Page 1 of Maximus

Prologue

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.