Page 18 of Maximus (Gold Team #4)

Seven in the morning comes early when you’ve been up most of the night.

Thankfully, the safehouse had a queen-size bed in the master, giving the boys and me plenty of room.

But Elijah had always woken up rough—he moved, he kicked, he whined.

This had always been his way, even as an infant.

Therefore, I was being used as a punching bag as my son came awake.

“Stop,” Liam demanded and rolled away from his brother.

Now, Liam was the opposite. He was a cuddle bug in the mornings. He woke up sweet and easy.

“Morning time, my loves,” I mumbled.

Eli grunted. Liam sighed—loudly.

“Good morning, good morning,” I sang. “Sunbeams will soon shine through.”

“Good morning, good morning,” Liam mumbled his part of the song.

“Good morning, my darlings, to you,” I finished.

Eli rolled and tucked himself into my side, his little arm going around my belly, his head on my chest, and I sighed .

Nothing better than waking up with my boys.

I kissed Eli’s hair and breathed in the smell of his shampoo. Something so small, but I’d never fail to appreciate. The small things mean everything . Something I knew as fact, considering they’d been taken away from me.

“What are we doing today?” Liam asked, sitting up. “Is Max still here?”

“Yeah, sweetheart, he is. And I’m not sure what we’re doing.”

“Can we have pancakes for breakfast?” Eli asked.

“If there’s stuff in the kitchen to make them, sure.”

“Can we check?”

“Absolutely.”

The boys started to get out of bed, and my thoughts wandered to coffee, or more specifically if the house was stocked with the brew of the gods, and alternately if it wasn’t, what my chances were of talking Max into going out and getting me some.

Thankfully, I got my answer after I opened the bedroom door and hit the hall. The smell wafted from the kitchen through the living room and filled my nostrils, lifting my spirits.

Max stood in the kitchen, his ass against the countertop, one ankle crossed over the other, feet bare, yesterday’s wrinkled clothes on, looking so damn good I rocked to a halt so I could stare.

Unfortunately for me, he was looking directly my way, therefore he saw my reaction. The sexy smirk on his face annoyed me. But when he caught sight of Liam and Elijah, it turned into a smile. That was irritating as well—he had a great smile.

Actually, he had a great everything, and since I’d seen every inch of him, I knew that to be absolute fact. There was no part of Max that wasn’t muscled to perfection. Great body, beautiful eyes, soft hair, square jaw, handsome face, nice, thick, long—

Gah ! I shook the thought from my head, needing to concentrate on feeding my kids, not the size of his package.

“Morning,” Max rumbled and I shivered.

I knew what the deep, gruff voice felt like against my skin.

Liam skipped off toward the kitchen but Eli hung back with me, still shy and leery of Max.

I was more than a little surprised that Liam was as comfortable around Max as he was.

Liam had taken the brunt of Jay’s abuse and he’d protected his little brother the best he could, making my son at the tender age of six distrusting and watchful.

But for some unexplainable reason, Liam relaxed around Max.

I heard my son happily jabbering in the kitchen so I bent down and swung Elijah up. His little legs wrapped around me and I hugged him close.

“You okay?” I asked into his neck.

Eli nodded and snuggled in closer.

“Are you scared of Max?” I whispered.

Again, Eli nodded.

Damn .

“It’s okay to be scared,” I told him. “You take your time. We’ll make pancakes together.”

Elijah didn’t agree or disagree and he didn’t take his head off my shoulder as I walked into the kitchen.

Max watched as I made my way to the coffee pot, Eli wrapped around me like a monkey.

Something was working behind those blue eyes of his but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Not with only two hours’ worth of sleep and no caffeine.

Maybe later I’d think about it, maybe I wouldn’t, maybe I just needed to stop trying to figure out Max and all of his mercurial expressions and concentrate on the perilous situation at hand.

“Eli wants pancakes. Mom makes the best pancakes,” Liam told Max.

“Better than her grilled cheese?”

“Yeah. Way better.”

“Well, then, I can’t wait to try them.”

Who said I was making any for you ?

“I’m starving,” Max finished.

I bet he is. He expended a godly amount of effort last night .

“I need coffee first,” I spoke for the first time.

“Fresh pot.” Max chuckled and unnecessarily tipped his head toward the machine. “Do you need any help?”

“Nope.” I was already pouring one-handed, but even if I needed both hands, Elijah wouldn’t fall. All four limbs were wound around me tight. “How’s your shoulder?” I asked, and immediately regretted my question when Max’s lips twitched and his eyes danced.

“It’s good.” He smiled.

I chose to ignore the dancing eyes, the smirk, and humor in his tone. Instead I focused on how grateful I was that I was holding Eli. I had a feeling if we’d been alone he would’ve said something seriously embarrassing.

