms. I think it’s the first time she’s loved anyone in a very long time.”
“Might be better for her to give it up. Legally,’ he added. “What kind of mother will she make, being a hooker?”
“A former hooker,” Liz reminded him a bit defensively. “She wouldn’t be the first to successfully turn her life around.”
“She’d be one of a very few,” he countered.
Liz shrugged. “There’s always a chance.”
Max sighed heavily through the phone line. “Always the optimist.”
“And you’re always a pessimist. So maybe the truth lies somewhere in between.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He paused a moment, then commented. “You sound dead on your feet, tired?”
“Very,” she admitted, rubbing wearily at the back of her neck. “But I wanted to let you know what had happened before I head back to the apartment.”
“I’m glad you did.”
There was a brief silence before Max spoke again. “I don’t like you being out alone at this hour. Want me to pick you up and give you a ride back to the apartment?”
Liz shook her head, then remembered to verbalise the gesture. “No. Too risky.”
“But…”
“I’m used to being on the streets at all hours, Max. I’m a cop, remember?” she said pointedly.
“Yeah,” he said flatly. “I remember.”
She didn’t reply. She couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Be careful,” Max said after a moment.
“I will,” she promised.
He detained her just as she was about to disconnect the call. “Uh, Liz?”
“What?”
“This is something else I couldn’t plan, if I went back to school, I mean,” he said, stumbling a bit.
She frowned. “What are you talking about?”
He cleared his throat. “Babies. Family. It would be several years before I’d be in any position to—well you know.”
Her cheeks warmed. “I-uh-didn’t know you were planning to start a family anytime soon,” she said, trying to sound offhand about it.
“I wasn’t,” he assured her hastily. “I just-It was just something that crossed my mind,” he added, sounding uncharacteristically awkward.
“Oh. Well, lots of people these days are waiting to have families,” she said, twisting the telephone cord around her finger. “Getting their careers established first. I’ve always figured I’ve got another fifteen years or so left for that sort of thing, myself. Not that we were talking about me, of course,” she added hastily, thoroughly relieved that he couldn’t see her flaming cheeks.
Max didn’t seem to notice her embarrassment as he doggedly continued. “What I mean is, it’s ridiculous to even think about putting my life on hold to go back to school at this point.”
Liz was beginning to wonder which of them he was working hardest to convince-her, or himself. “It’s ridiculous to throw your life away doing something you don’t want to be doing,” she argued.
He muttered something unintelligible. After another pause, he said, “This is a really stupid time to discuss this. The middle of the night, over the phone-I don’t know what made me bring it up again.”
Liz suspected that the subject hadn’t been off his mind since he’d been offered the promotion. It was eating at him. He felt torn between taking the bold risk and pursuing his dream, or staying on the more secure path of the career he’d already carved out.
She wasn’t without sympathy for him over his predicament, but she had seen the look in his eyes when he’d talked about his former plans. Max would never be truly fulfilled, completely happy, as long as he stayed in a career he’d never wanted. His dissatisfaction was more than the usual burnout, more than a promotion and an increase in salary could remedy. His was a soul-deep disappointment that would always be there, would always haunt him with “what might have been.”
How long would it be before his discontentment and her impatience drove them apart?
“You’re right,” she finally said, one hand pressed to her aching back. “This is a lousy time to discuss this. You’re going to have to make your own decisions, Max. You know what my opinion is.”
“It’s not that I don’t value your opinion, Liz.”
She lifted her hand to her temple, which had started to ache with her back and legs. She was tired and discouraged, painfully aware of a nagging little I-told-you-so voice inside her head-a voice that had warned her all along against becoming involved with Max Evans. Hadn’t she always known that they were just too different? That they were ill-matched as partners, much less as lovers. “I’ve got to go, Max. I’m really tired,” she murmured.
“Yeah. Get some rest. We’ll talk again soon.”
Liz hung up the phone with a heavy heart. She wasn’t looking forward to that next talk. What if she found herself unable to accept what he would say? Chances were that he would tell her he’d accepted the promotion.
She didn’t know whether he hoped to continue their relationship, and she no longer knew how she felt about it, herself. She loved Max, and she respected the accomplishments he’d made in a career that he felt had been thrust upon him. But she’d worked so hard to pursue her own dreams, had refused to let anything stand in her way. Could she continue to respect Max if she always secretly believed he’d been afraid to do the same for himself?
McCauley was just leaving Maria’s hospital room when Liz returned that evening. Standing just outside Maria’s door, the hard-faced landlady glanced down at Liz’s stomach. “When’s yours due?”
“Another couple of weeks,’ Liz replied. “How is Maria?”
McCauley shrugged. “Seems okay.”
“The baby’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
McCauley shot Liz a sharp look. “I guess.”
“I’m sure Mia’s pleased.”
Scowling, McCauley looked quickly around. “Shut up,” she muttered. “Not here.”
Liz looked suitably chastened. “Sorry. But tell Mia hello for me. I hope she can pay me a visit when my own baby gets here.” She stressed the word pay.
McCauley, hardly rocket-science material, got the hint. Her squinty eyes lighted up with an avaricious gleam and she smiled down at Liz’s stomach. “I’ll tell her you said so.”
The women’s smile made Liz want to go take a shower. She let herself into Maria’s room with only a quick tap to announce her arrival.
She found Maria lying alone in the semiprivate room, the other bed vacant. Maria was staring at the wall, her expression blank. A small bouquet of mixed flowers rested on the nightstand.
“Who brought the flowers?” Liz asked, though Maria’s expression had already given it away.
“McCauley,” Maria confirmed. “She told me the baby’s beautiful. She seemed very pleased about it.”
“I’m sure she is,” Liz said grimly. A beautiful baby girl could bring big dollars from the right sources.
“She said she’ll be seeing me again real soon. Right after the baby and me are released tomorrow. Told me to make sure I dress the baby in the outfit she gave me.”
Liz expressed her opinion of McCauley in a few choice words.
Maria managed a weak smile in response. “Yeah,” she agreed fervently. “But….”
“But what, Maria?”
“I’m scared.” The words were little more than a whisper.
Liz couldn’t help wondering when Maria had last admitted such a vulnerability to anyone. “Are you afraid that you’ll be hurt, or are you worried about your baby?”
“Both,” Maria admitted. “But mostly I’m worried about the baby. She’s so little…..so helpless.”
“But she’s not alone,” Liz reminded her. “She’s got you to protect her. And me, and Max, and our fellow officers. Our first priority is that baby’s safety, Maria.”
“Your first priority is the bust,” Maria muttered, looking away.
‘No,” Liz said firmly. “It’s not.”
When Maria didn’t immediately respond, Liz spoke again. “You really think I could deliberately endanger that beautiful little girl, especially after I helped bring her into this world?”
Maria risked a glance back at her. “Well…..”
“Just this once, let yourself trust someone,” Liz said. “I’m telling you the truth.”
“It makes a nice change,” Maria retorted, shooting a look at the harness Liz wore.
Liz didn’t take offence. She figured Maria deserved the occasional shot.
In a very low voice, Maria gave Liz all the details that McCauley had just given her. The “exchange” was to take place immediately after Maria and the baby left the hospital the next morning. The buyers wanted the baby as young as possible, Maria added bitterly.
Maria had been given the address of an abandoned warehouse in the city’s old industrial district. She was to go there straight from the hospital, where she’d be met by Mia and McCauley. McCauley would bring along a couple of suitcases of Maria’s things from the apartment. Mia would furnish the promised cash and a bus ticket to Michigan. McCauley would drive her to the bus station.
They wanted Maria to voluntarily disappear immediately after the exchange was completed.
“I asked if you could come with me,’ she added, twisting the bedsheet with nervous fingers. “I said it would help convince you to deal with them if they could see how easy the whole thing was for me. McCauley said no. They don’t want any spectators, she said.”
“Any witnesses, she meant.”
“Yeah.”
Liz patted Maria’s restless hand. “Don’t worry. She won’t see me immediately, but I’ll be there. So will Max. And a few others to give us a hand.”
“I don’t like taking a baby into that situation,” Maria fretted.
“It’s the safest place for her,” Liz reasoned. “She’ll have cops all around to watch out for her. But try to run with her, and Mia and her boyfriend will track you down. Who’ll protect your baby then?”
Maria sighed. “Even you can’t believe that taking the baby into that warehouse is the safest place for her.”
Liz had to concede the point. “Okay, so it would be better if you were taking her home. But, under the circumstances, she’ll be better guarded there than anywhere else.”
This time it was Maria who conceded. “All right. But if anything happens to my baby…..”
It wasn’t necessary for her to complete the threat. Liz nodded to acknowledge that she’d gotten the message. “We’ll take care of her, Maria. By the way, have you thought of a name for her? It seems odd to keep calling her ‘the baby’.”
Maria’s eyes lighted up. “I read this book once-when I was a kid, you know? It was about these four sisters and the oldest one wanted to be a writer.”
“Little women?” Liz guessed.
“Yeah, that was it. Did you read it too?”
Liz nodded gravely. “It’s a wonderful book. Do you want to name your baby Jo?”
Maria shook her head. “Amy,” she said. “That was my favourite sister. I always said if I ever had me a little girl, I’d name her Amy.”
Liz couldn’t stifle her smile. Of course, Maria’s favourite character had been the vain, unabashedly materialistic sister. “I think Amy’s a beautiful name,” she said.
“Yeah. Me too.” Maria looked up expectantly when a uniformed nurse wheeled in a clear plastic crib. “Looks like it’s bottle time.”
The nurse grinned. “Sure is. And your daughter’s been letting us hear about it.”
“That’s my kid,” Maria said proudly, even as little Amy wound up for another piercing shriek.
Liz didn’t linger much longer. She had a great deal to do, and little time in which to do it if Maria and Amy were to be safe.
TBC……..
Two nights later, Liz was brought out of a sound sleep by a heavy pounding on her apartment door. Disoriented, she groped for the light, swore when she knocked the clock of the floor, then swung her legs over the edge of the bed. The pounding grew louder.
“Liz! Liz, hurry up!”
