Page 26 of Maximus

“I won’t be long.”

The older boy nodded and scooted closer to his little brother.

No way would I wish the shit Liam had gone through on anyone, but if there was one good thing that had come from the shit hand the kid had been dealt, it was that he learned early in life to take care of those he loved.

The bathroom was utilitarian at best. A small vanity, a toilet, and a shower stall for one. Without much space between the three. I pulled my torn shirt over my head and pain radiated down my arm.

“Oh, hell,” Eva muttered.

“What?” I started to turn back to the mirror so I could see what had her grumbling, when my arm brushed across her chest and I stopped. “Shit, sorry. There’s not much room in here.”

“It looks like glass.”

Well, that would explain the pain.

“Hopefully, there are tweezers in the bag. You okay to pull it out?”

“Yeah.”

I glanced over my shoulder to find her pale face staring up at me.

“I understand if you can’t—”

“No, I can. I’m just sorry you got hurt because of me. Then you drove all that time with glass in your arm, and dirt and rocks in your face. We should’ve looked at it when we stopped. I should’ve driven. I’m so sorry.”

“Eva.” I carefully turned to face her, this time making sure I didn’t touch her. Which was difficult, not only because the two of us in the tiny bathroom was a tight fit, but now I was very aware of her nearness. Very aware she was a beautiful woman with a fantastic body. “You have nothing to be sorry for. And I needed you to be my ears when I couldn’t hear over the pounding in my head. You did a great job, by the way. You stayed calm, you kept in contact with my team, you guided us here, and you handled the boys even though I know you were scared and didn’t know what was going on. Thank you for that.”

“But you’re hurt,” she repeated.

“It’s nothing. A few scrapes. They’ll be healed in a few days.”

Her soft look and frown were almost too much to take. There was sadness and fear, but it was the concern that would be my undoing.

“How can you say it’s nothing? There’s glass in your shoulder and arm. Glass, Max. And you couldn’t hear for like three hours. I saw you wincing in pain when you were driving. I don’t know you all that well, but a big, strong guy like you…” She trailed off a moment and shook her head. “I assume you’d have to be in a great deal of pain for it to show. And I saw how much you were hurting.”

“If you’re worried I won’t be able to protect you because I’m a little scratched up, I promise you I can.”

Eva’s lips parted before they closed and opened a few more times before she sputtered, “Wor-worried? I’m not worried about you protecting me. I’m worried about you.”

“Babe, I swear I’ve been banged up worse than this and continued on a mission.”

Now she was openly gaping at me. If the situation wasn’t totally fucked up, I’d say she looked fucking adorable standing in front of me, eyes wide, mouth hanging open, clearly alarmed at my declaration.

“I don’t want to know what kind of missions you’ve been on,” she snapped. “Obviously, your definition of a scratch and mine are two different things. My boys scratch themselves when they’re playing in the backyard trying to climb the tree. Liam gets banged up when he falls off his bike and scrapes his knees. This…this is something different. There was an explosion.” The words whooshed out of her. “Something exploded. That’s insane. And how close were you to the blast? What happened?”

Oh, hell no, I wasn’t going to tell her it was her car that blew up when I needed her to get the glass out so I could take a shower. That information was for later, after the boys were asleep and we were alone. She’d done remarkably well keeping her shit together, but I had a feeling that tidbit of news would send her reeling.

“Let’s talk about what happened later.”

“Why?”

“Because you need to get back to the boys, and when you go back to them, you don’t need to be upset and worried. Liam watches you, he picks up on your moods. If you’re anxious, he’ll feel it. Elijah is already nervous around me. I need them both relaxed—it’s the only way they’ll trust me.”

Some of the softness that had crept in slipped away. Anytime I mentioned the boys, she became overly defensive.

“Eva, listen to me. Nothing I just said was meant to be a dig. I’m not trying to offend you. It’s a good thing Liam pays attention to what’s going on around him. He’s smart. He loves his mom and brother. What I’m telling you is, I want you and your kids safe. Which, I swear to you, I will keep you all that way. But neither of them are going to trust me if their mother goes back to them agitated after spending time with me. I have one shot with them. Please give this to me. After they go to bed, I’ll tell you everything. Just trust me.”

Eva studied me for long moments. And I did something I hadn’t done in well over a decade. I didn’t mask my emotions. I didn’t deliberately blank my features and shut down. I allowed her to see I was being honest. A gesture I didn’t afford anyone else in my life. I was a cynical asshole, I didn’t trust anyone outside of my inner circle and I didn’t give a shit if others outside of those I respected trusted me. I didn’t bother to put forth the effort because I knew it would be a waste of time, I wouldn’t trust them back, so I saved everyone involved the trouble and remained closed off.