Chapter 106

“Two weeks? Two whole weeks? Who does he think he is? He just disappears for two weeks without a word?”
“Calm down, Emma,” Sabrina said. “I didn’t think you called me to yell about Will.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just so…”
“Worried?” Sabrina smirked.
“No! And stop it! I can hear you smiling.”
“Uh huh.” She teased.
“Has Alex heard anything about him?”
“You really are worried about him.”
“I am not! I just want to give him a piece of my mind! And I want to know when these nannies can leave already.”
“Oh, shut up. You love them. Minnie and Kelly are amazing.”
“Ugh,” Emma huffed. Sabrina was right. She adored Minnie and her assistant. They were attentive, professional, but also personable and fun. They were great with Lizzie and helping her around the apartment. Minnie had a way of making her feel at peace and Kelly was easy to talk to. Together that provided an atmosphere of stability that Spencer left behind. Since Will had been coming around, his visits had all but stopped. He would still call, or Facetime, but it wasn’t the same. Her father called often, and Minnie had arranged a car to pick him up from the facility for a day. She was grateful for them. But… it didn’t change the fact that who she wanted to be there just stopped coming.
“It’s just…,” Emma continued. “I gave him a chance. And he messed it up. It’s like he said once before. We aren’t good at this.”
“Emma…” Sabrina felt bad. She could hear the sadness in her friend’s voice. As much as she wouldn’t admit it, Sabrina knew. Emma missed him, and she was worried. “I have to tell you something…”
Meanwhile, Alex had gone to see Will. Things were worse than either one had expected.
“I gotta tell ya,” Alex teased as he sat across his friend. “Orange is your color, and the beard isn’t so bad.
“Whatever,” Will chuckled rubbing against the hair growing in on his face. “What have you found out?”
“I keep trying to post bail, but they won’t set it.”
“The fuck?” Will’s eyes flew wide. “What do you mean they won’t set it?”
“Just that. They won’t set it. New ‘evidence’,” he said with air quotes. “keeps popping up against you. Someone somewhere is using their influence to keep you in here. But I’m working on it.”
“How?”
“You know I can’t reveal my connections,” Alex smirked. “But things are moving. I should be able to have you out of here soon.”
“Good. There’s something else I need you to look into.”
“What’s up?”
“Sam informed that the board appointed my uncle as the interim CEO. He’s approved and a project for a commercial building downtown. One I had previously rejected.”
“You’re talking about the one from a few years ago?”
“The very same. It was too expensive and didn’t make sense for the company. The board was upset with my decision, but ultimately agreed when I presented them with evidence.”
“That’s suspicious,” Alex mused.
“Sam and I thought so. The fact that my uncle was made CEO so soon after I was arrested makes me think there are larger hands at play here. And then you come in and tell me that something is holding up my bail? None of this sits well with me.”
“You think this whole thing was planned out.” It wasn’t a question. Alex had to admit that everything did seem too coincidental. Will was a great CEO, but he had a lot of enemies in the corporate world.
“I do. Someone wants me out of the way.”
“I’ll see what I can dig up.”
“Thanks,” Will smiled at his friend. Alex had gotten him out of close scrapes before. But this was on another level. They had to tread carefully. Things tended to get dangerous as one climbed the ladder. “How’s Emma? And the baby?”
“Lizzie is great. Bigger every day. Emma is…” Alex trailed off.
“She’s mad, isn’t she?”
“Oh yeah. She’s been calling Sabrina every day. I can hear her screaming through the phone. She is pissed at you, bro.”
“Ugh,” Will ran his hands through his hair.
“This is what got you in every mess you two had. Not talking. Are you sure this is the right way to go about this?”
“No, I’m not. But I have to keep her and Lizzie safe. The only way I can think to do that is to keep her in the dark.”
“You have another visitor,” an officer interrupted their conversation. “You’re only allowed one person at a time with the exception of an attorney. You’ll have to choose who can stay.”
“Who is the visitor?”
