Page 127 of Maximus

“The last time Jay tried this, it didn’t work out too well,” I reminded him.

“Yeah, because the motherfucker called it in,” Novak spat and jerked the girl angrily. “This time, without that bitchass involved, you’ll fly into Canada undetected.”

I’d always known Jay had called the authorities to set me up, but hearing Novak say it was a knife to my heart.

“I’m not doing it, Novak.”

“Then this bitch dies.”

My stomach clenched and I looked back to the woman. Could I really let her die? Could I live with myself knowing I was the reason Novak killed her?

Fuck, no, I couldn’t. But I couldn’t live with myself knowing I’d transported drugs, either.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked. Not that it really mattered, because I wasn’t going to live through this, but I was trying to buy time.

The thought of leaving my boys motherless nearly brought me to my knees.

Max has them.

Novak was going to kill me as soon as I delivered the woman and drugs—I knew it. There was no way he’d allow me to walk away.

And honestly, it was more about delivering a woman to an unknown future that didn’t take a genius to figure out was going to be misery. I couldn’t do that no matter what.

“Because you fuckin’ owe me. You and Jay. Your fucked up tug-a-war lost me millions. Since I can’t find that motherfucker—you’re gonna pay me back.”

Wait, one goddamned minute.

“How’d you find me?”

Novak’s mouth curved into the nastiest, cruelest smile I’d ever seen.

“I never understood what Jay saw in you,” he sneered. “You’re the stupidest bitch I’ve ever met. Then I realized that was why Jay picked you. You’re so goddamn dumb you still don’t get it. I run this place. As soon as I heard Eklund hired someone to find you, I had you.”

I ignored Novak’s dig, mostly because he was right. I was dumb, punctuated by the fact that there I stood on a tarmac in Alaska instead of being home with my guys. Nope, Eva, don’t think about them, not right now. But this stupid bitch wasn’t going down without a fight.

Think, Eva.

“You went through a lot of trouble to find me, when you could’ve found someone here a lot easier.”

“Enough talking!” Novak shouted. “What’s it gonna be? A quick four hour flight to Vancouver to deliver my products or am I killing this bitch?”

Four hours to Vancouver… we had to be south of Juneau—not that that little tidbit would save my life, but maybe it could help me escape.

I could agree, take off, and crash the plane, but I’d run the risk of killing the woman and myself. This wasn’t a float plane like I’d flown…

Nope. Not going there. Thinking about Bubba and Zoey wouldn’t help—though Bubba’s cargo pockets full of stuff might’ve come in handy right then.

“Answer me, Eva!”

“Don’t do it,” the woman cried. “Let him kill me.”

“Shut up, Natasha!”

“He sold me!” she shouted. “I’d rather—”

Natasha didn’t finish. Novak used the gun at her head like it was a hammer and slammed her across the face. Her forehead and cheek split open, blood oozed from the gash, and stomach acid burned my throat.

Now was my chance. I needed to run, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Natasha’s bludgeoned face and her comment about being sold had me paralyzed. I needed to leave her behind and save myself—for my boys, for Max. But damn if I could make my feet move.