Beyond the Breaking Point (50 page)

Max’s chest tightened. He might have lost Cassidy and if he did it was his own damn fault. “So you have no idea where she is? I called, but she’s not answering her phone,” he said, knowing how worried he sounded.

Erika’s gaze sharpened and her eyes narrowed. “I think you’d better come in,” she said, her tone brooking no argument. As soon as the door closed behind him, she crossed her arms over her chest and demanded, “What the hell is going on?”

Behind her, Dave mouthed, “Told you so.” Aloud he said, “I’ll just leave you two alone.”

“Did you speak with Cassidy at all yesterday?” he asked instead of responding to her question.

“No, why? And what has that got to do with anything,” she asked, watching him suspiciously.

Knowing there was no help for it but to be honest, he said, “Cassidy found out yesterday the court dismissed her case. She didn’t handle the news well.” A major understatement considering the meltdown Cassidy’d had when she heard the news.

Erika closed her eyes, her expression pained. “Oh poor thing. I bet she was devastated.” Then her eyes popped opened and she pinned him with her gaze. “What went wrong?”

“Not enough cause.”

She nodded as though she’d expected it and sighed. “Maybe it was for the best, all things considered.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Max asked sharply, irritated once again he was being kept in the dark.

Erika tilted her head to the side as she considered him. “You don’t know, do you? Of course Cassidy didn’t tell you,” she mused.

“Know what?” he prodded. Maybe now he’d get some answers.

She thought for a long minute, obviously weighing the pros and cons. “I guess it won’t hurt to tell you. Cassidy wouldn’t because she was probably afraid of how you’d react. Me personally, I think Phillip could use a good beat down. What he did was shitty.” Erika immediately glanced around, her expression conveying guilt, then relief. “I forgot. Macey’s in bed. She calls me on my bad language,” she said, smiling ruefully.

“What did Phillip do?” Max asked, his temper straining.

Erika’s smile disappeared and anger sparkled in her eyes. “He made a lot of threats of what could happen if she continued to pursue the divorce, but the biggest was to take the baby from her. He said with the long hours she worked, the court would side with him because his hours were more flexible. She checked with her lawyer and discovered there was a chance he could actually win a custody battle. I think that’s why she was so shattered when Phillip was the father.” She frowned ferociously. “I want to punch him in the face for all the hell he’s put Cassidy through.”

Get in line, Max thought.

“Why isn’t Cassidy with you? I thought you two were joined at the hip,” Erika asked, pulling him from his violent musings.

Max sighed. “Cassidy went to their house to meet with Phillip—alone. I let jealousy get the better of me when she finally made it home, said some things I shouldn’t have, and stormed out.”

Erika stared at him for a long time, her expression neutral. “I told Cassidy she was rushing things with you. She hasn’t had time to heal from Phillip, what with all the shit being thrown at her. It’s a wonder she hasn’t broke. I would have totally lost it by now.”

This was a possibility he hadn’t considered. “You don’t think she…” He couldn’t say it. Could barely think it.

“Hurt herself?” Erika said incredulously. “No. She’s not suicidal! She has too much control. But I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to take Phillip out. She knows I’ll post bail if she’s arrested. Hell, Dave and I will give her an alibi.”

“You and me both,” he muttered, wondering if the offer extended to him as well. Take Cassidy’s baby from her? Over his dead body. Still he couldn’t help but wonder… “You don’t think she went to Phillip, do you?” Maybe his outburst had driven her into her husband’s arms.

The look she gave him was full of scorn. “Cassidy wouldn’t run to Phillip if he were the last safe harbor in a storm. If she’s not home and didn’t come to me, she probably checked herself into a hotel to give herself time alone to think. It’s what I’d do.”

“If you say so,” he said, taking her word for it. Before leaving he had to know one thing. “Why didn’t she tell me any of this? I know what you said about me and Phillip, but I don’t think that’s it, or at least, not the main reason.”

Erika studied him. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way. Given a choice of you or Phillip, I’d take you in her life any day of the week. I get that you’re the shit and you put the mojo on her. In fact, when she first told me about you I teased her to no end, urging her to make a move. But the truth is she doesn’t know you. Not really. The kind of trust you want is earned and takes time. And let’s face it, the last time she trusted a man… You’ve seen the results. Try not to take it personally.”

