Easter's Lilly (13 page)

“
He just told me to tell you he’ll be home between 5 and 6.” I shuddered. Hector grabbed my arm and said, “He also told me to tell you not to be afraid. That he would never hurt you again. Oh and he is not sending Max away.” Max and I looked at each other in surprise.

“
I’m sorry, what?” I asked.

“
It’s like he had a religious conversion or something, Max. He wants to… talk. Are you going to tell him you’re banging his wife?”

“
Please don’t say that,” Max answered. “And NO!”

“
He thinks you’ve been having an affair all this time,” he told us. “You probably should’ve been.”

“
Definitely.” Max took my hand and smiled. “We really should’ve been.”

“
I tried but you wouldn’t have me,” I answered. “This is your fault, daddy.”

“
Oh yuck!” I think Hector had had enough of us. “Way too much information.”

“
Sorry Hector,” I said blushing. Max was still smiling like he used to.

“
You know you have to have humor in this business.” Hector laughed. “I hope you’re prepared to face the music.”

“
Remember what I said, Lilly,” Max said to me. “Whatever you have to do to end the abuse.” He looked at Hector. “Where’s Olivia?”

“
He took her and left me here.” Max patted him on the back. “I’m sorry, Man.”

“
It’s my baby, Max.” He looked at me. “I don’t know what to do now.”

“
What did Diego say?” he asked.

“
You mean besides telling us that he and Lilly were going to try to have a baby?” My legs fell from under me and I collapsed onto the floor. Max ran over to me and picked up my head. “Lilly, Lilly…” I looked up at him. “Please Max, just kill me.”

He kissed my lips and sat on the floor beside me. He lifted me into his lap and rocked me. “It’s going to be my baby,” he said.

“
No…” Hector said. “No Max, you didn’t.”

“
I did,” he said. “I’m so in love with her, Hector.” He kissed my cheek. “How did we get so personally involved? Wasn’t this nothing more than a job five years ago?”

Hector came up behind him and hugged him. “Yes, brother, just a job.” We all sat there on the floor holding each other. It was strange to have no control over our own destiny. Diego’s world, that’s where we lived. When the clock struck 5:30, the three of us were together in the living room. We had agreed to watch each other’s backs and try to stay strong.

Chapter 12

All's Fair in Love and War, Isn't It?

Diego walked into the room and we all looked up at him. “Hector, excuse us please,” he said.

“
If it’s all the same to you, Diego, I’d like my half-breed brother to stay here with me.” Max was already annoyed.

“
I’m sorry I said that,” Diego responded.

“
What does that mean?” I asked.

“
Different mothers,” they all said together. “Our mother was white,” Hector added.

“
Our mother was Mexican,” Diego replied.

“
You didn’t grow up in the same house?” I asked.

“
Not for very long, anyway,” Diego answered.

“
This is all becoming very clear to me now,” I said.

“
Well, you’re right Lilly, we have not been behaving like brothers.” He sat down across from Max and me. “Max was the one you turned to. He cared for you for more than three years. Then I decided I wanted a physical relationship with you and you already had one with him.”

“
I don’t,” I said. “I know it looks that way, but we are just close.” He didn’t buy that, even a little.

“
Where were you when I left today?” he asked. “I’m not judging; this is my fault.”

Hector looked at Max as though he thought it was time to come clean. But Max continued to deny it. “I
am
her bodyguard,” he responded. “Where she goes, I go. Seriously Diego, its been that way for years.”

“
I want us to be honest,” Diego said. “This won’t do us any good if we don’t talk about it.”

“
What do you want, Diego?” Max asked.

“
I want my wife back.” Max and I looked at each other, which was a stupid move. “Tell me you’re not in love,” he continued. “I saw that look.”

“
So, you come in here and say, ‘I want my wife back.’” Max got up and started walking around. “What does that mean exactly?”

Diego got up and got right up to Max’s face. He grabbed his arms and Hector stood up. “Just stop making love to her,” he demanded. “Just stop and let me win her heart.” Max pulled away from him. I was shaking. “I won’t send you away. I won’t take her away. No violence. Just please let me try to win her back.”

The room got very quiet. I wanted to scream, “NO, I LOVE MAX!” But Max told me to agree with whatever Diego wanted to do. Diego sat down in front of me and got on one knee. I saw Max and Hector exchange looks. “Please Lilly, take this ring and lets start a family.” He held out a huge diamond. I picked it up and put it on my finger.

“
Okay Diego, I’ll give you a chance.”

Then Max said, “What if she doesn’t fall in love with you, then what?”

“
She will,” he said. “You were just a place holder.” Max’s face turned bright red. He reached for his gun but Hector stopped him.

“
Does this mean, I’ll have a choice?” My eyes filled up with tears and I ran out of the room. I could hear them arguing while I was gone and I threw up in the bathroom. I really didn’t want to sleep with him anymore. Max warned me that once we were together this would be a problem.

I came back out and Diego stood up. He reached for my hands and said, “I will never force myself on you again. I want you to have a choice. I will be more like Maxwell, I promise.”

The thought of his hands on my body made me physically sick. I couldn’t imagine going through this any more. But I dried my eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay,” I said. “But you do need to know that you were wrong.”

“
Wrong?”

“
All this time that you thought I had been visiting your brother’s bed…” I paused. “You were wrong.”

He looked into my eyes. “We’ll see,” he said. “Even if you weren’t making love in the physical sense,” he continued, “there is no doubt in my mind that you are making love right now in your minds.”

