begonia9508: Thanks!
Things definitely aren’t getting any better the longer he’s involved with Damon. It’s going to take some work to take the organization down.
We’ll find out in this part who kidnapped him.
MP: Ah, c’mon… it would’ve been a really long part otherwise! But I won’t keep you in suspense any longer.
keepsmiling7: There are dangers to telling anyone the truth and that keeps Max in a tough position. He knows it could put them in danger, but it could also put him in danger.
There is light at the end of the tunnel… it’s just a very long, very dark tunnel, lol.
lilah: Think it’s a good guy? We’ll find out soon.
Natalie36: That’s one possibility.
dreamon: So glad you’re enjoying the ride!
Michelle in LA: Lol, when I was writing that part I wasn’t expecting it to end there.
I hate it when that happens! Well, you should be off that cliff in this part. Who snatched Max off the street will be revealed in this part.
Nope, the person who grabbed Max isn’t associated with Dorothy in any way, shape, or form. FBI? That’s one possibility.
It is vile and Dorothy’s pretty twisted. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants.
Shakes did hold back because of her involvement with Max and because he knew her intentions weren’t meant to harm. I’m glad you like Shakes, he is an interesting fellow.
I do my best to update every Sunday… most weekends it’s super late, but squeezes in just under the wire, lol.
It’s Sunday… breathe!!!!!!!
Part 30
Kyle leaned one shoulder against the support post on the front porch as he stared up at the stars. There were millions of the tiny pinpoints of light visible in the night sky. He could remember focusing so hard on the stars the last time he had been here. At the time it had helped to have something besides the reason for the trip to focus on.
“You’ve been really quiet since dinner,” Ava said from the doorway behind him.
He turned his head slightly, revealing his profile in the dim light spilling out from the interior of the cabin. “Just some old thoughts,” he said with a shrug.
“About when you were here before,” she guessed.
He smiled and looked out into the darkness again. “You read people very well.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “It’s a skill that’s probably served you well.”
“It’s had its moments.” She waddled over to the high-backed rocking chair tucked into one corner of the small front porch and eased down into it. “It’s amazing how dark it is when you get out of the city. I don’t think I ever really thought about it before I had to go to the safe house, and now that I’m out here I’m realizing that even that wasn’t that dark.”
Kyle chuckled and sat on the top step, leaning back and resting his weight on his elbows. “You don’t get to see stars like this back home.” He sighed and his gaze wandered over the different constellations. “When we were kids my dad would take the family camping on weekends and me and Maria would pull our sleeping bags out by the campfire and lay there for hours, counting the stars.”
“You have a lot of happy memories with your family.” She watched him for a moment. “You must get together for holidays and special occasions.”
“Yeah, hell, any excuse’ll do.”
“July the Fourth is coming soon.”
He smiled, sensing where her thoughts were going. “If I miss out on the picnic and the fireworks we’ll play catch-up when I get home. Dad’ll hitch up the boat, Mom an’ Maria’ll make a ton of food, and me an’ Michael, we’ll be drafted to load everything up, and then we’ll head out to the marina.” He tipped his head back to look up at her. “You ever been out on a boat?”
“Um, no, too much water.”
“You don’t know how to swim,” he guessed.
“Why do you say that?”
“Why else wouldn’t you go out on a boat? You didn’t say you didn’t like bein’ out on the water, you’re scared of the water, or that you didn’t like boats, you said it was too much water.”
She shrugged. “Process of elimination, huh? No, I don’t know how to swim and that’s probably not the best place to be when you don’t swim.”
“I won’t let you drown,” he said as he stared up at the sky again. “Besides, someone’s gonna have to teach Cadence to swim and I hate to brag but I did get an award in summer camp for bein’ the best swimmer.”
She laughed at his smug tone. “Is that true or are you making it up?”
“No, it’s true.” He made a face. “Well, best swimmer in the boy’s class, my sister got best overall swimmer that year. I’d like to say she cheated but unfortunately we were only seven at the time and I’ve never been able to come up with how she did it.”
“It sounds like you guys have a close relationship.” She used one foot to keep the rocker in motion. “I always thought it would be great to have a sister or a brother.”
“We didn’t think it was so great at the beginning but we kinda grew on each other. It’s nice to have someone there who always has your back, and Maria? The girl’s loyal to a fault.”
“I had Max,” she said quietly. “We were 12 when we met…” she trailed off. “You’ve probably already read my record.”
“Records are black and white, they’re facts and figures, and they can only tell you so much about a person or a situation. Tell me about him.”
She smiled at him. “We were twelve when we met. I had been living with the Shumaker’s for several months when they took him in. There was another boy there, younger than us. His name was Trevor and Mr. Shumaker would sneak into his room at night. As much of a pervert as that old man was, he was fanatical about cleanliness and Trevor had started wetting the bed so he’d leave him alone. There was always hell to pay for that, but it wasn’t as bad as what happened in the dark. He was a horrible man and his wife was no better. She knew what he did and she never said a word. I was too scared to say anything to anyone. I wanted to tell my caseworker or a cop, and in my mind I was brave enough to do it. But I had already been through a situation with a foster parent who had similar tendencies and no one believed me until they caught him in the act. I know it was partly my fault because I’d started lying about anything and everything in my previous foster home because I just wanted to be with people who wanted me for more than a check.”
