The Maxwell Series Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Alexander, S. B.

  “Pete, can you refill her glass?” Tommy asked.

  A gust of cold air hit my back as the door opened. Then a hand landed on my shoulder.

  I whirled on the barstool and found Dillon.

  He took one look at me and growled, “Tommy? Can you give us a minute? Thanks for calling me.”

  Tommy disappeared faster than the speed of light.

  Dillon dropped into Tommy’s seat.

  Pete came over. “Drink?”

  “Beer. Any kind will do. Lizzie, what happened? Why are you here?” His tone was as deadly as his growl.

  Pete slid a bottled beer to Dillon.

  I must’ve been daydreaming a long time for Dillon to have had time to get there. “I have to find Terrance. The lawyer is working to freeze my assets, but a judge has to approve it. Which means it could be weeks, and Terrance will have free rein with my money until then. Zach is being a butthead, avoiding me. Oh, and Kelton got Chloe pregnant.” Saying all that out loud made bile burn my throat.

  He almost spit out his beer. He dragged his hand across his mouth. “I wouldn’t tell if you wanted something harder than water.” His brown eyes held sympathy.

  My tears threatened to fall again.

  He covered his hand with mine, warm and comforting.

  I sucked in my lips, my tear ducts opening up. I hated to cry, and in a public place no less. Dillon muttered Kelton’s name under his breath as he wrapped one arm around me. I turned into him. His chest was solid muscle contrasting with the softness of his musky T-shirt. I desperately needed someone to hold me. I just wished it was Kelton.

  He rested his chin on my head. “I wouldn’t mind having a go at Maxwell if you want.” He sounded so angry.

  Fighting wouldn’t erase the emotional pain.

  “Dillon,” Tommy said, his voice close by.

  I sniffled as Dillon released me.

  “I just got off the phone with my contact,” he said. “The date of the poker game changed. It’s next weekend at Frank’s in the North End. And your boy, Terrance Malden, is on the list of players. If you want in, there’s three spots left. The buy-in is ten Gs per person.”

  My tears dried up. Terrance would be in town. I had my opportunity. Then nausea doused my excitement at the cost of the buy-in. I didn’t have that kind of money. But I had to find a way in. I had an idea.

  “Sign me up,” I said to Tommy.

  Dillon’s eyes bugged out.

  “No offense, sweetheart,” Tommy said, “but do you have ten large? Or even know how to play poker?”

  “We can wait until the game is over to talk to Malden.” Dillon wore an are-you-serious look.

  “I’m not taking the chance we’ll miss him or he’ll skip town. And I don’t care that I don’t know how to play poker.” The game was all about bluffing anyway. Above all else, if I could get in the game, I would have Terrance’s attention. He wouldn’t be running from me or skating out of town or ignoring my calls. I eyed Tommy. “Do you know a loan shark I could contact?” I would bet the city was rife with them.

  “Lizzie?” Dillon said as calmly as he could. “I can’t let you go into a poker game run by the Italian mob. Or let you borrow money from a loan shark.”

  “I do know several of them,” Tommy said quite proudly.

  “Shut up,” Dillon barked at Tommy.

  “Dillon, this isn’t your fight. My life savings is on the line.” If you had a million dollars hanging in the balance, you would do the same thing.

  “Fuck,” Dillon said. “You’re not going to listen to me, are you? Don’t answer that.” He grabbed the back of his neck then glanced at Tommy. “Reserve two spots for Lizzie and me. I’ll call in my marker with Duke.”

  “No way.” Dillon had helped me way too much since I’d been in Boston. “I can’t ask you to do that. I can borrow the money myself.”

  “Time is of the essence.” Dillon continued to hold his neck. “We need to get on the list and pay the ante before those last three spots are taken. Duke knows me. This will be faster.”

  I couldn’t argue too much with his reasoning. Plus I was desperate. “Then I’ll pay you back.” Hopefully I would have the money to do so.

  Tommy chuckled. “Dude, they’re going to eat her alive. You better teach her your tricks of the game.” Then he addressed me, but flicked his head at Dillon. “You know, this guy here is one of the best poker players I know.” Tommy smirked as he left us with that piece of info.

