Page 113 of The Ruthless and the Strong

Lizzie

After makingsure Hunter had dinner and was ready for bed, I left him under the care of Olivia, who at this point just had to read him and Emma a bedtime story before putting them to bed.

Hunter had gotten used to Emma’s sleep pattern, though he didn’t sleep quite as much as her, and his naps were getting less and less frequent.

I moved outside. Dusk was just approaching, and there was still leftover daylight for me to make out the way and the neighborhood.

I slowed my pace when I was about halfway to Max’s house. I swiped my palm on the fabric of my skirt. For the first time since I’d moved back to Chicago, I was wearing a skirt, and a part of me was excited to show Max this look, hoping he would find me beautiful in it. Another part of me was wondering if I was putting too much weight on tonight’s dinner. I could be wrong in my assumption.

I hadn’t even told Olivia that I found the engagement ring this morning, or that I thought Max might plan to propose to me tonight. Mostly because I didn’t want to assume it, only to end up disappointed when it didn’t come true.

It didn’t stop me from thinking about it though, because I thought about it all day, hardly getting in any writing for the day. I thought about it while I was making myself lunch and ended up cutting my pinky finger with the knife.

I was no closer to knowing the answer than I had been this morning, and now I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go in there and see him.

What if I made the wrong choice and it changed everything about us? What if it ruined us?

I didn’t know.

I took a deep breath when I got to the sidewalk in front of the house and I looked over at it. I could imagine myself living here with Max. With Max and Hunter. But in the last relationship I rushed toward, I ended up with an unplanned pregnancy and a marriage I was in no way ready for.

It wasn’t that I regretted Hunter. But I didn’t want to give him another little brother or sister this soon. I didn’t want to be divorced twice, and it would break me if I ended up divorcing Max.

I didn’t think I would be able to handle it.

Something flickered on across the street then, and I turned toward it and saw a strange car parked nearby. I didn’t recognize the car, and after living here for about a month, I recognized most of our neighbors’ cars.

It parked under a lamppost that had just turned on. I realized that was what had caught my attention, and there was just enough light for me to make out two men sitting there, looking at… Max’s house.

I didn’t question whether it was smart or not when I approached the car. The two men got out of the car, both looking at me with expressionless faces. They were both bigger than average, with nondescript brown hair and fair skin. That was all I could make out of their features.

I stopped a distance away. The bigger man of the two talked first. “Hello, Miss.”

“Can I help you gentlemen with something?” I asked.

They both shared a look and when neither of them said anything, I spoke again. “Are you guys looking for Max?”

Another brief moment of silence, as if they were trying to gather their thoughts—or make me uneasy. I didn’t know.

“How well do you know Mr. Kade?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” I said. “Look, I don’t know why you’re here, but you need to leave before I call the cops.”

“Ma’am, we are the police.” They each showed me what looked like their badge, though it was hard to tell. I eyed them suspiciously.

“Okay.”

I took a step back, getting ready to go back to Max’s house. If they were the police, then I wasn’t sure what they were doing staking out in this neighborhood, and if they weren’t, then that meant they were here to cause trouble.

“Wait,” the smaller man of the two said, speaking up for the first time. I didn’t know why I waited. Curiosity?

That was stupid. Because curiosity was what killed the cat and I didn’t want to be the cat in this scenario.

“Look, I don’t know why you’re here, and I don’t want to stay out here all night,” I said. “My boyfriend is expecting me.”

“Maxwell Kade, right?”

That was the second time they’d called out Max’s name. I didn’t say anything. “Can you tell him Officer Hernandez and Officer Kyle say hi.”

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