Page 89 of Maximus

“At the table eating. Now tell me.”

“I was talking to my boss. He was discussing the possibility of you going to Alaska and talking to the prosecutor.” I was so engrossed in the color seeping from her face until she was left so pale and washed out, that I missed her legs start to wobble, until she grabbed the doorframe for purchase.

“I told him you weren’t going,” I said as I rushed over to her and pulled her into my arms—which she willingly allowed. And when she burrowed her face into my chest, I knew there was not a chance in hell Zane was getting his way.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

“Why does he want me to go?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

We stood there, me holding Eva tightly for a long while—long enough for her to stop shaking. Long enough for her to tense in my arms and try to pull away.

“No, Eva. Just relax,” I told her and held on. “How about after Zane comes over, we put on a movie, chill with the boys for a while, then we’ll have that get-to-know one another talk you wanna have?”

My question did not one thing to diminish Eva’s unease like I hoped. She grew stiffer in my arms. And her hands trapped between us tightened into two tiny fists. Which she used to push against my chest.

“Your boss is coming here?” she croaked out.

“You have nothing to be afraid of, honey.”

“Will he…”

After a beat of silence, I prompted, “Will he what?”

“Never mind.”

I lifted my head and pulled back a fraction so I could see her face and when I did, the urge to take Eva and the boys on the run hit me so damn hard it was a miracle my knees didn’t buckle.

Christ, I’d turned into my brothers—the men that I’d made fun of when they’d found the women who’d turned their lives upside down. The men who vowed to protect the women they loved at all costs. But I didn’t love Eva. I couldn’t. I didn’t believe in love and forever and all that bullshit. I lived in the here and now—moments of pleasure and mutual satisfaction. Yet, I’d asked—no, begged—Eva to give us a shot at more. Was that love?

The longer we stood locked in an embrace I wouldn’t release her from, the more pissed I was at Zane for mentioning that goddamn word.

“Will he what, honey?” I repeated.

“Will he take me and the boys? Make us leave?”

“Fuck no!” The declaration was out of my mouth before I had a chance to calm the fury her inquiry sparked. “No one is taking you or the boys anywhere.”

The thought of her leaving made me absolutely felonious.

Eva Dawson was mine and so were her boys.

I didn’t know jack shit about love, but I was one hell of a good SEAL. I thrived in the chaos of combat. Surely I could conquer a tiny slip of a woman and two little boys.

Couldn’t I?

Fucking Zane Lewis and his big mouth.

Chapter 25

Max’s boss, Zane, was not what I’d pictured—though maybe I should’ve—the man was just as good-looking as all the men he employed. Tall, black hair, and piercing blue eyes that were almost as beautiful as Max’s.

He also looked like he could snap a man in half and not think twice when he dumped the body. In other words, he scared the shit out of me. Max must’ve sensed it because he hadn’t moved from my side in the last five minutes.

What Zane did not do was scare Liam. My son took one look at the rather large, imposing Zane Lewis and asked him if he was friends with Tex, too. When Zane confirmed he indeed was, Liam commenced asking a million questions. I found it rather shocking that Zane indulged Liam and had made it a point to soften his features when talking to Elijah.

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him if he had children, but after Liam’s third degree, I didn’t think Zane would be receptive to anymore questions.