Page 29

“She went for work.”

“What does your mom do for work?”

“She makes clothes.”

“Fashion design?”

“Yeah. A con … a con …” Max frowns as he struggles to find the right word.

“A convention?”

“Yeah, that.” Max grins.

“Did she say the name of the convention she was attending?” I pull my phone out of my cut so I can text Matrix. If Max can’t recall the details, Matrix will figure it out.

“I don’t know.” Max scrunches his eyebrows together. His gaze slides up and to the left. He’s trying so hard to remember the name, but he clearly can’t recall it.

“That’s okay. Remember my friend Matrix?”

“Yeah,” Max says.

“I’m going to have him find your mom.”

“Do you think she’ll take me with her?”

So much hope fills the boy’s eyes that I’m not about to crush it. “I’m sure she will.”

We still don’t know where his mother stands when it comes to Max. What kind of mother would leave her child with an abuser for the summer? I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve encountered one, but it still shocks me. Some people should never become parents. Hopefully, his mother steps the fuck up and takes responsibility for keeping her son safe, but we won’t know what she intends to do until we locate her.

I finish texting Matrix what little we know about Max’s mom. Matrix should be able to find flight itineraries, which will give us the timeframe for her trip. From there, he can narrow it down and get a list of possible locations. Hopefully, he’ll find her quickly, but as he likes to remind me, these things take time. We managed to keep the sheriff at bay so far, but he’ll be back. I have no doubt about that.

Max returns his attention to the show he’s been watching, making it easy for me to slip away. I find Nina and Julia huddled together in the kitchen, whispering.

“I’ve got Matrix looking into the mom’s whereabouts,” I say.

“Good. Once he locates her, we can tell her what’s going on,” Nina says.

Julia won’t meet my gaze, and it pisses me off. She can’t possibly still be thinking of leaving, can she? Apparently, Nina couldn’t talk any sense into her, so it’s up to me.

“I need to talk to you—alone,” I tell her.

Julia glances at Nina for help, but Nina ignores her silent plea.

“Great! That gives me time to work on lunch. Although no one seems hungry, so maybe I’ll make an early dinner instead. Will the other boys be here again tonight?” Nina asks.

“I’m leaving two prospects to keep an eye on the bar and clubhouse. The rest of the guys will be bunking here tonight.”

“Oh, I love being able to see all my boys together.” Nina’s glowing. I love seeing her so happy. She saved our lives, and I want to do everything in my power to put a smile on her face as often as possible. I know we’re not the easiest guys to deal with, so she deserves as much happiness as we can give her. She’ll be pissed if I let Julia and Max leave. I can’t let that happen.

Against my better judgment, I return to my room so Julia and I can speak privately. The minute I close my door, the air seems to get sucked out of my chest. Julia’s sitting on the edge of my bed, and all I can think about is laying her down and kissing her until she can’t remember who the hell she is, let alone think about leaving me. Us.Fuck.

I take a step toward the bed. She tenses. Damn, she’s probably still afraid of me. After last night, I don’t blame her. She won’t stay if she’s still terrified of me, so I need to fix that before I convince her that she’s safer with me than out there alone in the world.

“I’m sorry about what happened last night.” I sit on the bed beside her but not close enough to make physical contact. I still don’t trust myself. I want to touch her far too much. It’s all I’ve been able to think about since I got out of bed this morning.

“You had a nightmare. You were scared. It’s understandable.” She raises her head and meets my eyes. My belly drops as blood rushes south. She’s so damn beautiful. She doesn’t deserve to be in the position she’s in, and she shouldn’t have to live in fear. I know what that’s like. It’s hell on earth.

“I need you to know that I’d never hurt you. Not intentionally. I should have warned you about the nightmares, but I didn’t think you’d end up in my room. It’s been a while since I’ve had a nightmare that bad.” I tear my gaze away. Looking into her soft, comforting green eyes is more than I can bear. She sees too much, and I hate talking about the past. It’s too painful.