Maximus

by Riley Edwards

  Yeah, oh yeah, Max was pissed.

  Fire and ice.

  I turned to walk into the kitchen, not because I was afraid of him but because I needed caffeine and if I was being honest, it hurt to look at him.

  But I didn’t get far.

  Max’s hand curled around my shoulder, stopping my exit, and he moved to step in front of me.

  “Eva—”

  “Let go of me.”

  “We need to talk about what you think—”

  “I said, let go of me. Now, Max.”

  His hand fell away and he stared down at me with eyes so blue I took a moment to gaze into them. Study them. Really look at the specks of darker blue that were scattered about. I would never have the opportunity again, not this close.

  And it sucked that even hurt and angry, I couldn’t stop myself. It sucked even more, Max turned out to be a liar. Not because I thought we were going to sail into the sunset together, but because believing in Max, falling into bed with him, and for a moment hoping I could have him, meant I was still the same foolish, stupid woman I’d vowed not to be.

  “You came up with all of that because you heard part of a conversation with Declan,” he surmised. “You know, you could’ve asked me about it. But instead you ran away, hid, and let your imagination take over. All you had to do was ask and I would’ve told you that when Declan asked me if I was using you to bury my troubles and I answered with a “maybe” it was because my head’s jacked and I’m not ready to think about how I feel about you, let alone talk about it with Declan. But you didn’t ask, you got your ass in the air, locked yourself in the bedroom, and didn’t come back out. Now you’re standing in front of me calling me a liar.”

  “And I’m supposed to believe that? I heard you tell him that woman meant something to you, and I didn’t.”

  “Yeah, Eva, you are, because it’s the truth. And you didn’t hear me tell Dec you don’t mean something to me,” he returned. “You heard me tell him that you’re not Autumn. Which, given the opportunity, I would’ve explained all the ways you are not her—two of the most important ones are: you aren’t the sister-in-law of one of my teammates. The other is, you weren’t kidnapped, sold into the sex trade, forced into a life that led you to have sex with men against your will, then compelled you to live years seeking vengeance.

  “And I would’ve told you that Autumn Pierce means something to me because she saved Declan’s life. But what that something is, is not romantic; it’s not attraction, it’s gratitude. But again, you didn’t give me that chance, you made assumptions—ones that were incorrect and turned your bullshit around onto me.”

  Well, dammit to hell. He was kind of right. More than kind of, actually. I did do those things. I had made assumptions. I had hidden in the bedroom so I could lick my wounds.

  “You’re right. I didn’t ask,” I told him. “And I’m sorry about what happened to Autumn, that’s terrible.”

  Max kept staring at me, face hard, body taut, and suddenly I noticed it wasn’t all anger in his features. There was something else there, too.

  “You’re sorry about what happened to Autumn, but not sorry you called me a liar?”

  “I’m sorry about that, too,” I admitted.

  Max shook his head and some of the irritation slid away. “You know, any other time, any other woman pulled the shit you just pulled, I would’ve walked away. Last night before Dec got here, you told me you trusted me. Not only that, you went so far as to say you trusted me with your kids. Then you overhear part of a conversation and now I’m suspect. That’s not trust, Eva, that’s bullshit.” Max paused and I figured out what was beyond the frustration that shone clear, it was hurt. “I’m gonna go take a shower,” he informed me and started to walk away.

  “Max?” I called when he was nearing the mouth of the hall.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m…” I trailed off because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say.

  “You’re what, Eva?”

  “Confused. Afraid. I don’t know what to believe. I think you know I’m not a very good judge of character. And well, I jump to conclusions. It was uncool and—”

  “It was uncool. But you know what’s fucking worse? Is you lumping me in with the assholes in your past. I am not them—not even remotely close. So while you’re sifting through all those conclusions you jumped to, cast your mind back to the beginning. I’ve never lied to you—not once—even when the truth was probably a little uncomfortable for you to hear, I still gave it to you straight. And I’ll give you more, Eva. I’ve never been open and honest about where I’m at in my head with anyone. I’ve never paused and considered that maybe I’ve missed out because I can’t get over something that happened over ten years ago. But I have to tell you, that shit you just fed me, tells me that maybe I’ve been right, it’s just not fucking worth it.”