The voice was Maria’s. Liz snatched up the harness and stuffed it under her nightshirt, fastening only enough straps to keep it temporarily in place as she bolted for the door. Maria had been generally avoiding her for the past two days, still hurt and angry that Liz had lied to her. There was only one reason Liz could image that Maria was seeking her out now.
She jerked open the door. Maria stood in the hallway, gasping, her face pale without its usual coating of cosmetics, her hair limp around her shoulders. She was wearing an oversize satin nightgown. The front of it was soaked with a dark liquid.
“Your water broke?” Liz asked, glancing down.
Maria nodded, one hand pressed against her stomach. “I’m in labour. God, it hurts.”
Liz drew the women inside the apartment. “How far apart are the pains?”
“I don’t know. Not…” Maria winced and nearly doubled over with the force of a contraction. “Not very far,” she said when she could speak again.
“I’ll get some clothes on. Have you called anyone? A cab? An ambulance?” She knew Maria didn’t have a telephone with her, but she had to ask. Maybe she’d see a pay phone down in the lobby.
Maria shook her head. “I got rattled,” she admitted. “I couldn’t think what to do. This wasn’t supposed to happen for another week or two.”
“I know. Hold on just a second, I’ll be right back.” Liz sprinted for the bedroom. She threw on the blouse and jeans she’d worn earlier, slid her feet into a pair of sneakers and ran her fingers through her hair, wishing she had a phone.
Less than five minutes had passed when she rejoined Maria. Liz was appalled to find Maria writhing in the grip of another contraction. “Oh, shit,” she murmured. “They are close aren’t they?”
Maria only nodded, her lips tightly compressed.
Liz had been trained in first aid, knew the rudiments of delivering a baby if she had to. She very much hoped she wouldn’t have to. Her movements swift and efficient, voice brusque and bracing, she helped Maria remove her drenched nightgown and replace it with an oversize nightshirt of Liz’s. The garment usually hung on Liz; it barely stretched over Maria’s swollen stomach. Then Liz wrapped her in a blanket from her bed and hustled her toward the door. “Okay, let’s go,’ she said. “We’ll try to get a cab downstairs.”
She would have liked to call Max to come after them but regardless of the circumstances, she had to keep their cover in mind. To anyone watching, Liz was no more than Maria’s pregnant friend, offering support and assistance in Maria’s time of need.
They made it to the hospital with little time to spare. A harried nurse announced that Maria was already fully dilated and the baby had dropped into position. “You the coach?” the nurse asked Liz, glancing downward at Liz’s bulging middle. “If so, you’re going to have to wash up and try to get into a scrub suit.”
“Oh, I’m not…”
“Yes!” Maria gasped, reaching out to clutch Liz’s arm. She looked younger and more vulnerable without her armour of makeup and hairspray. And she looked scared. “She’s my coach,” she told the nurse. She looked at Liz from the wheelchair in which someone had stashed her. “Go in with me. You owe me this,” she added quietly.
Liz nodded. “All right. I’ll wash up.”
Maria’s daughter arrived less than an hour later-a fast, startlingly smooth delivery. The baby was wrinkled, gooey and loud in her protests at her abrupt change in surroundings. Looking at the tiny, disgruntled face surrounded by a mop of wet, dark curls, Liz thought she’d never seen anything more beautiful in her life.
A nurse with a smile in her eyes carefully deposited the minute bundle into Maria’s arms. Sweaty, exhausted and still dazed, Maria looked down at her daughter, and then up at Liz. Her eyes were filled with tears for the first time since Liz had known her. “She really is pretty, isn’t she?” Maria asked, her voice hoarse.
Liz had to swallow hard before she could answer. “She’s beautiful, Maria. She looks very much like you.”
“Yeah. She sort of does, doesn’t she?” Maria looked back down again, and laughed softly when the baby threw out a tiny hand and clipped her mother neatly across the chin.
It was nearly three in the morning when Liz dialed Max’s number from an isolated telephone in a conveniently deserted waiting room. His voice was gruff when he answered after three rings. She could picture him so clearly—his eyes heavy with sleep, his hair tousled, his chest bare above the gym shorts he favoured for sleeping. She closed her eyes and savoured the image, which had kept her company for the past two lonely days and nights. “It’s me,” she said.
He sounded instantly more alert. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to let you know that Maria had her baby. A girl. I was with her when it was born.”
“You delivered it?” he asked, sounding startled.
She smiled and shook her head, as though he could see her. “No. We made it to the hospital. I was her coach. She had it so quickly that there wasn’t time to give her any painkillers. She had to deliver naturally. She did great. Hardly even groaned, though I could tell it hurt like hell.”
“Maria’s tough,” Max reminded her.
Liz thought of the softness on Maria’s face when she’d looked down at her child. “In some ways,” she agreed.
“A girl huh?”
“Yes, and she’s perfect. All her fingers and toes. A head full of hair. She’s beautiful.”
“McCauley will like that.”
Liz almost shuddered at the unpleasant reminder. “Yeah.”
“You think Maria’s going to keep the kid? Once we have the brokers in custody, I mean.”
“I think so. I think she fell in love the minute they put the baby in her arms. I think it’s the first time she’s loved anyone in a very long time.”
“Might be better for her to give it up. Legally,’ he added. “What kind of mother will she make, being a hooker?”
“A former hooker,” Liz reminded him a bit defensively. “She wouldn’t be the first to successfully turn her life around.”
“She’d be one of a very few,” he countered.
Liz shrugged. “There’s always a chance.”
Max sighed heavily through the phone line. “Always the optimist.”
“And you’re always a pessimist. So maybe the truth lies somewhere in between.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He paused a moment, then commented. “You sound dead on your feet, tired?”
“Very,” she admitted, rubbing wearily at the back of her neck. “But I wanted to let you know what had happened before I head back to the apartment.”
“I’m glad you did.”
There was a brief silence before Max spoke again. “I don’t like you being out alone at this hour. Want me to pick you up and give you a ride back to the apartment?”
Liz shook her head, then remembered to verbalise the gesture. “No. Too risky.”
“But…”
“I’m used to being on the streets at all hours, Max. I’m a cop, remember?” she said pointedly.
“Yeah,” he said flatly. “I remember.”
She didn’t reply. She couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Be careful,” Max said after a moment.
“I will,” she promised.
He detained her just as she was about to disconnect the call. “Uh, Liz?”
“What?”
“This is something else I couldn’t plan, if I went back to school, I mean,” he said, stumbling a bit.
She frowned. “What are you talking about?”
He cleared his throat. “Babies. Family. It would be several years before I’d be in any position to—well you know.”
Her cheeks warmed. “I-uh-didn’t know you were planning to start a family anytime soon,” she said, trying to sound offhand about it.
“I wasn’t,” he assured her hastily. “I just-It was just something that crossed my mind,” he added, sounding uncharacteristically awkward.
“Oh. Well, lots of people these days are waiting to have families,” she said, twisting the telephone cord around her finger. “Getting their careers established first. I’ve always figured I’ve got another fifteen years or so left for that sort of thing, myself. Not that we were talking about me, of course,” she added hastily, thoroughly relieved that he couldn’t see her flaming cheeks.
Max didn’t seem to notice her embarrassment as he doggedly continued. “What I mean is, it’s ridiculous to even think about putting my life on hold to go back to school at this point.”
Liz was beginning to wonder which of them he was working hardest to convince-her, or himself. “It’s ridiculous to throw your life away doing something you don’t want to be doing,” she argued.
He muttered something unintelligible. After another pause, he said, “This is a really stupid time to discuss this. The middle of the night, over the phone-I don’t know what made me bring it up again.”
Liz suspected that the subject hadn’t been off his mind since he’d been offered the promotion. It was eating at him. He felt torn between taking the bold risk and pursuing his dream, or staying on the more secure path of the career he’d already carved out.
She wasn’t without sympathy for him over his predicament, but she had seen the look in his eyes when he’d talked about his former plans. Max would never be truly fulfilled, completely happy, as long as he stayed in a career he’d never wanted. His dissatisfaction was more than the usual burnout, more than a promotion and an increase in salary could remedy. His was a soul-deep disappointment that would always be there, would always haunt him with “what might have been.”
How long would it be before his discontentment and her impatience drove them apart?
“You’re right,” she finally said, one hand pressed to her aching back. “This is a lousy time to discuss this. You’re going to have to make your own decisions, Max. You know what my opinion is.”
“It’s not that I don’t value your opinion, Liz.”
She lifted her hand to her temple, which had started to ache with her back and legs. She was tired and discouraged, painfully aware of a nagging little I-told-you-so voice inside her head-a voice that had warned her all along against becoming involved with Max Evans. Hadn’t she always known that they were just too different? That they were ill-matched as partners, much less as lovers. “I’ve got to go, Max. I’m really tired,” she murmured.
“Yeah. Get some rest. We’ll talk again soon.”
Liz hung up the phone with a heavy heart. She wasn’t looking forward to that next talk. What if she found herself unable to accept what he would say? Chances were that he would tell her he’d accepted the promotion.
She didn’t know whether he hoped to continue their relationship, and she no longer knew how she felt about it, herself. She loved Max, and she respected the accomplishments he’d made in a career that he felt had been thrust upon him. But she’d worked so hard to pursue her own dreams, had refused to let anything stand in her way. Could she continue to respect Max if she always secretly believed he’d been afraid to do the same for himself?
McCauley was just leaving Maria’s hospital room when Liz returned that evening. Standing just outside Maria’s door, the hard-faced landlady glanced down at Liz’s stomach. “When’s yours due?”
“Another couple of weeks,’ Liz replied. “How is Maria?”
McCauley shrugged. “Seems okay.”
“The baby’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
McCauley shot Liz a sharp look. “I guess.”
“I’m sure Mia’s pleased.”
Scowling, McCauley looked quickly around. “Shut up,” she muttered. “Not here.”
Liz looked suitably chastened. “Sorry. But tell Mia hello for me. I hope she can pay me a visit when my own baby gets here.” She stressed the word pay.
McCauley, hardly rocket-science material, got the hint. Her squinty eyes lighted up with an avaricious gleam and she smiled down at Liz’s stomach. “I’ll tell her you said so.”
