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He didn’t know how long he stood there crying, equal parts rage and hurt swirling in his stomach to create a toxic brew. But after a while, he could finally hear Ed whispering to him. It sounded as if he’d been talking for a bit, but Max hadn’t been able to hear him.
“They’ll never touch you again. I won’t allow it. Rive? Katona? They are nothing. You’re the genius. You’re the one who found the lost tomb. Not them. Not anyone else. They are nothing compared to you. We’re going to find that tomb, and you’re going to share your discovery with the world.”
It sounded so nice. A triumph over all their greed and selfishness.
But his mind tugged back to the stitches that had just been put into Ed’s arm.
Max pushed on Ed’s chest enough to get the man to loosen his hold. He scrubbed at the tears that streaked his face before looking up at him. “Maybe it’s better if I walk away now rather than risk them finding it. Today’s injury was just a graze, but what about tomorrow? Or the next day? I have no doubt that she threatened to kill you in order to get my discovery. Hell, I have no doubt that she threatened my life as well.”
“Don’t you dare!” Ed barked at him. He pointed at him, tapping the end of his nose. “You are not allowed to walk away from this. The discovery of the Tomb of Kazemde is your legacy. It’s your life’s work, and you’re not allowing those shitbags to stop you from achieving your dream.”
“But—”
“Ed’s right,” Charlie interrupted. “We’ve tangled with far worse and come out ahead. We’ll be fine.”
“It’ll be easier now that we know what we’re up against. With names and pictures, I’ll be able to track down lots of information that will give us an edge. By the same token, Rive and Katona know nothing about us,” Kairo quickly added.
West stepped forward and rested his arm on Charlie’s shoulder. “The only thing you need to figure out is what your line in the sand is.” The sniper held up an index finger and thumb like a gun and pressed the point to his temple. “Personally, I say you let us take care of them both for you. Think of it as protecting yourself and your colleagues.”
Ed’s massive hands wrapped around his shoulders. “Take a breath. You don’t need to make any decisions right now. We have time to figure things out. Your main concerns are finding that survey team to check out the tomb location and getting your government paperwork together.”
Max nodded. The next breath was a little easier since he’d put it that way. Concentrating on work was always easier. It was familiar and safe. The steps were all clearly laid out in front of him.
And for the moment, he didn’t want to think about his mother or his sister.
13
EDISON WALKER
Ed followed Max up to the bedroom he was using, leaving the rest of the team to figure out what next steps they could take to protect themselves and learn more about the people trying to steal this discovery from Max.
It was all important stuff, but it paled in comparison to the pain that continued to fill Max’s wide green eyes. The behavior of Rive and Katona was beyond Ed’s understanding. He’d been lucky to grow up in a loving, supportive family. The idea that blood relatives would be so selfish and vicious was confounding.
But it was starting to feel all too common. Alexei had told more than a few horror stories from his early years living in Russia. He’d witnessed firsthand the mess that was the Panopoulos family with how Izzie and Athena were treated.
And now Max.
It was bad enough that his family had abandoned him, but for them to show up in his life again when they only wanted to use and discard him was despicable.
As Max entered the room, he paused for a second at the desk he’d been working at over the past several days. He huffed and turned away only to flop down on the mattress. He looked up and blinked at Ed as if he were shocked to find him standing there.
Ed’s hand tightened on the doorknob, and he halted in the middle of closing it. “Sorry. Would you rather be alone?”
“No, come in.” Max waved a hand for him to draw closer. He shifted so that he was half sitting the wrong way across the bed with his back against the wall and his legs hanging off the side of the mattress. He patted the open space beside him.
After closing the door, Ed dropped next to him on the bed and captured one of his hands, threading their fingers together. “I want to ask if you’re okay, but that’s a really stupid question, and I try not to ask you stupid things.”
