Broken Lion (29 page)

“Tell me something, Mr. Maxwell. Who was your doctor at the hospital the night you went in? I know you went to LA Central because I read about it online. I also know Brigid works there. But you probably know that too.” He was all smiles, toying with me.

“A guy named Hackett.” There was zero hesitation when I said it. I almost said more about Dr. Hackett but I knew that bad liars loved to talk and that’s how they tripped themselves up.

“Good to know.” He said it like,
Check and mate.

Whoops. I should’ve kept it vague. I’d given him a critical clue. He could call Hackett and ask about Brigid’s involvement. For all I knew, Donald was friendly with Hackett from before the divorce. If Donald asked, Hackett might say something. This was bad news. I needed to end this discussion before I dropped another golden egg in his lap.

“Anything else, Don?”

He stood up. “I think we’re done here, Mr. Maxwell.”

I stood too. “Okay. Yeah.” I was suddenly burning with nerves. Felt like a million degrees in that office, like someone had just blown up the bomb factory.

He opened the office door before I could open it for him. He suddenly stopped and spun around.

I nearly bumped right into him.

He pointed one of his flicking fingers up at me like a gun. I wanted to grab it and twist it until it broke, which would be incredibly easy to do. I didn’t.

He barked, “Let me give you a piece of advice, Mr. Maxwell. Stay away from my son and my—from Brigid.”
He almost said wife again.
“Or you will regret it.”

My heart skipped a beat.

He spun again and walked out of the dojo and paced outside near the front windows until class was over and Daniel left with him. The whole time I was watching Donald thinking,
That man just beat my ass and he didn’t even lay a flicking finger on me.

It wasn’t the first time I’d taken a beat down. When I was young, I got jumped plenty of times. But that was years ago. Now I was an undefeated WMAA cage fighter. But Donald Wright had just owned my ass and wiped the floor with it.

I honestly didn’t know what to do next. I didn’t have any power in this situation. I wasn’t a stepdad. I wasn’t even the step-boyfriend. I was the step-friend. Pretty sure that held no weight in family court.

I needed to talk to Brigid.

We needed to figure this out together.

Then again, telling her might freak her out more. It would certainly give her a reason to demote me from friend to stranger. Because let’s face it, was she the type of mother who would put me before her son? No. If Donald made legal trouble for her and it was down to picking me over Daniel, would she pick me?

Nope.

I would never expect her to. That didn’t mean I had a fucking clue what to do about this mess. But I wasn’t going to let Donald Wright boot me out of Brigid and Daniel’s lives without some kind of fight. I just needed to figure out a good strategy that didn’t involve me disappearing Donald or kicking his ass. It would be so easy, but no.

I needed to do this right.

Chapter 32

BRIGID

“Don’t forget your karate gear,” Donald said as he dropped Daniel off at my condo.

“Oh, right.” Daniel stepped out of the BMW with his back-and-forth backpack on one shoulder, the one he took between here and the Wright house every other week. He opened the backseat passenger door and grabbed his duffel bag, the one that carried his uniform and sparring pads. It amazed me that my little boy was learning karate. I was so proud of him.

“Hey, Daniel,” I smiled.

“Hey, Mom. What are we doing this weekend?” His excitement was obvious.

“I’m not sure yet. We’ll have to figure that out.” I hadn’t yet broken the bad news that our fun adventure trips with Lion were on hold for a while.

“Hey, Daniel? Can you run inside so I can talk to your mom?”

“Sure.” Daniel walked into the condo, carrying his bags like a little traveler. I often wondered if he would grow up to be a constant wanderer because of how comfortable he was with going from place to place and sleeping wherever he laid his head down.

“So, Donald. What’s up?”

“You tell me. What are your weekend plans for Daniel?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it.”

He smirked self-righteously. “How about bungee jumping? Or hang gliding? Maybe base jumping. Scuba diving with sharks is always fun. Or does Lion prefer swimming with killer whales?”

“Ha ha. Did you spend all day thinking that up?”

He scowled. “No.”

“Actually, I was thinking we’d find the nearest freeway and go play in traffic.”