He nodded shortly. Well, he’d asked. It’s not Erika’s fault if he didn’t like the answer. “Thanks. If you hear from her, will you tell her I’m looking for her and I’m sorry I overreacted?”

“I’ll tell her you’re hunting for her. You’ll have to do your own apologizing.”

Max reached for the door handle.

“Max?”

“Yes?” He glanced over his shoulder.

“This should go without saying but if you hurt Cassidy, you’ll spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder,” she warned, her expression darkly intent.

He didn’t make the mistake of taking her implied threat lightly. “If I hurt Cassidy, anything you do to retaliate can’t be worse than what I’ll do to myself.”

He quietly exited the residence.

It was probably a long shot, at least he hoped so, but Max drove by Phillip’s house just to be certain Cassidy wasn’t with him. He’d had no idea she was under so much pressure, and was kicking himself for all but driving her into the other man’s waiting arms.

Not finding her SUV nearby was both a blessing and a curse. Relief she wasn’t with Phillip warred with concern that something might have happened to her. Thoughts of accidents led him to thinking about hospitals. Max brought his hand to his forehead. The hospital, of course.

Maybe Cassidy had been called into work. It happened occasionally. She was an obstetrician. Babies were unpredictable. Maybe she’d been called in to handle a delivery, and she’d shut her phone off to avoid distraction. Or maybe the battery had gone dead and she hadn’t had the chance to recharge it. Part of him realized he was grasping at straws, but he held on to this option with the desperation of a drowning man clutching a life preserver.

Max called Temple’s main line and asked for Dr. Cassidy Brannon. After being transferred and put on hold several times, someone came on the line and told him she wasn’t there. He thanked them and hung up.

A glance at the clock revealed he’d been hunting for Cassidy for three hours, crisscrossing his way across town. He drove to Cassidy’s apartment. Maybe she’d gone home. And if she hadn’t, being surrounded by her things would make him feel closer to her.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Cassidy stood, stunned into immobility as Max stormed out. The reverberation of the slamming door shook the entire house. What the hell just happened here? Had Max just thrown a…a…hissy fit, all because she wouldn’t tell him word for word her conversation with Phillip? What business of his was it anyway?

Her eyes narrowed and her chest burned as the rage that had been simmering deep inside all day detonated. She hadn’t asked Max into her life. In fact, she distinctly remembered telling the man she was a bad risk. As if she didn’t have enough crap to deal with already. Well, screw Max Desalvo! She didn’t need him. She didn’t need 
any
 man. Men were why she was in this jacked up position to begin with. None of them could be trusted and giving your heart to one was just asking for it to be broken.

Methodically she went through Max’s house and removed all her belongings. Things he’d taken it upon himself to take from her place and bring here without her permission, but had she bitched about it? No! Because she’d thought it was sweet. Thought it meant she was important to him. Thought he’d been planning for their future together. The whole process took less than five minutes. After all, she’d moved her whole wardrobe and essentials out of her and Phillip’s residence in forty-five minutes.

The whole while, her thoughts swirled like angry hornets whose nest had been disturbed.

I was using him to get back at Phillip? Hmph! Who was using whom? That’s why he stuck around after the test results proved he wasn’t the father. Why he was okay with the case being dismissed. Phillip might be a cheat and a liar, but in this he’d nailed it on the head. Loves me, my ass! Wants to know why I wouldn’t move in with him? This is why. If it has a penis, it can’t be trusted. If I didn’t know that before I damn sure do now!

Cassidy went down the stairs and tossed her things into the backseat of the SUV. Once her hands were free, she returned and secured the door. Less than ten minutes after Max departed, she drove away from his brownstone without a backward glance. 

As she did, she blinked away tears. Tears of anger, not hurt, she assured herself as she viciously swiped a few stray ones off her cheeks. It was ridiculous to feel as though she’d been stabbed in the heart by a dagger. She’d known from the beginning this thing with Max was a rebound relationship for both of them. Hadn’t she warned herself not to get too emotionally involved, not to take it seriously?