  And with that kill shot, he was gone.

  Gone in a way I should let him be forever—emotionally checked out.

  That was safer.

  I poured my coffee, went back to the sliding glass window, and stared out into the backyard.

  Max had asked his friend to find us a place with a swing set. He’d asked another friend to get the boys stuff so they would feel comfortable. He’d been honest with me from the start—even when his honesty hurt, he still gave it.

  He’d given in and allowed me to tell my boys we were going on vacation instead of the truth. Then he’d played along with my stupid plan until he couldn’t any longer. And even after the jig was up, he cushioned the truth and protected my relationship with my boys.

  He bought Eli a blue parrot. He bought the boys’ favorite book.

  And I’d repaid all of that by running away and hiding instead of having the courage to ask him about what I’d heard.

  Now Max was gone. I should leave it alone and let him stay mad at me.

  That was the wise thing to do.

  The smart thing.

  But my stomach roiled at the thought, my heart clenched, and my temples throbbed.

  I understood there wasn’t and never would be anything permanent between Max and me. I knew there was no future, no hope, but I still had to make things right. I had to make him understand why I’d reacted the way I had, even if it was for my peace of mind.

  I had to change, be better, take responsibility for my actions and the frustration and hurt I’d caused.

  But how I was going to do that, I didn’t know.

  And after my boys had woken up, eaten breakfast, and gotten dressed for the day, I was no closer to figuring it out.

  When Max sat them down to tell them about Declan, Brooks, Kyle, and Thad coming over, the gentle way he did it, the softness in his tone, only made the ache in my chest hurt worse.

  I was lost.

  Chapter 20

  Eva was giving me a wide berth and the distance she put between us was beginning to piss me off.

  The physical reserve, I understood.

  The emotional detachment made me want to grab her and lock her in the other room so she couldn’t avoid me.

  “I think we need to call Bubba.” That was Declan’s suggestion as the team sat around the table discussing options while Eva paced. Her eyes grew round, then she immediately looked at her feet.

  “I think you’re right,” Kyle agreed. “We’ve been over everything else.”

  Kyle was correct. We’d spent the last two hours dissecting Eva’s life. We’d gone over Jay Dawkins and his partner in crime, Novak, which Eva was careful to discuss only after the boys were back in the bedroom watching TV so they didn’t overhear.

  I hadn’t learned anything new about Jay and Eva’s relationship—however, my team had learned a great deal about Eva and what she and the boys had gone through.

  We’d also touched on Liam’s biological father, a man who was not Jay Dawkins, but someone she’d met when she was seventeen. He was older, promised her the world, she fell for it, he got her pregnant and took off immediately, moving to t
he lower forty-eight as she called it, and she hadn’t heard from him since.

  Tex had done a thorough background check on the dude and he was currently serving a nickel for fraud and identity theft so he’d been cleared.

  We’d exhausted all other avenues—since Eva had moved to Florida, she lived clean and kept to herself. There was no indication someone there wanted to harm her. Therefore it was time to call Bubba.

  That was a call no one wanted to make. The man had been through hell, including losing his father and twin brother. Not a single one of us wanted to pull him into this mess, but unfortunately, we needed to know about Alaska.

  And he was the only one who could weigh in and give an opinion about Tracy Eklund, the only person still alive in the duo that hired Eva to kill Bubba and Zoey.

  “Damn,” I muttered and looked at Eva. “We wouldn’t—”

  “Maybe I should leave the room or something,” she whispered.

  “Why?” Tex’s voice boomed from my cell phone laying in the middle of the table.

  “Maybe…” Eva hesitated, then, “I don’t think you should call Mark at all. Actually, I would really prefer if you didn’t bother him about this.”

