Page 71 of Maximus

Eva sucked in an audible breath that filled her lungs so full her chest heaved.

“I can’t…” she stammered, and I desperately wanted to pull her into my arms but I remained seated.

“Tex briefed me last week, Eva. You need all the help you can get.”

I felt the unease rolling off Eva. There wasn’t a man in that room who couldn’t smell her fear—it coated her skin and leaked from every pore.

“Bubba, have you heard from Sean Kassamali recently?” Declan charged ahead.

Sean was Colin Wright’s business partner and now the sole owner of Heritage Plastics, a company that Sean and Colin had grown into one of the largest in Alaska. Bubba had never wanted any part of it, not when his father was alive and not after he passed. Unfortunately, Bubba’s twin, Malcom, hadn’t felt the same way and had been willing to kill to get his grasping hands on what he thought belonged to him.

Had Malcom not plotted with Tracy Eklund to kill Bubba, he would’ve found out Bubba had planned on selling his shares of the company to his twin for a dollar.

But Malcom was a greedy fuck and murdered his father, something that might have gone unpunished had he not hired Eva.

“Not since the last time I was in Alaska to deal with the final sale of the houses. I met with Sean to sell him my shares of my dad’s company. Why?”

Declan quickly and efficiently gave Bubba a rundown, summing up the last two hours into five minutes. Throughout Dec’s explanation, Eva grew more and more rigid until I was worried she was going to snap. The woman looked positively miserable.

“So the working theory is, Chris Peters was hired to take the fall. Or, was he the backup plan?” Bubba asked.

“What do you mean backup plan?” Kyle inquired.

“Well, is someone trying to kill her or take her? Her house was rigged to explode—that says death. A contract was put out to take her out—that says death. But her car exploding without her in it, and if you’re correct in your assumption, the explosion was meant to kill Max to get him out of the way so someone had a clear shot at Eva—that says kidnapping. Which, if you’re asking my opinion about that, I think you’re wrong about the car. I think that was a mistake. Maybe the guy got spooked and blew his load. Maybe he knew Max saw him and used the car as a diversion to get away. If someone wanted to take Eva, they would’ve done a quick snatch and grab when she was leaving work, or going to the store. Hell, they could’ve easily broken into her house and just taken her.”

“Shit,” Thad mumbled. “I think Bubba’s right.”

“Which brings us back to who wants her dead,” Bubba continued. “And you think it has something to do with the Alaska debacle?”

“This isn’t right,” Eva whispered.

“What’s that, Eva?” Brooks asked.

“This isn’t right,” she repeated louder. “Mark shouldn’t—”

Bubba cut her off. “Eva, earlier you asked who was helping me. The answer is, my team. They knew I was missing and they deployed immediately and went all out to find me and they didn’t give up until they pulled Zoey and me out of the Lake Clark Preserve. That’s who was protecting me. These men are acting as your team now, let them do their job and protect you.”

“I don’t deserve a team,” Eva mumbled.

“Well, lucky for you, Tex believes you do, so he sent in some of the best men in the business to take your back. Use them wisely.”

“That’s just it, I’m tired of using people. It’s just not right. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me. Especially you. I’ve hurt you enough. I don’t understand how you can even stand hearing my name. I almost—”

“I know what you did, Eva. Zoey and I spent a week in hell. But you know what? I’m alive. Zo’s alive. And the silver lining is, I reconnected with Zoey. You were in a bad situation, trapped with no other options and because of that, you were forced to make a decision I’m sure you’re not proud of. But you gave me Zoey. Can’t say that I’m grateful you tried to kill me, but I also know you could’ve dumped us somewhere else and it could’ve been worse. What I can tell you is, I understand, Zoey understands, and we’ve let it go. We’re moving forward, looking on the bright side. I suggest you start doing the same.”

That was some of the craziest shit I’d ever heard, but damn if it wasn’t true. It was also gracious and if I was in Bubba’s shoes, I don’t think I’d have it in me to look on the bright side of anything. But that was the difference between me and pretty much everyone else. I didn’t have a bright side.

“I’m not proud of what I did,” Eva confirmed. “I regret it every day. I regret every decision I’ve ever made that led me to that day. That’s why I can’t stand here and ask you to help me. I’ve taken too much.”

“Don’t know what to say to that, other than you’re gonna have to get over it. If not for you, for your kids. If they lose you, they have nothing. I’m offering you help—take it.”

“I’m sorry,” Eva said with tears brimming. “I’m so sorry, Mark.”

“That’s all you needed to say. Now let’s get back to Sean,” Bubba ordered. “Last time I saw him, he was barely keeping his head above water. With my dad and Malcom gone, the daily operations of Heritage Plastics falls on him. Sean’s committed to keeping the company afloat. He’s working day and night to do that. Now, I can tell you, Zoey told me Sean’s wife, Vivian, hates the company and apparently had been trying to get Sean to sell his shares for years. If that’s true, which I believe Zoey, then I’d assume Vivian’s not happy her husband is pulling an extra twenty hours a week behind his desk. Though I don’t know what that’d have to do with Eva’s situation—just giving you what I know.”

“And Tracy’s husband, Kenneth?” Brooks asked. “Have you been in contact with him?”

“No,” Bubba clipped. “I saw him the day I met with the prosecutors. He’s hired his wife the best attorney he could find in Anchorage. For obvious reasons Sean’s fired him and severed all contact. That’s what you do when your personal lawyer’s wife plans several deaths including your business partner’s murder, and then the subsequent takeover by his crooked son.”