  My mouth dropped open. Not because Dillon knew how to play poker, but because the more I learned about him, the more I realized that fate was in the driver’s seat in bringing us together.

  “Are you sure about this?” Dillon asked, beer in hand.

  “Never been more sure.” If I sat around and did nothing, I’d lose all my parents’ hard- earned money. “So you’re good at poker?”

  “Learned how when I was working on the merchant ships.”

  “And Duke. Is he a loan shark?”

  “He is, but he’s also my brother.”

  “What?” Dillon had never mentioned anything about a brother.

  “We don’t talk much,” he said before downing his beer. “But we do help each other out when necessary. Enough about Duke. It’s time to focus on preparing you for the game.”

  I wanted to know more about Dillon and his family, but he was right. The poker game was the priority, and if he didn’t want to talk about his family, I would honor that. He would tell me in his own time if he wanted to.

  “Let’s get started then.” I let out a shaky laugh.

  Chapter 23

  Kelton

  I trudged downstairs and into the kitchen to get coffee and pain medication. After I’d rammed my fist into several walls and the window of my Jeep, Kross had had to take me to the emergency room, where we’d spent the majority of the night waiting for a doctor. The end result? I’d fractured all my knuckles but the one on my pinky finger.

  I took two Advil, and Kross stumbled in with his shirt in hand. “Where’s the coffee?”

  “You look worse than me. And I’m the one bandaged up.” I prepped the coffee pot. “Didn’t you sleep?”

  “It was tough when all I kept smelling on the pillow was jasmine.”

  My finger slipped off the power button on the coffeemaker. Lizzie. Yeah, she had no place in my thoughts, not until I got my head screwed on properly. No Lizzie in my life until I knew what responsibilities I had to Chloe. I also wanted to lower the volume on wild Kelton. I wouldn’t change my values, but I couldn’t be acting out by sleeping around or posing for Brew’s art class. I also had to get serious about what I wanted for my future.

  “Yeah, Lizzie slept in that room the other night.” I stabbed the on button again. Within seconds, the coffeemaker gurgled, and coffee dropped into the carafe.

  “Speaking of Lizzie. Have you heard from her?” Kross rubbed an eye.

  “Seriously, dude? That girl wants nothing to do with me.” I pushed away the idea that I didn’t have a chance with Lizzie.

  “We talked about this last night. Get your life in order. She’ll be there when you’re ready.”

  “And what if she’s not? What if the baby is mine? What then?”

  “Whoa! Slow down, bro. One thing at a time.” He shrugged. “So what if the baby is yours? You’re not marrying Chloe. You can date Lizzie. You’ll just have a kid.”

  As realistic as that sounded, it was highly unlikely. Lizzie had a jealous streak. She might be okay with the baby, but not with Chloe.

  “Call Chloe.” Kross pinned me with one of his if-you-don’t-I’ll-kill-you expressions.

  I’d ignored Chloe’s repeated calls the day before until I’d gotten my hand examined. By then it had been too late to deal with anything, and part of
me wasn’t ready anyway. But if I wanted to start my new life, I had to confront my responsibilities. I snatched my phone from my jeans, then texted Chloe to meet me at the townhome that morning if she could.

  My phone buzzed with a response. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

  “Can you hang?” I asked. “Chloe’s on her way. You might have to pick me up off the floor.” Or maybe take me back to the emergency room. This time for a heart attack.

  “No problem. I have nothing going on today.” He made himself a cup of coffee. “I’ll be in the library. I need to check messages.”

  I poured myself a cup then downed the caffeine like it was liquor. Then another. The way I was going, I’d be high and jittery before Chloe arrived. I finished the brew.

  The doorbell rang.

  Not exactly fifteen minutes. Then again, Chloe didn’t live but two miles away.

  On my way to the door I shook away the jitters, muttering a quick prayer before I let Chloe in.

  She was bundled in her parka and didn’t appear as distraught as she had the day before.