The women’s smile made Liz want to go take a shower. She let herself into Maria’s room with only a quick tap to announce her arrival.
She found Maria lying alone in the semiprivate room, the other bed vacant. Maria was staring at the wall, her expression blank. A small bouquet of mixed flowers rested on the nightstand.
“Who brought the flowers?” Liz asked, though Maria’s expression had already given it away.
“McCauley,” Maria confirmed. “She told me the baby’s beautiful. She seemed very pleased about it.”
“I’m sure she is,” Liz said grimly. A beautiful baby girl could bring big dollars from the right sources.
“She said she’ll be seeing me again real soon. Right after the baby and me are released tomorrow. Told me to make sure I dress the baby in the outfit she gave me.”
Liz expressed her opinion of McCauley in a few choice words.
Maria managed a weak smile in response. “Yeah,” she agreed fervently. “But….”
“But what, Maria?”
“I’m scared.” The words were little more than a whisper.
Liz couldn’t help wondering when Maria had last admitted such a vulnerability to anyone. “Are you afraid that you’ll be hurt, or are you worried about your baby?”
“Both,” Maria admitted. “But mostly I’m worried about the baby. She’s so little…..so helpless.”
“But she’s not alone,” Liz reminded her. “She’s got you to protect her. And me, and Max, and our fellow officers. Our first priority is that baby’s safety, Maria.”
“Your first priority is the bust,” Maria muttered, looking away.
‘No,” Liz said firmly. “It’s not.”
When Maria didn’t immediately respond, Liz spoke again. “You really think I could deliberately endanger that beautiful little girl, especially after I helped bring her into this world?”
Maria risked a glance back at her. “Well…..”
“Just this once, let yourself trust someone,” Liz said. “I’m telling you the truth.”
“It makes a nice change,” Maria retorted, shooting a look at the harness Liz wore.
Liz didn’t take offence. She figured Maria deserved the occasional shot.
In a very low voice, Maria gave Liz all the details that McCauley had just given her. The “exchange” was to take place immediately after Maria and the baby left the hospital the next morning. The buyers wanted the baby as young as possible, Maria added bitterly.
Maria had been given the address of an abandoned warehouse in the city’s old industrial district. She was to go there straight from the hospital, where she’d be met by Mia and McCauley. McCauley would bring along a couple of suitcases of Maria’s things from the apartment. Mia would furnish the promised cash and a bus ticket to Michigan. McCauley would drive her to the bus station.
They wanted Maria to voluntarily disappear immediately after the exchange was completed.
“I asked if you could come with me,’ she added, twisting the bedsheet with nervous fingers. “I said it would help convince you to deal with them if they could see how easy the whole thing was for me. McCauley said no. They don’t want any spectators, she said.”
“Any witnesses, she meant.”
“Yeah.”
Liz patted Maria’s restless hand. “Don’t worry. She won’t see me immediately, but I’ll be there. So will Max. And a few others to give us a hand.”
“I don’t like taking a baby into that situation,” Maria fretted.
“It’s the safest place for her,” Liz reasoned. “She’ll have cops all around to watch out for her. But try to run with her, and Mia and her boyfriend will track you down. Who’ll protect your baby then?”
Maria sighed. “Even you can’t believe that taking the baby into that warehouse is the safest place for her.”
Liz had to concede the point. “Okay, so it would be better if you were taking her home. But, under the circumstances, she’ll be better guarded there than anywhere else.”
This time it was Maria who conceded. “All right. But if anything happens to my baby…..”
It wasn’t necessary for her to complete the threat. Liz nodded to acknowledge that she’d gotten the message. “We’ll take care of her, Maria. By the way, have you thought of a name for her? It seems odd to keep calling her ‘the baby’.”
Maria’s eyes lighted up. “I read this book once-when I was a kid, you know? It was about these four sisters and the oldest one wanted to be a writer.”
“Little women?” Liz guessed.
“Yeah, that was it. Did you read it too?”
Liz nodded gravely. “It’s a wonderful book. Do you want to name your baby Jo?”
Maria shook her head. “Amy,” she said. “That was my favourite sister. I always said if I ever had me a little girl, I’d name her Amy.”
Liz couldn’t stifle her smile. Of course, Maria’s favourite character had been the vain, unabashedly materialistic sister. “I think Amy’s a beautiful name,” she said.
“Yeah. Me too.” Maria looked up expectantly when a uniformed nurse wheeled in a clear plastic crib. “Looks like it’s bottle time.”
The nurse grinned. “Sure is. And your daughter’s been letting us hear about it.”
“That’s my kid,” Maria said proudly, even as little Amy wound up for another piercing shriek.
Liz didn’t linger much longer. She had a great deal to do, and little time in which to do it if Maria and Amy were to be safe.
TBC……..
Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Liz was utterly delighted to be the first officer to step out of the deep shadows of the warehouse the next day. She held her badge in one hand, a weapon in the other. And she was smiling with the cold satisfaction of knowing her assignment was nearing a successful completion.
Four adults stood in one corner of the massive room-Maria, holding little Amy and looking very nervous, Ms. McCauley, Mia, and Mia’s beefy boyfriend, Adam. Mia had just handed Maria a small vinyl case and was reaching for Amy. That was all Liz had been waiting for.
“Take the baby and step back out of the way, Maria,” Liz ordered. “The rest of you stay where you are. You’re under arrest.”
Mia, Adam and McCauley whirled in response to Liz’s voice. Adam took an instinctive, threatening step toward her.
Max came out from behind a pile of clutter behind them. “Freeze.” He, too held a weapon, and it was trained unerringly at Adam’s chest.
Two uniformed officers appeared from outside. One of them escorted Maria and little Amy safely out of the warehouse. The other moved to assist Liz and Max.
Adam cursed, threatening Max with charges of false arrest and entrapment. McCauley was wringing her hands and loudly bewailing her innocence. “I ain’t done nothing wrong,” she insisted. “You can’t prove nothing.”
“Quiet,” Mia hissed to them both, looking harried.
Liz knew Mia was well aware that McCauley would tell everything she knew at the first hint of a plea bargain. Mia was the only one of the three smart enough to know just how bad the situation really was.
Liz decided it would be a pleasure to take care of this one herself. She took a step closer to Mia. “You have the right to remain silent,” she began.
Mia gave her a withering look, taking in every detail of Liz’s slender body. Liz had been delighted to leave the harness off for this confrontation. “I know my rights.”
“And you know that I’m going to read them to you anyway,” Liz replied. This bust was going strictly by the book. No clever attorney would get these three off on technicalities.
McCauley gave an outraged squeal when the uniformed officer placed a hand on her shoulder to escort her out. “Get your hands off me!” she shrieked. “I ain’t done nothing wrong, I tell you. You can’t arrest me.”
Adam jerked when Max turned toward him. “I’ll walk out on my own,” he snarled, then promptly stumbled over a broken wooden crate behind him. He fell heavily, all two hundred and fifty pounds of him slamming into Liz’s left leg. She staggered, trying to right herself.
McCauley screamed and made a dash for the exit. The uniformed officer moved to intercede. Max bent warily toward Adam, cuffs in hand.
While the other two officers were occupied, Mia proved that she was every bit as sharp and quick as Liz had suspected. Without the slightest hesitation, she snatched up a solid piece of the broken crate and brought it down on Liz’s right arm before Liz had even regained her balance from Adam’s accidental tackle. Liz cried out at the sharp crack of the blow. The gun fell from her suddenly nerveless fingers.
Dazed from pain, she found herself held tightly against Mia’s wiry body almost before she realised it, her own gun pressed to her temple. Damn, Liz thought, sickly suspecting that her arm was broken. Something like this always happens when I work with Max.
“Don’t move,” Mia said when Max edged instinctively toward Liz. Mia pressed the gun more tightly against Liz’s temple.
“Mia, you can’t get away with this. Why are you making this harder on yourself?” Liz gasped, her stomach churning at the pain still radiating from her right forearm.
“Just shut up, okay? I have to think.”
Max’s hands were spread in a non-threatening stance, his gun held loosely in his right hand. “Let her go,” he said quietly, his eyes never leaving Mia’s face. Watching him, Liz saw the rigidity of his face, the slight twitch of a muscle in his cheek. Had it not been for those faint signs, she would have thought him perfectly calm. She knew he was anything but.
“Don’t be stupid, Mia,” McCauley snapped, from her position behind the uniformed officer who’d returned from escorting Maria out just in time to get caught up in the tense situation. ‘You’re only going to make it worse for all of us.”
“She’s right, Mia,” Adam said glumly, still sitting on the floor where he’d fallen, the other uniformed officer’s gun trained steadily on him. “Give it up.”
“Shut up!” Mia retorted. “Both of you. I’m not going to jail. I can’t go to jail.”
“You have no choice,” Max said.
Liz felt Mia tense and knew the woman was close to panic. Panic and handguns were a truly lousy combination, she thought glumly, waiting impatiently for the first opportunity to take action. If only her arm didn’t hurt so damned much.
Mia took a step backward, pulling Liz with her. “We’re going to walk out of here,’ she said. “Just the two of us. The rest of you stay right where you are and she won’t get hurt.”
There was dead silence in the warehouse as Mia took another step backward and then another. Liz heard the woman’s breathing just behind her ear, sharp and uneven. The panic was growing. Liz could only hope the fear would make Mia grow careless. Both she and Max were poised to take advantage of the first opening.
Mia stepped on something small and round, momentarily lost her footing. She recovered quickly, but Liz was already in motion. She spun and kicked out. Mia dodged the kick and levelled the weapon. Max leapt forward.
A shot reverberated through the huge building, echoing through McCauley’s screams and the shouts of the officers. Max hit Liz with all his strength, sending her flying. She landed on her injured right arm. An explosion of pain shot through her, nearly driving her straight into unconsciousness. She curled into a ball, gagging and cradling her arm against her stomach.
She no longer had any doubt that the arm was broken.
