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9
Max wanted to kick Nico out and finish what they’d started before he’d come inside. He was worried about what this would mean for her career. The last thing he wanted to do was have her shamed or embarrass her with her lawyer friends if anything ever came out about him.
“Ki, I need you to be sure,” he pressed again.
“I’m absolutely positive,” she purred. “Want to know how I know?”
“I do,” he said with a grin. One hand rubbed along her thigh. From the corner of his eye, he saw Nico stand and take off his blazer. His shoulder harness was visible for anyone to see. Just as he was about to say something to Nico, she shook her head.
“It’s okay. I saw his gun earlier tonight.”
Both he and Nico froze. Nico was in the middle of removing the contraption to put it in the closet.
“If he wore it here, it’s because he needs it. Right?”
Max looked at his friend, raising one eyebrow.
Nico still removed the strap from his shoulder, but didn’t hide it away. He held it in his hand as he positioned himself in front of Kiana. “I wear it all the time, yes.”
“Is Max in danger? Are you in danger?” Her wide eyes looked at Max and he was amazed at how calm she was. Maybe he’d underestimated her.
This time Max answered. “Sweetheart, I’m always in danger. There’s a situation with some people in Philadelphia that didn’t go the way we expected.”
“Hmmm, I figured you were into some shady things but didn’t think you fit with the Italians or the Irish. Plus, with your family background, that would be hard to navigate, right?” Looking at both men with a critical eye, she tilted her head in thought. “I’ve seen some of your crew. You have a little bit of everything in your mix. Are you mainly in the DMV?”
Smiling at his woman, and a little in awe of her at the same time, Max nodded. “We’re not aligned with any one group. We tend to do our own thing. Those who want to do business with us, will. Those who don’t, won’t.”
Pulling herself off his lap again, she paced in front of him. Nico was in the kitchen making a sandwich, so Max knew he was pretending not to listen to their conversation. Even if he heard every single word.
“You okay, Ki?”
“I always knew you were more than just a businessman. There were rumors, of course, but no one knew the truth. It didn’t really click for me until we’d been together for some time.”
Giving her a curious glance, he questioned her further. “Why would you say that?”
Waving her hand away, she replied, “There’s something about you. You don’t live in the world the same way others do. You watch, observe, and usually let others talk their way into a hole. I saw it every time we were together in public.”
“A lot of people do that. That doesn’t mean I was up to something nefarious,” he countered. She was right, of course, but he wasn’t admitting it just yet.
“Yeah, but you’re different. Nico is too, but in a different way. You’re like a predator. As if there’s something within you that focuses on the weakest link. Not like women and children weak. No, you have something in you that puts a laser focus on those you feel have a weakness. A weakness within them that makes them less than. It’s like there’s this darkness inside you that you try to hide. I’ve seen it a couple times when you didn’t think I was paying attention.”
Max’s heart stopped. His lungs were fighting against him to breathe. Her words cut through him like a knife. Shooting a glance at his friend, he saw him frozen in surprise as well. Only a few people had used similar words to describe him. Big Mama, Nico, and his uncle Dave.
It was one of the reasons his uncle wanted Max to join the white nationalist group he headed up. Dave figured whatever demons were inside his nephew, he could use that anger, that darkness, to create a swath of terror throughout Virginia and West Virginia. Since there was no way in hell Max was going to do that, it had caused a major rift in the family, with him and his mother firmly on one side. Most others stood with his uncle. Then there were those in the middle, like his nephew.
Max looked at his woman with new eyes. Kiana saw the darkness of his soul and accepted it. She’d already figured out he was involved in shit that was less than fully legal and loved him anyway. Had fought for him to love her back. To trust her with his deepest secrets. How could he not love this woman with everything in him?
As the silence became thick with tension, Kiana gave an embarrassed laugh. “Never mind me. I’m just glad you finally came clean with me. I’ve waited a long time for you to trust me.”
“Ki. You are something else.”
She smiled at him. “So are you. Now, you said someone’s always after you, right?”
“Well, in some way or another. Usually things can be resolved with some discussion,” he answered.
Biting her bottom lip, she placed her hands on her hips when she turned to him. “So, what’s the problem that’s happening right now? Why are you so stressed?”
Max hesitated. He’d been keeping things close to his vest for so long, it was difficult to open up and share everything.
