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“I s this Max Deckman?”

“No,” Levi told the woman over the phone. Or rather, she sounded like a girl, maybe a teenager? “Can I help you?”

“No, I need Max Deckman. Is he there?”

“Yes.”

“You get him on the phone. I have…” The sound grew muffled as the girl cupped the phone and then she came back. “Lily is here and needs Max.”

“Hold on,” Levi growled, placed the call on hold, and jogged across the gym and down the hallway.

He wrapped his knuckles on Max’s open door.

“Max, Lily is on line one.”

Max frowned and yanked up the phone. “Lily?”

“No, it’s Cindi!”

William appeared in the doorway behind Levi as Max listened to Cindi on the phone. Both men waited while he finished his conversation with the woman on the phone.

Hanging up the receiver, Max was up out of his chair.

“William, watch the shop.” Max pointed at Levi. “You’re with me, bring your weapon.”

Max stalked back to his desk and pulled out the Ruger SR1911 he kept inside the drawer. He checked the clip and tucked the handgun into his shoulder holster before sliding on a heavy coat over his pullover sweater.

“Is Lily okay?” William asked, worry filling his face.

“She will be,” Max promised.

“Is she in trouble?” Levi asked, walking next to him, tucking away his own 9MM.

“Yes.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“I don’t really know,” Max said and whistled for Leo.

Downtown Seattle was a nightmare.

It was mid-morning on a weekend and every car, truck, and SUV seemed to get in Max’s way, sending his blood pressure through the roof.

Lily had refused to come to the phone, so Max had been left talking to the perky waitress who had taken pains to fill him in on every detail.

Cindi told him that Lily was soaked, not dressed for winter, “And don’t get me started on her face,” the girl added.

As faint as Lily’s voice had been, Max clearly heard Lily shush the girl over the phone.

What had happened to Lily’s face?

Max squeezed the wheel with a death grip, wishing instead it was Blake’s neck. If that fucker had anything to do with this, then he was a dead man.

“There,” Levi pointed and zipped up his coat.

Max whipped into a parking spot near the cafe.

He, Leo, and Levi were out of his jeep and running through the rain.

When he stepped inside, Max found a man waiting for him in the front.

“Leo, stay,” Max ordered the dog.

The guy with the name tag Jason pointed down the nearest aisle lined with booths.

Lily sat in a back booth, her delicate hands wrapped around a cup of creamy coffee. Her head was down, shoulders slumped.

Max held up a hand to stop Levi and Levi put out an arm to prevent Jason from following.

Cindi was as Max pictured, a young teenager and a hostess instead of a waitress. The girl stood protectively next to the booth where Lily was encased.

Max crouched next to Lily’s knee, careful of his size. In situations like this, his size could scare her.

“Lily?” he whispered around a knot in his throat.

Her head lifted and he got his first look at her face. Anguish followed by rage filled him, but he held it in. Nothing good would come from showing his anger at the moment.

The endless loop ran over and over in his head as he pictured her running through the cold wet streets from her attacker. He felt like he’d lost years off his life until he had her in his sights.

She was fucking battered and he wanted to kill something.

The mixture of cuts and bruises on her face had his rage building.

“Come here, baby,” Max murmured gruffly over the lump in his throat as he fell back into using the endearment naturally.

In the old days, he’d called her baby, darling, and sunshine. And even though she’d complained about the use of the common pet names, she had done it with a loving smile.

“Max.”

His name was spoken with so much pain that it made his eyes burn. Opening his arms to her, he waited.

In seconds, she turned and slid from the booth and against him. He closed his arms around her gently, keeping her balanced across both of his thighs.

One of her arms wrapped around his neck, but the other stayed pressed to her stomach.

He knew what that meant. In his line of work and being former military, he knew when a limb was injured.

Without another word, Max stood upright and carried her from the cafe.

Max warred with rage as he sat in the emergency room watching Lily, who lay back in one of the beds.

It was hella busy for a Saturday and Lily had yet to see a doctor. Plus, she hadn’t spoken a word after his name.

One of Deckman Defense and Security trainees had come by the hospital and picked up Levi and Leo and took them back to the facility. Levi would let William know what was going on.

Max couldn’t keep his eyes from Lily. Right then, her eyes were closed, her face paper white beneath the purple bruises. He fisted his hands and kept his breathing even.

And in his head, Max went over every conceivable way he could snuff the life out of Blake. The fucker was a dead man walking.

What if it wasn’t Blake? Max nixed that thought. He figured she had told the guy that she was leaving and Blake had snapped.

Had Lily asked for a divorce?

At this point, he could only speculate because Lily wasn’t talking.

The police were on their way. The hospital staff had called Seattle PD the moment Max had walked through the sliding doors with her in his arms.

They’d taken them back right away, trying to take her from him. He knew they suspected the abuse was from him, but Lily had a fit and wouldn’t release him.

Resigned, the charge nurse led them through the double doors and to an empty bed.

That had been hours ago.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Laura Wilson,” the woman said gently and Max was thankful they’d sent a female. “I need you to step out and wait.” Dr. Wilson gestured to the door.

Lily panicked and swept her left arm out, seeking his. Her eyes filled with terror.

Max caught her hand and held it tight. He bent closer to gaze into her eyes.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right outside,” he promised gruffly and after a long moment, she eased her grip.

Max stepped out and walked to the corner not far from Lily’s room and sent a text to Levi.

Find me Blake Stevenson.

Two officers walked through the double doors at the end of the hall and approached the ER desk. Max headed back to the open doorway and stared inside at the curtain that shielded Lily and the doctor.

“You definitely show lingering signs of a concussion, so I’d like to get a CT scan done. In the meantime, I’m just waiting for the radiologist to finish his notes regarding your wrist and ribs x-ray,” Dr. Wilson said. “Did the man outside do this?”

“No, he’s my bodyguard,” Lily whispered, finally talking. “My husband did this.”

“Were you raped?” Dr. Wilson asked gently.

“No,” Lily said flatly, her voice firm.

So much fucking relief had Max slumping against the wall.

Just then, Lily had sounded like the girl he’d known before. The spunky woman who took no shit from anyone. It almost made Max smile.

Almost.

The two cops walked up to the open doorway along with a staff member and all three entered Lily’s room.

“Mrs. Stevenson?” one cop asked.

And even though that was technically her last name, Max wanted to punch the fucker in the head.

He had to step away.