“Great. I’m happy to hear that,” I mumbled and Max’s smile broadened.

Good Lord, he was good-looking.

Time to move on.

“Has Tex called?” I asked.

“Yeah, talked to him about an hour ago,” he told me and shook his head knowingly.

“And?”

“After breakfast.” Max jerked his chin and his eyes slid to Liam. “You want some apple juice? ”

“Yes, please.”

Max grinned at my son and moved to do his bidding gratefully, taking him across the kitchen and away from me.

Yeah, last night was a huge mistake.

“So, you’re a fan of Singin’ in the Rain .”

“Huh?”

“The musical.”

I knew that Singin’ in the Rain was a musical, I just didn’t understand why Max was asking.

It was after breakfast, the boys were still in their pjs sitting on the couch watching TV, and I was in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes.

Max had disappeared into his room to take a call but now he was standing behind me asking me this question that was so bizarre, even after consuming two cups of the strongest coffee I’ve ever had, I still couldn’t comprehend why he was bringing up a musical.

But more, Max didn’t strike me as the type of man who’d know that Singin’ in the Rain was a musical.

“I know what it is, I just don’t know why you’re asking.”

“Heard you singing to the boys this morning. The Good Morning song.”

“Were you eavesdropping again?”

“No, babe,” he snickered. “I was walking by the door to grab a shirt. I figured you wouldn’t appreciate your boys waking up and coming out into the kitchen seeing me shirtless.”

No, I wouldn’t have wanted my boys to see him half-naked, but I was sure sorry I’d missed the experience.

Damn, so it was just bad timing he heard me singing to the boys .

“Yeah, the kids and I like that movie. We used to watch it all the time.”

“It’s good they have that, the memory of watching that movie with you, and them waking up to you singing. Something they’ll always remember.”

I braced myself against the counter, my palms pressing into the sharp edge of the Formica, and I closed my eyes. God, I hoped they remembered us singing in the mornings and not the five-hundred shitty mistakes I’d made.

“We need to talk about what’s gonna happen today.”

My eyes remained closed and I steadied myself for a new kind of pain.

Not the sweet kind that Max had just given me telling me my boys would always remember their mornings with their mom.

No, this pain sliced deep and twisted in my stomach—a reminder I was a fuck-up and because of that, my kids were in danger.

“Eva,” Max called, but when I didn’t answer, the heat from his chest hit my back, and his arms came around me, his hands covering mine on the edge of the counter. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Don’t say that. Nothing will ever be okay.”

“I’m not gonna let anything happen to you or the boys.”

“I believe you’ll try.”

“I’m gonna do more than try, Eva. I’m gonna fix this.”

“Right. Fix it.”

Cold seeped in, even though I was trapped between Max and the counter, even though heat radiated from his body, even though he’d slipped his fingers between mine and held tight.

I wasn’t alone in the kitchen, yet I was alone .

And there I was, needing someone else to fix my life again .

“One thing at a time,” he told me. “Today, we’re gonna head up to Maryland. ”

“Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Yes, fine.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Thank you.”

“Eva—”

“What? Did you expect me to argue? I’m hardly in the position to fight about where we’re going. You’re the bodyguard, I’m at your mercy.”

“You are not at anyone’s mercy, Eva.” His growl reverberated over my skin, leaving chills racing over my arms.

“Right, because I have a say in what happens.”

“You goddamn well do.”

“So, if I said I wanted to go back to Florida, we’d go?”

“No. If you wanted to go to Florida, I’d hear you out, then I’d explain why that’s not a good idea.

Then I’d lay out all the reasons why going to Maryland is our best option.

And I’d do that until you understood my reasons are sound, they’re smart, and they’re in your best interest. What we’re not gonna do is this bullshit where you clam up, lock your emotions down, and give me a line of shit that you’re at my mercy. ”

Frustration and fear mingled until I couldn’t stop the tears from forming.

“We’re not going back to Florida, are we?”

“Probably not.” Max softened his tone. “When this is over, Tex wants to set you and the boys up someplace new. A fresh start.”

A fresh start. Right, how many times does one person need to start over—fresh?

I nodded but didn’t say anything because there was nothing to say.

“If you want to go back home, I’m sure we could talk to Tex, see if—”

“I don’t have a home.”

Max’s fingers tightened painfully around mine and his whole body turned to stone. The vibe in the room turned suffocating, and once again, Max’s mode shifted.

“We’re gonna fix that, too,” he growled and stepped away. “Get you and the boys ready. We’ll leave in an hour.”

Then he was gone, leaving me frozen, chilled to the bone, and alone.