“Miss Emma Wells.”
Will and Alex were stunned. Emma shouldn’t know he was there.
“I’ll go,” Alex said. He stood and walked out with the officer. “I’ll be back. Hang in there,” he called out to Will as he left. The officer escorted Emma in moments later. Her face was unreadable as if she was trying to keep her emotions at bay.
“Will,” she greeted as she sat down. Her stone-cold gaze settled on him, and he felt his blood chill. Storm clouds gathered behind her eyes, and he waited for her to unleash her wrath upon him.
“How did you find out I was here?”
“Sabrina gave you up,” her voice was still, measured.
“She shouldn’t have said anything,” he hung his head. “Emma, I—”
“Sabrina told you she had no loyalties to you. You really thought my best friend was going to keep this from me?” Her façade was failing.
“I’m sorry.”
“You should be! You abandoned me! You made me believe in you and here we are! Right back where we started! Why would you do this?” she yelled. “You barrel into my life, turn everything upside down and then just leave! Why would you do this to us?”
Will’s heart jumped at the way she said, “us.” Her outburst, as much as he deserved it, also meant that somewhere within all the hurt and anger she carried for him, there was a part of her that cared for him.
“I wasn’t thinking. The only thing that mattered was keeping you and Lizzie safe.”
“You should have told me! You shouldn’t have kept me in the dark!”
“I’m sorry, but not for making the decision I made. I’ll do whatever it takes to make no one touches either of you. I don’t care who has to suffer for it.” Will leaned towards her. Emma recognized that glint of danger in his eyes. That glint that both lured her in and scared her away. Those eyes that she longed to drown in. “Nothing and no one is going to harm you.”
“I…” her words were stuck in her throat. “I want to trust you. I do. But your track record doesn’t help.”
“I’m not that man anymore, Emma.” He yearned to reach out for her hand, but he wasn’t allowed to touch anyone, and the guard was watching like a hawk.
“Prove it. I’ve had enough of your words. You need to show me. I’ve changed to!”
The moment hung between them, and it was everything Will could do to keep from grabbing her and kissing her until she begged for air.
“I will prove it. You’ll see. But you don’t need to worry about this. At least not yet.”
“Fine,” she softened a little. Emma had come over with the intent to read him the riot act. Her anger burned in her body, a raging fire that smoldered in her soul. The fire soon changed from rage to worry as she walked in saw Will. He was a far cry from the sleek, sophisticated man she knew. His skin lacked its signature glow, and his gorgeous face was hidden beneath a scraggly beard. She wouldn’t have recognized him if not for those heart melting eyes of his.
“You look terrible,” she chuckled, lightening the mood.
“Thanks,” he laughed. “How’s Lizzie?”
“She’s good. Waking up every two hours like clockwork. She’s eating so much and getting so big. Look.” Emma pulled out her phone and showed Will photos of their baby. His heart swelled with a mixture of pride and sadness as he saw how much she’d grown without him. She showed him a video Minnie took of her. She squirmed in her bed, her bright golden eyes staring up at him through the screen.
“God, I miss her. I want to hold her so bad,” he said. And you, he thought as he looked at Emma. “Do you think she remembers me?”
“You’re silly. She’s barely two weeks old. She doesn’t remember anyone,” Emma looked down her at phone and smiled. “It’s crazy how much she looks like you. A straight up copy.”
“I’m going to be there for the two of you. I promise.”
“Will,” Emma sighed. “We’ve been through so much and parts of me are screaming at me to run the other way. Part of me is angry at me for even considering letting you back into my life. But then the other part… the other part is a newborn baby, who knows she needs you. And that part overrides everything else.”
“But what about you, Emma?” Will’s eyes blazed with the ferocity of his feelings. “How do you feel?”
“I… I don’t know,” she lied. She knew, but she couldn’t admit it to herself until she was ready to take that leap. “But I do that I believe in you. You have to know that. And you need to stop keeping me at arm’s length. You’re not alone anymore.”