Page 38 of The Last Affair
He cursed again, slamming his hands down on his desk. It was RJ who came to stand beside him this time. “Look at me,” he said. When Maurice didn’t, his brother clasped his shoulder and gripped it until he did.
“You’re better than this. I know it, and you do, too. Don’t you ever think I was saying you weren’t. You’re my brother, and I’ve got your back no matter what. You understand?”
Staring into RJ’s intent dark brown eyes was something Maurice had been doing all his life. He’d looked up to both his brothers and his father, and he’d never wanted to disappoint any of them. Tonight, he was afraid he had, again.
“Now, handle your business here, and then go home like Major said. We’ll do the rest.”
“I’d never walk away from my child, RJ. No matter what other mistakes I’ve made in my life, I’d never do something like that.”
“I know, man. You didn’t have to tell me that.”
Maurice shook his head. “I had to say it.”
And he needed to say it to Desta, too. So the moment RJ left his office, Maurice typed his statement. He read it over three times before emailing it to his assistant, who Chaz was discussing next steps with. From there he went straight to the elevator and down to his car. He was running really late now, and he needed to get home to see Desta.
Forty minutes later Maurice was still sitting in his car, stuck in traffic. He’d started calling Desta immediately after leaving the office, but she hadn’t answered. It was ten minutes to seven now, and he’d sent her four text messages as well, but still no response. Slamming his hands on the steering wheel he cursed. To say he was having a bad day was an understatement.
Finally he was a block away from his house. He was just about to turn the corner when he saw flashing lights from police cars and fire trucks.
“What the hell?” His speed had slowed because traffic was backed up here due to the accident up ahead.
While he waited, he tried calling Desta again. Still no answer. His phone was loaded with text messages and missed calls, but none of them were from her. Another ten minutes passed before he was able to edge his car closer to the street he needed to turn down, but before he could do so he glanced over at the three cars involved in the accident. His breath caught at the sight of the gray Volvo. Desta drove a gray Volvo, and she was supposed to meet him at his house at six.
The next few minutes passed by in a blur as he jumped out of his car toward the crash. He pushed past bystanders and was finally stopped by an officer when he tried to get close enough to the car to see if it was hers.
“My... She’s my—” He tried to speak but his chest was full of white-hot pain. “I think this is my—” His head throbbed, their conversation this morning replaying over and over again in his mind.
I want to cook for you tonight... Just wanted to stop in and see you before I got started with my day.
That’s what he’d said to her this morning. She’d looked so beautiful sitting behind her desk. He’d told her to come to his house and she’d agreed, just like India had agreed to go for a ride with him that night.
“Sir, we need you to get back in your car and move along,” the officer yelled.
Now it hurt to breathe. The sound of the police sirens echoed so loud his ears began to clog. “No, you don’t understand,” he said, each word laced with the sting of guilt circling back to him once again. “I think this is...my...my girlfriend. This is her car.” ItwasDesta’s car. He knew it without having to get closer, and he sank to the ground with the weight of guilt and grief.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“HEY,MAN!WHERE’VEyou been?” Maurice turned at the sound of Major’s voice as he was walking toward the elevators on the first floor of the hospital.
“I had a few things to take care of.” He didn’t want to talk to Major right now. He only wanted to see Desta.
“It’s been three hours since you called to tell me about the accident. I expected to find you here pacing or yelling at the staff when I got here.” By the sound of his voice, Major was irritated about that.
Maurice was doing a good job of pissing people off today. He took a deep breath and released it. “I came here straight from the scene, but they wouldn’t let me see her.” He’d been tempted to run through the doors separating him from where she was, damn the consequences. But at the last minute he’d thought better of that idea. “She was being evaluated, so I knew that would take a while. I figured if you and Nina came, at least she’d have a friendly face if I wasn’t here.” Because he might also be the last person she wanted to see right now.
“A friendly face? Not the face of the man she’s in love with?” His twin sounded agitated, but before Maurice could reply, Major continued. “Mom, Dad and Riley are up there in the waiting room now. They’ve called her mother and grandmother, and Dad sent the jet to pick them up. So, you’re welcome for having us take care of your girlfriend.”
Destawashis girlfriend. He’d told the police that at the scene of the accident.
A muscle twitched in Major’s jaw, and Maurice knew he was angry. He had that same telltale sign when he was upset. His twin was probably thinking Maurice had screwed up again today. Not long after they’d found the idiots trying to blackmail him, he’d caused Desta to be in an accident and then left her at the hospital alone. He could definitely see how that would piss off Major and probably the rest of his family. Being the Gold family screwup wasn’t fun.
“I called every thirty minutes for a report,” he told Major. “I knew she wasn’t awake yet. Or is she? What happened?” Fresh fear coursed through him.
“Why the hell wouldn’t you just stay here with her, Moe? Is this about India? Are you still guilt-tripping over that at a time like this?” Major shook his head with exasperation. “You’re acting like such a jerk about everything lately. I don’t even know what’s going on with you.”
His brother’s nickname for him, coupled with those harsh but true words almost sent him reeling. But he knew now was not the time to fall apart. Major was right: he’d been messing things up lately, and he didn’t fully understand why. All he knew now was that making sure Des was all right was his first priority.
“I know what you’re thinking and where you probably thought I was.” He locked gazes with his brother. “I did go back to the house, to my room.” Where he’d locked himself for days after India’s accident. “But I know what happened to India wasn’t my fault. I know, Major. So, I left there and went straight to Desta’s place. I had to show the landlord a billion forms of ID, then prove that she worked at our company, convince him that she was in an accident, and then, finally, I thought to call Nessa who had a key to her place so I didn’t need to deal with the landlord anymore. I wanted to make sure she had things she was familiar with when she woke up.”
