All He Wants (27 page)

He gave the same answer. “No, I’m good.”

He wasn’t. While he’d been dealing with his mom he’d missed a call from Nate. When he got to the station he’d checked his message, but all that it said was, “Call me.”

Before he’d had a chance to dial the number, a plainclothes officer told them to follow him and even if this was a police station, Billy wasn’t going to let Maxi out of his sight. So here he was, in the dark. He had no intel on who Grover had picked up or what was going on. He hated it.

Maxi didn’t seem that thrilled either. Over the past couple of hours she’d graduated to code-red nervousness. All the signs were there. Finger drumming, foot tapping, hair twisting, and his personal favorite lip biting.

Every time she pulled her full bottom lip between her teeth he forgot, for just a second, where they were and why they were there. He forgot that the only reason they were together, in this moment and for the past two weeks, was because she was in danger. He forgot about the fact that he’d had to take her to his mom’s house where she witnessed Deborah Marshall in all of her drunken glory. He forgot that Maxi wasn’t
really
his—that they weren’t
really
together—and that after this was over there was a very good possibility that she might walk away and not look back.

He forgot about everything except how good that lip felt against his when he was kissing her.

Releasing her lip she took a deep breath and her eyes fell to her hands that were folded on the table. “Um, I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about what happened…um, before…at your mom’s.”

“I’m the one who’s sorry. You should never have had to see that.” He never took people with him when he visited his mom, or in this case, dealt with his mom.

Not because he was embarrassed, he’d stopped being embarrassed by his mom a long time ago. After the scene she’d caused at the gym when he was a teenager, Charlie had helped him come to the place where he finally truly believed that she wasn’t an extension of him. She was her own person. She made her own decisions. That knowledge allowed him to do the same. Now he didn’t let her behavior manipulate him into doing things he didn’t want to do or would regret later. Some people still might characterize his actions as enabling, but to him he had created boundaries that he didn’t let her cross.

When he’d received the text that if he didn’t get over there she’d be calling him from jail because she was going to kill Larry, he knew that he couldn’t ignore it, no matter how badly he’d wanted to. She rarely got violent when she drank, but when she did, bad things happened.

Billy hated what he’d exposed Maxi to, but if his mom’s threats would’ve been real and he’d ignored the message, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. This time, thankfully, it seemed like she was just doing it for attention. He knew that was a possibility since she’d played that card before. Still, he’d gone because if it wasn’t just attention seeking behavior she could’ve hurt someone else or herself.

Reaching across the table, Maxi’s slender fingers covered his. Her clear blue eyes were shining with sincerity. “I’m glad I saw it. I’m glad I was there because the thought of you having to face that alone breaks my heart.”

Her words hit him square in the chest like a punch from the Hulk. He’d had the wind knocked out of him from falling out of a three story building when he was ten years old, playing pee wee football when he was twelve, and of course in the ring. But he’d never had it happen from just words until now.

Maxi had no idea of the power of what she’d just said. How could she? He’d never told anyone that growing up he’d never understood why
he
had to deal with his mom and all the drama she’d brought into their lives. Maxi’s words spoke directly to the scared nine-year-old kid that slept with a baseball bat under his pillow in case he had to defend his mom from some random asshole that she’d brought home. It spoke to the terrified twelve-year-old boy whose hand was shaking so much he dropped the gun—that he’d bought from a friend at school after several rounds with the baseball bat had ended badly—the first time he pointed it at a loser that decided it was a good idea to beat up his mom. Her words spoke to the kid that no one ever saw because he’d always put on a show to the world, that he was tough and nothing hurt him. Nothing scared him. Nothing affected him. She saw him, just like Charlie had in that grocery store. The real him.

He was still trying to catch his breath when the door opened and Grover came in. “Thanks for coming in on such short notice.”

Unlike the time they were there before, when Maxi snatched her hand away from him, she left it holding his. He wanted to tell her how much that meant to him, but since he couldn’t, he showed her by lifting his thumb and running it over the back of her knuckles.

Grover was all business as he sat and pulled out a folder, he opened it and removed two pictures that he slid across the table. “Do you recognize this man?”

Billy scanned the images. A young male. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Fairly non-descript.

Maxi studied the photographs as well before shaking her head. “No.”

“His name is Isaac Tully. We picked him up for a B&E this morning. He was fingerprinted and his prints matched the partial we were able to pull off the cardboard box that was delivered to your office. We cross referenced facial recognition technology from the security camera outside your building the day of the break-in and we can put him on your street at six-forty five a.m.”

“Who is he?” Maxi asked as she continued looking at the pictures. “How does he know me?”

“He’s been in and out of trouble for the past four years. The reason his prints weren’t in the system when we originally ran them was because his priors were all when he was a minor and they’d been sealed. He turned eighteen four months ago and hadn’t been picked up for anything since. We still don’t know what his connection to you is and he’s not answering any of our questions. The second we brought up your case he lawyered up.”

Shit.
If the kid had a lawyer there was no way Billy could get in to question him. He wanted five minutes alone with him, that’s all, and now that would be impossible. Not to beat the shit out of him, to talk to him. His Spidey-senses were telling him this guy wasn’t anything more than a common thief. He didn’t have any better feeling about this suspect than he had about Carter.

“What about the pictures from the gym? Does he have a computer? Did you find anything on it?” Maxi sounded skeptical.

“We’re working on it. He doesn’t have a known address, but you know how tech savvy kids are these days. There’s internet cafés and even the library has Wi-Fi.”

