She laughs, her tone light and calm. “I suppose that’s true. But dealing with gangsters, darling? That would be unseemly.”
Max speaks up before I can answer. “Patricks seems to think the Lofthouse family was built on unseemly activities.”
She smiles at him. “Does he now?”
“Bootlegging. Loan sharking. But he seems to think the connections your family made during Prohibition may have continued on until today.”
“Interesting.” She walks to a window and looks out. I know that window has a good view of the gardens, and she smiles as she stares out at it. “What would you have me do?” she asks.
“Get in contact with them,” Max answers. “If we can end this without bloodshed… I want to protect your daughter. And my daughter.”
Mother looks at him. “If that were true, you’d cut your throat right here and now.”
He stares at her. I let out a little gasp in shock. She smiles back at the two of us like she just said something funny.
“Mother,” I hiss.
“It’s true. If he wanted to protect you, he’d kill himself. That would end all our troubles.”
“But not for my daughter,” Max says. He does a good job of keeping the anger from his voice but I can see the tension all over his body. “That would leave my daughter without parents. Will you take her in?”
My mother looks surprised. “I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Take her in. Promise you’ll raise her, give her a good education. Promise you’ll give her a trust fund and a good life.”
Mother laughs. “Oh, no, I can’t do that. She’s not a Lofthouse.”
“Then I can’t kill myself.”
“Pity.” She sighs. “But you make a good point.” She turns back to us and crosses her arms. “Give me something to go with here.”
“I think they’ll take money,” Max says. “Money and possibly a favor.”
“I don’t love the idea of being beholden to the mafia.”
“Then cash in one of the favors I’m sure they owe you.”
A small smile ghosts across her lips. “That might be possible.”
“We pay them off and you cash in your favor. In exchange for the money, they give us the other guy left out there and leave me and Tab alone.”
Mother frowns. “The other one? You think they’d sell him out?”
“I do,” Max says. “For enough money, I do. And for your patronage.”
“Why request it? They’d agree more easily without that clause.”
Max’s hands curl into fists. “Because that fuck hurt our daughters,” he says. “He scared Tabitha. He scared Delia. And I don’t abide that.”
My mother smiles. It’s a broad, beaming smile. “Ruthless. I like that.”
“Ruthless would be hunting him down and killing him myself. But this will have to do.”
She watches us for a long moment before inclining her head. “I can’t promise they’ll agree, but I can make the attempt.”
“Thank you,” I say, relief flooding through me.
“But I want something from you, first,” she says to Max.
He nods once, like he expected it. “Name your price.”
“I want you to work for the Loftville Police Department. I’ll get you a job, something that works for your skills. Detective, perhaps.” She shrugs. “We can discuss it.”
He looks surprised. “That’s it?” he asks.
“That’s it.”
“Mom,” I say, but Max talks over me.
“I’ll do it,” he says.
“Good. I thought you might.”
“Why?” I ask, staring at her. “I don’t understand. You own that department. You don’t need another man on the inside.”
She smiles at me, and for a second, I feel like she can actually see me. Like she’s looking right at me for the first time in my life.
“Darling, if he works at the department, that means he’ll stay in Loftville. And if he stays here, you’ll stay here. I’m so tired of my children running off.”
I blink rapidly and stare at her. “I don’t… you just want me to stay here?”
She nods. “I do, but I know you won’t be happy. Maybe with him here…” She trails off, looking at Max.
I follow her gaze. He looks back at me and smiles. “I have to admit, it’s an easy price to pay,” he says.
“All this just to get me to stay,” I whisper.
“I know, darling. I am the worst.”
I look at her and nod. “Okay. Thank you.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” She spreads her hands wide. “Anything for my children.”
I want to hug her, but I know it would ruin everything. She walks back to her painting and sits down on the stool with a sigh. Sometimes I forget that my mother is growing older. She’s still the towering figure I remember from when I was a girl.
“Come on,” Max says to me, taking my hand. “We’ll check back later.”
Mother nods and waves us off. She’s already looking at her canvas like she forgot we ever existed.
Max pulls me away. We slip out of the room and he shuts the door behind us. Once we’re at the bottom of the steps, I turn to him and he grabs me, pulling me against his body. He stumbles back against the wall as I kiss him hard, my hands in his hair.