Chapter Fourteen

"Now, I want the two of you to go upstairs and get ready for bed," Maxie ordered as she pushed Spinelli and Ava toward the stairs. She was surprised to see them walk up the stairs without arguing. Maxie glanced at her watch and noticed that it was almost 2 in the morning. Feeling her stomach growled, she decided to grab something to eat in the kitchen before she checked in on Spinelli and Ava.

"Little One, are you sure you're okay?" Spin asked at the door to her room. He lifted a shaking hand and lightly over his fingers over the small cut on her neck.

"I'm fine Daddy," she said with a smile.

"The Jackal will never tire of hearing his little girl say that phrase. Now you need to get ready for bed before your mother goes on the war path." Spinelli kissed her forehead before she turned to her room. Spinelli walked across the hall to his room as he began to strip off his filthy clothes. He turned on the water, as hot as he could stand it, before stepping into the shower. He quickly washed off before he braced his hands on the walls. Spinelli dropped his head forward, feeling the tension slowly leave his body as the hot water ran over his back and shoulders. His head jerk up when he heard Maxie enter the bedroom. Spinelli groaned with frustration as he turned the water off. He sure didn't want Maxie to come in and "check" on him. He dried off quickly and wrapped the towel around his waist before he walked back into the bedroom to find Maxie gone. Spinelli breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled on his boxers and slipped into bed.

Meanwhile across the hall, Maxie laid in her daughters' bed with her little girl in her arms. She stroked Ava's damp hair as she said a prayer of thanks. Maxie slipped out from under Ava once she was sound asleep. "I love you," she whispered, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. She softly closed to door behind her before heading back across the hall. When she opened the door, she found Spinelli sound asleep in their bed. Maxie smiled to herself at the thought as she grabbed a tank and pajama pants before heading to the shower.

Once Maxie had finished her nightly rituals, she walked over to the bed to find her husband sprawled out in the middle. I would've never expected him to be a bed hog. She gave him a slight nudge before sliding in beside him. She had to practically lay on top of his back to keep from falling off the bed, but she wasn't complaining. Maxie closed her eye, letting his steady breathing lull her to sleep.

Maxie woke up instantly when she heard someone banging on the door downstairs. She squinted her eyes at the harsh sunlight entering the room from the balcony as she checked to make sure Spinelli was still asleep. She slipped out of bed and pulled the door behind her quietly before she stomped angrily down the stairs. Surly the police wouldn't be here this early. Maxie's eyes widened in fear as the door slowly opened before she made it to the door. Then her eyes narrowed in anger when she noticed who it was.

"You do realize that breaking and entering is illegal, don't you Lulu?" she asked sarcastically. Maxie noticed the tears in the other woman's eyes, but she wasn't about to give her a drop of sympathy.

"Spinelli gave me a key." Maxie wanted to slap that smirk off of Lulu's face. "But that's not what's important, I need to see Spinelli," she said as she started toward the stairs.

Maxie grabbed her arm before she could pass her. "My husband is asleep, so whatever you'll have to wait."

"Maxie, I can't believe you manipulated him into marrying you, but I really don't care about that right now. I need to see him and you can't stop me."

"I can and I will. Now get out before I throw you out like the trash that you are."

"My husband was brutally murdered last night. I have to see my best friend."

Maxie tightened her grip on Lulu's arm when she said that Logan had been brutally murdered. Spinelli gave him exactly what he deserved. "Oh, you mean the man who tried to rape me, while you watched through the window and did nothing?"

"Both of us apologized for that night."

"And that was supposed to make everything better?" Maxie asked. "You haven't changed a bit Lulu."

"You haven't either," she said before stomping on Maxie's barefoot and heading upstairs when Maxie's grip loosened.

"That real mature Lulu," Maxie said as she raced after her. She was not sure what Spinelli would do when he saw Lulu, but she soon found out when she reached their bedroom door. Maxie found her husband lying on their bed with a hysterical Lulu in his arms and a very shocked look on his face.

Spinelli felt his heart constrict for the woman in his arms, his best friend. "Fair Lulu-"

"Spinelli, he's dead. Someone brutally murdered my husband of 15 years last night. Someone took away the father of my children," she cried into his bare chest.

Spinelli stiffened. "Children?"

"Yes, I just found out yesterday that we're expecting." Lulu pulled herself up into a kneeling position, bringing him with her. "Spinelli, they've arrested Jason, but I know he didn't do it, and as much as I love Lucky, I know he and the PCPD can't find Logan's killer. So I need you to do it."

"Alright, that's it Lulu, I want you out now," Maxie ordered as she started for the bed.

"Spinelli, please help me, you're the only one I can turn to," Lulu pleaded, ignoring Maxie's order.

Maxie grabbed Lulu's arm and pulled her off the bed. "I told you to get out. I-"she stopped her rant when she heard a cell phone ring. Maxie sat down beside Spinelli, taking his hand in hers, as Lulu answered her phone. She noticed him tense up automatically, she ignored this and held his hand tighter. "Coop, please don't do anything rash, stay there," they heard Lulu say into the phone.

Lulu hung up her phone and walked back over to Spinelli, sitting down on the other side of him. "I have to go. Please see what you can do about bringing this monster to justice." Lulu gave him a tight hug and small kiss on his cheek before leaving the room.

Maxie let go of Spinelli's hand and followed her downstairs. "Leave your spare key on the way out." Lulu glared at her as she took the key off the chain and threw it at Maxie, hitting her on her cheek. Lulu was out the door before Maxie could reach her. Maxie turned back toward the stairs when she heard glass breaking.

"Spinelli," she called softly as she walked in their room. She decided to check their bathroom, when she noticed that he was no longer in the bed. Maxie pushed open the bathroom and gasped loudly. "Spin, what happened?" she asked as she pulled his bloodied hand over the sink. Maxie asked him again as she rinsed his hand. When he did not answer, she glanced up at him and noticed the broken mirror over the sink out of the corner of her eye. She realized the affect Lulu's visit had on him.

Spinelli was shocked when she continued to clean his hand instead of yelling at him. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Lucky had one of his lackeys come to arrest him. Lulu was right he was a monster.

"You're not a monster."

"How-"he began as he looked down at her.

"I know her words made you do this. I bet you came in here to wash your face and when you looked into the mirror, you saw the 'monster' Lulu referred to, so you decided to have it out with the mirror. But Spinelli, I think the mirror won this round," she stated giving him a small smile, which he returned slightly. Maxie finished wrapping a bandage around his hand, before placing a small kiss on his wound.

Spinelli stiffened and pulled his hand from hers. "Thanks," he replied as he turned toward the door. He stopped short when he saw Ava standing there. "How long has the Little One been standing there?"

"Long enough to know what that bitch called you," she stated with her hands on her hips.

"Ava," Maxie warned, with a small smile on her face, as she cleaned up the glass that had fallen on the floor.

"The Jackal wishes that his progeny would stop referring to Fair Lulu in such a crude manner."

"You're taking up for her," mother and daughter said in unison.

Spinelli ignored them as he gently brushed past his daughter on his way back into the bedroom.

"You need to do something Mom," Ava stated as she pulled the trashcan over for Maxie to drop the last pieces of the mirror in.

"You need to stay out of this. Your father and I do not want to have to worry about you through all of this, so you let us handle this situation." Maxie finished washing and drying her hands before she pulled Ava into a hug. "So, that means, you need to keep your P.I. in training, guts to yourself." Maxie noticed her husband glance at her from their bedroom with a smile on his face. If she could not do anything else for him, at least she could make him smile.

TBC

A/N: Don't forget to review :).