Maxi seemed unconvinced and Billy had a feeling that she wasn’t any more sure that this kid was the mastermind behind her break-in, hacking, and dead poultry delivery than he was.

Grover must’ve read their uncertainty. “He’s our guy. We have fingerprints connecting him to one crime and surveillance footage that puts him at the scene of the other.”

“You had Carter’s computer and thought that he was the guy,” Maxi pointed out.

“We picked Carter up off a tip. This is different. Tully was being booked for the same offense.” He gathered the file and photos. “Thanks for coming in and looking at these. I’ll call if we need anything else.”

Billy could see that the man didn’t appreciate Maxi’s observation.

Grover stood and opened the door. “Officer Myers will show you out.”

As they followed behind the officer Billy grew even more anxious to speak to Nate. His instincts were telling him that they’d once again gotten the wrong guy. He was sure that this Tully kid had sent the birds and even broken into her apartment, but he had a feeling there was more to the story. No way was this kid the mastermind behind all of it.

When they made it outside Billy pulled out his phone. Normally he’d try to find a quiet place away from Maxi to have this conversation, but he didn’t want to waste time. It turned out it didn’t matter since the call went straight to Nate’s voicemail.

After leaving a message he put his phone back in his pocket. “Do you want to go check on Charlie before heading home?”

“Yeah.” She nodded.

There were so many things that Billy wanted to ask her, starting with why she’d seemed so unsure about Tully. And he would, once they’d made sure that her dad was doing okay they’d go back to her place and he would start lining up some ducks.

B
illy stood at the stove stirring the vegetables in a pan. When he heard steps behind him he glanced over his shoulder. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.” Maxi ran her fingers through her damp from the shower hair as she walked into the kitchen.

They’d arrived home half an hour ago from Charlie’s and Maxi had immediately retreated to her room. Whenever she had a long day, she took a second shower at night and then put on her sweats and “slippies.”

Opening the cabinet he grabbed two plates and filled them while Maxi took care of their drinks and silverware. They moved together in the small space like a choreographed dance. And he guessed it was. They fell right back into the routine they’d established before they’d gone to Harper’s Crossing. A routine that he hoped they’d be performing for the rest of their lives.

They sat down and ate in comfortable silence. Billy waited until Maxi leaned back and stretched her hands over her head, indicating that she was done before speaking.

“What do you think about this Tully guy?” He wanted to ease into the subject.

Her shoulder lifted. “I don’t know.”

He moved a piece of chicken on his plate with his fork. “You seemed like you weren’t convinced that he was really the one behind all of this.”

With a sigh, she said, “I’m not.”

“Why not?” It was difficult to keep his tone casual but he tried.

“I’m just…I don’t know…”

“You were sure it wasn’t Carter, and I get that because you knew him. But you said you’d never seen this Tully kid. So why are you so sure that it wasn’t him?”

“I just am.” Her answer was clipped as she abruptly stood and took her plate to the sink.

Grabbing his own dish, he stood and followed her, keeping his tone even and calm as he pushed further. “Okay, what makes you so sure? Is it a feeling or is there something that you’re not telling me.”

Her shoulders dropped and she hung her head down. “I don’t know.”

He knew her too well to think that she was trying to play games, to be coy. She would never do that. So that made him even more confused at her answer. “You don’t know if there’s something you’re not telling me?”

After setting the dish down she turned and he was struck by the sea of confliction swimming in her baby blues. Leaning back against the edge of the countertop, she took a deep breath. “Yes, there are things that you don’t know, but I’m not even sure that they’re related to the case.”

“Why don’t you tell me and then we can figure that out together.”

Pushing off the counter she brushed past him as she crossed the room to the couch. “It’s not that simple.”

Billy was doing his best to stay calm, cool and collected but this conversation was pushing all of his hot buttons. He hated being lied to, even if it was by omission. If it were anyone else he would probably have just walked away. He didn’t want to help people that weren’t upfront and honest, he’d done that enough in his life. But this wasn’t anyone else. This was Maxi. She didn’t pull punches and she didn’t lie. Not to mention the fact that he was so in love with her he couldn’t see straight.

Since asking her questions seemed to be agitating her and it wasn’t getting them anywhere, he decided to try a different tactic. “Something is off with you. Something is bothering you. Something is upsetting you. I noticed it before we went to that poetry thing, in the hospital when we were talking about Samuels, and tonight at the station.”

Maxi didn’t confirm or deny his assessment. She simply crossed her arms and remained silent.

“I know that you don’t want to tell me whatever it is that you’re not telling me and I respect that. I’m sure you have your reasons and I’m sure they’re good ones. But do you remember what you told me at the station when I said that you shouldn’t have seen what you did at my mom’s?”

For a moment her brow furrowed in confusion before a glint of understanding flickered in her eyes.

His phone buzzed in his pocket but he ignored it and continued, “You told me that you were glad you were there because thinking of me facing that alone broke your heart. Well, I feel the same way. Seeing you face this alone is breaking my fucking heart.”

Her lips pursed and her eyes dropped to the floor.

When she looked back up he saw a determination that hadn’t been there before. “Do you remember that cubby that’s tucked in the back corner of the equipment room?”

She was changing the subject. He couldn’t let her do that, this was too important. He started to walk towards her. “Maxi, I really think we need to talk about—”

Her hand rose, and he stopped. “We are. Do you remember the cubby?”

His mind was racing, trying to make sense of what she was saying. It was trying to put the pieces together. But he stilled it. This was her story to tell and he was going to trust her to tell it her way.