“I need… space,” she gasped. The lawyer took a couple of steps away from her. Again, she shut her eyes, focusing on taking in a deep cleansing breath, then letting it out to the count of ten.
Rico, how could you do this to me?
Her eyes popped open and her heart dropped to her stomach. Rico was gone, his coffin covered with six feet of dirt by now. This child was supposed to be theirs. They’d been waiting until Lexie finished her degree. At twenty-two, she thought she had all the time in the world for children.
She couldn’t explain the need, but her arms ached to hold Rico’s son. She reached out her arms but dropped them back to her side. Warmth closed in on her, and she could almost hear what Rico would say to her if he were there.
Take him. Love him.
The four words whispered around her. As quickly as the warmth appeared, it disappeared, leaving her chilled to the bone.
Why didn’t Rico tell her about the baby? He had to have known for months. As soon as that thought sank in, another one slammed into her. She faced Mac. “Did you know about Rico and this woman… and the baby?”
“No, Lexie, I didn’t know about the baby. I never would have allowed you to be blindsided like this.” He stood completely still as if he were choosing his next words very carefully. “I knew Rico. You knew him, too. He drank like a fish—beer, hard liquor, it didn’t matter. That was a part of him neither of us could change, but it didn’t define the man. He didn’t want this to happen like this.”
“Mrs. Trevena, your name is on the custody papers that Rico and my client drew up.”
“What?” Mac and Lexie said simultaneously.
“I know this must be a shock and quite unfair, but if you are at all interested in raising your husband’s child, I have the paperwork with me.”
She didn’t know from where the strength came, but she took another step forward and lifted Gabriel, cradling his tiny body close to her heart.
This was crazy. But was it a mistake? She couldn’t let Rico’s child be placed with some stranger. She had spent enough years living with people who pretended to love children. There was no way she could stand by and chance that Rico’s son got one of the good ones. She touched her lips to Gabriel’s soft, baby-scented cheek. Dear God, could she do this?
“Lexie, think for a moment,” Mac said at her side.
“I don’t want just custody. If I take Rico’s son, I’ll adopt him. His mother doesn’t get to take him back.”
Mr. Winston opened the briefcase again. “The paperwork is already drawn up. All I need is your signature.”
Panic sliced through Lexie. “Don’t you need to clear this with his mother?”
“Mrs. Trevena, like I said, everything has been decided. After you sign the papers, I’ll file them with the courts. There is also a bank account set up for Gabriel’s needs, and yours, of course.”
“You are not paying me to take this child.”
“Of course not. But my client is a wealthy woman. She will not raise Gabriel, but she will provide for his needs.” He headed for the doorway, lifted a large plastic bag, and set it on the kitchen table. “I have a few things you’ll need until you get to the store.” He then laid the folder next to the bag and pulled out a stack of papers all stapled together.
Lexie’s heart went out to the baby in her arms as the words take him, love him pierced her heart. They were Rico’s words. She didn’t doubt it for a moment, even though the very idea pitched her emotions into a whole new plane. Before reason set in, she blurted out, “Where do I sign”
The lawyer pointed to several places in the contract. Lexie reached for the pen.
Mac placed his hand on her elbow. “Lexie, wait. You can’t sign those damn papers without having someone look them over.”
“Look at him, Mac. Gabriel looks just like Rico. This is Rico’s son. If I don’t raise him, love him, then who will?”
Before she lost her nerve, Lexie signed the adoption contract on each line Mr. Winston indicated while Gabriel slept peacefully in her arms. He placed the contract back into his briefcase and headed toward the door. “My client leaves for Japan and will be out of the country for the next several years. If you decide you can’t do this, call the number on the card.”
Just as Mr. Winston reached the door, she called out, “Wait. Could your client just be experiencing postpartum depression?”
“No, Mrs. Trevena. Gabriel’s mother never would have raised her son. I couldn’t even get her to hold him.” A slight smile appeared at the corners of his mouth and warmth entered his eyes. “I truly am sorry for the timing, but I must say I’m content with the arrangements. I think Gabriel is a lucky little boy to have you.”
