Easter's Lilly Page 34

  We began to spend a lot of time at the park. Although it was small, there was a tiny lake where we would let Dieguito feed the ducks some old bread. The challenge was getting Dieguito to actually feed the ducks and not eat the bread himself. It was fun but a little weird. Everyone there thought we were married. I wouldn’t let John hold my hand. I felt in some odd way that that would be a betrayal on some level. Months went by. I was nine months pregnant. Max had stopped calling and I became very anxious that something had happened to him. The FBI was very close mouthed and I got little information about his whereabouts. All they told me was that he was deep undercover and was not allowed to make contact.

  “It’s strange, isn’t it?” John asked one day as we sat beside the pond.

  “A little,” I said. “How long have we been playing house now?” He didn’t like my euphemism.

  “I think about four months.” He reached over and touched my stomach. “At least I get to live through a pregnancy with you. Even if it is not my baby this time.”

  “Okay,” I answered, “it’s weird.”

  “I realize that this is all my fault,” he said. “If I had just left you alone…”

  “I might be married to Pierre,” I interrupted. Then I laughed.

  “At least your life wouldn’t be in danger,” he added.

  “You know he raped me,” I told him. “Diego beat me and raped me.”

  He didn’t look up. He threw a few pieces of bread in the water. “I should have been stronger,” he said. “I remember that night.” He looked up at me for a moment and then back at the ground. “It was Jorge, Diego, Felix and me. We were partying in Elena’s husband’s room. We were… dipping our hands in the candy jar, as Max would say.” He looked at me again. “I heard that he hurt you that night. I was sick about it.”

  “Felix?” I remembered Felix and Miguel guarding our room the night Jorge put a hit on Max and Hector. “Felix was with you?”

  “Yes, he liked to party,” he answered.

  “I guess it’s water under the bridge now,” I offered. “Max was there. I went to him. I begged him to make love with me but he refused.”

  “You know, Lilly,” he looked almost pensive for a minute, “you did okay with him.” He took my hand. “He is a really good man. He could have taken advantage of you a hundred times, but never did. How could he continue to resist you?”

  “He was afraid it would confuse me. He didn’t want me calling Diego, Max or having to switch back and forth all the time. He said he didn’t want our first time to be any way connected to a rape.”

  “I almost love him myself,” he laughed. “Do you know he shot my brother?” he asked. “Did he tell you?”

  “No,” I said. “Hector did. And while we’re on the subject,” I started to get angry remembering that he never told me the truth either, “why didn’t you tell me Pat was your brother?”

  “I didn’t like to publicly announce my family connections. Leverage, you know.”

  “You do know that Pat raped Darla?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I heard Max’s version. But I don’t believe it.”

  “I heard she was a mess. Wasn’t there evidence?” I was confused about his denial.

  “They were in love once. How could he have raped her?” He looked at me with total assurance of his convictions.

  “Is that what you were thinking when you came after me at Diego’s house?”

  “It wasn’t rape to me,” he said. “Not to me.” He looked back at the water. I felt badly for him. He lost everything. Just like Jorge… everything.

  “I have more bad news for you,” I said. I looked down and saw a puddle of water underneath myself. “My water just broke.”

  There was always FBI following us so Johnny whistled loudly and they came running. “Her water broke. We have to go to the hospital.” Johnny ran back to the house for my emergency bag and Dieguito and I were shuffled into an FBI issued car. The five of us drove to the hospital in record time. “Max!” I said to Miranda. “I need Max!”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “John is going to have to stand in for him.” I was sick to my stomach and when they tried to get me to walk to the room I collapsed onto the floor. I knew I was panicking but couldn’t control it. I heard Dieguito crying and Miranda trying to comfort him. John and Steve were trying to pick me up until a doctor and a few nurses rushed over and got me up off of the floor. “We need to get her to a bed right away,” they said. “Are you the husband?”

  “Yes,” John answered reluctantly. But he knew it was time to step up. It was time for him to pay Maxwell back. What a way to do it.

  CHAPTER 24

  I think we should name him Johnny.