Concentrating on staying conscious and fighting down nausea, she was hardly aware of the pandemonium around her. She heard excited voices, angry shouts. The wail of sirens grew steadily louder-someone had called for backup. She spared a moment to think of Maria and little Amy. She knew they were safe. She hoped Maria wasn’t frightened.
Damn, but her arm hurt. Just wait until she had a chance to talk to Max about his totally unnecessary flying tackle.
She opened her eyes after a few moments to find one of the uniforms kneeling beside her. “You okay?” he asked urgently, his hand on her shoulder. “Were you hit?”
“My arm is broken,” she managed, knowing she must look like death warmed up. “Is everything under control?”
“Yeah. We’ve cuffed all three of them and called for an ambulance.”
Liz drew in a deep breath, trying to settle her stomach. It didn’t help that the warehouse smelled so bad. “I really don’t need an ambulance,” she said, momentarily closing her eyes against a fresh wave of pain. “It’s just a broken arm.”
“It wouldn’t hurt you to ride in an ambulance. And besides, we need it for Max.”
Liz’s eyes flew open. “Max?”
Where the hell was Max? She’d assumed he was helping subdue Mia and the others. But-an ambulance? “What’s wrong with Max?”
“He’s been hit. Took one in the shoulder.”
“Oh, my God.” Liz was already struggling to her feet. She swayed as blood rushed from her head with her movement.
“Hey, careful! Take it easy. He’s going to be okay.”
She ignored the officer who was frantically steading her. She could see Max now, laying on the floor on his back, another uniformed officer leaning over him while two others escorted their sullen prisoners out of the warehouse. She made it to his side and knelt quickly beside him, fighting the dizziness her rapid movements cost her. “Max. Max?”
Max’s face was colourless and there was blood on his shirt. A lot of blood. The officer beside him held something tight against the wound.
Max opened his eyes in response to Liz’s voice. “Hey, Parker,” he said, his voice pathetically weak. “You, okay?”
“I’m fine. Damn it, Evans, you just had to do it again, didn’t you? I had everything under control. I didn’t need you to charge in and rescue me!” Her fear for him made her voice sharp. Her eyes burned; she blinked rapidly to clear them.
He managed a weak smile. “I know. The lone ranger on steroids.”
“Exactly. I can handle my job, Evans. I don’t need you taking care of me.”
“Yeah, I know, but I can’t seem to stop. I guess it’s a good thing we won’t be working together again, huh?”
“What does that mean?” she asked, brushing aside the officer who was trying to steady her as she swayed on her knees.
“I really hate this job,” he muttered, his eyes closing again. “Always have. Looks like it’s time to try something different.”
She swallowed and touched his too-pale check, uncertain whether he was talking about the promotion or medical school. Right now, she didn’t really give a shit. “Yeah,” she said huskily. “You’d better do it while you’re still basically in one piece.”
“Basically.”
“The ambulance is here,” someone said from close behind Liz. “C’mon, Parker, let someone take a look at that arm for you. We’ve got to clear the way for the paramedics to get to Evans.”
Liz nodded. “The paramedics are here, Max,’ she said, in case he hadn’t heard. “I’ll be close by, okay?”
“Yeah.” He opened his eyes just as a man and a woman in matching blue jumpsuits rushed to his side.
“Hey, Parker?”
“What is it, Max?”
“I love you.”
Aware of the speculative looks that had suddenly turned her way from several different directions, Liz kept her gaze firmly on Max’s face. “I love you, too.”
He smiled faintly and closed his eyes. “We’re naming the first kid Bob,” he murmured. And lapsed into unconsciousness.
Liz promptly burst into tears.
TBC………
Liz was utterly delighted to be the first officer to step out of the deep shadows of the warehouse the next day. She held her badge in one hand, a weapon in the other. And she was smiling with the cold satisfaction of knowing her assignment was nearing a successful completion.
Four adults stood in one corner of the massive room-Maria, holding little Amy and looking very nervous, Ms. McCauley, Mia, and Mia’s beefy boyfriend, Adam. Mia had just handed Maria a small vinyl case and was reaching for Amy. That was all Liz had been waiting for.
“Take the baby and step back out of the way, Maria,” Liz ordered. “The rest of you stay where you are. You’re under arrest.”
Mia, Adam and McCauley whirled in response to Liz’s voice. Adam took an instinctive, threatening step toward her.
Max came out from behind a pile of clutter behind them. “Freeze.” He, too held a weapon, and it was trained unerringly at Adam’s chest.
Two uniformed officers appeared from outside. One of them escorted Maria and little Amy safely out of the warehouse. The other moved to assist Liz and Max.
Adam cursed, threatening Max with charges of false arrest and entrapment. McCauley was wringing her hands and loudly bewailing her innocence. “I ain’t done nothing wrong,” she insisted. “You can’t prove nothing.”
“Quiet,” Mia hissed to them both, looking harried.
Liz knew Mia was well aware that McCauley would tell everything she knew at the first hint of a plea bargain. Mia was the only one of the three smart enough to know just how bad the situation really was.
Liz decided it would be a pleasure to take care of this one herself. She took a step closer to Mia. “You have the right to remain silent,” she began.
Mia gave her a withering look, taking in every detail of Liz’s slender body. Liz had been delighted to leave the harness off for this confrontation. “I know my rights.”
“And you know that I’m going to read them to you anyway,” Liz replied. This bust was going strictly by the book. No clever attorney would get these three off on technicalities.
McCauley gave an outraged squeal when the uniformed officer placed a hand on her shoulder to escort her out. “Get your hands off me!” she shrieked. “I ain’t done nothing wrong, I tell you. You can’t arrest me.”
Adam jerked when Max turned toward him. “I’ll walk out on my own,” he snarled, then promptly stumbled over a broken wooden crate behind him. He fell heavily, all two hundred and fifty pounds of him slamming into Liz’s left leg. She staggered, trying to right herself.
McCauley screamed and made a dash for the exit. The uniformed officer moved to intercede. Max bent warily toward Adam, cuffs in hand.
While the other two officers were occupied, Mia proved that she was every bit as sharp and quick as Liz had suspected. Without the slightest hesitation, she snatched up a solid piece of the broken crate and brought it down on Liz’s right arm before Liz had even regained her balance from Adam’s accidental tackle. Liz cried out at the sharp crack of the blow. The gun fell from her suddenly nerveless fingers.
Dazed from pain, she found herself held tightly against Mia’s wiry body almost before she realised it, her own gun pressed to her temple. Damn, Liz thought, sickly suspecting that her arm was broken. Something like this always happens when I work with Max.
“Don’t move,” Mia said when Max edged instinctively toward Liz. Mia pressed the gun more tightly against Liz’s temple.
“Mia, you can’t get away with this. Why are you making this harder on yourself?” Liz gasped, her stomach churning at the pain still radiating from her right forearm.
“Just shut up, okay? I have to think.”
Max’s hands were spread in a non-threatening stance, his gun held loosely in his right hand. “Let her go,” he said quietly, his eyes never leaving Mia’s face. Watching him, Liz saw the rigidity of his face, the slight twitch of a muscle in his cheek. Had it not been for those faint signs, she would have thought him perfectly calm. She knew he was anything but.
“Don’t be stupid, Mia,” McCauley snapped, from her position behind the uniformed officer who’d returned from escorting Maria out just in time to get caught up in the tense situation. ‘You’re only going to make it worse for all of us.”
“She’s right, Mia,” Adam said glumly, still sitting on the floor where he’d fallen, the other uniformed officer’s gun trained steadily on him. “Give it up.”
“Shut up!” Mia retorted. “Both of you. I’m not going to jail. I can’t go to jail.”
“You have no choice,” Max said.
Liz felt Mia tense and knew the woman was close to panic. Panic and handguns were a truly lousy combination, she thought glumly, waiting impatiently for the first opportunity to take action. If only her arm didn’t hurt so damned much.
Mia took a step backward, pulling Liz with her. “We’re going to walk out of here,’ she said. “Just the two of us. The rest of you stay right where you are and she won’t get hurt.”
There was dead silence in the warehouse as Mia took another step backward and then another. Liz heard the woman’s breathing just behind her ear, sharp and uneven. The panic was growing. Liz could only hope the fear would make Mia grow careless. Both she and Max were poised to take advantage of the first opening.
Mia stepped on something small and round, momentarily lost her footing. She recovered quickly, but Liz was already in motion. She spun and kicked out. Mia dodged the kick and levelled the weapon. Max leapt forward.
A shot reverberated through the huge building, echoing through McCauley’s screams and the shouts of the officers. Max hit Liz with all his strength, sending her flying. She landed on her injured right arm. An explosion of pain shot through her, nearly driving her straight into unconsciousness. She curled into a ball, gagging and cradling her arm against her stomach.
She no longer had any doubt that the arm was broken.
Concentrating on staying conscious and fighting down nausea, she was hardly aware of the pandemonium around her. She heard excited voices, angry shouts. The wail of sirens grew steadily louder-someone had called for backup. She spared a moment to think of Maria and little Amy. She knew they were safe. She hoped Maria wasn’t frightened.
Damn, but her arm hurt. Just wait until she had a chance to talk to Max about his totally unnecessary flying tackle.
She opened her eyes after a few moments to find one of the uniforms kneeling beside her. “You okay?” he asked urgently, his hand on her shoulder. “Were you hit?”
“My arm is broken,” she managed, knowing she must look like death warmed up. “Is everything under control?”
“Yeah. We’ve cuffed all three of them and called for an ambulance.”
Liz drew in a deep breath, trying to settle her stomach. It didn’t help that the warehouse smelled so bad. “I really don’t need an ambulance,” she said, momentarily closing her eyes against a fresh wave of pain. “It’s just a broken arm.”
“It wouldn’t hurt you to ride in an ambulance. And besides, we need it for Max.”
Liz’s eyes flew open. “Max?”
Where the hell was Max? She’d assumed he was helping subdue Mia and the others. But-an ambulance? “What’s wrong with Max?”
“He’s been hit. Took one in the shoulder.”
“Oh, my God.” Liz was already struggling to her feet. She swayed as blood rushed from her head with her movement.
“Hey, careful! Take it easy. He’s going to be okay.”