  “We need his help,” Thad carefully told her.

  Eva’s gaze swung to my friend and her lips pinched tight before she spoke.

  “No, we don’t need anything. I need the help. And it is beyond anything that’s acceptable. I don’t want to involve him.”

  “Acceptable—”

  “You know,” Eva spat, cutting off Thad. “You know what I did. And now what, the tables are turned and someone wants me dead and I get to ask Mark Wright for help? Where was his help when I dumped him and Zoey off, huh? Who was there to protect him, when I left him for dead with nothing more than a pocketful of junk? I don’t get to ask Mark for help. The last thing he needs is to ever hear my name again. He deserves to be left alone.”

  “Eva—” I tried to cut her off, to warn her that Tex may’ve already patched Bubba into the call, but she kept going.

  “No. Just no. I don’t want anyone to bother Mark.” Eva shook her head and her eyes cut around the table looking at each man. “I don’t get to ask for his help.”

  “Someone is trying to kill you,” Kyle reminded her. “They almost took out Max. If Bubba—”

  “I’d rather die a thousand deaths than call Mark. It is not right. I don’t get to ask for anything.”

  “I think I get to decide what’s right and what’s not,” Bubba cut in.

  Eva sucked in an audible breath that filled her lungs so full her chest heaved.

  “I can’t…” she stammered, and I desperately wanted to pull her into my arms but I remained seated.

  “Tex briefed me last week, Eva. You need all the help you can get.”

  I felt the unease rolling off Eva. There wasn’t a man in that room who couldn’t smell her fear—it coated her skin and leaked from every pore.

  “Bubba, have you heard from Sean Kassamali recently?” Declan charged ahead.

  Sean was Colin Wright’s business partner and now the sole owner of Heritage Plastics, a company that Sean and Colin had grown into one of the largest in Alaska. Bubba had never wanted any part of it, not when his father was alive and not after he passed. Unfortunately, Bubba’s twin, Malcom, hadn’t felt the same way and had been willing to kill to get his grasping hands on what he thought belonged to him.

  Had Malcom not plotted with Tracy Eklund to kill Bubba, he would’ve found out Bubba had planned on selling his shares of the company to his twin for a dollar.

  But Malcom was a greedy fuck and murdered his father, something that might have gone unpunished had he not hired Eva.

  “Not since the last time I was in Alaska to deal with the final sale of the houses. I met with Sean to sell him my shares of my dad’s company. Why?”

  Declan quickly and efficiently gave Bubba a rundown, summing up the last two hours into five minutes. Throughout Dec’s explanation, Eva grew more and more rigid until I was worried she was going to snap. The woman looked positively miserable.

  “So the working theory is, Chris Peters was hired to take the fall. Or, was he the backup plan?” Bubba asked.

  “What do you mean backup plan?” Kyle inquired.

  “Well, is someone trying to kill her or take her? Her house was rigged to explode—that says death. A contract was put out to take her out—that says death. But her car exploding without her in it, and if you’re correct in your assumption, the explosion was meant to kill Max to get him out of the way so someone had a clear shot at Eva—that says kidnapping. Which, if you’re asking my opinion about that, I think you’re wrong about the car. I think that was a mistake. Maybe the guy got spooked and blew his load. Maybe he knew Max saw him and used the car as a diversion to get away. If someone wanted to take Eva, they would’ve done a quick snatch and grab when she was leaving work, or going to the store. Hell, they could’ve easily broken into her house and just taken her.”

  “Shit,” Thad mumbled. “I think Bubba’s right.”

  “Which brings us back to who wants her dead,” Bubba continued. “And you think it has something to do with the Alaska debacle?”

  “This isn’t right,” Eva whispered.

  “What’s that, Eva?” Brooks asked.

  “This isn’t right,” she repeated louder. “Mark shouldn’t—”

  Bubba cut her off. “Eva, earlier you asked who was helping me. The answer is, my team. They knew I was missing and they deployed immediately and went all out to find me and they didn’t give up until they pulled Zoey and me out of the Lake Clark Preserve. That’s who was protecting me. These men are acting as your team now, let them do their job and protect you.”

