Jeremy stared back at our son until he fell to his knees and cried pulling Max in a overprotective hug.
Seeing how my bad decisions affected them both, I also fell to my knees hugging the both of them and crying my eyes out. "I'm so sorry, I just wanted to keep all of us safe".
After our emotional break down. Jeremy picked max up and walked to the kitchen. "Are you hungry?" He asked Max. He nodded excitedly as his short legs swung back and forth.
Their interactions was very affectionate and natural. It was as if they'd been together for years; a normal family.
"Hey Jeremy, can we talk?" I asked, following behind him.
He finished getting Max some food and then he turned to me. "What do you want?"
"I know you're mad at me, and I deserve it but...at the end of the day, you're still a detective and with what I do, US was not supposed to happen. Keeping him from you wasn't out of spite, it was the only way to keep us from being hunted down like farm animals. In my line of work having a man and a child is a weakness worth exploiting. I didn't want to risk it then and I would've done it all over again, so be angry if you want because you have that right."
He took some time to think about what I said and pulled to the side where Max would not hear us; but we could still keep an eye on him.
"What do you want from me Zena?" He hissed.
"Take him for a few days, keep him in your safe-house until I can find out who's responsible for the bounty".
He stared at me some more and said, "what else?"
"I need some weapons, preferably automatics, I can handle the rest".
"Zena just let the police han-"
He was visibly fearful of what could happen to me, but I distracted him with a kiss on the lips.
"No offense but I can't trust them with my son's life. I can take care of myself, though if anything happens I want you to take care of him for me. You can arrest me afterwards", I answered with a wink.
He pressed his lips on mine again and his hands traveled to my neck. "You taking care of my baby?" he whispered while gently rubbing my stomach.
I laughed at him and layed my head on his chest. "So can you find it in your heart to forgive me?" I asked, avoiding his question.
He kissed my forehead and asked, "How old is Max?"
"He is about to turn nine why?"
"So you had him at twenty?"
I felt ashamed that I was a young unwed mother, and was sleeping with a man who was ten years older than me.
We'd known each-other since I was eighteen. I made the first move when it came to us becoming a couple. At the age of nineteen, he took me on a date and it sucked because he could not get over the age difference. Eventually we started a sexual relationship, I got knocked up and life went on.
We were not officially a couple until five years ago and our relationship had been rocky from the start. The biggest problem was with infidelity.
Thinking about my life and choices, I lowered my eyes to the ground feeling guilty and shameful.
"Don't do that, it's out of character", he claimed. He lifted my chin so that I could look up at him."This is the best gift I could've ever been given...be careful out there", he added, kissing me sweetly.
"Can I ask you a question?" I wondered.
He nodded.
"Are you still with her?"
There was an unsettling silence in the room and I automatically felt my heart shatter into several pieces. I separated myself from him and gathered my stuff. "Take care of him for me, I have work to do, as usual".
He stopped me by tugging at my jacket and taking my hand.
"We talked about this...you were supposed to be getting a divorce", I chastised.
"I can't do that anymore because I could lose everything I've worked for which isn't much to begin with. I love you...only you isn't that enough?" he tried to explain.
"Well I don't fuck married men", I responded, snatching my hand from his.
"I COULD LOSE MY JOB ZENA!", He countered. I gave him a look, telling him to continue. He sighed.
"Elaine's father is the chief and the man is a fuckin hard ass. I've tried to send her divorce papers but her father threatened to fire me and keep me from getting a job with any other precinct."
I continued to stand in front of him and asked, "do you love her too?"
"No, I've been trying to divorce her since we became official 5 years ago", he answered. He took my hand in his again and attempted to kiss me.
I stopped him.
"Well until you're a free man, I'm not going to be in your bed...I'll be doing some research". I turned on my heels and walked over to my son.
"Max be good for your father, he deserves to be treated with respect. I promise to be back in a few days. I love you sweetie."
He gave me a hug and I left on my quest.