She ignored the officer who was frantically steading her. She could see Max now, laying on the floor on his back, another uniformed officer leaning over him while two others escorted their sullen prisoners out of the warehouse. She made it to his side and knelt quickly beside him, fighting the dizziness her rapid movements cost her. “Max. Max?”
Max’s face was colourless and there was blood on his shirt. A lot of blood. The officer beside him held something tight against the wound.
Max opened his eyes in response to Liz’s voice. “Hey, Parker,” he said, his voice pathetically weak. “You, okay?”
“I’m fine. Damn it, Evans, you just had to do it again, didn’t you? I had everything under control. I didn’t need you to charge in and rescue me!” Her fear for him made her voice sharp. Her eyes burned; she blinked rapidly to clear them.
He managed a weak smile. “I know. The lone ranger on steroids.”
“Exactly. I can handle my job, Evans. I don’t need you taking care of me.”
“Yeah, I know, but I can’t seem to stop. I guess it’s a good thing we won’t be working together again, huh?”
“What does that mean?” she asked, brushing aside the officer who was trying to steady her as she swayed on her knees.
“I really hate this job,” he muttered, his eyes closing again. “Always have. Looks like it’s time to try something different.”
She swallowed and touched his too-pale check, uncertain whether he was talking about the promotion or medical school. Right now, she didn’t really give a shit. “Yeah,” she said huskily. “You’d better do it while you’re still basically in one piece.”
“Basically.”
“The ambulance is here,” someone said from close behind Liz. “C’mon, Parker, let someone take a look at that arm for you. We’ve got to clear the way for the paramedics to get to Evans.”
Liz nodded. “The paramedics are here, Max,’ she said, in case he hadn’t heard. “I’ll be close by, okay?”
“Yeah.” He opened his eyes just as a man and a woman in matching blue jumpsuits rushed to his side.
“Hey, Parker?”
“What is it, Max?”
“I love you.”
Aware of the speculative looks that had suddenly turned her way from several different directions, Liz kept her gaze firmly on Max’s face. “I love you, too.”
He smiled faintly and closed his eyes. “We’re naming the first kid Bob,” he murmured. And lapsed into unconsciousness.
Liz promptly burst into tears.
TBC………
Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Liz walked into the hospital a couple of days later. She was there to visit Max. Liz hadn’t seen Max since the night of the bust. She had kept her distance from him, too scared to let him know just how worried she was. Scared for him, for her, and most of all scared of their relationship.
After their declaration of love Liz wasn’t sure how to act around him. She did love him, that she was sure of. But she wasn’t sure that Max truly loved her back. What if he only said that because of the intense situation they were in? What if he really didn’t care for her at all?
Okay Liz, she thought to herself, you’ve gotta calm down. Taking a few deep breaths Liz slowly walked towards Max’s room, still unsure of what to say to him when she got there.
Stopping outside his room, Liz took another deep breath, lifted her hand and knocked on the door. “Come in,” she heard Max call out. Placing her hand on the door knob Liz slowly turned it and entered the room.
Max was lying on the bed, with his shoulder bandaged up. She had never seen him look so worn out before. She guessed he still wasn’t recovered fully from the surgery. “Hey,” she said quietly.
“Hey,” he replied sounding very tired.
“How’re you feeling?” she asked.
“Like shit,” he stated laughing.
Liz gave a small smile back. At least he can still laugh about things, she thought. “I’ve missed your laugh,” Liz said softly.
Surprised at the admission, Max had to pause for a minute before answering her. “I’ve missed laughing,” he admitted.
“Everyone from the precinct sends their well wishes to you. Kyle and Alex said that they’d visit you later on in the day.” Liz said changing the subject away from them.
“Oh great,” Max said sarcastically. “Just what I need, those two giving me crap.”
“I know what you mean,” Liz said laughing quietly. “Those two always have something to say.”
“Tell me about it,” Max said.
“Oh and looks like Isabel and Jim have finally admitted their feelings for each other,” Liz had to add.
“Yeah I know. Jim came in yesterday to visit. He let it slip. Good on him, I know how lonely he’s been recently.” Max said with a smile.
“Um, that’s good,” Liz replied not knowing what to say next. “So um, when are you able to go home?”
“A couple of days, my doctor said I still needed a few days rest to recuperate properly before I could head on home,” Max replied with a sigh.
“Well that’s good news isn’t it?” Liz had to ask.
“Yeah, but I guess I’m just sick of being here. I just want to go home already,” he answered back.
“I can understand that.”
“So have you heard from Maria at all? How’s little Amy doing?”
Hearing Max’s question brought a smile to Liz’s lips. “Yeah I have. Maria and Amy are doing just fine. Both have been relocated to a safe house somewhere up north. I don’t even know where they are, which in the long run, is for their protection.”
“Good. I’m pleased that everything worked out for them.”
“So um, have you thought anymore about the job offer you got from Jim?” Liz asked, hoping that he was finally willing to open up to her about the whole situation.
“Parker, you know I don’t want to talk about this,” Max sighed in frustration.
“I do know that Max, but you need to think about it. Jim’s offer won’t be there forever.” Liz tried again.
“Maybe, maybe not. But at the moment this is not something that I want to talk about.” Max said starting to get angry.
“Fine then don’t talk about it, but I’m not going to let you give up what I know you really want to do. Come on Max, are you trying to tell me that these few days you have spent in this hospital, seeing doctors working, saving life’s, generally doing all they can to help people has not made you realise that this is what you want to do?” Liz argued back.
Hearing no reply from Max, Liz took that as a silent agreement with what she said. “Max I only want to see you happy. I know that if you do take that job offer from Jim, you will never be truly happy. I don’t want to see you like that, because it would kill me.” Liz said almost in a whisper with tears in her eyes.
Max’s head shot up at the quiet confession from Liz. He had never truly thought about how this would affect Liz. Pam never showed any interest in his own happiness, having Liz show this sort of affection was a real shock to his system. Did she really care that much about him? “Liz, I uh, I don’t know what to tell you. I didn’t want to put you through this, but in the end it is my decision and at this point I have no idea. Of course I want to be happy, and I do know deep down that staying on the force won’t make me. Happy that is. But going back to school is a big decision for me, and I don’t want to think about it right now.” Max told Liz trying to explain where he was coming from.
Liz just nodded her agreement, not trusting her voice to speak.
“So how are you feeling?” Max asked. He has been worried about her for the few days he had been in the hospital. Liz hadn’t come to visit him and Max was starting to think that she was avoiding him.
“Um…. Good I guess.” Liz replied. “Just trying to get used to having a cast on my arm. Haven’t had one since I was a kid.” She added with a smile.
Max smiled back, remembering when he was about 7 years old falling out of a tree breaking his arm in the process. “I know what you mean,” he replied.
Silence broke out between the two, both trying to think of what to say next. Max was wondering if he should ask why she hadn’t visited him earlier. Liz on the other hand was praying Max wouldn’t ask her why she hadn’t visited him earlier.
“Liz……” “Max…….” they both said at the same time. Liz looked at Max. “You can go first,” she said tentatively.
“I was just going to ask why you hadn’t visited me sooner. I was starting to wonder if you were avoiding me.” Max said.
Oh God, oh God what am I going to say to him? Should I tell him what has really been going through my mind? Yeah I could do that, I’ll just tell him exactly what has been going on. But what if he thinks I’m being stupid? Oh God Oh God, what the hell am I going to say?
“Liz?” Max asked, seeing that Liz was struggling internally with something.
“Huh?” Liz replied coming out of her daze.
“Are you okay?” Max asked sounding concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry I kinda just zoned out there for a minute.”
Okay, Liz thought here goes nothing.
TBC………
Liz walked into the hospital a couple of days later. She was there to visit Max. Liz hadn’t seen Max since the night of the bust. She had kept her distance from him, too scared to let him know just how worried she was. Scared for him, for her, and most of all scared of their relationship.
After their declaration of love Liz wasn’t sure how to act around him. She did love him, that she was sure of. But she wasn’t sure that Max truly loved her back. What if he only said that because of the intense situation they were in? What if he really didn’t care for her at all?
Okay Liz, she thought to herself, you’ve gotta calm down. Taking a few deep breaths Liz slowly walked towards Max’s room, still unsure of what to say to him when she got there.
Stopping outside his room, Liz took another deep breath, lifted her hand and knocked on the door. “Come in,” she heard Max call out. Placing her hand on the door knob Liz slowly turned it and entered the room.
Max was lying on the bed, with his shoulder bandaged up. She had never seen him look so worn out before. She guessed he still wasn’t recovered fully from the surgery. “Hey,” she said quietly.
“Hey,” he replied sounding very tired.
“How’re you feeling?” she asked.
“Like shit,” he stated laughing.
Liz gave a small smile back. At least he can still laugh about things, she thought. “I’ve missed your laugh,” Liz said softly.
Surprised at the admission, Max had to pause for a minute before answering her. “I’ve missed laughing,” he admitted.
“Everyone from the precinct sends their well wishes to you. Kyle and Alex said that they’d visit you later on in the day.” Liz said changing the subject away from them.
“Oh great,” Max said sarcastically. “Just what I need, those two giving me crap.”
“I know what you mean,” Liz said laughing quietly. “Those two always have something to say.”
“Tell me about it,” Max said.
“Oh and looks like Isabel and Jim have finally admitted their feelings for each other,” Liz had to add.
“Yeah I know. Jim came in yesterday to visit. He let it slip. Good on him, I know how lonely he’s been recently.” Max said with a smile.
“Um, that’s good,” Liz replied not knowing what to say next. “So um, when are you able to go home?”
“A couple of days, my doctor said I still needed a few days rest to recuperate properly before I could head on home,” Max replied with a sigh.
“Well that’s good news isn’t it?” Liz had to ask.
“Yeah, but I guess I’m just sick of being here. I just want to go home already,” he answered back.
“I can understand that.”
“So have you heard from Maria at all? How’s little Amy doing?”
Hearing Max’s question brought a smile to Liz’s lips. “Yeah I have. Maria and Amy are doing just fine. Both have been relocated to a safe house somewhere up north. I don’t even know where they are, which in the long run, is for their protection.”