“Do you want me to send you pictures, updates…?”
“No, that’s not necessary. Gabriel is your son, and you’re his mother.” With a nod, he walked out the door.
Lexie couldn’t help listening to his shoes clicking on the hardwood flooring of the hallway, the fear he would stop, turn around, and take Gabriel so raw. Mac hadn’t moved an inch, the look of shock on his face spreading into every one of Lexie’s nerves.
He straightened his stance. “I can’t believe what you just did. That was the most reckless, ridiculous…”
“I don’t have the strength to fight with you. I did what I had to do.”
“You have to think this through. Raising a child is for life.”
Lexie cuddled Gabriel against her chest. With her free hand, she opened the door wide. “Please, Mac. Gabriel and I will be fine.” Her knees began to tremble, and she leaned against the door for support.
He took a card from his pocket, scribbled something on the back, and set it on the table. “I don’t know what the hell just happened, but if you need me for anything, call.”
“I won’t call.”
He leaned down and kissed the top of Gabriel’s head. “Rico was one of my best friends. I may not agree with what you just did, but I’m not the enemy, Lexie,” he whispered, his attention focused entirely on the baby. When he raised his head, their eyes held. “I’m here whenever you need me.”
He eased past her and walked out the door. As if on autopilot, Lexie closed the door quietly behind him, setting the lock in place. Her knees finally gave, and she slid against the door onto the floor. With Gabriel securely asleep in her arms, she tucked her head into his blanket and sobbed.
Two
Two years later…
* * *
“Shit! What the hell?” Mac cussed under his breath as a thin line of sweat slid down his spine. Keeping his voice at a whisper, he stepped out of the teller line and spoke into his mic. “Why didn’t someone stop Lexie Trevena at the entrance?”
Rico’s widow, with a two-year-old Gabriel in her arms, had wandered right into the middle of a multi-task force sting operation.
“She parked in the Mother with Child slot at the front door. We couldn’t have anyone approach without drawing suspicion,” an agent in the surveillance van replied.
“Everyone stay alert. I’m going to try to get her and the kid out of here.”
Mac slowly made his way across the lobby. He couldn’t help admiring all that was Lexie Trevena. Her deep mahogany hair flowed loosely down her back, accentuating her dark tanned skin. Her charcoal-brown eyes brightened with a smile for the receptionist. God, she was beautiful. And Gabriel―the kid was a carbon copy of his father.
Lexie set the squirming child down at her side and reached into her oversized canvas bag. She pulled out a juice cup, handing it to her little boy. On any other day, Mac would have been okay with running into the pair. Why this bank at this exact moment?
Business in the small lobby was quiet for an early afternoon. It was why Luis Horde picked this time of day to rob credit unions. He could slip in and out quickly. However, things could change on a dime. If threatened, Horde didn’t think twice about using innocent bystanders as shields.
Horde had been working his way north, robbing one credit
union after another for the last several weeks. Mac’s sister-in-law, Sarah had tracked his movements, and her algorithm predicted this branch would most likely be his next hit. As if on the clock, he entered the bank just a few minutes ago and was filling out a deposit slip at the center table where he could keep track of the entire lobby. He was probably composing the demand note to pass to the teller. Mac wanted him on the ground, but a couple of customers were too close, only an arm’s reach. If Horde made Mac, the calm, quiet afternoon would jolt into an intense hostage situation.
Mac took a moment to eye the three members of the task force positioned in the lobby. The rest of the task force surrounded the bank waiting for the signal.
His eyes raked over Lexie one more time. Even after two years, whenever he checked in on her and Gabriel, she still treated him like something she had to wipe off the bottom of her shoe. In her eyes, she lumped him into the perfect Venn diagram, husband killer, betrayer of trust, and in the center, Rico. But damn it, Mac wasn’t that man. Rico had been a good friend, but as a husband, he had been a complete ass. If Mac ever had a woman like Lexie Trevena in his bed, he wouldn’t screw it up by banging someone he talked to for five minutes in a bar.
