Page 46 of Don't Lie to Me
He took a deep breath, brushed his hands roughly down the front of his suit and continued, completely composed, ever the politician. His smug grin was evil.
“I should have followed up before and made sure you got rid of it. That was my mistake, letting it get this far, but this time I’ll make sure you do what you’re told. That boy of yours is a Whitmore and I’ll make sure he’s raised like one even if his mom’s a whore.” His venomous words were spat so harshly I recoiled, wanting to get as far away from him as possible, but what he said next – with a look of evil joy – was so much worse.
“Do you realize that I can find a judge to give me grandparental rights? They exist, you know…and no one in Chicago, or Illinois for that matter, would deny me the right to see my grandson.”
My stomach rolled and I turned to the bathroom.
“Get away from her,” a familiar voice snapped from the other end of the hall.
FIFTEEN
I had never been so relieved to hear Marcus’ voice. In the recent weeks just hearing his name made me cringe, but tonight those four words washed away all the prickly feelings on my skin.
I hated it. But I was glad to see him, walking down the hall with his hands tightened into fists at his sides.
I looked to him and his dad, feeling the thick tension between the two of them. When Marcus reached us, they squared off, facing each other like two men in a boxing ring. I instantly wanted to know why they seemed to hate each other so much. Marcus was always the perfect son, wanting to please his father, hesitant to do anything to risk sullying the family name. Even at the time, I knew that was why Marcus never contacted me again. He walked away from me because his dad told him too. I wondered now, briefly, if he regretted it.
But here he stood, ready to battle his dad on my behalf, five and a half years too late.
Marcus didn’t buy his dad’s perfectly groomed, and completely false smile. “Hello son.”
I watched Marcus cringe at the word and again my curiosity peaked, but now was clearly not the time to interrupt.
“Stay away from her,” he spit out again, his hands tightening even further at his sides.
His father looked from him to me, completely ignoring his son’s comment. “You’ll make the right call. I know you will.”
“She won’t do anything you tell her to do. And you’ll leave her alone.”
The Senator walked away without another word, leaving Marcus breathing heavily, his hands stretching out as if to relax. I stood there stunned, wondering what in the hell just happened between the two of them.
Without warning, he turned to me as if he just remembered I was there. “Come on, I’ll take you to Jack.”
His voice was kind and gentle. I was wary, but too shaken by the entire experience to deny him when he lightly held onto my elbow and began walking back towards the ballroom.
“I’m not the same guy you knew, Emma.” His eyes stayed focused straight ahead, but his words were softly spoken.
“You seem to hate your dad.”
He nodded once. “I haven’t spoken to him in years. At least, not unless I’ve absolutely had to.”
He turned to me, and dropped his hand from my elbow when we reached the large room. His hands went to his pockets and he shifted uncomfortably. “I have a lot to explain to you, a lot to make amends for.”
He rubbed his hand through his hair and frowned.
“I know all about the money my dad gave you,” he spoke so quietly I was almost afraid I misheard him, but at the same time, I felt the ants begin to crawl all over again. I couldn’t talk about this here with him, not without Jack. I turned my head to the right to find my table. As if he knew I was looking for him, Jack’s eyes locked with mine immediately and I saw panic fill his eyes when he saw me standing next to Marcus.
I breathed deeply and relaxed as Jack excused himself from the table and began heading our way.
I lightly put my hand on Marcus’s elbow and pulled him back into the hallway and away from any eyes in the ballroom.
Marcus continued, “I want you to know that I found out the truth of what he said and did to you just over a year ago. I thought you left me. The night I was getting ready to pick you up, my dad showed up and told me you had called him and asked him for money.”
“What?” I asked, shocked. Although I shouldn’t be. “He told me you decided you didn’t want the baby.”
Marcus nodded and I instantly felt Jack’s presence next to me.
I didn’t need to turn to him to be comforted. He knew what I wanted as he wrapped an arm around me. Marcus looked to Jack, nodded once and then looked back to me.
