Page 2 of Maximus (Gold Team #4)

“Tex, I appreciate everything you’ve done for us. More than you know.”

He couldn’t know, and not because I hadn’t thanked him a hundred times, not because I hadn’t broken down and poured my heart out to him, but because there were no words strong enough to express what his help meant to me.

Tex had saved me. What’s more, he saved my boys.

He rescued them from a vile, evil man—my ex-husband.

Jay Dawkins—liar, abuser, drug-dealer extraordinaire. The devil himself.

“Eva—”

“But I think you’re overreacting. We’re fine. You made sure of it.”

Tex made sure of it, all right. One day I was desperate, destitute, and out of options. Jay had taken my boys, hidden them from me, and threatened to do heinous things to them—some of which he carried out.

Then Tex happened.

I’d never seen him, didn’t know his last name, where he lived, who he was, but he was my savior. I was forever indebted to him even if he didn’t see it that way.

“No debt. You’re free and clear. Take care of your kids and don’t look back.” That was what Tex had told me when two men dressed in black delivered my kids to me in a shitty pay-by-the-night motel room. Then he’d explained just what he’d done, all the ways he’d truly saved me.

Now we were living in a small two-bedroom bungalow in Florida. We had new identities, and we lived simple. I had the perfect life. Me and my boys, an honest day’s work, clean. We were finally clean. Out from under the filth and scum that had surrounded our lives, thanks to Jay.

No, that wasn’t right—thanks to me. Everything that had happened was my fault, I take responsibility. I chose Jay. I was so stupid—again—I didn’t see him for who he truly was until it was too late. And, boy, did I pay. All three of us did.

Tex’s voice brought me back to the present. “I sent a friend of mine, Max Brown, down to check on you. He’s a former SEAL who now works in the private sector. He’s the best of the best. He’s coming this morning to have a word. I’d like you to go up to Maryland with him. There’s a safehouse—”

“No! My job. I can’t lose it.”

The first splinter on my facade cracked. I’d worked so damn hard to give my boys stability. They were happy, I couldn’t rip it all away from them. Not again.

“You’re in danger.”

“What kind of danger? Jay is—”

“You are in danger.” Tex enunciated each word as ice infused my veins.

No! Not again .

Before I could ask him to explain, there was a knock at the door.

“Make sure you ask who it is before you answer. ”

“Right. I don’t know what this guy even looks like.”

“Blond. Blue eyes. Six-foot two. He’ll be wearing a frown.”

“A frown?”

“Max is… unreadable. He’ll also protect you with his life.”

“Why would he do that? He doesn’t know me.”

“Because I’ve asked him to. Because while he doesn’t know you, and just to note, he doesn’t trust you, he knows me.”

Welp, my day off just took a turn to Shitsville .

“Who is it?” I called out once I made it to the door.

“Max Brown.”

Deep, rough, rumbly.

Nice.

“How do I know it’s really you?”

“Good girl.” Tex chuckled.

“Tex sent me.”

“What do you look like?”

“You trying to piss me off?” Max returned.

“No, of course not. I don’t know you. A girl can never be too safe.”

“Right. Is that why you leave work with your head bent looking at the pavement instead of your surroundings? Is that why you help mothers load groceries into their cars, uncaring it could be a ploy to kidnap you? Or, maybe you’re being safe when you don’t notice a man following you to an old woman’s house and he sits across the street and waits for you to leave for thirty minutes, and you still don’t notice. Yeah, Eva, you can never be too safe.”

“Forgot to tell you, he’s been in town a few days shadowing you.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

A chill ran down my spine. Tex wouldn’t go through all this trouble unless he was seriously worried .

“You on the phone with Tex?” Max asked from behind the still-closed door.

“Yes.”

“He tell you why I’m here?”

“Yes.”

“Then open up.”

“I don’t think I want to. You don’t sound very nice and you kinda scare me.”

“Lady, this is me being nice. I’m here to protect you, not play fucking games. Open the damn door.”

“Now I really don’t want to.”

“Eva, open the door. Max doesn’t have a lot of patience,” Tex said in my ear.

“Great,” I hissed.

I unhappily unbolted the door and opened it.

Then my breath caught, my body tingled, and awareness seared through me.

Fire and ice. That’s what Max was. Ice-cold blue eyes that still somehow glittered with fire.

And there wasn’t a damn thing friendly about the way he looked.

Which was odd because if he hadn’t been frowning at me with narrowed eyes, he would’ve looked like a Southern California surfer boy.

