Page 1 of Maximus (Gold Team #4)

There she was.

Eva Dawson.

Also known as Eva Dawkins. Or, as Mark “Bubba” Wright and Zoey Knight knew her—Eve Dane the pilot from hell. The woman who’d faked engine trouble, dumped them in a remote part of Alaska, and left them for dead.

That was who Tex had sent me down to Florida to grab. Actually, the man wanted me to protect her.

What the fuck ?

I’d read the reports, I knew Eva had a shit life but as far as I was concerned what she’d done was inexcusable. The woman had nearly killed Bubba and Zoey. Why Tex was helping her was beyond me, and why Zoey and Bubba had let her off the hook, I couldn’t understand.

Everyone had trauma in their past, didn’t mean they got a free pass.

I watched as the woman in question came out of the grocery store where she worked as a checkout girl. A job Tex had gotten her. He’d also given her a fresh start, relocated her and her two sons, and given them new identities .

Something she didn’t deserve .

She wore her long, mousy brown hair in a ponytail and from a distance she looked like your average, everyday woman.

But when you got close and caught sight of her incredible yellow-green eyes, there was nothing average about her.

The eyes made all the difference—they looked fake, and for a moment as I stared at her from the checkout line, I wondered if they were contacts.

The uniform she wore did her no favors. Her pants hung on her like they were two sizes too big, and the oxford shirt looked like a child’s small. Though I doubted the ugly, green top was made for a child the way her breasts filled it out.

My first order of business when I finally spoke to her was to have a come-to-Jesus talk with the woman.

After going through her line, I stood by my SUV in the parking lot and waited for her shift to end.

When it did, she walked out of the store looking down at the ground instead of paying attention to her surroundings.

I could snatch her up and have her in my SUV before she even realizes what’s happening.

Stupid .

A blonde woman juggling one of those infant carriers caught my attention.

She stumbled, nearly losing her grip on the three bags dangling from her fingers while trying to negotiate her keys.

In the meantime, she dropped her wallet on the way to her car without even knowing it.

Christ, what was wrong with people? Didn’t anyone pay attention? Bad shit happened in parking lots.

I was getting ready to step forward to quietly tell the mother she’d dropped her wallet, when Eva picked it up.

With no option other than giving away my presence, which I wasn’t ready to do, I clenched my jaw in an attempt to remain silent.

Fucking hell ! Eva was going to steal the poor …

“Hey! Wait!” Eva’s voice rang out. The mother’s head jerked in Eva’s direction. “Here, you dropped this.”

“Crap. Thank you so much.” The mom tried to reach out to take her wallet from Eva and the bags started to slip again.

“I got it.” Eva eased a bag from the other woman and smiled. “I have two.” Eva nodded toward the infant. “I remember what that’s like.”

“First one. Still trying to get the hang of it.”

“It’ll get easier. Let me help you to your car.”

“Thanks.” The haggard new mom blew out a breath.

Jesus. Neither woman had noticed him. And the mother was far too trusting—Eva could’ve been a psycho murderer for all she knew, out to kidnap her child.

Situational awareness.

Both women were severely lacking in that department.

“You’ve been down there watching her for three days. I need you to make contact.” I could hear Tex’s irritation, hell, I practically felt it rolling off him over the phone as I sat in my SUV.

And there she was, the woman in question—Eva.

And once fucking again, she wasn’t paying attention as she came out of work. Christ, the need to shake some sense into her became harder and harder to control the more I watched her.

“She has tomorrow off,” I told him something he knew—after all, it was Tex who’d given me her schedule. “Call her tonight and tell her I’ll be at her place tomorrow at ten.”

Tex’s exaggerated sigh came over the phone. “Fine.”

My attention went back to Eva as she loaded some groceries into the trunk of her car. Nothing fancy, an older model sedan, likely courtesy of Tex .

“While you’ve been watching, have you seen any sign of a—”

“Threat? No. Are you ready to explain why you want me playing bodyguard to a woman who nearly killed Bubba and Zoey?”

“Nope.”

“Do Zoey and Bubba know you bankrolled the woman—”

“Yes,” he huffed. “They were given the option to press charges. Both declined and they understand why I helped her.”

“She’s on the move. Call her and I’ll check in after I meet with her.”

“Keep her safe.”

My grip on the steering wheel tightened. Tex sounded almost… desperate. Very unlike the man. He didn’t get anxious—he was cool, calm, calculating. He saw the problem and solved it.

What the fuck is going on ?

Five minutes later, Eva pulled in front of a crappy house that was not hers and parked. I sat in my SUV and watched. The more I followed her without her knowledge—something else we would be discussing because Eva should’ve seen me, I wasn’t trying to hide—the more I felt like a stalker.

Hunting and watching my prey was something I was used to, something I was good at. But Eva wasn’t my prey, she was my… fuck, I didn’t know what she was because Tex was being vague.

I had no clue who or what the threat was and I was beginning to think the cyber genius didn’t, either. Which might’ve been the reason he was so worried.

Eva knocked on the door with the grocery bags looped over her forearms. She was not looking around. If she had, she would’ve seen me sitting across the street, watching.

Goddammit . The woman had a death wish .

An older woman answered the door and smiled brightly. She said something before Eva leaned forward, kissed her cheek, and then both women went inside.

Thirty minutes later, Eva came out sans the bags and tromped to her car.

You guessed it, not paying a lick of fucking attention.

Shoulders hunched, sadness burned her features, sorrow clear as day.

And for the briefest moment, I felt sorry for Eva.