She gave him a steely glare that carried a note of warning. “I almost didn’t.”
He understood that, and she’d never been one to hold back, so her honesty was a good sign. “What changed your mind?”
She shrugged. “First and foremost, I want what’s best for Ellie. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”
“I appreciate you giving this a shot.” A trace of optimism started to stir in his chest. Maybe they could work out some sort of agreement and he’d be able to be a proper father to all three of his children.
A waitress came, and they ordered drinks. When she’d left, Melissa speared him with a glance and said, “Okay, let’s cut to the chase. What do you want?”
“More time with Ellie. To be a bigger part of her life.”
She dismissed that with a flick of her wrist. “That’s what the lawyers are for—to work out those arrangements.”
“Come on, Melissa,” he said. “We’re the two people who care most about her. We’re her parents. We should be able to work it out between ourselves.”
“And you honestly think that would be best for Ellie, given your...”
“PTSD,” he supplied. “I’ve made some solid progress with that.” Thanks mainly to Harper and her limitless patience and support.
Their drinks arrived, and Melissa fiddled with the straw in hers for a few moments before excusing herself to go to the bathroom. Nick sat back in the seat. Getting her here had been step one. Step two was telling her what he wanted. Now all that was left was to get her to agree. When she came back, he’d push more and they’d avoid a legal battle.
As soon as she was out of sight, her fiancé strolled over and stood at the table.
“Guy,” Nick said, narrowing his eyes. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
He gave a smarmy, insincere smile. “Look, Melissa is too nice to say it, but we both know what kind of man you are.”
“And what kind is that?” he drawled.
“A screwup.”
From someone whose opinion mattered, that might be insulting. From this pathetic excuse of a man? Borderline amusing. “And how do you figure that?”
“You’re not quite right in the head anymore, are you, Nick?”
He barely held back a sigh. “I have PTSD, if that’s what you mean.”
“And that’s not all.”
“I think it’s time you left,” he said, trying to keep his tone even despite his growing annoyance.
Guy reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a handful of tablets and laid them on the table in front of him. Nick recognized them immediately—over-the-counter and prescription pills. All painkillers. For several seconds he couldn’t breathe. All he could see was the pills. He hadn’t seen that many together since he’d beaten his addiction to painkillers after his last mission. And here they were, inches from his hand, their siren’s song calling him.
Then Guy whipped out his phone camera. “I think our friend Maverick could do some real damage with this photo—”
There was movement to his left followed by Melissa’s voice. “Guy, I didn’t know you were back.” Then she noticed the pills. “What the hell, Nick?”
“They’re not mine,” he said, his voice gravel as he forced his lungs to work. “Guy dumped them here.”
“Guy?” she said.
“I’m sorry, baby,” her fiancé said, his voice dripping with slime. “We know he’s going to relapse at some point and put Ellie at risk. I just thought if we speed it along so it happens before the custody case instead of after, then it would be better for all of us.”
“You did this?” Melissa looked appalled. “Guy, this has to stop.”
“You know I only want what’s best for you and Ellie. And, seriously, Maverick would love something juicy like this. We post it online and he’ll find it—he’s really good at sniffing a story out.”
Nick could hear the argument between his ex and her fiancé going on, but his gaze was stuck on the pills, and he felt his skin breaking out in a fine sheen of sweat.