“Good. I’m pleased that everything worked out for them.”
“So um, have you thought anymore about the job offer you got from Jim?” Liz asked, hoping that he was finally willing to open up to her about the whole situation.
“Parker, you know I don’t want to talk about this,” Max sighed in frustration.
“I do know that Max, but you need to think about it. Jim’s offer won’t be there forever.” Liz tried again.
“Maybe, maybe not. But at the moment this is not something that I want to talk about.” Max said starting to get angry.
“Fine then don’t talk about it, but I’m not going to let you give up what I know you really want to do. Come on Max, are you trying to tell me that these few days you have spent in this hospital, seeing doctors working, saving life’s, generally doing all they can to help people has not made you realise that this is what you want to do?” Liz argued back.
Hearing no reply from Max, Liz took that as a silent agreement with what she said. “Max I only want to see you happy. I know that if you do take that job offer from Jim, you will never be truly happy. I don’t want to see you like that, because it would kill me.” Liz said almost in a whisper with tears in her eyes.
Max’s head shot up at the quiet confession from Liz. He had never truly thought about how this would affect Liz. Pam never showed any interest in his own happiness, having Liz show this sort of affection was a real shock to his system. Did she really care that much about him? “Liz, I uh, I don’t know what to tell you. I didn’t want to put you through this, but in the end it is my decision and at this point I have no idea. Of course I want to be happy, and I do know deep down that staying on the force won’t make me. Happy that is. But going back to school is a big decision for me, and I don’t want to think about it right now.” Max told Liz trying to explain where he was coming from.
Liz just nodded her agreement, not trusting her voice to speak.
“So how are you feeling?” Max asked. He has been worried about her for the few days he had been in the hospital. Liz hadn’t come to visit him and Max was starting to think that she was avoiding him.
“Um…. Good I guess.” Liz replied. “Just trying to get used to having a cast on my arm. Haven’t had one since I was a kid.” She added with a smile.
Max smiled back, remembering when he was about 7 years old falling out of a tree breaking his arm in the process. “I know what you mean,” he replied.
Silence broke out between the two, both trying to think of what to say next. Max was wondering if he should ask why she hadn’t visited him earlier. Liz on the other hand was praying Max wouldn’t ask her why she hadn’t visited him earlier.
“Liz……” “Max…….” they both said at the same time. Liz looked at Max. “You can go first,” she said tentatively.
“I was just going to ask why you hadn’t visited me sooner. I was starting to wonder if you were avoiding me.” Max said.
Oh God, oh God what am I going to say to him? Should I tell him what has really been going through my mind? Yeah I could do that, I’ll just tell him exactly what has been going on. But what if he thinks I’m being stupid? Oh God Oh God, what the hell am I going to say?
“Liz?” Max asked, seeing that Liz was struggling internally with something.
“Huh?” Liz replied coming out of her daze.
“Are you okay?” Max asked sounding concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry I kinda just zoned out there for a minute.”
Okay, Liz thought here goes nothing.
TBC………
Chapter 26
Chapter 26
“Um...to be honest with you Max, yeah I have been avoiding you. I mean, I've been helping Maria and Amy get relocated and I've had to get resettled back at work. Then I've been worrying about you, so I've had a lot on my mind. Well, I haven't exactly been worrying about you per se. I've been worrying about the concept of you and me. I’m just worried that we both said that we loved each other in the heat of the moment. I mean you had just been shot and all of these emotions were flying around, and, and-”
“Liz,” Max interrupted.
“Yeah?” She replied not looking at him.
“I meant every word that I said. I do love you, and believe me that is something that I don’t say very easily.” He quietly said. “Liz, please look at me.”
Slowly raising her eyes, Liz looked at Max. And what she saw in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. She had never seen this look from him before. It was a look of pure love.
“You see with Pam I never had to think about much really. I knew that our relationship was one of convenience. Well, it was for me anyway. Pam wanted a commitment that I wasn’t willing to give her, so she left me. I think she liked the concept of us being together, and the reality of the situation drove her away.” Max started to explain. “And with you, I want the commitment that I couldn’t give Pam. I know this thing between us is very confusing and complicated at the moment, but believe me when I say that I DO love you. Let me tell you something, when I get out of this hospital we are going to sit down together and sort this out, because there is no way in hell that I am going to lose you right when I found you. I had my back turned and my eyes closed to love, but you helped me open them."
By now Liz was stunned into silence. Her mouth was hanging open, and she found herself staring at Max. Out of all the time that they spent together, not once did she have any idea just how much he cared for her. She was so concerned with the thought that she had fallen in love with someone who would never return her feelings, that she never thought of the possibility that he could love her back.
“Liz, are you still with me?” Max asked concerned when Liz didn't say a word for a good five minutes. Not to mention she had the same expression on her face throughout that time as well.
Snapping out for her stupor, Liz looked at Max with a little smile on her face. “Of course I am Max, I just didn’t expect for you to admit all that to me. It kind of spun me for six,” she said, trying to explain. “I don’t want to lose you either, Max. I think we both finally opened our eyes to love, and I don't want to loose that. In the short time that I have really spent time with you, you have become one of the most important people in my life, Max, and believe me that is something I don’t do very easily.”
“You and me both,” Max added with a smile of his own starting to appear on his face.
“I’m sorry that I have been so insecure about our relationship, it’s just that we haven’t really sat down and talked about what has been going on with us. I guess I just didn’t know where I stood with you.”
“Don’t be sorry about that Liz. I agree with you for the fact that we really should have talked about this awhile ago, but as we both know our work can really get in the way of our personal lives. This assignment has been a major part of our lives for the past few weeks, that there was never really an opportunity to talk. I’m just pleased that you didn’t run away from me. From us.” Max said.
"I wouldn't have been able to run away from you even if I wanted to. I guess you can say I fell in too deep." Liz glanced down at her watch and realized that she had been in the hospital for over an hour. "Max, I hate to do this, but I really have to go. I was supposed to be at the office half-an-hour ago to pick up a file, and I know that Valenti is going to kill me."
"Liz, you don't have to apologize. Will you come see me when I get out of the hospital?" Max questioned.
"Of course I will. Just give me a call when you get home." Liz replied as she gave Max a kiss goodbye. With that, she picked up her things and left.
****************
A couple of days later Liz was at home curled up on her couch reading a book when her phone rang. Placing her book aside Liz got up to answer the phone. “Hello,” she answered her voice sounding tired.
“Liz, hey it’s Max. I didn’t wake you did I?”
“No, I was just reading a book relaxing. After the day I’ve had I really needed to do just that.”
“Tough day at the office huh?”
“God you have no idea. Anyway enough about my day, how are you doing?”
“Yeah, I’m doing okay just a little worn out. I was just calling to see if you wanted to come over so we could finish our conversation from the hospital.”
“Sure just give me about an hour, I need to have a shower and get ready. Hey did you want me to bring some take out over?”
“Mmm food sounds good right about now. What about Chinese?
“Yum I could go for that. Okay so I’ll see you in about an hours time then?”
“Okay, see you then. Bye Liz.”
“Bye.” Liz said hanging up the phone. Oh boy this is going to be one interesting night Liz thought to herself.
About an hour and a half later Liz was standing outside Max’s front door, showered, changed with her arms full of Chinese take out. She was trying to knock on the door, which was rather difficult to do. Finally rearranging everything she raised her hand to the door when it suddenly open. This caused Liz to stumble forward, luckily Max caught her before she feel flat on her face. Looking up at the man that saved her from major embarrassment Liz gave a little smile. “Hey”.
“Hey yourself,” Max replied. “Need some help there?”
“God yes please, I can’t seem to do anything with this broken arm of mine,” Liz answered laughing.
Grabbing the Chinese out of Liz’s hands Max motioned for Liz to enter the house. “I’ll just get some plates from the kitchen so we can eat this. Which smells delicious by the way. Go take a seat in the lounge I won’t be a second.”
“Okay,” Liz answered. Walking into the lounge, Liz forgot what a nice house Max actually had. It still had a female touch to it, and once again she wondered if that was Pam’s doing.
Still in her own world Liz didn’t hear Max enter the lounge, which meant that he had a few minutes just to watch her, which he loved doing. When they were on assignment he would sometimes stay up for hours just watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful and content. Hopefully soon he thought I can have her by my side all the time. This thought of course brought a smile to his face.
Liz just happened to turn towards Max right at that moment. ‘I wonder what Max is smiling about’ she thought ‘he looks really happy’.
“So you ready to eat Max?” Liz asked snapping Max out of his thoughts.
“Um, yeah sorry let’s dig in.”
After Max and Liz had both eaten and cleared everything away, Liz sat him back on the couch. She had a whole conversation planned out, and now was as good of a time as any to say what she wanted to say.
"Max, we talked once about you changing professions, and I think we should go over that again."
"So what new assignment does Valenti have you on?" Max said, trying desperately to change the subject.
"No, now is not the time to pull that 'let me change the subject' game."
"Just drop it okay? I mean, what do you want? Do you want to get out of this relationship with me? Because that is exactly what will happen if I change jobs this late in my life. I won't have any free time to spend with you anymore, and sooner or later we will drift apart. Well you know what? I refuse to let that happen."
"So that's what this is about? You're afraid that you and I will drift apart? Max, I am in love with you to the point of no return, but I can't sit here and watch you throw your life away. I know you don't belong here anymore. I know that you belong in a better job. In a job that you love, and I know you must know that deep down. You're just afraid to admit it. You're afraid to start over, but you know what? You don't need to be afraid anymore because I will be here with you. I will help you along every step of the way, but you need to make the first move. I will stick by your side no matter what path you decide to take, but I prefer to see you doing what you love. If what you said is true, and you love me, then know that i won't leave you during this time. Know that I will help you along the way and I will love you unconditionally no matter what happens. I just want to see you truly happy for once."
Tears slowly slid down his face, and Liz pulled him into a fierce hug. She wanted him to know that she meant everything she had said to him just now. Max finally regained control of his emotions and he pulled back so he could look Liz in the face.