Where the hell did that thought come from? Moron. Get your head in the game. New plan. Get Lexie and her son out of the bank without making Horde cagey.
Mac approached the reception desk and leaned his elbow on the counter. Gabriel held tightly to his mom’s leg, but glanced up, and smiled at Mac. He was a cute little booger and seemed to tolerate Mac a lot better than his mom. Gabriel held out his juice box toward Mac.
Lexie turned, and their eyes held. For an instant, she looked almost happy to see him. It may only have been the sense of seeing someone she recognized, the familiar, because her eyes slowly began to smolder.
“Why is it every time I’m having a shitty day, you show up?”
She picked up her son, eased around Mac, and sat Gabriel down in one of the plastic chairs. The kid let out a small protest and reached for his mother. She searched her bag, handing him a small book and a toy giraffe.
“As soon as I fill out some paperwork, I’ll pick you up.”
“I’ll take him.” Mac held out his hands.
Holding a child wasn’t one of his best plans with a bank robbery only minutes from breaking wide open, but the little guy looked so defeated. Horde glanced in their direction before turning back to his business.
“He isn’t feeling well.”
“Why don’t I help you carry him out to the car?” The excuse he was looking for just dropped into Mac’s lap. He held his hands out to the toddler and Gabriel went into his arms.
“What are you doing? Put him down. I have a meeting with the loan officer.” Lexie’s eyes searched the row of offices at the rear of the lobby.
“If Gabriel isn’t feeling well, maybe you should come back another day.” At a closer look, Gabriel’s eyes were a little red and his nose was running. Mac pulled out his handkerchief and did what he could for the nose.
“What do you know about kids?”
Mac shrugged. “I have nephews and nieces. Kids like me.”
Letting out a frustrated groan, she rummaged through her oversized purse. “If I had the time to come back another day, I wouldn’t be here now, would I?”
“Gabriel just looks a little green.”
“There’s a bug going around his daycare.” She smiled at her son. “Go on, Gabriel, why don’t you give Mac one of your very special hugs?”
Her eyes sparkled just a little too brightly. Mac took a closer look at the toddler and couldn’t help easing back just a little.
Lexie let out a deep laugh. “You’re the one who picked him up. When you come down with the flu in a week, just remember to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids.”
With that, she reached her hands out for her son and he dove into her arms, resting his head on her shoulder. With a sheet of paper still in her hand, she side-stepped around Mac and headed toward Horde’s table.
Mac grabbed her elbow and stopped her. “Where are you going? The door is that direction,” he said, nodding toward the entrance.
“I need a pen to fill out this form.” She pulled her arm free. “Don’t you have someone to arrest or something?”
Mac didn’t move, but searched for Horde out of the corner of his eye. Shit. The guy heard her, his stance grew stiff and he stepped away from the table, eyeing Mac and, worse, Lexie.
“But I took off work just to play with you and Gabriel. The little guy will feel better with fresh air. We can do this loan thing another day.”
Mac stared into Lexie’s confused eyes, silently begging her to play along. Before she could respond, Gabriel let out a groan.
“Sick bowl, Mommy.”
Lexie made a dash for the trash canister under the table, but it was too late. Gabriel let loose and emptied the contents of his stomach all over Lexie’s arms and Horde’s pant leg.
In all the years Mac had been an agent, this moment was a first. He had a couple choices, laugh out loud or pull out his gun, leveling it at Horde.
Lexie reached for her bag and pulled out a pack of wipes, removing several. She first washed Gabriel’s face, then cleaned off her arm. Mac grabbed several sheets from the container and scooped up what he could off the floor, tossing the mess in the small canister.
When Lexie glanced at the man’s leg, a hint of pink rose in her face. Mac almost lost his lunch when she knelt down close to Horde.
“God, sir, I’m so sorry. Here, I can get most of it off your leg, and I’ll pay to have your suit cleaned.”
Horde took another step away from her, shaking the vomit from the toe of his shoe onto the floor. “Never mind, lady.”
