Page 97 of Maximus

“I’m—”

Max’s hands came up, one tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, the other curled around the back of my neck then he yanked me to him, and he smashed me against his chest.

“I’m so sorry I hurt your feelings. I didn’t mean for what I said to sound like I didn’t believe you’re a good person.”

Looking back, that was the moment I fell head-over-heels in love with Maximus Ragnar Brown. A mistrusting, cantankerous, mercurial, strong, beautiful man. A man who believed—in spite of what I’d done—believed I was a good person. A man who trusted no one, yet trusted me.

Yeah, I was in love with Max.

Chapter 28

It was not the words that Eva said that had set me on fire. It was the vehemence behind those words. The fierceness, the indignation on my behalf.

No one, not even my brothers-in-arms, had ever been so offended in defense of me.

There was no way I could tell her what her outrage meant to me, how it stirred something in my soul that I never knew existed. That by simply uttering two words, she’d sealed her fate.

Eva Dawson was mine.

She owned me.

As I held her, I waited for some sort of fear or apprehension to take over, but those feelings were absent. There was desire and longing and those two emotions flooded until there was nothing else.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

My arms tightened around Eva, not wanting her to pull away.

“Yeah?” I asked, irritated at Zane’s intrusion.

“Tex called.”

Fucking hell.

“He’s cleared the way for Eva to talk to the prosecutor but he still would like to hear what she has.”

“Now?”

“They’d like to meet with her tomorrow.”

Christ.

My chin rested on Eva’s head and she clung to me tighter. That was the only thing that made the situation bearable—Eva wrapping herself around me looking for comfort.

“The boys,” she whispered.

“I thought Anaya could go with you to help with the kids,” Zane offered.

“Babe?” I gave Eva a squeeze and waited for her to lift her head off my chest. “Anaya used to work with Missing and Exploited. What I’m trying to say is, I know you’ve only met her briefly but she’s good and knows how to handle delicate situations. She’ll be good with the boys.”

“I’m not leaving—”

“No, honey, we’re not leaving them. But Anaya can go with us and either she and the boys can stay at the hotel or they can come with us to the prosecutor’s office and wait there. But I’m not leaving your side, so they’ll need someone to watch over them while we’re behind closed doors.”

I really wished my team could go with us to Alaska—not that I thought we’d need backup, but extra eyes are always welcomed.

“Okay. We’ll talk to Liam and Eli.”

Eva started to pull away and I begrudgingly let her. When she reached for my hand and threaded our fingers together, a peace that only she could provide settled over me.