"You have no idea what that means to me. Thank you. Liz, I love you more than I ever thought possible. And yes, I'm afraid everyday that you'll come to your senses and realize that you deserve more than me. More than what I have to offer. You're my world...my reason for living...and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Liz, will you marry me?"
Liz was in complete shock. She couldn't believe her ears. Did Max Evans really ask her to marry him? She looked into his eyes and realized that everything she was just thinking was true.
"Yes, I'll marry you Max." Liz replied with tears in her eyes.
Max moved in and gave Liz a passionate heart-stopping kiss. That was his only intention, but it seemed that his new-found fiancé had plans of her own. She grabbed his hand and led him into the bedroom.
TBC....
“Um...to be honest with you Max, yeah I have been avoiding you. I mean, I've been helping Maria and Amy get relocated and I've had to get resettled back at work. Then I've been worrying about you, so I've had a lot on my mind. Well, I haven't exactly been worrying about you per se. I've been worrying about the concept of you and me. I’m just worried that we both said that we loved each other in the heat of the moment. I mean you had just been shot and all of these emotions were flying around, and, and-”
“Liz,” Max interrupted.
“Yeah?” She replied not looking at him.
“I meant every word that I said. I do love you, and believe me that is something that I don’t say very easily.” He quietly said. “Liz, please look at me.”
Slowly raising her eyes, Liz looked at Max. And what she saw in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. She had never seen this look from him before. It was a look of pure love.
“You see with Pam I never had to think about much really. I knew that our relationship was one of convenience. Well, it was for me anyway. Pam wanted a commitment that I wasn’t willing to give her, so she left me. I think she liked the concept of us being together, and the reality of the situation drove her away.” Max started to explain. “And with you, I want the commitment that I couldn’t give Pam. I know this thing between us is very confusing and complicated at the moment, but believe me when I say that I DO love you. Let me tell you something, when I get out of this hospital we are going to sit down together and sort this out, because there is no way in hell that I am going to lose you right when I found you. I had my back turned and my eyes closed to love, but you helped me open them."
By now Liz was stunned into silence. Her mouth was hanging open, and she found herself staring at Max. Out of all the time that they spent together, not once did she have any idea just how much he cared for her. She was so concerned with the thought that she had fallen in love with someone who would never return her feelings, that she never thought of the possibility that he could love her back.
“Liz, are you still with me?” Max asked concerned when Liz didn't say a word for a good five minutes. Not to mention she had the same expression on her face throughout that time as well.
Snapping out for her stupor, Liz looked at Max with a little smile on her face. “Of course I am Max, I just didn’t expect for you to admit all that to me. It kind of spun me for six,” she said, trying to explain. “I don’t want to lose you either, Max. I think we both finally opened our eyes to love, and I don't want to loose that. In the short time that I have really spent time with you, you have become one of the most important people in my life, Max, and believe me that is something I don’t do very easily.”
“You and me both,” Max added with a smile of his own starting to appear on his face.
“I’m sorry that I have been so insecure about our relationship, it’s just that we haven’t really sat down and talked about what has been going on with us. I guess I just didn’t know where I stood with you.”
“Don’t be sorry about that Liz. I agree with you for the fact that we really should have talked about this awhile ago, but as we both know our work can really get in the way of our personal lives. This assignment has been a major part of our lives for the past few weeks, that there was never really an opportunity to talk. I’m just pleased that you didn’t run away from me. From us.” Max said.
"I wouldn't have been able to run away from you even if I wanted to. I guess you can say I fell in too deep." Liz glanced down at her watch and realized that she had been in the hospital for over an hour. "Max, I hate to do this, but I really have to go. I was supposed to be at the office half-an-hour ago to pick up a file, and I know that Valenti is going to kill me."
"Liz, you don't have to apologize. Will you come see me when I get out of the hospital?" Max questioned.
"Of course I will. Just give me a call when you get home." Liz replied as she gave Max a kiss goodbye. With that, she picked up her things and left.
****************
A couple of days later Liz was at home curled up on her couch reading a book when her phone rang. Placing her book aside Liz got up to answer the phone. “Hello,” she answered her voice sounding tired.
“Liz, hey it’s Max. I didn’t wake you did I?”
“No, I was just reading a book relaxing. After the day I’ve had I really needed to do just that.”
“Tough day at the office huh?”
“God you have no idea. Anyway enough about my day, how are you doing?”
“Yeah, I’m doing okay just a little worn out. I was just calling to see if you wanted to come over so we could finish our conversation from the hospital.”
“Sure just give me about an hour, I need to have a shower and get ready. Hey did you want me to bring some take out over?”
“Mmm food sounds good right about now. What about Chinese?
“Yum I could go for that. Okay so I’ll see you in about an hours time then?”
“Okay, see you then. Bye Liz.”
“Bye.” Liz said hanging up the phone. Oh boy this is going to be one interesting night Liz thought to herself.
About an hour and a half later Liz was standing outside Max’s front door, showered, changed with her arms full of Chinese take out. She was trying to knock on the door, which was rather difficult to do. Finally rearranging everything she raised her hand to the door when it suddenly open. This caused Liz to stumble forward, luckily Max caught her before she feel flat on her face. Looking up at the man that saved her from major embarrassment Liz gave a little smile. “Hey”.
“Hey yourself,” Max replied. “Need some help there?”
“God yes please, I can’t seem to do anything with this broken arm of mine,” Liz answered laughing.
Grabbing the Chinese out of Liz’s hands Max motioned for Liz to enter the house. “I’ll just get some plates from the kitchen so we can eat this. Which smells delicious by the way. Go take a seat in the lounge I won’t be a second.”
“Okay,” Liz answered. Walking into the lounge, Liz forgot what a nice house Max actually had. It still had a female touch to it, and once again she wondered if that was Pam’s doing.
Still in her own world Liz didn’t hear Max enter the lounge, which meant that he had a few minutes just to watch her, which he loved doing. When they were on assignment he would sometimes stay up for hours just watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful and content. Hopefully soon he thought I can have her by my side all the time. This thought of course brought a smile to his face.
Liz just happened to turn towards Max right at that moment. ‘I wonder what Max is smiling about’ she thought ‘he looks really happy’.
“So you ready to eat Max?” Liz asked snapping Max out of his thoughts.
“Um, yeah sorry let’s dig in.”
After Max and Liz had both eaten and cleared everything away, Liz sat him back on the couch. She had a whole conversation planned out, and now was as good of a time as any to say what she wanted to say.
"Max, we talked once about you changing professions, and I think we should go over that again."
"So what new assignment does Valenti have you on?" Max said, trying desperately to change the subject.
"No, now is not the time to pull that 'let me change the subject' game."
"Just drop it okay? I mean, what do you want? Do you want to get out of this relationship with me? Because that is exactly what will happen if I change jobs this late in my life. I won't have any free time to spend with you anymore, and sooner or later we will drift apart. Well you know what? I refuse to let that happen."
"So that's what this is about? You're afraid that you and I will drift apart? Max, I am in love with you to the point of no return, but I can't sit here and watch you throw your life away. I know you don't belong here anymore. I know that you belong in a better job. In a job that you love, and I know you must know that deep down. You're just afraid to admit it. You're afraid to start over, but you know what? You don't need to be afraid anymore because I will be here with you. I will help you along every step of the way, but you need to make the first move. I will stick by your side no matter what path you decide to take, but I prefer to see you doing what you love. If what you said is true, and you love me, then know that i won't leave you during this time. Know that I will help you along the way and I will love you unconditionally no matter what happens. I just want to see you truly happy for once."
Tears slowly slid down his face, and Liz pulled him into a fierce hug. She wanted him to know that she meant everything she had said to him just now. Max finally regained control of his emotions and he pulled back so he could look Liz in the face.
"You have no idea what that means to me. Thank you. Liz, I love you more than I ever thought possible. And yes, I'm afraid everyday that you'll come to your senses and realize that you deserve more than me. More than what I have to offer. You're my world...my reason for living...and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Liz, will you marry me?"
Liz was in complete shock. She couldn't believe her ears. Did Max Evans really ask her to marry him? She looked into his eyes and realized that everything she was just thinking was true.
"Yes, I'll marry you Max." Liz replied with tears in her eyes.
Max moved in and gave Liz a passionate heart-stopping kiss. That was his only intention, but it seemed that his new-found fiancé had plans of her own. She grabbed his hand and led him into the bedroom.
TBC....
Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Closing the door behind them Liz couldn’t help but have a smile on her face. “So we finally get to use the bed huh?” she said laughing.
“Yeah I guess we do,” Max replied laughing as well. “Come here you.”
“My pleasure.”
Placing his hands on either side of Liz’s face Max slowly lowered his mouth to hers. God he thought I’ll never get sick of doing this. Soon their slow sensuous kiss turned into one full of passion and hunger. They had both missed each other these past few days and their hunger for each other was starting to come out in full force.
Liz was in heaven, god how she had missed this. Max was a drug that she couldn’t get enough of, the way he kissed her made her head spin and she was starting to lose control. As Liz’s knees hit the back of the bed she couldn’t help but wonder when they started moving, guess I was too involved in kissing Max she thought with a laugh.
Max slowly lowered Liz to the bed, never ending their passionate kiss. Moving from her lips Max kissed his was past her cheek to latch onto her neck. This caused Liz to let out a soft moan. “God you taste so good,” Max mumbled against her. “Mmmm” was the only reply that Liz could manage. She couldn’t seem to form any words as what Max was doing to her neck right at that moment felt so good.
Max started to move his lips lower down Liz’s body stopping between the valley of her breasts. Bringing his right hand up her body Max started to massage her right breast. Running his thumb over her nipple Liz let out a sharp breath, her nipples were overly sensitive and begging to be touched.
“Max,” Liz moaned.
“Mmmm,” Max replied, still kissing the valley between her breasts.
“Take my shirt off I want to feel your mouth and tongue on my breasts,” Liz managed to get out.
Lifting his mouth from her body Max started to laugh.
“What?” Liz asked.
“I’ve just never heard you talk like that before.”
“Well that’s what you get when your horny as hell,” Liz answered laughing herself.
