Page 91 of Maximus

“We’ve already thought about the possible prosecution for your crimes. Tex is taking care of that,” Zane told me.

“Eva—”

“It will have to be soon, before the boys start school.”

“No!” Max interjected.

“Max brought up the boys in our earlier conversation. I was thinking—”

“Enough,” Max once again interrupted. “You’re not going to Alaska.”

“I have to.”

“What the hell, Eva? No, you don’t.”

So, that may’ve been the moment when I started to fall in love with Maximus Brown. Or maybe that was the moment when I finally admitted that I’d fallen for a man I barely knew.

It wasn’t the outrage or vehemence in his tone. It wasn’t the way he’d tucked me close in an effort to protect me.

It was the fear I saw in his eyes.

He was scared for me. Big, bad Max Brown was worried about me. No one had ever looked at me the way he did just then.

His anxiety gave me the strength I needed to follow through with what I needed to do. I had to go to Alaska—I owed it to Bubba and Zoey.

“Please listen to me, Max.”

He started to shake his head, and when he opened his mouth in what I assumed was an attempt to argue, I cupped his cheeks and brought his face closer to mine.

“Please, Max,” I whispered. “Remember when you told me I had to let it go? I had to stop dwelling and move on? Well, this is my chance. The prosecutor’s office is looking for me for a reason and if they want me to testify, I’m going to do it. There’s something I haven’t told you.”

I sucked in a breath. It was time to come clean—about everything.

“I recorded the conversations I had with Tracy Eklund and Malcom Wright.”

“You did what?”

“Holy fuck,” Zane sputtered.

I caught Zane’s movement out of the corner of my eye but my gaze remained fixed on Max.

“I’m not a complete idiot. I thought they might come in handy. Though Malcom Wright had me refer to him and Tracy as Boss when we spoke.”

“You hitchhiked to Alaska.” Max’s voice was vibrating with anger.

He was correct, I had. But after everything had gone down and Malcom and Tracy didn’t pay me what they owed me so I could get the boys back from Jay, I had to do something to get to Alaska.

“You needed money. You could’ve…”

“I could’ve what? I had no options. I needed to be close to Liam and Elijah. I needed to start working on a plan to get them back.”

“Why didn’t you tell Kenneth Eklund you had the recordings?”

“What? Why would I do that?”

“For money. You could’ve blackmailed him.” My hands dropped and I stepped away from Max, my heart shattered in a thousand pieces. “That came out wrong,” he stuttered.

“No, it didn’t,” I whispered.