Not that I’d ever been to California, and there certainly hadn’t been any surfers in Alaska where I’d grown up.

But, I’d seen enough movies to know that Max Brown looked like he should be on the cover of a DVD case for a surf movie.

Did people even buy DVDs anymore, or Blu-rays for that matter? Weren’t all movies just streamed—

“Eva?”

“Shit. Sorry. I was…um…”

“Daydreaming.”

Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes on him. “No, I wasn’t,” I snapped.

“Right,” he drawled. “Is Tex still on the line? ”

“Shit,” I muttered, the phone still up to my ear. “Sorry, Tex. Max is here.”

“Gathered that, Eva. Please let him in. Talk to him and I’ll call you back within the hour.”

“Fine.” God, I sound like an ungrateful bitch. “Sorry. Thank you for your help. I’ll wait for your call.”

I disconnected and squared my shoulders. “Would you like to come in?”

“That’d be good.” Max stepped inside and suddenly my small house felt smaller, stifling.

“So, what now?”

Max looked around my house, scrutinizing my space. It wasn’t much, but I was damn proud of what I’d been able to provide for my boys.

Yes, I’d needed Tex’s help and he was the one to get me here and set me up, but after that, I’d refused all other help. There was no way I could take anymore money from the stranger than I already had.

I worked. I made money. I paid my rent. I put food on the table.

No more handouts—never again.

“Where are your children?”

“Why?” My question felt like an accusation but I wasn’t sure what I was accusing him of.

What I did know was that I didn’t know this man, and I learned the hard way never to trust. Tex was an anomaly. But, then the man had proven himself worthy when he found my boys and returned them to me.

“Whoa there, Eva. I was just asking.”

“I don’t like people asking about my kids. They’re none of your business.”

“They are, when I’ve been tasked to protect them.”

Well, he kind of had me there, but I still wasn’t going to offer my boys’ location.

Tex knew where they were every second of every day.

They both wore watches that had some sort of high-tech tracking device he himself had invented.

It made me feel somewhat better they could be tracked, but I didn’t think I’d ever feel a hundred percent safe when they were out of my sight.

“Listen, Eva. I was asking because I wanted to know if they were home or if they’re still at daycare.”

His question didn’t make me feel any better. As a matter of fact, my fists clenched.

“Why? Have we met before?”

Max’s gaze dropped to my hands before his eyes came back up to meet mine. “Why? Because I want to know if I need to watch what I say if they’re within earshot. Met? No, but I did go through your checkout line, and I’ve been following you for four days.”

“Following me?” I screeched.

I was trying my best to slow my breathing, stop my heart from pounding in my chest, but I couldn’t. Memories started to flood. Someone else used to follow me, but I hadn’t felt him, either.

“Breathe, Eva,” he commanded.

“I am!” I exhaled.

“I’m not going to hurt you. Tex sent me to protect you.”

“Yet, instead of making yourself known, you stalked me.”

“Sure, if that’s what you wanna call it.”

What the hell ?

“Well, what would you call following me without my knowledge?”

“Recon. You didn’t know I was around so you behaved as you normally would. That means if there’s someone else out there watching you, I would’ve seen them.”

“You don’t sound convinced,” I noted.

Max shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure if Tex is even sure. He’s being cautious, and I understand that. But until I have more intel, I don’t know what I’m looking for. What I do know is, no one other than me has been following you for the last four days.”

My body sagged with relief. That was good news. No, great news. Tex was being over-protective and Max would be on his way.

“Then I don’t need protection.”

“I didn’t say that. I said no one was following you, not that someone wasn’t planning on hurting you.”

Well, that was just peachy.

“You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”

His cold blue eyes narrowed and I fought the urge to shrink away.

Never again will I cower to a man.

“Would you rather I blew smoke up your ass and let you go on your merry way, continuing to walk around with your head down, completely oblivious to what’s going on around you?

So if there is a threat you don’t see it coming?

Because I gotta tell you, you’re an easy mark.

I could’ve snatched your ass from work fifty different ways and you would’ve never seen me coming.

Which, after reading the report I have on you, surprises the shit out of me.

You’re no stranger to trouble. I’d think someone like you would have more sense than to walk around in a haze. ”

Acid burned in my veins. Shame and guilt.

He knew about my past. Knew what I’d done and what I allowed myself to get pulled into. That’s why he was looking at me with disgust when I opened the door. Of course he’d think I was an easy mark because I had been one my whole miserable life.

But not anymore. Never fucking again would someone make me weak.