Page 25 of Maximus

During the drive, Eva handled all communication with Tex and my team. When there was something I needed to know, she’d jot down a few words, just enough for me to get the gist of what she was trying to tell me and hand me the notebook.

The safehouse Tex found us in Atlanta was perfect. A man met us at the property and handed me the keys along with a drugstore bag and disappeared. Eva shuffled the kids inside and didn’t argue when I handed her the keys to the Tahoe and gestured for her and the boys to wait by the door. Miraculously, she understood I wanted to clear the house.

I’d made enough mistakes in the last five days, assumptions that could’ve led to Eva and or her boys being killed. I wasn’t taking anymore chances. The house was small; an open floorplan, kitchen, living room, and dining room all within sight as we walked in. Two bedrooms down a short hall, with one bathroom.

“Everything’s fine,” I told her and she smiled.

“You’re not shouting anymore.”

“Everything is muffled but I can hear again.”

“That’s good news.”

Eva had no idea. If I’d been any closer to the blast, I wouldn’t have been so lucky. That, and whoever set the explosive had set the charge in front of her car instead of at the rear where the gas tank was. He would’ve gotten more bang for his buck if the initial burst had more power from the fuel.

“Get the boys settled,” I told her. “There should be food in the fridge. I’m going to check in with the guys then I’ll help—”

“No.”

“No?”

“I’m cleaning the cuts on your face and arms first. It’s been hours. We need to take care of them before they get infected.”

Eva’s eyes narrowed and I knew I’d failed to keep my smile at bay.

“What’s amusing?”

There was not one goddamned thing amusing yet I was smiling. There had never been a single person in my life who had offered to take care of me. Not my drunk of a father, not my weak as fuck mother, not my bitch of an aunt or dick of an uncle. None of them had ever showed the least bit of concern. Not when I fell off my bike and scraped my knees, not when I broke my collarbone, not even when I was a little boy and had a bad dream and was scared.

Yet there was this woman, with more baggage than a cargo ship could carry, offering to help clean me up after her car had exploded and her kids’ lives had been threatened. Not that she knew her car was gone just yet—I was waiting for the right time to explain that—but the fact remained she wanted to take care of me. Knowledge that slammed into me with such force, I had no defense against it.

Our situation was precarious at best. She knew I needed to check in with Tex and my team to secure our safety, but first she wanted to make sure my cuts didn’t get infected.

What in the actual fuck was I supposed to do with that?

“Nothing’s amusing,” I answered.

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Never had anyone offer to clean me up before.”

Eva’s hands went to her hips, her gaze held mine, and her forehead wrinkled. “Are you screwing with me?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“No one? Really, not even when you were a kid?”

Yeah, I wasn’t touching that.

“Here.” I picked up the bag Tex’s man had given me and handed it to her. “I can clean my face, if you’ll dig out whatever is stuck in my right shoulder.”

Eva took the bag but didn’t follow me to the bathroom. Instead, she headed to the couch where Liam and Elijah were sitting.

“You guys wanna watch some TV while I help Max?”

Liam looked from his mom over to me then back to Eva. “Sure.”

She crouched in front of her sons and kissed each boy’s cheek before she handed Liam the remote.