FIFTEEN
“Dobrescu.” Kayne answered the phone, trying to wipe the last of the soap out of his eyes. He'd heard it ring several times in succession and figured it was an emergency.
“Kayne?” The small feminine voice sounded distraught.
“Maddy?” He knew it was her even before she confirmed. “Sweet pea, what's wrong, has something happened?” He felt his heart skip a beat or two.
“Mama—”
Kayne panicked. “Is she hurt?” he demanded, not letting her finish whatever she would have said.
“No. I don't know. After the man left, she locked herself in her room, and I can hear her crying.” Maddy's voice quivered as she spoke.
A man? Had someone hurt her? If the son of a bitch had laid a finger on her, Kayne would hunt him to the ends of the earth. “Tell me exactly what happened.” Kayne ran the towel swiftly across his body. He dropped it and ripped open his dresser drawer. He grabbed the first pair of jeans that met his fingertips.
“The man handed Mama papers, and she's upset about them. Told me to watch everyone and went to her room.”
“I'm on my way, sweet pea, just stay on the phone with me.”
Kayne managed to get jeans on—not an easy task one-handed, especially when he was still wet. He grabbed his shirt and shoes and ran out the door. He debated half a second then opted for his truck instead of his patrol car. He placed the phone on speaker so he could pull his shirt on as he stopped at the first red light.
When the house came into view, Kayne let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. “Sweet pea, I'm pulling up to the front door—” He had been about to ask her to come open it when it flew open, and there she stood, dancing from foot to foot, Gracie in her arms.
“I'm here, sweet pea.” Kayne fought for a calm he didn’t feel. These children needed assurance.
Maddy flew into his arms. “Thank you.”
Gracie turned instantly and scampered up his chest, clinging to him. He held them both close for a long moment before taking them inside.
“Hey, Kayne.” Ash eyed him warily from the other side of the kitchen island.
“What’s wrong buddy?”
“They're hungry.” He shrugged.
Kayne glanced at the clock; it was nearly six-thirty. “You haven't had dinner yet?”
Ash shook his head. “No. We were just trying to decide.”
Damn it! How could Jessica just leave them to fend for themselves? A small voice tried to tell him he was being unreasonable. It wasn't as if she'd left them alone, she was still in the house. He had to believe that if there were a true emergency, she'd be able to react. But a louder voice was claiming she was just like Oksana.
“Okay, Maddy, get drinks, Ash plates, 'Sabella silverware, and you…” He looked down at his daughter. He’d been about to tell her she needed to get in her highchair, but he was loathe to put her down. “You need to help me find the hotdogs.”
Gracie popped her thumb out of her mouth. “A’kay.”
Kayne pulled out a pack of hotdogs and some leftover mac-n-cheese—thank heavens Jessica dated storage containers—and within minutes, had them sitting down to dinner.
Once the kids were situated, he headed into the lion's den. He had no idea what he'd say to her; he figured that would depend on what was written in those papers. Damn it all to hell, why hadn't Brian called him first? Knowing there was only one way to find out, Kayne took several deep breaths, slowly let them out, and then gently knocked on her door. “Jessica?”
***
Jess literally jumped at the sound of Kayne's voice.
“Jessica?” Kayne’s voice resonated through the door again.
Her fear quickly turned to rage. She lunged to her feet and ripped the door open. “You son of a bitch! What are you doing in my house?”
Kayne took a quick step back. Good! Maybe someone would finally take her seriously.
“Maddy called me. What happened?”
His voice was calm, controlled, and that pissed her off more. “What happened? What happened?” She scoffed in disbelief. “You're going to stand there and play stupid, when you did this?” She waved the court papers in front of him.
He stoically stood there, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. “I don't have any idea what those say. May I see them?”
She stared at him, astonished. “How can you say that with a straight face? You had an attorney file papers asking that my adoption of Gracie be overturned so you can take ‘immediate full custody’ of Gracie—excuse me Tasha Dobrescu—and you have the nerve to stand there and try and tell me you don't know what these are?” She waved the papers at him again for emphasis.
