Page 59 of Her Righteous Protector

“Oh, well, yeah. Sure. Of course you would, except I heard he has like an aunt there in Chicago or something.”

“No, the only family he has are his grandparents and they’re abusive criminals. Meghan, his dead mother, had her best friend help raise him for the last year and a half of her life. She’s going to be coming back to Virginia with me.”

“Oh, that’s good. Good for you, Max. Hey, I’ve got to get back to it; we’ve got a training exercise starting in a half-hour. Thanks for talking things through with me.”

“Not a problem.”

* * *

Hannah did her absolute best not to squirm in her seat as she and Max sat in front of Elias Peterson. God, how could this possibly be worse than the last time she was here?

But it is.

“I cannot believe that this hasn’t just been thrown out on its ear,” Elias said with absolute disgust.

He was shaking a thick set of legal-sized papers over his desk by his thumb and forefinger. “It’s outrageous!”

“Elias, you’re going to need to calm down,” Max said in a soothing tone.

Hannah gaped at him. How in the hell could Max be looking so damned calm?

Hannah jerked to her feet. “Mr. Peterson, are you telling me that even though Max is now down as Zephyr’s legal father those two assholes might have a chance in hell of getting custody of him!”

Elias dropped the legal brief onto his desk and held his hands outwards, trying to placate her. “Hannah, honey, take a breath.”

“What kind of leg do they have to stand on?” she demanded to know.

“They’re saying that Max here abandoned Meghan to die alone and that his job as a Navy SEAL proves he’s an adrenaline junkie who is going to die early and will leave Zephyr an orphan again. They’re saying they are Zephyr’s most caring and stable option.”

Hannah slammed her palms down on his desk. “That is a load of horseshit.”

Max laughed and she swung around and yelled at him. “This is not fucking funny. They are the scum of the earth, and they will stop at nothing to get their hands on five fucking dollars, let alone a two million dollar life insurance policy.”

Max tried to grab her hand and she jerked away from him. He would not be put off, so she let him pull her back down to her seat.

“Hannah, it’s going to be okay. Kane has been pulling so much dirt on them that they are probably going to end up in jail.”

She stopped and stared into his gray eyes. “Are you serious?”

“I am.”

She looked over at the old lawyer. “Do you know about this?”

“Yes, Mr. Hogan has been giving me his information. He’s assured me that he will be able to provide a proper chain of evidence that will satisfy law enforcement.”

Hannah’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Max. “What does that mean?”

“You’re going to have to trust me. Can you do that?”

“But, Max, what happens if this goes to trial?” she whispered.

Elias cleared his throat and she turned back to look at him. “If Max can give me what he’s shown me so far, it won’t, Hannah.”

Hannah tasted blood where she’d bit her lip. She turned back to Max and took a deep breath. “I trust you.”

* * *

Max looked down at Hannah. The moon coming through the window made her look beautiful, but he hated seeing the purple smudges underneath her eyes. Tonight, she’d made love like it was her last night on earth. It wasn’t until their third time together that she’d finally tumbled into a deep sleep.