Maxwell sighed inwardly.
He had no idea what she had done, but he was sure that his sister had certainly done it now.
He was certain that this case had to do with Don directly "No, there is nothing else, but this is major, Don. I need your help on this.
With her easy smile in place, Don flicked imaginary dirt off her electric blue nails "What do you mean by you need my help or whatever? I don't work for the agency, and I am pretty sure I don't look like a lawyer. Boy, you have a lot of money now. Just get your kid sister a fancy lawyer to get her out, and things will work themselves out. Also, I happen to know that you have a friend in the agency," she wiggled her eyebrow. "So, you know, if you want to do an inside job, your little buddy would be the right person to talk to."
Nothing escapes her radar. Maxwell thought.
"Don, I know you."
Don raised her hand "No, don't. You know my policy: no ratting out, no backing off." She stood up. "I will see you around, buddy."
Maxwell stood up and decided to give it another shot "You know, I happen to know another of your policies too."
"Oh yeah? And that would be?"
"No leaving a friend out in the cold."
Don gave him an intent look, then scoffed, "Yeah, right. Don't flatter yourself."
She turned and left him standing there.
"Damn it," Max muttered as he sat back.
Two men from different angles of the bar casually stood up and left the bar as well.
Max let out a curt laugh as he thought that he should have known that it was too good to be true when he saw Don enter the bar alone. The two men had been in the bar even before Max entered. He remembered that one of them had brushed up against him when he entered and now that he thought about it, there had been another man loitering outside the bar when he had followed Don in. The man had not been there when he followed that woman out, but he had been there after Don entered. Maxwell had not thought much of it when he entered, but he realizes it now.
Don's people. The first two had scouted the area before Don arrived, and the other had stayed outside to alert them if anything happened.
"Yeah, I did flatter myself truly," Max thought with a shake of his head.
He knew that Don wouldn't break his rules of never divulging a customer's information. That left him with one other option, though. His dear sister would have to think long and hard about the people she might have offended. Since he knew that she was her mother's daughter, well, the list might be long indeed.
His phone vibrated and he checked the message notification that came in.
An unrecognised number. He clicked the message open.
"If you can get the client to drop the case, nothing is irreversible."
That was all the message said.
Max smiled to himself as he knew who had sent the message. Yeah, maybe he had not flattered himself after all.
"Sister had better start singing," he thought to himself as he stood up to leave to have a good night's rest first before going over.
"One more night would make no difference after all," he thought as he paid the waiter, firmly putting off the image of a hazel-eyed, gorgeous woman who kept trying to rear its head.
No, he had enough to deal with.
*********************************************
Bright. Too bright. The light was too bright.
The walls. She could swear she had seen those walls move. They were moving on her, trying to suffocate her.
The noise. Oh, the infernal droning noise. Someone seemed to be talking all the time here. The incessant ringing of the phone. The burst of laughter once in a while was just like a spike being driven into her skull.
Her skull throbbed. Oh, damn it. It did terribly. She was certain that a thousand small people were having some kind of party in her head. No, she cannot deal with this anymore.
How dare they? How could they keep her here while they all go home? She had heard them as some of them shouted greetings to their colleagues. She wanted to go home, too. She was no criminal!
They are all liars! Liars and conspirators! They were all just jealous. Yes, that was it. They were jealous. Jealous of…. It took her a while for her increasingly sluggish brain to come up with what they were jealous of, but it eventually came to her.
Yes. They were jealous of her beauty. Of her beautiful children and the fact that she was finally about to live her dream. Yes, that was it. lying, spiteful bunch of them. They just couldn't stand the fact that she was going to make something happen at last.
Her mother! Yes, her mother could put a stop to this. Her mother could tell them how precious she was, and they would let her go. Where was her mother when she needed her?
She needed a fix. Oh God, just one sweet puff, and she would be okay. All she needed was just a small, teeny-tiny puff. She had been doing fine after all, hadn't she? Yes, she was clever. Even he had not realized it, and she never let it affect them.
No, not her sweet babies.
She was a responsible person, and she deserved this pleasure. Oh, nobody was going to deny her. Did they know how hard it was? To be the one taking care of them most of the time while he popped in and out just because he had to run back to her. We can't let her suspect always be the mantra.
The room was cold, so cold that she could feel her teeth chatter, or maybe that was because of the tiny ants that seemed to be crawling beneath her skin. She had to get a puff. She just had to. She just might die if she did not.
"That was probably what they wanted." Her eyes widened as the thought came to her brilliant mind.
No, she had to fight for herself. She was not sure there was anybody who would do that for her. Not her babies. They were still so small. She had to protect them. She couldn't protect them if she was dead, so she had to get some candy and Big C. Any of it. Anything at all would make her feel fine again. She was not even above the sweet grass right now. Yes, nose candy is exotic, but she needed something right now to soothe her system first. Anything that could make her senses sing. Yes, she wouldn't be denied!
Then she would be able to wait for the return of the hypocrite, who might choose to let her rot in here, or her useless partner, who couldn't find a way to get her out of here on his own.
A feline smile curled her mouth as an idea came to her woozy head. She flung the blanket she had been trying to huddle under aside on the cot as she approached the door and pressed the buzzer.
Her erratic heartbeat went haywire in her chest as she heard footsteps. She forced herself to stay calm when her feet wanted to tap.
She smiled at the man who came to the door, even when she wanted to scream.
In her most subdued voice, she said, "Please, I need to use the restroom badly. It is urgent. I can't hold it in again."
"Look, lady…"
"Please," she quickly added, before the disgruntled man could continue. She batted her lashes coquettishly to hasten the process. "I really have to go."
She smiled to herself as the man sighed, and he keyed in the code from outside.
Her parched mouth got drier as she heard the ding sound that indicated that the door had been unlocked. The man looked like he was wavering in her vision as he slowly opened the door. "Look..."
"Now!" her mind screamed.
She bunched her muscles and acted.