Kayne raised his hands in surrender. “Whoa, wait a minute. I spoke to an attorney this morning, just like you did. But that’s all.”
Jess gasped in surprise. “You were spying on me?”
“Hell no!” He crossed his arms defensively. “I was stopped at the light, on my way home. I drove around all night, trying to make sense of everything. I saw you and Cody walking into that attorney’s office.”
Kayne threw up his hands and let them fall to his side. “Do you have any idea how fucking hard it was for me to walk out of here and leave her last night? All I wanted to do was hold my baby, but I had to leave, because you wouldn't get rid of Cody. So yeah, I talked to an attorney just like you did. But he was supposed to call me before he did anything, because I was hoping to work something out with you.”
Okay, this was what her attorney had suggested she do. Jess took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm her racing heart. “Like what?”
Kayne blew out a heavy sigh, looked away. “Fuck, I don’t know. Something that will let you and the kids stay in her life too.” He shrugged.
Oh, God, he planned to take her baby away and let them see her on occasion? All thoughts of her attorney’s advice fled her mind. “Get out.” The demand was little more than a choked whisper.
Kayne stood there staring, that damned look of concern on his face, as if he gave a shit about her. About any of them.
“Get out!” she screamed. She looked around for something to throw at him. Anything would do.
“Jessica, calm down.” He put his hands out, palms forward, a gesture of surrender. “You have the kids so upset that Maddy called me in tears.”
“She had no business calling you. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again.” Jess wiped furiously at the tears flooding her eyes. “I'll make sure they realize you were only using them to get close to their sister. That you're trying to take her away from us.”
“Damn it, Jessica stop! That is not true!” He took a breath. Softened his voice. “Please, I'm begging you.” He slowly reached his hand out to her. “Baby, you’re trembling like a leaf. Let's sit down and talk about this. There has been a horrible mistake. We can fix this.”
Jess stepped out of his reach. “Don’t touch me!” She couldn’t bear to be touched by him right now. God, she felt so horribly used. A hysterical laugh bubbled up and spilled over before she could stop it. “Yeah, horrible mistake is an understatement.”
But she was the one who’d made the mistake. She’d sworn she’d never let another man use or abuse her again, and the first time she attempted to let someone close, he’d done just that. “Cody was right about you. He told me you'd try to take her away.”
Clearly frustrated, Kayne ran a hand through his hair. “I never meant to hurt you, Jessica.”
“Please go away. I have to fix my children dinner.” She tried to shove past him, but the fact that he had more than a foot and a good eighty pounds on her made it a futile attempt.
Kayne ran his hand down her arm, captured hers in his own. “I already did. Mac-n-cheese with hot dogs.”
Jess jerked free. “You just came into my house without my permission?”
He studied her thoughtfully. “I'm so sorry you're hurting, baby. I didn't mean for this to happen.”
God, she did not want him to be this caring person. She needed him to be an asshole.
“Will you call Polly to come watch the kids, and we'll sit down and talk?”
“Get out!” She couldn't do this. Not now! How could she talk to him about taking her baby?
“Call Polly to come help with the kids.” This time, it wasn't a request. “Or I will.”
“I don't need help with my kids. I've been raising them just fine on my own since my husband died, saving my daughter.”
The muscle in Kayne’s jaw contracted. God, he looked so angry. “Right. You're in such control you left a ten-year-old in charge, while you holed up in your room and had a meltdown.” He ran a hand over his tired face. “Damn it, Jessica, you need help so you can deal with this. Please, let me stay and help and let’s work this out. I don't want to fight you. All I want is my daughter—”
The doorbell rang before Kayne could finish. With a glare, Jess dared him to stop her as she shoved past him. Thankfully, he stepped out of her way.
***
Kayne gave in and punched the wall. Fuck! Who the hell could that be? Right when he thought he was finally reaching her. He'd been about to explain that he didn't want to rip Gracie away from the only mom and siblings she'd ever known. He only wanted her to be happy, but he needed to be a key part his child’s life.