He Frown Clowned. “I deserved that.” He took a step back and shifted his weight to the other foot. A genuine smile appeared on his face and he shook his head like he was amused by his own behavior. Believe it or not, Donald was a good looking man when he wasn’t frowning or scowling. “Sorry. It’s just… all this is so…
confusing
, you know?”

“What do you want, Donald?” I really didn’t want to talk to him.

“You really have changed since you started seeing this Lion character.”

“I know. For the worse, right?”

“Actually, you look different. You’re more tan, for one. But I don’t know, you’re happier. I haven’t seen you like this in a long, long time.”

“Thank you.” We both knew it was true. The last few months with Lion had been the most continuous fun I’d had since before Daniel was born. That was ten years ago. Ten. Sad but true.

“It looks good on you, Bee.” He hadn’t called me Bee in five years. Or longer. What was going through his head? Whatever it was, I didn’t like the looks of him.

“Thank you, Donald.”
Don Juan
. His old nickname. I hadn’t called him that since forever. There was no way in hell I was calling him that ever again. Now it seemed like a cruel joke. Add our marriage to the list of ones that fell apart when the sex did. Those old memories made me miserable and I wanted to forget them. “I should really go. I need to get ready.”

“Is your boyfriend on his way over?”

“Who?” I was playing dumb.

“Your boyfriend. Lion Maxwell.”

“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my friend.”

“Is your
friend
on his way over?”

“Yes, Donald. He is.”

“That’s too bad.” His eyes traveled over my face like he was searching for something. “You really should wear your hair down more. I like it like this.” He reached up to touch it and grabbed a few strands.

I pulled away. “What are you doing?”

His eyes glimmered. He slowly lowered his hand. “Why didn’t you wear your hair down for me, Brigid?”

“Because I was busy all the time and had a baby and didn’t wash my hair often enough and it was too gross to wear it down. Does that answer your question?”

“I never thought you were gross. Or your hair. I always loved your hair. So bright and fiery. Like you, Bee.” Donald’s eyes were now definitely twinkling with his desire for sex. It was a look I knew very, very well.
Houston, we have a problem.

“Donald, you should go.”

“What if I don’t want to go, Bee?” He stepped toward me.

I backed up into the wall beside my front door. “Donald! Stop!”

He pressed his chest against mine. Before I could get my hands up to push him away, he leaned in for a kiss.

Smack!

I slapped him without a second thought.

“Donald! What are you doing?” I pushed him away.

He snarled, his face red and angry. “The same thing I always did, Brigid. Trying to get you to pay attention to me without it working.”

Ouch. It was disappointingly true.

Donald wasn’t a bad man. Just irritating at times. But who wasn’t after eight years of marriage? The only consistently irritating thing he ever did to me was pressure me for sex. He never forced me. But he pestered me, even when I was exhausted from a thirty hour shift at the hospital. In the end, I was the one who withdrew first. Once again, one of the many reasons why trying to be Super Career Woman Mom had hidden downfalls. Everyone was given the same 24 hours in a day. There was only so much one person could do. Anyone with children knew quantity was more important than quality in the long run. Being there for someone day in and day out made all the difference. A present parent who made mistakes was better than a perfect parent who was never there. The same applied to relationships. In the last several years of our marriage, I was barely there. And when I was, I was too tired to engage with my husband. Looking back, I couldn’t blame him or hate him for leaving me. You could argue I had left the marriage first, without realizing it. All because I didn’t have enough hours in the day for everybody and I put my husband last.

Donald sighed, “I don’t know what I was thinking. We both know you aren’t interested. I sometimes wonder if you ever were.”

I felt bad for him. “That’s not true, Donald.” Maybe it was, but I didn’t want to make him feel worse than I already had during our marriage. He deserved better.

“Tell me something, Bee. What should I have done differently?”

“How about not divorced me,” I smirked.

“No, I meant during our marriage. What should I have done to make you more interested?”

“I don’t know, Donald.”

“Should I have taken up karate?”

“No, Donald.”

He sneered and planted his hand against the wall near my head. It was obvious he wasn’t completely over me. I sort of felt bad for him. Sort of. He was making too much trouble in my life to deserve my full sympathy.

“Don’t, Donald. You’re standing too close.”

“I’m not going to try to kiss you again. You should know by now that I can control myself when it comes to you.”

Way to make me feel guilty. It was depressingly true.