  “I don’t deserve a team,” Eva mumbled.

  “Well, lucky for you, Tex believes you do, so he sent in some of the best men in the business to take your back. Use them wisely.”

  “That’s just it, I’m tired of using people. It’s just not right. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me. Especially you. I’ve hurt you enough. I don’t understand how you can even stand hearing my name. I almost—”

  “I know what you did, Eva. Zoey and I spent a week in hell. But you know what? I’m alive. Zo’s alive. And the silver lining is, I reconnected with Zoey. You were in a bad situation, trapped with no other options and because of that, you were forced to make a decision I’m sure you’re not proud of. But you gave me Zoey. Can’t say that I’m grateful you tried to kill me, but I also know you could’ve dumped us somewhere else and it could’ve been worse. What I can tell you is, I understand, Zoey understands, and we’ve let it go. We’re moving forward, looking on the bright side. I suggest you start doing the same.”

  That was some of the craziest shit I’d ever heard, but damn if it wasn’t true. It was also gracious and if I was in Bubba’s shoes, I don’t think I’d have it in me to look on the bright side of anything. But that was the difference between me and pretty much everyone else. I didn’t have a bright side.

  “I’m not proud of what I did,” Eva confirmed. “I regret it every day. I regret every decision I’ve ever made that led me to that day. That’s why I can’t stand here and ask you to help me. I’ve taken too much.”

  “Don’t know what to say to that, other than you’re gonna have to get over it. If not for you, for your kids. If they lose you, they have nothing. I’m offering you help—take it.”

  “I’m sorry,” Eva said with tears brimming. “I’m so sorry, Mark.”

  “That’s all you needed to say. Now let’s get back to Sean,” Bubba ordered. “Last time I saw him, he was barely keeping his head above water. With my dad and Malcom gone, the daily operations of Heritage Plastics falls on him. Sean’s committed to keeping the company afloat. He’s working day and night to do that. Now, I can tell you, Zoey told me Sean’s wife, Vivian, hates the company and apparently had been trying to get Sean to sell his shares for years. If that’s true, which I b
elieve Zoey, then I’d assume Vivian’s not happy her husband is pulling an extra twenty hours a week behind his desk. Though I don’t know what that’d have to do with Eva’s situation—just giving you what I know.”

  “And Tracy’s husband, Kenneth?” Brooks asked. “Have you been in contact with him?”

  “No,” Bubba clipped. “I saw him the day I met with the prosecutors. He’s hired his wife the best attorney he could find in Anchorage. For obvious reasons Sean’s fired him and severed all contact. That’s what you do when your personal lawyer’s wife plans several deaths including your business partner’s murder, and then the subsequent takeover by his crooked son.”

  It was no surprise Sean had cut ties. What was surprising was, Kenneth was standing by his wife who was also having an affair with Malcom.

  Oh, the tangled web you weave when greed and murder mingle.

  “Kenneth’s standing by his wife?” Kyle sneered. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

  “Wish I were,” Bubba mumbled. “I’ve known the man a long time, my dad trusted him, Sean trusted him. Never thought I’d see the day where Kenneth Eklund defends the woman responsible for my pop’s death.”

  The sadness in Bubba’s voice couldn’t be missed. Eva was right—not that she didn’t deserve Bubba’s help, but we were digging up demons that should stay buried.

  “Wait.” I stood, doing my best thinking while on my feet. “You met with the prosecutors. Did they ask you about Eva?”

  “Shit,” Tex mumbled. The man had been so quiet, I’d forgotten he was still on the line. “I see where you’re going with this.”

  “They did,” Bubba confirmed. “But since Zo and I had already decided we weren’t pressing charges in light of Eva’s situation, I didn’t correct them when they called her Eve Dane. I also didn’t tell them I knew where she was.”