“Bleekman’s. They said the drugs have done damage to my insides. Do you think you can heal my body like you’ve healed my soul?”

Afraid to look at her, to let her see his sadness, he stared out the window at the rain. “I don’t think you should have kids with a man who won’t be there to help you raise them anyway.”

His tone was flat and she hated it. “You can’t be consumed with death when we have so much life to live. A baby of yours…” she looked away from him, “would be a gift.”

Anger surged over his grim reality of a future. “Those doctors would tell you anything to hurt you.”

“We’ve never used birth control and I’ve not gotten pregnant. I think they were right.”

“Jude,” he started, shaking his head ever so slightly. “I’ll do this if you need me to, but I don’t think we need to talk about something we can’t control before our appointment this morning. We can pick it up later tonight if you want.”

She pulled out a cigarette and lit it while staring out at the city on the other side of their glass refuge. “I started smoking because my uncle hated cigarette smoke.”

Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place, the rounded edges of her confession sharp with pain on his already beaten heart. “What if I asked you not to?”

Exhaling smoke, she then replied, “I’d quit for you.”

“I want you to stop smoking. I don’t ask much of you, but this I ask because I love you and even if I can’t live a long life, I want you to.”

Jude dropped it in a glass of water on the floor. “For you, anything.” Standing up, she said, “I’ll make breakfast.”

With all the talk of what they couldn’t do, he wanted to focus on what they could. Tucking his hands behind his head, he watched her naked body walk by and into the kitchen. He just hoped the shades were drawn in the living room. Getting up, he went to take a shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist before joining her in the kitchen.

He formed around her back, encompassing her. She stopped scrambling the eggs and leaned her cheek against his. He whispered, “It’s going to be okay.”

“You’re not mad at me about the birth control?”

“How can I be mad when I didn’t use any either.”

She moved the spatula around the skillet, then turned off the flame. “Living dangerously, Mr. Barrett?”

“Is there any other way to live these days?”

“Yes! Safely.”

“I guess I didn’t mind being tied to you before we tied the knot.”

Jude’s body stilled and she turned in his arms. “What are you saying, you crazy man?”

“Don’t call me crazy,” he teased.

Her fist lightly pounded his chest. “Never,” she replied with a smile. “But you’re saying you would have had a baby with me?”

“I still will if you play your cards right.” He waggled his eyebrows for extra emphasis.

“But I can’t.”

“I don’t think you should believe anything those doctors told you. You can find a doctor here in the city. We can do tests to see, but I’m not going to believe you can’t just because those psychos said it.”

She kissed his chin and then his lips. “Thank you. Now let’s get you fed and we’ll start getting ready.”

Taylor settled on the barstool with a plate and fork in front of him. Jude poured two glasses of juice and set one down for him. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“I will always take care of you.”

Just before he had a chance to take a bite, a knock on the door surprised them. Their eyes met, panic setting in. Taylor stood and whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ll answer it. Go to the bedroom and get dressed. He watched her hurry into the bedroom and checked the time. 8:08. Too early for company. He tightened his towel around him and looked through the peephole. Two police officers stood on the other side of the door. “Hello?” Taylor called.

“Mr. Barrett, please open the door.”

“What’s this regarding?”

“Again, please open the door so we don’t have to disturb your neighbors.”

Red flags were firing with every receiving synapse, but he had no choice. One way or the other, the police had rights as much as he did. He slowly unbolted the main locks and opened the door just enough to see each other’s faces. The cop closest said, “We have a court order for Ms. Boehler to be returned to her guardians.”

“It’s Mrs. Barrett. We’re married. She’s twenty-two. Legally old enough to make her own choices. She’s choosing not to return to them.”

“She doesn’t have that right, legally,” he stated firmly, but the softening around the edges of his eyes belied the sternness of his words.

“We’re married.”

“But her guardians are still her parents and they have filed for her return.”

“They’re abusive. She can’t go back. We have a meeting with our lawyer at ten. He’s filing. Just pretend we weren’t here and let us go to that appointment.”

The officer sighed and looked down. When he looked up again, Taylor saw the sympathy in his eyes. “Hey, Mac. I may not understand the details of this case, but I have to follow orders. Ramirez here has to follow orders as well. We’ll have to arrest you if you keep us from our job.”

Taylor was not going to let her go without a fight, again. “Officers, let me ask you this: if someone had been drugging your wife, emotionally torturing her, physically abusing her, would you just step aside for her to be taken back to those people?”

They stared at Taylor a good, hard thirty seconds, then the cop said, “You’re in a towel. I have no idea how she’s dressed, but here’s what I’m going to do. We’re gonna step back, a few feet down this hall and pretend we haven’t had this conversation. You’re gonna get dressed, make sure she’s dressed, and open this door in five minutes when we knock. You seem like a nice enough guy, so we’ll extend you that courtesy, but we can’t walk away without Ms. Boe… Barrett in our custody. If you fail to open this door in five minutes, we’ll bust it open and arrest you and your wife for obstructing justice.”

Like rats—they were trapped. He started to shut the door, but the police officer added, “I’d also spend that time calling your lawyer, Mr. Barrett.”

The door shut and he locked one of the bolts. When he turned around, he saw Jude standing there in a pair of pants, a sweater, and sneakers. Her gaze lowered to the floor and she said, “Call your lawyer and go into the bedroom and wait until I’m gone.”

“No.” His eyes, like his tone, were defiant. “I’m not letting them take you.”

“You have no choice, Hazel. Please. You can’t help me if you’re in jail.”

He went to her, taking her by the arms, his eyes pleaded as his hands squeezed. “I’m not giving up. Don’t you give up either!”

“I’m not giving up. I’m playing by their rules. It’s poker and they have a better hand this round. We’ll have the better hand next deal. I’m going with them. You’re not going to stop this. You can’t. All you can do is help me through the legal system. Please, Hazel, I beg of you. Go into the bedroom, get dressed, and call the lawyer.”

He shook his head. “I can’t just let them take you.”

“Then come with me. Follow them to the station. They can’t just deliver me back home. There’s a paper trail they have to deal with. Go get dressed.”

They stole seconds together and stared into each other’s eyes. He touched her face and said, “Don’t open the door yet. I’ll follow you to the station.” Taylor wasn’t going to give up this time. He had failed her two days ago. Never again. She was his, and he will defend her from those determined to make her powerless.

Jude had accepted her fate this early morning and went to the door while her destiny stayed firmly wrapped up in the man in the bedroom. One bolt. Her hand shook, but unlocked it. When she opened the door, the two officers straightened themselves after having been leaning on the wall. She stepped out, and whispered, “Please don’t hurt him.”

They nodded. The deception of what was happening might not have been understood by the cops, but the gravity of ripping two people in love apart was. “I’ve got a wife at home. So does Ramirez.”