“
What the FUCK are you doing?!
” Lion roared as he marched up the walk toward us.

A jolt of jagged fright smacked my chest and I jumped.

Donald turned slowly to face Lion, looking totally relaxed. “How are you, Luh—”

Lion slammed a hand into Donald’s shoulder and he stumbled backward, catching the heel of his shoe on the door mat. He stumbled into the condo through the open door and landed on his ass. Lion dove through after him and was on top of him a second later. He already had his fist knotted in Donald’s polo shirt and his free hand hung in the air, ready to drop like a wrecking ball.

“Lion! Stop!” I shouted as I ran inside.

“Go ahead, Lion!” Donald shouted. “Punch me as hard as you can! Break my nose! Draw some blood! Knock out all my teeth. I’ll be sure to file a police report and take plenty of pictures. And I’m sure the judge will love them when I petition the court to give me full custody of Daniel.” Donald’s eyes were wild and I knew he meant every word.

Lion still held Donald’s shirt in one hand and his heavy fist was about to fall on Donald’s face like a battering ram.

“
Lion Maxwell! You let him go this instant!!!!
” I screamed so hard it felt like I tore a vocal chord. I didn’t stop to think about it because I was pulling as hard as I could on the shoulders of Lion’s shirt. The collar pulled at his neck like a leash.

Lion growled and stood up, which surprised me and sent me stumbling backward. The back of my head was on a straight trajectory for the doorframe, but I managed to turn to the side at the last second. Unfortunately, I landed hard with my hands behind me. Both my wrists exploded with pain. The first panicky thought that shot through my brain: If I broke my wrists, I wouldn’t be able to perform surgery with pins and screws in the bones and casts on both forearms. What kind of physical therapy would I need? How long would I be out of work? If the fractures were severe enough, if there was nerve damage… Panic, panic, panic.

“Are you okay?” Lion asked. Rage and concern fought on his face.

Sitting up, I flexed and rotated both hands carefully, trying to sense any pain through the fog of adrenalin blinding my nervous system.

“Brigid? Tell me, are you okay?” Now Lion was panicked. He knelt next to me, his hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I just… I was…”

I glared at him. I was furious. How could he?

Donald chuckled. “I warned you. I told you something like this would happen.”

I didn’t know why, but the sound of Donald’s voice ate away at my last shred of composure like battery acid. It was probably a combination of all those years of our failed marriage and his recent actions. I growled, “Shut up, Donald.”

He shook his head and glared at me.

Lion was clearly worried. “Are you okay, Brigid?”

I flexed my hands some more and circled my wrists. “I think so. Can you help me up?”

He grabbed me carefully by the elbow and hooked my arm around his neck and stood me up.

Donald still lay on the ground. “Look at you two. Like Bonnie and Clyde.”

“Shut up, Donald,” I hissed. “I didn’t make you try and kiss me. You did that.”

“
He tried to kiss you?!
” Lion shouted.

“Relax! Both of you!” I glared at both men.

Donald smirked.

Lion was confused but still angry.

I locked eyes with him. “Calm. Down.”

Lion was seething. “Fuck!” He whirled and punched a huge hole in my wall.

“What the hell, Lion?! That’s my wall!”

“Fuck!” He spun around and strode out the front door and down the walkway. He jumped into his Range Rover and gunned the engine before screeching tires and speeding off.

“Nice guy,” Donald chuckled.

“Thanks, Donald! Thank you for that! Thank you very much!” I was just as angry at him as I was at Lion.

He smirked, “I may have been the first man to leave you, but it looks like I won’t be the last.”

“Get out of here! This is all your fault!” I pointed toward the door. “Go!”

“Mom? Is everything okay?” Daniel stood in the hallway to the living room, peering around the corner like he was scared to come out. “What happened? Was that Lion?” His eyes found the hole in the sheetrock. “Who broke the wall?”

“Your good friend Lion Maxwell,” Donald said sarcastically.

I snarled at him. “Go! Now! This mess is ninety percent your fault!”

“Ninety?” He snorted. “Let me see. Who lost his temper? Who nearly knocked your head into the doorframe? Who nearly broke your wrists? Who punched a hole in the wall? I’ll give you a clue. Not. Me.”