  I could hear Kross’s voice as he talked on the phone.

  “Would you like to go somewhere more private?” I asked.

  “No, this won’t take long.” She settled down on the bottom step of the staircase. “It’s probably good your brother is here.”

  I couldn’t tell if she was sad or scared or both. Usually Chloe would be giving me some clue. Whether that was playing with her hair as she had yesterday, or crying, or raising her voice. But she was content and calm.

  “Kelton—”

  “Let me talk first.” If I didn’t, I would explode. I dug my hands into my jeans pockets as I found a spot next to her. My stomach knotted. Whether I was the father or not, I would man up. Chloe and I had history, and while I wasn’t in love with her, I wanted to see her happy. She deserved to be happy. “When you said you were pregnant, I couldn’t breathe. I panicked. But I will do the right thing.” Letting people down was over. I had to be the man my father had raised. I had to be the man Kade had drilled into us. I had to be the man for me. I had law school ahead of me, a life of what I didn’t know, but I had to step into my future with pride and determination, taking the chances I deserved, overcoming my fear of relationships. After all, I was a Maxwell, and we protected our family and friends.

  A small, sad smile formed on her lips as she angled her body toward me. “I know you don’t want to hear this again, but I love you.”

  Surprisingly, I wasn’t running like I had the first time she’d told me she loved me. In fact, it didn’t spark any emotion in me, or make me cringe, or want to disappear. Yet, when Lizzie had confessed her love for me, my reaction had been quite different. At first, the blood had rushed out of me. More from my own fucked-up fear of her leaving town. But I was beyond happy that she’d never stopped loving me.

  “You’re not running again.” She pinched her eyebrows together. “Okay, this has to be a monumental moment.”

  Epic moment was more like it. I was done running.

  “And while I love you,” she went on, “you’re not the father. I wanted you to be. I wanted to lie and say it was yours. But my parents didn’t raise me to be dishonest. And that wouldn’t be fair to you or the father. I came to you yesterday so you would hear it from me and not Zach.”

  “Come again?” I gritted my teeth. We had a fucking code. Friends didn’t worm their way in on exes.

  “Kelton, we were never going to be more than a good time in bed. I did want more with you. But you didn’t. Zach was always there for me whenever you and I called it quits.” She sat prim and proper and shuddered out a breath. “He’s a good man. He loves me, and I love him.”

  I pushed to my feet, trying to absorb the idea of Zach and her. “If you two love each other, why all the crying? Why ask me to take you to the art gala? Why ask Lacey to talk to me?”

  “The art gala was for my father. I wasn’t ready to tell him we’d broken up again. He’d always told me you’d break my heart, and I was trying to prove him wrong. Sad, right?”

  I’d always suspected Jeremy Pitt didn’t think I was good for his daughter. I couldn’t say I blamed him.

  “Then between having to tell my parents and beating myself up for not insisting on Zach using protection, I’ve been a basket case. Zach and I have also been fighting about who was going to tell you. I wanted to be the one because I didn’t want you to think I’d cheated on you. I never did.”

  Zach and Chloe together shouldn’t bother me, but it did. “Okay, but why didn’t you or Zach tell me you two were seeing each other? I’ve always been honest with you.”

  “Really? He’s your friend, Kelton. We were both worried that you would kill him.”

  That might be true. I had no say in who Chloe dated or even Zach. I’d never hidden my dates from her. But I’d never dated any of Zach’s girlfriends either. My head was pounding as fast as my heart was ramming into my ribs. A slow burn crawled up my chest as relief pushed it down. I glanced up the staircase. I didn’t know for sure if Zach was home, but I was about to find out.

  Chloe popped up. “Don’t, Kelton.” She raised her voice and her hands.

  Kross came out of the library. “Everything okay?”

  I let out an evil laugh. “That’s why you said it was good that my brother was here.” Kudos to her for knowing me so well. “Chloe, get out of my way.” I wanted Zach to man up.

  Kross jumped in between Chloe and me. “Bro, turn around. You’ve punched enough shit in the last twenty-four hours.”