Kyle shook his head as he moved, dropping to his knees before her. “Don’t ever think that any part of that was your fault. Any allegation of sexual abuse should be investigated, and especially when a child is involved.”
“It didn’t even make me feel any better when he was arrested. I didn’t feel any safer. I just felt… damaged.” A single tear escaped to slip down her cheek. “Sometimes I still do.”
“You’re not,” he whispered. “You’re a survivor, a fighter, and hell, Ava, you were just a little kid when that happened. How could anyone hold you responsible for what happened? Not that age matters in that kind of situation. The blame for the abuse rests on his shoulders alone. The same is true of any person who takes advantage of someone else in that way. And there’s a special corner of hell reserved for people who hurt children like that.”
“You’re a very kind man, Kyle,” she said as she reached out to cradle his face in her hands.
He took her hands, pressing them together between his palms and resting his chin on them. “I’m just a guy who tries to be a decent man.”
“Your parents are proud of you.” She smiled as she made the statement. “And people are proud to call you their friend. I know that without even meeting any of them.”
The praise was embarrassing but he could tell that every word was sincere. “You were gonna tell me about Max,” he reminded her gently.
“I had the biggest crush on him when I first met him,” she admitted. “He rebelled at every rule the Shumaker’s had, he openly defied them, and he didn’t make any apologies for it. I think the only reason they kept him was to avoid anyone looking at them. Well, that, and Max was a challenge to that asshole. I remember looking at Max and seeing this heroic boy defying the Shumaker’s and refusing to give in to them. He refused to back down for anything unless they threatened one of us. That’s the only way they could control him and I hated them for that too. He started carrying a knife he had found somewhere and it scared me as much as it fascinated me. We weren’t allowed to have anything like that but I never told. Mr. Shumaker was drunk one night and he went after Max and when he did, Max grabbed that knife and stabbed him.
“I heard Shumaker screaming and I saw him coming down the hall after Max but he couldn’t catch him. He got out and as scared as I was about what the Shumaker’s would do to us all I could do was yell at Max to run faster. The old man turned to look at me and I didn’t know what had happened at that point, all I knew was he was angrier than I had ever seen him and he had blood all over him. I thought he had hurt Max. I was so scared. I ran to the boys’ room and I remember making Trevor help me push the dresser in front of the door and then us hiding in the closet. We could hear him pounding on the door and then Mrs. Shumaker was screaming and crying. It felt like forever and then someone was pushing through the door and we were terrified that it was them and they were gonna hurt us.” She shook her head. “But it was the cops and I remember being as scared of them as I was of the Shumaker’s. I wouldn’t come out of the closet until they brought Max in and he told me he had called them.”
“You guys were separated after that, weren’t you?” Kyle asked quietly.
She nodded. “Yeah, we were placed in different foster homes, miles apart. But he found me months later when he was running away and I wouldn’t let him leave without me.”
“That’s when you hit the streets.”
“It’s amazing how much you think you know at 13, and how much you really don’t know. The decisions we make shape our lives but there’s just no way to know that or understand it when you’re that young.” She smiled and brushed her thumb over his chin. “We went through things that I wish we’d never had to learn about but I wouldn’t change that decision to run away.”
“I can understand that. Change one decision and you wipe out everything good along with all the bad.”
“Yeah, and even with all of the bad I wouldn’t trade her for an easier life.”
Kyle felt something in him responding to the soft smile on her face as she pulled one of his hands down to rest on her belly. Her hand lay over his, the simple contact making him feel so alive. “You’re an amazing woman, Ava.”
“No,” she denied, looking away, “there’s nothing amazing about me.”
He lifted her chin to bring her gaze level with his. “I didn’t grow up like you did but I’ve seen a lot as a cop, and trust me, I know amazing when it’s in front of me.”
“You do realize you’re a cop and I’m a criminal, right? There’s a big line dividing us.”
He chuckled. “I think that line’s about as clear as mud.” He stood and pulled her to her feet when she tensed at a sound coming from the woods. “It’s just coyotes, they won’t bother us. But maybe we’ll go inside and kick back on the couch for a while, huh?”
“Sounds good.” She glanced out into the darkness. “I’ve never seen a coyote.”
“You won’t see them at night. Every once in a while one might come out in the daytime but you’re more likely to see deer around here. Sometimes they’ll come right up to the cabin.” His gaze swept the area around the cabin as he strained to hear anything that was out of place before turning to follow her inside.
*****
“What the fuck were you thinking?!”
