Page 120 of Maximus

Goddamn, I was mucking this up despite my best efforts.

“Straight up, Eva, I make a lot of money. I’ve had no overhead for a lot of years, so I’ve got a sizeable amount sitting in the bank. I could easily carry our family and not feel it. You don’t want that and as much as I hate to admit it, I understand why you need to feel useful. Hell, honey, I admire and respect it. But the truth is, I want to stay in this house even if it’s more than we need. I want this. I need this. I’ve never had a home. I feel at peace here with you and the boys. I like knowing they have something nice. And this is gonna make me sound like a dick, but, Eva, you gotta know. I suck at cooking. That means you’re gonna be saddled with that or we’re eating takeout. I can do all of the laundry, but I have no interest in dusting, sweeping, and vacuuming. I’ll kick in when you ask, but please, honey, do not think you’re gonna come home to find me with a dust thing in my hand. That means I’m hiring someone to clean our house, or you’re gonna be taking on the brunt of that, too. You’re looking at this arrangement as me taking care of you because I’ll be paying more. But the truth is, you’ll be the one taking care of me and our family in all of the important ways.”

“Our family?” she whispered, tears now streaming faster down her pretty face.

“Baby, again, what do you think we’re doing here? Yes, absolutely our family. What you add daily is more valuable than anything I could ever contribute. Without you I have nothing, Eva. If you leave, I go back being the cynical, lonely asshole who’s walking through life in a pitiful daze. You and the boys will still have each other. The three of you would be just fine. But me? I’d be fucking wrecked.”

“I love you.”

Christ, how was it possible three words could catch my soul on fire?

“Love hearing you say that. But I need to know, can we compromise on this?”

“Yeah, baby, we can.”

“Great.”

Then before she could utter another word, I had her flipped over, her shirt was sailing through the air, and my lips latched on to her nipple over the lace of her bra.

“Time to prove how much I love you.”

Chapter 33

It’s amazing how much could change in just a few days. The rest of our weekend had been awesome. No more talk of jobs, money, or rent.

Life was about give and take. And the thing I needed most Max had already given me. He understood why I wanted to pull my own weight. His understanding made me love him all that much more. And maybe one day I wouldn’t associate my self-worth with being able to financially support my children on my own and I’d see what Max saw and that I was valuable no matter what. But that would take time and Max was giving me what I need.

I took that as a huge win.

The only hiccup had been when Zane called to tell Max that the hitman Joshua Lemont was being detained in one of Z Corps’ holding rooms. Something to mention, it kind of freaked me out that the man who’d been hired to kill me was named Joshua. I didn’t know what I’d expected his name to be, but Joshua sounded sweet, almost wholesome. Which was a strange thing to think but I couldn’t help it.

Max had laughed at me when I told him my weird thoughts on the subject and asked what I’d imagined his name to be. I didn’t have an answer, but the man I pictured was short, ugly, and mean-looking. I thought he would have a mangled face and bald head, and the mere sight of him would scare small children. Max said I was describing Freddy Krueger and he was right. Joshua Lemont was not what I’d pictured.

So Joshua was being held in Maryland but was supposed to be taken to Alaska and turned over to the authorities later today. The team that Tex had hired to find him had an emergency callout—I didn’t know what that meant but Max explained they were needed somewhere else and it had to be top priority or Tex wouldn’t have pulled them. That meant Joshua was handed over to the Blue Team, which Max explained was another group of men that worked for Zane.

Further, I’d learned that Max’s team was called the Gold Team, and Zane had a third group called the Red Team. I’d had a million questions about what Z Corps did, all of which Max answered. I got the sense he was sugarcoating some of it, but I could admit I was happy he’d held some of the details back because what he’d told me scared the shit out of me.

But the worst of it was when he told me his team would be deploying again in the near future to take out a group they’d been following for a long time that had proven to be hard to catch.

I didn’t ask what “take out” meant, I had a pretty good idea and I didn’t need confirmation. Suffice it to say, Max had a dangerous job. One that would take him away from me for weeks at a time. I viewed this as all the more reason for me to find a job quickly so I’d have something to keep my mind occupied on something other than worrying about him twenty-four-seven.

And as my luck would have it, Tatiana knew someone that was hiring a nanny.

How perfect was that?

The mother of the toddler was Tatiana’s hair stylist. Her husband was an insurance broker in DC. Audrey—that was the mother getting ready to open her own salon—didn’t want their son Mikey in daycare all day.

When I’d spoken to her over the phone, she’d said she had no problem with me bringing Elijah over when I watched Mikey. As a matter of fact, she’d suggested it. That way Mikey, who was three, would have someone to play with.

So there I was, standing in the bathroom finishing up getting ready for my interview with Audrey and Michael, and I was more nervous than I ever remember being before an interview but I really wanted this job. It was perfect.

I heard Max’s terse voice in the bedroom so I stopped brushing my hair so I could listen.

“They’re moving him today?” Pause. “Myles and the whole team is escorting him, right?”

Oh, shit, Max was talking about Joshua.

“Yeah, Zane, I know I’m wound tight,” Max barked. “I’m not happy the fucker is in Maryland to begin with. I want him away from my family but I need to know that Myles, Owen, Gabe, and Kevin got this. So cut me some slack and just tell me the whole goddamn team is taking him.”