I blink a few times. “I’ll take care of it.”
Reese inclines his head. “I’ll find out eventually, obviously, but let me know when it’s done.”
“Yes, sir. Will do.”
Anxiety has sweat dotting my upper lip. I’ve never batted an eye when he’s made me sell drugs or pick someone up off the street that he wanted tohave a talk with. But since he went to jail, the people he’s had me workingwith and things he’s asked me to do for him have made me uneasy.
Not because they’re worse than what I’ve done, because I’ve done some fucked-up shit, but because the man sitting across from me is a liability. He’s getting careless. He’s making stupid, selfish, emotion-led decisions that could land my ass right beside his in prison.
But I can’t go against him. At least not yet.
Reese nods, then hangs up the receiver and signals to the guard that he’s done. Once he’s gone, I stand up and walk distractedly out of the prison.
Looks like the plans for my day have changed.
33
Maggie
“Maggie, it’s so good to see you again.” Pamela greets me with a smile.
“It’s good to see you, too.”
She gestures for Ian and me to enter her office. Ian’s hand on my lower back guides me to the couch, where we sit down next to each other, thighs touching.
Pamela grabs a notepad and a pen and sits in the chair situated across from us. “Ian, are you staying? Normally, I don’t do couples therapy, but considering you’ve gotten me to make an exception to almost everything, what’s one more thing?” Her tone is teasing as she smiles at Ian affectionately.
A surprising pang of jealousy settles in my gut. I know there’s nothing going on between Pamela and Ian, but their familiarity digs the knife in a little deeper. Especially considering my actions drove him here.
He squeezes my thigh. “No, I’m not staying. This is for Maggie. I just wanted to get her settled in before leaving her.”
Affection drowns out the jealousy, and my palm goes to the back of his hand resting on my leg. “You can go. I’ll be okay.”
His gaze searches my face for a few breaths before he places a chaste kiss on my lips. “Since we didn’t have time to grab one before, I’m going to go get you a coffee so you can have it as soon as you are done.”
I blink away the emotion before I squeeze his hand one more time. “Thank you, baby.”
He stands and nods to Pamela. Stalking out of the room with one final backwards glance at me, the door shuts behind him.
I watch the door for a few moments, then face Pamela, blowing out a steadying breath. “Thank you for doing this.”
Pamela taps her pen on the notepad. “You’re welcome. Ian didn’t really give me a lot of information, just that you needed to talk to someone.”
I clasp my hands in my lap. “I didn’t mean for meeting with me.”
Her eyebrows jump.
“I mean, yes, for meeting with me, of course. But I meant thank you for doing this for Ian. For everything you’ve done for him.”
A knowing smile tips her lips up. “I wouldn’t jeopardize my professional integrity for just anyone. Ian is a special guy.”
I nod. “He very much is.” Releasing a heavy sigh, I swallow hard. “I know I messed up with him in the beginning and said some awful things. My intention wasn’t to hurt him, but I now realize how deeply I did.”
“Do you want to talk about why you did that? All Ian told me was that it was for a good reason.”
Wincing, I explain, “At the moment, I thought it was the least painful way to break things off with him that would make sure he wouldn’t try to convince me to change my mind, but looking back, it’s one of my biggest regrets in my life. And once I tell you about the rest of my life, it’ll be clear that’s saying something.”
Pamela’s features turn solemn. “I wouldn’t say this in a normal therapy session, but since this is just friends talking, I’m taking some liberties… He did not deserve what you said to him. Ian may have his baggage, but he’s a damn fine man.”