It was her own damned fault she’d begun to believe in Max. To trust, lean and depend upon him and why? Because he was white and somehow more honorable than Phillip who was black? Cassidy snorted. If so, she should have remembered one vital fact. Max had been Phillip’s best friend for a reason. What was the saying about birds of a feather flocking together?

Still she’d allowed herself to fall for the fantasy that Max really loved her, wanted a commitment from her. She’d been seriously considering moving in with him despite her cautious nature. He’d been that convincing.

When Max had proved not to be the father, she’d expected him to walk away, but he hadn’t. He’d taken her to meet his family. Spoken of them relocating to another state together. Hell, he’d stood with her against his close, tightly knit family. Was it any wonder he’d almost convinced her of his sincerity?

There was, she admitted, a thread of hurt running through the rage, but Cassidy ruthlessly stumped on it. She was tired of being hurt by the men in her life. She’d rather be angry. Anger was good. Anger made her strong. Anger gave her the impetuous to do what she should have done from the beginning of this whole fiasco. Anger said, “Screw being the nice and fair one and do whatever it takes to remedy the situation!”

Cassidy had one last resource she hadn’t tapped into yet. One contact she hadn’t made because she wanted to avoid putting this person in the position of choosing sides. She was still reluctant to do so, but at this point she had nothing to lose. She headed her vehicle in the direction of West Chester and her destination.

It was just after nine when Cassidy pulled into the driveway of the sturdy two- bedroom/two-bath house with the nicely landscaped yard not visible in the darkness. A light still shone in one of the front windows, so someone was up. Nell’s car was in the driveway and she didn’t see any other vehicles. Hopefully, Nell wasn’t entertaining.

The barking from inside came before she reached the small front porch. Cassidy knocked on the wood frame, knowing from experience the glass storm door would be locked.

She heard Nell firmly telling the dog to “Hush!” and then Cassidy blinked in the sudden brightness of the outside light being switched on.

The wood door swung open to reveal Nell Brannon, Cassidy’s mother-in-law, standing there wearing one of those flowing African caftans she preferred while lounging around the house. Her face was makeup free, showcasing dark skin that was unlined and radiant, haloed by long flowing sister twists in an elaborate yet somehow still-elegant style. Cassidy had always believed her mother-in-law to be extremely beautiful and the source of Phillip’s handsome looks.

“What on earth? Cassidy, what are you doing here? Why didn’t you call to tell me you were coming, and where is that son of mine? I can’t believe he let you drive here by yourself, not at this time of night,” she scolded as she unlocked and held opened the door for Cassidy to enter.

Roger ran out onto the porch and danced delightedly around Cassidy’s ankles. She crouched down to greet him, using the maneuver to reorient herself.
Nell doesn’t know Phillip and I are separated. Damn!

“Hey, Roger. You’re such a good boy. Yes, you are,” she crooned and rubbed and scratched all his favorite body parts. The black miniature French Poodle made sounds of ecstasy and he burrowed close for more loving.

Rising, Cassidy walked into Nell’s outstretched arms. “I’m sorry. I wanted to see you. It never occurred to me to call ahead.”

“
Pish
.” Nell waved away her apology when the hug ended. “You’re family and you know I don’t stand on ceremony with family. Now come in here and tell me what my son did to put that hurt in your eyes. Come on, Roger, time to come in,” she ordered the dog in when he strayed too close to the edge of the porch.

Cassidy took a few steps into the living room and pivoted to face the woman she loved like a second mother. As Nell secured the door behind Roger, she muttered half-angrily, “I should have known he didn’t tell you when you didn’t call.”

“About the baby? Of course he wouldn’t keep something that important a secret,” she said, clearly puzzled. Then Nell’s face lit with delight. “I’m going to be a grandmother and dare I say it’s about time? How are you feeling? Is everything progressing as it should? I know you’re an OB, but that’s part of the reason I worry. You work a lot of hours, or at least, that’s how it seems to me. Every time I speak with Phillip he says you’re at work. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself. It’s so easy to overdo when you’re pregnant and not realize it until it’s too late,” she fussed as she gestured toward the couch. “Well, don’t just stand there. Sit down, sit down.”