She stood, reaching for her bag. This time, she pulled out her wallet and handed Horde a ten-dollar bill. “I have no idea how much it cost. Will this do?”
Mac reached for Gabriel and set him behind him. One of his team would grab the kid if Horde pulled a weapon. Mac inched close enough to Lexie.
“Please take the money,” Lexie said, leaning in closer.
“If the man doesn’t want the money, you can’t shove it at him, love. You apologized. Just let him get on with his business. You need to see to Gabriel.”
He placed his hand on her arm, keeping his fingers relaxed even though adrenaline pumped through his veins.
She jerked free. “Mac, what’s wrong with you? Stop manhandling me—”
Horde grabbed a fistful of Lexie’s hair and yanked her against him. He whipped out a 9mm from the back of his waistband and rammed the barrel into the sensitive skin of her lower back. “Back off, cop.”
Customers shrieked and raced for cover as one of Mac’s agents grabbed Gabriel. The toddler let out a yell, but Mac kept his attention on Lexie. “Man, what the hell? I’m not a cop,” he said, raising his hands up. Fear cut through him but keeping the game going was priority. Lexie’s life depended on it. “Take your hands off my girlfriend. She just felt bad about the—”
“Back off!” Horde took two steps toward the exit. “Clear your team out now or she gets one through the shoulder. You have twenty seconds.”
“Mac!” Lexie cried out.
Horde dug the barrel deeper into her skin. It had to hurt like hell. Mac raised both arms, hands out, and took a step back. “Let the woman go if you want to see tomorrow.”
“Big words, asshole. I got your girl, and you have less than ten seconds.”
Lexie’s voice may have sounded full of fear, but if her eyes could shoot lasers, Mac would be a pool of ash. Her hand inched up between Horde’s arm and her neck. She leaned her head backwards.
Shit.
She was going to do something really stupid. Rico obviously had taught her how to get out of a chokehold, but never with a loaded barrel digging into her.
Mac yanked out his Glock and aimed it directly at Horde. “Don’t you dare.”
A shiver spiked down Lexie’s spine. Mac�
��s expression grew rigid as he held his stance stock-still. Out the corner of her eye, a woman raced with Gabriel through the exit. He shrieked for her, but the woman kept running.
Lexie hadn’t practiced her next move in over two years. If she was even an inch off, the situation would go to hell fast. She tightened her hold on the man’s arm, pulling his forearm down so she could breathe.
Mac’s words, don’t you dare registered. Why couldn’t that arrogant agent ever trust her judgment? She had one chance. If the man got her outside the building and into a car, it was all over.
“Five seconds, cop.”
Lexie took Horde’s words as her green light. Yanking her head forward, she slammed it into a hard jaw. The force of the blow sent him staggering backward, which eased his hold around her neck. She jabbed her free, fisted hand down hard into his groin. He released her completely as he bent at the waist. Lexie swung her fist up, striking his nose.
When a painful roar escaped from his throat, she twirled away from him, yanking his right shoulder out of its joint. She twisted his arm once more, and he let out another yelp before he lost his balance and landed flat on his back. The weapon in his hand fired a stray shot into the ceiling. The roar from the blast filled her ears, momentarily blocking out all sound. Mac ripped the gun from the man’s hand as two other agents secured him.
Mac grabbed Lexie’s elbow, shoving her behind him. The whole thing took seconds, but it drained every ounce of energy from her, and she leaned her head against Mac’s shoulder. Before her knees gave out, she stumbled over to a chair and dropped into it.
Mac followed, his large frame looming over her like a dark cloud and his hands fisted on his hips.
“Are you okay, Lexie?”
It took all her control not to scream in his face, No, damn it, I’m not okay! Rubbing the soreness from her knuckles, she studied his expression. Mac McNeil’s anger was a sight to see, brows narrowed, jar tense, hell, every muscle in his body taut, and it was all aiming right at her. Her! How could the jerk make this her fault?
In the Shadow of Pride Book 4 Page 2