Page 12 of Maximus

“Th-thank you,” I sputtered.

“You’re welcome. There’s a museum in Tifton, Georgia. It looks like if we stay on 75 north, we’ll run into others. We’ll stay on the move, you and the boys will be safe, and Tex and my team can track down who put out the contract.”

“And the hitman?”

“That’s what I’m for—to protect you. But hopefully, he’ll never get close. Like Tex said, the payout is low, a professional would pass. Which means we’re dealing with an idiot with no formal training.”

“Right.”

“I can and will keep you safe,” Max told me. “Tex likes you, he wouldn’t have sent me if he didn’t trust I was good at my job.”

“Tex doesn’t like me. I tried to kill his friend and Zoey. Tex feels sorry for me, but more than that, he wanted to save my boys. Which was confusing why he’d care, but now that I know he’s a husband and father, it makes more sense.”

“Tex would’ve done whatever he needed to do to help Liam and Elijah—father or not—that’s just Tex.”

I’d have to take Max’s word for it, I didn’t know Tex the way he did. The man was a mystery to me. My guardian angel—via cell phone.

“Thanks again for—”

“Don’t mention it. My job is to keep you safe. But to do that, I need your cooperation. If stopping at some museums assuages some of your guilt and makes you compliant, then it’s worth it. But I need you to understand, in the future we won’t have time for compromise. When I tell you something, you need to follow directions. And for the love of Christ, pay attention to what’s going on around you. Head up. Focused. Alert. I’ll be there, but there are three of you and one of me. We have to work together to keep the boys safe.”

Work together to keep the boys safe…the concept was foreign to me.

Liam didn’t remember his father—the guy had taken off before he was born. But Liam and Elijah both remembered Jay. And my ex-husband certainly never did anything to keep them safe.

Chapter 4

“Seriously, brother, you slept in the car?” Brooks chuckled.

I hadn’t slept. I’d sat up all damn night and watched Eva’s house, where she and her boys slept. I’d done hourly patrols around the property making sure they were secure. And when I wasn’t doing that, I’d been thinking. Now we were driving up 75, me in my SUV following Eva’s car, her boys totally unaware of my presence.

“We’re headed to Tifton, Georgia,” I said instead of confirming what I’d just explained to him. “I need you to find us a hotel. Two rooms with an adjoining door.”

“Copy that.”

“And tonight when we get to the hotel, we’ll go over our route. I’m thinking of staying on 75. There are about five more museums we can hit.”

“Why the hell aren’t you just bringing her up here? Zane secured a safehouse.”

Now that was the million dollar question, the one I’d pondered for hours last night.

Because she’s trying her best to be a good mother.

A safehouse was the easiest and smartest choice, but I couldn’t force her to do it. I mean, physically I could, but the raw determination I saw when she told me she wasn’t going to lie to her boss or her boys, that hit me square in the gut. I’d expected the lies to roll off her tongue easily. I’d expected her to not care that she was being dishonest with her boss—people call out sick when they’re really not all of the time. But Eva had been adamant she wouldn’t do it.

“Because she has two boys. And I’m sure you’ve read the report from Tex so you know what they’ve been through. Eva doesn’t want them scared again. This way, the kids get a vacation, and they’ll have no clue they’re really on the run.”

“It’s unlike you to care what the client thinks.”

I remained silent because there was nothing to say. Brooks was correct. In the past, I’d never allowed a client to dictate how I was going to protect them. It was my way, period.

“Fine,” Brooks sighed. “You’ve gone quiet, I know what that means. I’ll look into hotels and get back to you.”

“Thanks.”

I disconnected the SUV’s Bluetooth and music filled the cab.

But I wasn’t paying attention to what was playing on the radio. All of my attention was on the car in front of me. I could see both Liam and Elijah sitting in the back seat. Watching Eva buckle little Elijah into his booster seat hadn’t been the first time I’d witnessed her with her son, but it had been the first time I’d been close enough to see the boy smile at his mom.