Kayne followed her as far as the kitchen, where he stopped to check on the kids and grab some ice for his throbbing hand. They were a little too quiet, making him wonder how much they'd heard. He prayed it wasn't much. He didn't want them involved in all this bullshit. As it was, he and Jessica weren't winning parents of the year.
“Where the fuck is he?”
Kayne heard the belligerent hose-monkey’s roar. Oh yeah, let the games begin.
Cody stormed into the kitchen, seething. “How dare you step foot in this house.”
“Why don't we go in the other room?” Kayne said as diplomatically as possible.
“No. Because you're leaving.” Cody glared in challenge.
Kayne laughed a humorless laugh. He'd like to see Cody try and enforce that command. Kayne hadn't survived the streets of St. Petersburg and then Los Angeles with his good looks alone. He’d learned to fight and survive from the moment he could walk.
“You have no right to tell me what to do, and, at this point, I don't want you around the kids, especially my daughter.”
“Are you going to let him speak to me that way?” Cody all but whined to Jessica.
Jessica looked Kayne in the eye. “Please, just go.”
“Both of you,” she clarified when Cody snorted in triumph.
Kayne’s gut clinched. He wanted to work this out. “Jessica, we need to talk about this before it gets any further out of hand.”
“Get out!” Cody took a threatening step forward.
Hadn’t the little fuck learned anything yet? God, if the kids weren’t here…But they were, so he restrained himself. Barely.
“Jessica, please. Don’t draw a line in the sand that can't be crossed.” Kayne tried to step around Cody.
Cody lashed out and grabbed Kayne's arm. It took every ounce of reserve he possessed to not tear into him. “Get your hands off of me,” he growled as quietly as possible. “The kids do not need to see any more of this.”
Kayne stepped around Cody and headed for the door, but paused to speak with Jessica. “You need to take those papers seriously, after all,” Kayne whispered for her ears only. “And expect a few more, because I'm done with this bullshit. You've obviously made your choice.” He paused to glance meaningfully at Cody. “Now I'm making mine. He will not be allowed around my daughter. All I wanted was unrestricted visitation. I never intended to take her from you or her siblings, because I never wanted to hurt you or those kids. You have no idea what it's like to lose a child, but you're about to find out. You've made it clear that I'm going to have to gain full custody and take her out of here to protect her.”
“Kayne, wait,” Jessica called after him.
Kayne stopped but didn’t turn around. He couldn’t look at her. “Forget it. I thought you were different. I thought your children mattered to you, but I see I was wrong. At least I found out now, before I let another woman destroy everything I care about. Call me when you're ready to meet for the paternity test. I want it done tomorrow. And keep that asshole the hell away from my daughter.” He forced himself to walk away.
Kayne was just reaching for the door handle to his truck when he heard the front door slam against the wall. He turned, expecting Cody to have followed him out. He was looking forward to beating the shit out of him—oath to protect and serve be damned.
But it was Maddy. Jessica followed her, but stopped in the doorway, watching as Maddy flew down the steps, tears streaming down her face.
Goddamn it! How had what should be one of the happiest times in his life gotten so fucked up?
“Please don't leave.”
Maddy’s sobs broke his already battered heart. Oh baby, I don't want to. Fuck, how could Jessica do this to them?
Kayne closed his eyes, fighting down emotions that he couldn't let Maddy see. She didn't need to know how bad this was hurting him to walk away. She didn't need to know that he blamed her mother. Somehow, he managed to speak past the lump in his throat. “Shh, it's okay, It's all going to be okay.” He held her close, stroked her hair.
But it wasn't okay, and he had no idea if it ever would be. He was scared to death that he might lose Tasha all over again. What about Maddy, and the others? They'd wormed their way right into his heart, and he loved them too. How could he not? But what could he do when Jessica was too busy catering to Cody's wishes to be their mother first?