  Footsteps padded on the landing above.

  “It’s okay, Kross,” Zach said.

  “No, it’s not,” Kross barked. “No offense, but you don’t want a raging Kelton in your face.”

  “We had a code, man,” I yelled. “You should’ve had the balls to at least tell me.”

  “Then what?” Zach asked, grit in his voice. “What would you have done? Punched the shit out of me like you do to everyone who makes you mad or when you don’t get your way? You treated Chloe like shit.”

  I clenched my good fist. “I never, ever disrespected Chloe.” I eyed her. “Is that what you told him? I’ve always told you up front I wasn’t in the relationship for the long haul. I always broke up with you when I felt suffocated or you were trying to get me to commit.” I paced. “Unbelievable. Chloe’s pregnant, and I’m feeling like I’m the one to blame. You know, you two make a good pair. You were right, Chloe. I probably would’ve killed him.” Then I disappeared into the kitchen, almost dropping to my knees, but Kross caught me.

  “Zach’s the father.” I released all the air in my lungs.

  “I got you, man,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me.

  It was time to take the chances I deserved. It was time to tell the girl with the long dark hair and the gold speck in her eye, the one wearing my half-heart charm, the one that always had a hold on me, how I really felt about her.

  I smoothed out my tie as I waited for my appointment with Mr. Davenport. After not showing up last week with Lizzie, I had to somehow redeem myself. If there was anything I wanted without any doubt, it was the intern position at Davenport Law Firm. I’d never wavered in my desire to become a lawyer. I had one year left at BU, then I was off to law school. I had everything I needed to submit my application to Harvard Law—the necessary recommendations, good scores on the Law School Admission Test. The only requirement left was a summer internship at a law firm. Professionally, I was in a good place. Personally, I had work to do.

  For the last week I’d been making significant changes. I moved out of the townhome and back to Ashford. Zach and I weren’t speaking, and it was way too awkward living with him. I also quit my job working for Brew. He was disappointed but understood after I explained to him that I was vying for a position a
t a law firm and posing for his class could hurt my chances of getting the job. After I’d ticked those two items off my list, I’d made an appointment with my math professor to take the exam I missed. In between all that, I’d spent time either hanging out with my mom, who was thrilled to have me home, or going to classes.

  “Mr. Maxwell?” Bonnie stood, holding a folder, smiling down at me. “Mr. Davenport will see you now.”

  With my nerves tight, I unfolded myself, buttoned my suit jacket, and clutched my leather binder.

  “I like your tie,” Bonnie said.

  “Thank you. My mom had it made for me.” I was wearing a black suit with a deep-blue shirt underneath and a silver tie that had KM and the number five in superscript embroidered in red stitching. It signified my love for math, but more importantly it was my symbol for my siblings, Kade, Kross, Kody, Karen, and me. When I was a kid, anytime I’d doodled I’d always filled up a piece of paper with the initials KM to the fifth power. Karen had loved when I’d plastered her walls with my artwork. My mom had chosen the tie. She’d said it would bring me luck. Hopefully it would, but more importantly, wearing it I felt closer to Karen, and I needed to feel like family was with me on this interview.

  Bonnie ushered me into Mr. Davenport’s office then closed the door. Mr. Davenport stood, taking in the sunny Boston skyline, his reflection showing a pensive expression. “Have a seat, Mr. Maxwell,” he said, turning.

  I unbuttoned my suit jacket and complied, setting my leather binder on my lap. “I appreciate you taking my call and setting aside time to see me,” I began, removing a report I’d put together on Florida estate law. Mr. Davenport was well schooled on Florida law. This was an exercise to show him how detailed and thorough I was. I handed it to him.

  His gaze lingered on my bruised hand as he folded himself into his leather chair. “I know you’re very astute, Mr. Maxwell.” He flipped through the pages of my report, not really absorbing much. “Your level of knowledge is not what stops me from hiring you. It’s allegiance to this firm and the job. You missed the appointment last week. That’s a red flag for me. I understand that you’re helping Ms. Reardon, but a lawyer would never leave their client hanging.”