This was the moment Vera could have stepped out and said one word in my defense, and the whole thing would have been over. But she stayed curled up in the backseat, wide-eyed and pitiful, gazing at Maxwell like he was some raging beast she couldn't possibly intervene against.
"If anything happens to my son, I'll bury you with him!"
I shot a cool glance at Vera cowering in the car, then turned a flat look on Maxwell and his snarling face.
"I'm doing this for Vera and the baby!"
"Ha. She's not even due yet. Don't think I don't know what you're really after."
I said, "Whether she's due or not isn't for you to decide!"
I pointed at Vera huddled in the backseat. "Ask her yourself!"
Maybe our screaming match had finally gotten to her. The delicate, helpless expression on Vera's face crumpled in an instant, twisting into something tight and agonized, like a wrung-out dishrag.
"Vera? What's wrong?"
Maxwell's scream snapped me to attention.
I looked at Vera. Her water had broken.
"What are you standing there for? Get her to the hospital!"
"I don't have time to deal with you right now."