He walked off and left the three of us there. “A baby, Max,” I said. “A baby.”

“
We’ll be okay, Lilly. Just hang on for me.” He looked at Hector. “How much longer is this going to take?”

“
Not much longer.”

“
Still not going to tell me?” I asked.

“
Just trust me, baby girl,” and he smiled.

After my brief encounter with Max, Diego didn’t lay a finger on me for a little more than three weeks. If I did show up pregnant, there would be enough time to figure out who the father was. When Diego did finally show some interest in me, I had to comply. When I woke up in the morning, I got sick again. Diego was concerned because there was no way I could have been pregnant. “Are you sick, Lilly?” he asked. “Is being with me that horrible for you?” I couldn’t tell him being intimate with him was killing me, so I just told him I wasn’t feeling well.

We went downstairs to share the wonderful breakfast that Max always had for us but there was no breakfast and no Max. “Where’s Max?” I asked.

“
I was just going to ask you the same thing,” he answered.

“
I’m not really hungry anyway,” I told him.

“
Okay then.” He took me into his arms and kissed me. “I’ll see you later.” Before Diego’s footsteps were even cold from the kitchen I ran out the back door to the creek. There he was sitting on a rock staring out at the water. I walked up beside him and sat down.

“
Querida,” he grabbed my hand, “you look pale, are you not feeling well?”

“
I was sick this morning,” I answered. He reached over and hugged me.

“
What happened?” he asked. He looked like he already knew.

“
Why don’t you tell me what you’re doing out here first,” I added.

“
Oh God, I can’t stand being in the same house as you when I know…” He put his head in his hands.

“
That’s why I got sick,” I answered. He kissed my lips and I lay down in his lap. “I need you Max, please don’t leave me.”

“
Never,” he answered. “I’ll stop being such a baby.” He smiled. “Did he hurt you?” he asked. He suddenly got a very serious look on his face.

“
No, no…” I answered. “Its just that it’s not you.”

“
It didn’t used to be like that,” he remembered. I hit him in the arm.

“
That was before you,” I added. “Max, how much longer?”

“
Oh querida,” he paused, “if I could run away with you today, I would.” He looked thoughtfully for a moment. “Could you be pregnant?” he asked. “Maybe you’re carrying my baby.” He put his hand on my stomach. “Too soon?”

“
I don’t know,” I said. “But you didn’t make me breakfast and I’m mad at you.” We hugged and kissed for a while out there before deciding to come back inside. We saw Hector coming up the path.

“
How do you always know where I am?” Max asked.

“
Diego’s back,” he answered. “He wants you to come with him.”

“
Of course he does,” he replied. “I guess it’s going to be like this for a while.”

We went back to the house and Diego gave us an unfavorable glance. “Come on Max, I actually have work for you to do.” Diego kissed me goodbye and Max moved towards me but Diego reached and pulled him back by the shirt. “Did you almost kiss her?” he asked.

Max laughed. “No, of course not.” Diego dragged him out of the house and Max blew me a kiss.

“
He’s a clown, sometimes,” Hector added. “It’s gonna get him in trouble someday.” Hector walked out the front door and I headed into the living room.

I turned to grab the television remote when someone came up from behind me and covered my mouth. I screamed and struggled but I couldn’t get free. He forced me to the floor and I looked up and saw Johnny. My eyes opened wide and he removed his hand from my mouth. “What the hell are you doing?” I asked.

“
I promised I’d come back for you,” he answered. “Now I’m here.” He was on top of me with his knees holding my arms down.

“
John, we’re over now. I’m married to Diego.” I looked into his eyes and did not see my Johnny there anymore. His eyes were vacant and all I saw was desperation.

“
Don’t you mean you’re in love with Maxwell?” He started unbuttoning my blouse.

“
No, no…no…” I protested. “You don’t want to do this. They’ll kill you.”

“
I’m willing to risk it.”

I started screaming and before I knew what was happening, I heard the sound of guns cocking. Diego was on one side of him, Max on the other and Hector behind Max. “Let go of my wife,” Diego said calmly.

He slowly stood up and Max looked at Hector, “You got him for me?”

Hector put his gun right up at Johnny’s temple. Max grabbed me and pulled me out from under him. “Button up,” he said. I ran out the door of the living room and re-fastened my blouse. My heart was beating so fast, I thought I would have a heart attack. I went back in and asked, “How did you know to come back?”

“
Max noticed a car near by that isn’t usually here,” Diego answered. “We came back, just in case.” Max and Hector lead Johnny out of the house by gunpoint and Diego and I stood together in the living room. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“
Talk about timing,” I answered. Then I went to him and hugged him. He was stroking my hair with one hand and had another hand on the small of my back. We heard a shuffling and he pushed me away from him. I turned to the door and there were men everywhere with guns and I heard a BANG! Diego went down. I screamed for Max and Hector and two of the men grabbed me and started dragging me towards the back door. Before I knew what was happening Max and Hector came rushing in with a gun in each hand shooting the men down like a video game. There were bodies all over the floor and Max looked down and saw the puddle of blood next to Diego get bigger and bigger. “Oh my God!” he said, “Lilly call 911!”

Hector said, “I’ll look around back,” and Max tossed him the radio. Hector started talking on the radio in Spanish and I called 911. I watched Max open his wallet and take out a credit card and press it on Diego’s wound, which was in his stomach. Diego let out a shout. “Sorry, brother,” he said. “Don’t get a big head about this though. Just because I won’t let you bleed to death, doesn’t mean I won’t still fight you for the girl.” Diego made an attempt at a smile.