“Your wish is my command then,” he said with that sexy smile of his.
Grabbing the bottom of Liz’s top Max starting to lift it from her body. He couldn’t help but enjoy the view. The bulge in his pants was definitely an indication of that. Liz was wearing a sleeveless shirt so it wasn’t that difficult for Max to remove it past her cast.
Max took a moment to look at Liz only wearing a bra. Damn this lady is hot. Liz was wearing one of those bras that fastened at the front, so Max could undo it without Liz having to get off the bed. Lowering his head to her left breast, Max slowly ran his tongue underneath then moved inwards towards her nipple. When he had almost reached the destination he knew Liz was dying for him to touch and taste he changed directions. Which of course caused Liz to moan in frustration.
Laughing, Max moved onto her right breast repeating the same movement. But this time he clamped onto her nipple.
Liz let out a sharp loud gasp, what that man could do with his tongue.
“Is this what you wanted?” Max asked lifting his head from her breast.
“Yes,” Liz sighed. “Now get back to sucking, mister.”
“Okay, okay getting back to sucking,” Max replied while smiling.
Wrapping his mouth back onto her nipple, Max continued with his sucking occasionally flicking his tongue to sooth her aching nipple. Liz has wrapped both of her hands to Max’s head keeping his head in place. Max’s left hand was now massaging her twin tweaking and playing with her other harden nipple sending unbelievable sensations through Liz’s body. Liz’s back had arched to a position Max was sure would have killed him, but she didn’t seem to notice at all.
Releasing her nipple Max moved further south licking and nibbling Liz’s over sensitive skin until he reached the top of her jeans. Grabbing the top button in between his teeth with little difficulty he undid it then grabbed her zipper and slowly lowered it. Max couldn’t help but take a deep breath of Liz’s unique smell, making his mouth water with want. Looping his fingers on either side of her jeans, Max took off Liz’s jeans leaving her only in a very skimpy black thong.
Moving back up her body, Max whispered in her ear. “What do you want me to do now?”
“Mmm?”
“I said what do you want me to do now?” Max asked again while trying not to laugh. It seems that my little fiancé has a hard time thinking at this particular moment, he thought to himself. Boy do I know how she feels.
“I want you to make love to me.” Liz finally got out. “Now let me help you get those clothes off.”
Swapping positions so that Max was now lying on the bed, Liz straddled his hips and attacked his lips. Max’s hands seemed to gravitate to Liz’s bottom, which caused Liz to moan in pleasure. Slowly Liz started to unbutton Max’s shirt, kissing his skin as it appeared infront of her. Once his shirt was open Liz had to stop and stare at the magnificent “greek god” that was lying beneath her. Pealing off his shirt Liz saw Max’s shoulder all wrapped up. God she’d pretty much forgotten in the heat of the moment that he’d been shot.
“How’s your shoulder?” Liz asked quietly.
“What? Oh um it’s okay still a bit tender but hey I’ll survive, I always do.” He replied.
“Yeah you do, don’t you,” Liz said back with a smile. “Are you sure you’re okay to do this? I mean if it’s too sore we can stop and just cuddle and talk.”
“Well, my lower region and head is saying hell no, but my shoulder is giving me a completely different story all together. I’m sorry babe but I think we just might have to finish this some other time. And make that sometime soon, cause I don’t know how much longer I can last without ravishing you and having my way with you.” Max replied wagging his eyebrows up and down.
Laughing, Liz moved from above Max and curled up to his side. “That’s okay, I don’t want to put you through any pain, well that’s unless you ask me too,” she said back with a cheeky grin on her face.
Turning on his side so he can face her, Max wrapped his arms around her resting them on her behind. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“Oh, I’m hoping you will.”
“Damn girl, you’re making this really hard for me at the moment do you no that? If you keep talking this way I may just have to live through the pain and fuck your brains out.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that. But I think we’ll leave that for another time, you need your rest and I don’t want to irritate that shoulder of yours. Now get those jeans off and we’ll crawl under the covers for some much needed sleep.”
Pouting, Max did just as Liz said.
“Night Liz, I love you.”
“I love you too Max, with all my heart.”
With that Max and Liz, slept for the first time in what seemed like weeks, with smiles on both their faces, eager to see what the future would bring for them both.
The End
Closing the door behind them Liz couldn’t help but have a smile on her face. “So we finally get to use the bed huh?” she said laughing.
“Yeah I guess we do,” Max replied laughing as well. “Come here you.”
“My pleasure.”
Placing his hands on either side of Liz’s face Max slowly lowered his mouth to hers. God he thought I’ll never get sick of doing this. Soon their slow sensuous kiss turned into one full of passion and hunger. They had both missed each other these past few days and their hunger for each other was starting to come out in full force.
Liz was in heaven, god how she had missed this. Max was a drug that she couldn’t get enough of, the way he kissed her made her head spin and she was starting to lose control. As Liz’s knees hit the back of the bed she couldn’t help but wonder when they started moving, guess I was too involved in kissing Max she thought with a laugh.
Max slowly lowered Liz to the bed, never ending their passionate kiss. Moving from her lips Max kissed his was past her cheek to latch onto her neck. This caused Liz to let out a soft moan. “God you taste so good,” Max mumbled against her. “Mmmm” was the only reply that Liz could manage. She couldn’t seem to form any words as what Max was doing to her neck right at that moment felt so good.
Max started to move his lips lower down Liz’s body stopping between the valley of her breasts. Bringing his right hand up her body Max started to massage her right breast. Running his thumb over her nipple Liz let out a sharp breath, her nipples were overly sensitive and begging to be touched.
“Max,” Liz moaned.
“Mmmm,” Max replied, still kissing the valley between her breasts.
“Take my shirt off I want to feel your mouth and tongue on my breasts,” Liz managed to get out.
Lifting his mouth from her body Max started to laugh.
“What?” Liz asked.
“I’ve just never heard you talk like that before.”
“Well that’s what you get when your horny as hell,” Liz answered laughing herself.
“Your wish is my command then,” he said with that sexy smile of his.
Grabbing the bottom of Liz’s top Max starting to lift it from her body. He couldn’t help but enjoy the view. The bulge in his pants was definitely an indication of that. Liz was wearing a sleeveless shirt so it wasn’t that difficult for Max to remove it past her cast.
Max took a moment to look at Liz only wearing a bra. Damn this lady is hot. Liz was wearing one of those bras that fastened at the front, so Max could undo it without Liz having to get off the bed. Lowering his head to her left breast, Max slowly ran his tongue underneath then moved inwards towards her nipple. When he had almost reached the destination he knew Liz was dying for him to touch and taste he changed directions. Which of course caused Liz to moan in frustration.
Laughing, Max moved onto her right breast repeating the same movement. But this time he clamped onto her nipple.
Liz let out a sharp loud gasp, what that man could do with his tongue.
“Is this what you wanted?” Max asked lifting his head from her breast.
“Yes,” Liz sighed. “Now get back to sucking, mister.”
“Okay, okay getting back to sucking,” Max replied while smiling.
Wrapping his mouth back onto her nipple, Max continued with his sucking occasionally flicking his tongue to sooth her aching nipple. Liz has wrapped both of her hands to Max’s head keeping his head in place. Max’s left hand was now massaging her twin tweaking and playing with her other harden nipple sending unbelievable sensations through Liz’s body. Liz’s back had arched to a position Max was sure would have killed him, but she didn’t seem to notice at all.
Releasing her nipple Max moved further south licking and nibbling Liz’s over sensitive skin until he reached the top of her jeans. Grabbing the top button in between his teeth with little difficulty he undid it then grabbed her zipper and slowly lowered it. Max couldn’t help but take a deep breath of Liz’s unique smell, making his mouth water with want. Looping his fingers on either side of her jeans, Max took off Liz’s jeans leaving her only in a very skimpy black thong.
Moving back up her body, Max whispered in her ear. “What do you want me to do now?”
“Mmm?”
“I said what do you want me to do now?” Max asked again while trying not to laugh. It seems that my little fiancé has a hard time thinking at this particular moment, he thought to himself. Boy do I know how she feels.
“I want you to make love to me.” Liz finally got out. “Now let me help you get those clothes off.”
Swapping positions so that Max was now lying on the bed, Liz straddled his hips and attacked his lips. Max’s hands seemed to gravitate to Liz’s bottom, which caused Liz to moan in pleasure. Slowly Liz started to unbutton Max’s shirt, kissing his skin as it appeared infront of her. Once his shirt was open Liz had to stop and stare at the magnificent “greek god” that was lying beneath her. Pealing off his shirt Liz saw Max’s shoulder all wrapped up. God she’d pretty much forgotten in the heat of the moment that he’d been shot.
“How’s your shoulder?” Liz asked quietly.
“What? Oh um it’s okay still a bit tender but hey I’ll survive, I always do.” He replied.
“Yeah you do, don’t you,” Liz said back with a smile. “Are you sure you’re okay to do this? I mean if it’s too sore we can stop and just cuddle and talk.”
“Well, my lower region and head is saying hell no, but my shoulder is giving me a completely different story all together. I’m sorry babe but I think we just might have to finish this some other time. And make that sometime soon, cause I don’t know how much longer I can last without ravishing you and having my way with you.” Max replied wagging his eyebrows up and down.
Laughing, Liz moved from above Max and curled up to his side. “That’s okay, I don’t want to put you through any pain, well that’s unless you ask me too,” she said back with a cheeky grin on her face.
Turning on his side so he can face her, Max wrapped his arms around her resting them on her behind. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“Oh, I’m hoping you will.”
“Damn girl, you’re making this really hard for me at the moment do you no that? If you keep talking this way I may just have to live through the pain and fuck your brains out.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that. But I think we’ll leave that for another time, you need your rest and I don’t want to irritate that shoulder of yours. Now get those jeans off and we’ll crawl under the covers for some much needed sleep.”
Pouting, Max did just as Liz said.
“Night Liz, I love you.”
“I love you too Max, with all my heart.”
With that Max and Liz, slept for the first time in what seemed like weeks, with smiles on both their faces, eager to see what the future would bring for them both.
The End