Page 95 of Maximus

“Go easy on him, Eva.”

“Go easy?”

“I’m not speaking out of turn or betraying him when I tell you, Max doesn’t trust anyone.”

“I’m painfully aware of that.”

“No, I don’t think you are. He trusts you. And for a man who has spent his entire adult life avoiding exactly what he wants from you, I’d say that’s a damn compliment. It also says a lot about you that he’s willing to put himself out there and risk getting his heart shredded. Something he has never, ever, done before. And since he’s never done it, he’s gonna stumble and fuck up. Go easy—he’s worth it.”

By the time Zane was done speaking, I was finding it hard to breathe and every insecurity I had barreled to the surface.

“But what if I’m not worth it? He should—”

“That’s not up to you to determine. That’s for Max to discover, and he has. He thinks you’re worth it and since he does, he’s decided to take a chance on you. Don’t let him down, Eva. Once you get past all his barbs and thorns, you’ll never find a better man.”

“There weren’t all that many,” I whispered.

“No, Eva, Maximus Brown has made an art out of being cantankerous. The mere fact that you’ve never seen that side of him tells me everything I need to know. So, please, go easy.”

Of course I already knew who Max was, Zane hadn’t told me anything new. But hearing Max’s friend confirm it made my heartrate spike.

“I wasn’t mad at Max,” I admitted. “I just needed a minute to get my thoughts in order. I know he was just curious—”

“No, Eva. I think Max was actually pissed that you were sitting on information that could’ve possibly made you a lot of money. For whatever reason, Kenneth Eklund still loves his wife even after she had an affair and conspired to commit murder. The woman is positively venomous. But he would’ve paid you to keep those recordings from the authorities.”

“Why in the world would he be mad I didn’t blackmail someone?”

“Because it guts him to know you were suffering without your kids. Not to mention, we all know where you were working to survive. Something you don’t understand is, even though Max didn’t know you then, now that you are his—the very thought of you living in a seedy motel taking your clothes off to make money makes men like us murderous.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Crazy or not, that’s just how we’re wired.”

Before I could tell Zane how insane he sounded, Max’s frame filled the doorway.

“Thought you had a plane to arrange.”

Zane’s mouth curved up into a smile, his dimples popped out, and his eyes danced with mischief.

Oh, no.

“I can multitask,” Zane shot back.

“Go multitask somewhere else.”

“Wouldn’t be multitasking if I wasn’t simultaneously chartering a jet and saving your ass, now would it? That’d be single-tasking or some shit.”

Chartering a jet?

“Then go single-task somewhere that isn’t in my bedroom with my woman.”

I didn’t have time to process Max calling me his woman and what his declaration was doing to my insides, not when Zane’s body started to shake with humor and he dazzled me with a playful wink.

I now totally understand why his wife puts up with him and his surly attitude.

“The Gladiator has spoken, I better be on my way,” Zane teased.

Zane strolled out of the room like he didn’t have a care in the world. It was the polar opposite of how Max trudged his way to me. His shoulder muscles were bunched, biceps swollen, his pulse throbbed on the side of his neck.