Page 69 of The Sacrifice
“Jackson, it’s what’s best.” She grabs my hand and blinks back the tears in her eyes.Son of a bitch.
My hands ball into fists. “We’re not going to stop seeing each other.”
“Like I said. In normal circumstances, I would recommend that, but if you’re certain it’s not going to be a different woman you’re dating each week, then it should be fine. We can work with it, but if she’s your nanny, you should probably sever that arrangement and keep it as a purely romantic relationship. Have you known each other long?” He cringes. “I’m hoping that answer is yes.”
“Yes. We grew up together. Mia is my best friend’s sister.”
“Good. That’s perfect. We can use your previous relationship as a prior when you go before the judge. We can’t let Roxanne’s attorney use anything against you to try and get full or joint custody of your child. Like Mia said, Roxanne is already pushing to get custody. We might know that her motives are monetarily based, but that doesn’t change any of the steps we need to follow.” He grabs an ink pen off the desk and taps it on the flat surface. “Is there any chance you’re planning to get married?”
“Listen.” Mia jumps up with Hadley in her arms. “Your attorney is right.” She looks down at me. “I’ve got to stop being Hadley’s nanny.”
“Okay. It’s a piece of paper. I can contact the company tonight and tell them I no longer need your services, and we can get married.”
“No.” Her eyes widen. “No. We can’t. “She turns back to face Spencer. “Would it be better if Jackson was single?”
“The less ammunition Roxanne has, the better his case will be.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I jump up and grab Mia’s shoulders. “We’re not breaking up.”
A tear slides down her cheek. “Yes, we are. I’m not going to risk Hadley’s future. For anything.” She shakes her head as her shoulders shudder. “I would never be able to forgive myself if it was my fault, she went back to Roxanne. And you would never forgive me, either. Or yourself. Your daughter’s needs must come before ours.”
Pain shoots through my forehead, rivaling that of the one in my gut. “I’m not losing either of you. It’s not an option.”
“You don’t have a choice.” She hands Hadley to me. “I’ve made my decision. Your daughter’s needs come before mine. I’m ending my service with you and moving out.” She swallows and clears her throat.
“Don’t.” I shake my head as everything comes crashing down. We were supposed to go out tonight and celebrate Hadley being officially mine. Not breaking up. “This doesn’t have to be the answer. You heard him.”
“Yes, I did.” She gnaws on her bottom lip. “He said this is the best way.” She grabs my arm and kisses Hadley’s forehead.
“Damn it, Mia,” I growl. The desire to shake her until she sees reason rocks through me, but it won’t do any good. She’s made up her mind.
“I’ll get my stuff and call your mom.” She slowly drops her hand from me and walks across the floor with her head held high. I want to hate her, but I love her even more for walking away.
When the door shuts, I turn to Spencer. “You’re a dick, you know that?”
“Dude.” He raises his hands in defense. “I didn’t mean you had to break up.”
Hadley’s bottom lip quivers, and a low whimper comes out of her mouth. “Perfect.” I roll my eyes. “You’ve made my girlfriend break up with me and my kid cry.”
I rub her back and hold her close to my chest with my mouth by her ear. “Sweet baby, it’s going to be fine.” I kiss the tip of her ear and direct my words to Spencer. “Everyone needs to come to their senses because we’re talking about Roxanne. The woman who was going to drop off her kid with social services, and left her with me as an afterthought.”
“Judges have given children back in similar circumstances.” Spencer shoves his chair backward.
“But not this one.” I drag my cellphone out of my pocket. “Give me the number to your security firm.”
After briefly greeting each other and sharing our background information, I ask, Truman, the owner of the security company, “What have you found out?”
“She’s in Vegas. She’s stripping and likely escorting. The guy she’s with is a known pimp. She doesn’t have a bank account or a home. She was months behind in rent when she skipped town without leaving a forwarding address. She’s been arrested for possession five times and did jail time on three occasions.”
“I need more. I need her nailed to the wall.”
“Two of my best agents are on it. They’ll find everything there is to discover on her.”
“I’ll pay whatever it takes to ensure she doesn’t see Hadley again. Would you be opposed to having someone fly out there and catch her at her game?”
Spencer’s eyes round as he waves his hands wildly in front of me. I spin around and face the opposite wall. He can do things his way, but I’m doing it my way. “I know Roxanne is out for money, and the fastest way to get full custody of Hadley is to get Roxanne to admit she’s trying to extort me and get her to sign over custody.”
“I’m on it. I’m putting your phone number on my phone. I’ll call you when everything is set to go.”