He could have died tonight.
In that slim moment, he could have died.
He could have been yanked away from the life he could have with this phenomenal woman in his arms all because he was playing the hero for a bitch that wouldn't think twice before hurting her own blood.
His stupidity could have put her in a lot more pain than the one the bitch had inflicted on her.
He was not ashamed when his lone tear fell on her neck.
"Maxwell" Reyona called his name in a heartbreaking voice. "What happened? Are you crying? What happened back there? They wouldn't tell us."
He sniffled and said, "I am so sorry."
"For what?" Reyona said as she leaned back and looked at his face.
"For being stupid," he said tersely and leaned down to sweep her off her feet.
He gingerly carried her to bed while she kept looking at him with a questioning look.
"Just give me some minutes, okay?" he said to her, and she nodded before he stepped out into the hallway.
He had just finished calling his men when he saw Officer Guy and Steve rushing down the hall towards him.
"Hi," Officer Guy said before moving on.
Steve stood and looked at Maxwell's face before saying "I heard you've had quite an adventure tonight."
"I see that you and the cops are bed buddies now", Maxwell retorted automatically.
Steve looked a bit taken aback by his tone, then he said, "If you mean Officer Guy, we actually met in the parking lot. This is still my case too, you know." He shifted from foot to foot before saying, "I understand that your night is not the way you want it, but imagine what being pulled out of bed when your daughter is sick is doing to my mood. So suck it up, Rohan. Get someone to look at that bruise. Your pretty boy's face might scar. We don't want that." Steve said as he thumped him on his arm, waved at Reyona, and walked on.
"Get that bitch away from me and mine. I have had enough of her troubles." Maxwell called after him.
"Yes, sir," Steve said with a jaunty salute as he kept walking on.
Maxwell took in a cleansing breath to get rid of his rising anger again before he went to face Reyona, who was expecting some coherent answers from him.
He swore when his phone started ringing again.
His brows furrowed when he saw the private number.
Why was he…
"Maxie"
"Hi," Maxwell said, knowing she never wanted him to call her name.
He had a feeling though.
Even before she said, "I heard you've been quite the hero tonight."
"It was you?" Maxwell said as the dregs of his anger flared again.
"Don't act like you are surprised. I told you I have a score to settle with your bitch of a step-sister. Now, you have interrupted my score. You know I hate it when people do that. I hate it a lot. What should we do, Maxie?"
Chill raced along Maxwell's spine even as he said "Did he tell you he almost killed me?"
"He omitted that little detail, but then he didn't know who you were. What a dilemma. It is a dilemma that I am fond of you, Maxie."
"What do you want?" Maxwell asked tersely.
"Easy now. Your claws are showing. I do not need to remind you that I am not one of your men, Maxie, do I?"
She gave a humourless chuckle when he didn't answer her question.
A chuckle that could mean anything to anything.
Then she said "You are lucky that I like you, Maxie you are lucky that I cherish history. Maybe, just maybe I was too hasty in my decision to silence your sister for life. I am going to let her go. There is always a price, of course. This is the end of any history that you and I ever had, Maxie. Do not ever call me like I am one of your men again. The number you know will never go through again."
Just as Maxwell felt an unexpected feeling of a sense of loss, he expected the call to be disconnected immediately as usual.
But Don was not done. "And oh, if she made any attempt at all to open her mouth to spew anything that dead faggot might have said to her, I would still go for her. So, I suppose you know what to do, Maxie? Goodbye forever.
"Goodbye, Donald," Maxwell said in a low tone after the phone disconnected.
He knew she would hate it if anyone called her by the name she bore before she turned.
Maxwell closed his eyes and leaned against the wall wearily.
For a moment, he could picture how he had met Don.
Maxwell would probably have died out there on the unforgiving street if Don had not taken him under his wing and made it known to everyone that he was his boy.
To date, Maxwell still had no idea why Don had never fully taken him into his circle and made him work for him.
Instead, he had told Maxwell, "You have potential. Now, go make use of it. If anybody tries to stop you, mention my name."
That was how Maxwell had begun to have enough backbone to do some things he wouldn't have dared to do when Fiona first sent him out of the house with frustration.
Don had thought of the street survival skill of fighting dirty to win just as he had always welcomed him with open hands when he came back hungry and defeated after losing any new venture he had thought was the one.
He would give him enough to eat, ask him what happened, give him some pocket money, and some advice, then tell him to get his ass up and get back to it after nudging him in a better direction with his business-wise advice.
Maxwell realised that, in a weird way, Don had been a sort of father to him.
In his dangerous, no-nonsense way, he had set Maxwell on the path to becoming the formidable man he became.
Donald-turned-Serena, aka Don, was a man of the dark, yet he had helped forge Maxwell in the limelight.
Just when the forces of the street would have wiped him out.
Maxwell sighed again as he realised he had never really had the opportunity to show his gratitude to Don.
Don never had the patience for such things.
"Are you okay?" Reyona's voice made him open his eyes wearily.
Without moving, he turned his head to look at her.
"You should be in bed," he said slowly.
"Not when you are standing here looking so lost" she responded with compassion.
Maxwell looked behind her to see a nurse coming over with a medical kit.
He straightened and laid his hand on her shoulder as he followed her in.
The nurse he had thought was going elsewhere entered the room after them.
He looked back and asked Reyona. "What is that for?"
"For you. Those nicks need tending to."
Maxwell didn't mind the pain.
The pain felt good.
It meant he was still alive.
But he didn't want her to worry, so he sat patiently as the nurse doused his wounds with stinging antiseptic.
He smiled at Reyona and reassured her, while he pondered if there was any need to pass Don's message to Susan.
She wouldn't dare, would she?