Max couldn’t believe the way his night was turning out. After everything he had been through with Damon and then Dorothy he really hadn’t seen this one coming. His brain suddenly caught up with his disbelief and he bristled at the furious question. “Me?! You just had these gorillas snatch my ass off the street! Who the hell does shit like that?” There were so many emotions fighting for dominance that he felt like he didn’t know which way was up.
Shakes crossed the garage as he dismissed the man keeping Max in the chair. He nodded when the man looked at him questioningly.
“I want what you took from me,” Max demanded when the hand on his shoulder slipped away.
“Return the blade,” Shakes ordered.
“Scrapper might try to take your balls off,” the man warned quietly. He lifted an eyebrow when the boss merely laughed and repeated the order.
“I oughta take your balls off,” Max bit out when they had been left alone.
Shakes leveled that unnerving blue stare on him. “I’d like to see you try.”
The challenging tone only pissed him off more. “I don’t have time for this.” He shoved the switchblade into his back pocket and pushed past Shakes.
“Think you’re gonna get your hands on 25 grand by morning?” He didn’t bother moving. He didn’t need to. Within seconds Max stood before him, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“What’d you just say?”
“You heard me.”
“How’d you know about that?”
“The same way I know you’ve got a couple grams of coke in your pocket.”
Max took several steps back. “You’re working with them,” he accused.
“That’s one regret I’ll never have to live with.”
“Then how’d you know? And what’s the deal with havin’ a couple of your guys – I assume they work for you and not Damon – grab me like that?”
“Come with me.” He didn’t wait to see if Max would comply, simply disappeared through the door he had entered through a few minutes before. “You’re in a dangerous place right now and I sent my guys after you before you could do something stupid. It needed to be fast to avoid a scene. I’m sure you’ll agree we don’t want the cops involved since you’re already in too deep to just walk away from this mess.”
“You haven’t answered my question,” Max said as he looked around at the lavish surroundings. “How’d you know?”
“Because I’ve got eyes and ears inside her place.”
Max stopped in his tracks and stared at the other man’s back. “What’re you talkin’ about?”
Shakes whirled around to look at him. “I haven’t been able to get into Knight’s place so I’ve slowly been setting up surveillance equipment where I know he does business. Imagine my surprise when I checked my monitors and found you passin’ the cash for a weapons buy and looking like you were on the verge of hyperventilating.”
“I had things under control.”
He snorted at the absurdity of the statement. “And the coke in your pocket? That’s what? Because I had a front row seat to the show, and I recognized the panicked look on your face, kid. Yeah, that ‘oh, shit, I’m trapped, but if I get high it won’t seem so bad’ look. Why the hell else would you have taken the coke?” He shook his head sharply when Max opened his mouth. “Don’t even think about lying to me. I’ve been around junkies all my life. I know what went through your head. I also know you’re fighting against the part of you that wants that shit.”
“You know so fuckin’ much why don’t you just take it from me?” Max snarled.
“Why?” Shakes shrugged and turned his head to stare at a large oil painting on the wall. “What does that solve? It means nothing if you don’t walk away from it of your own free will. You’ve got a chance to really make a decent life for yourself. You throw it away, that’s on you. You choose the coke it’s only a matter of time before you lose everything you’ve worked for.” He reached out and gently tapped one corner of the frame before stepping back and looking at the painting. “You’ve got a good thing goin’ for you, kid, and that bossy little brunette’s gonna get hurt if you throw it all away.”
Max’s head snapped up. “You said you’d keep eyes on her, make sure nothin’ happened to her.”
“Knight’s people will never touch her. Even if you fuck it all up tonight that won’t change. I gave you my word that she’d be kept safe, and I’ll see to that. I won’t associate with a junkie though.”
He turned and sat on the steps with a heavy sigh. “I don’t know what to do.” He leaned back and shoved his hand in his pocket, pulling the vials out and placing them side by side on the step beside him.
“Go to a meeting if you can’t handle it,” Shakes advised.
“No, not about the coke.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Part of me wants it, I’m not denying that. But that’s one demon no one can fight for me.”
“Then what is it you don’t know?”
“What to do.” He scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed loudly. “I thought I could handle things, y’know? Find Ava and get both of us out of this life.”
“If you’d stopped to think you would’ve realized you couldn’t get involved with Knight again and then just walk away. That’s not the way it works and you know that. What’d you think you were gonna do? Find Ava and run? Fuck up your parole? Which you’ve already done if they find out about what you’re involved in.” He leveled his gaze on one of the very few people he considered a friend. “Where’s that leave Liz? Because that girl’s hung up on you.”
“I don’t wanna fuck things up with her. I’m tryin’ to be as upfront with her as I can but it’s not enough.”
“She’s far from stupid. She already knows you’re involved in something you shouldn’t be. If she doesn’t know, then she at least suspects.”
“She won’t go to the cops.”
“Uh-huh.” Shakes wasn’t convinced. “Whether she goes to the cops or not may be irrelevant. All she has to do is open her mouth to Maria about her suspicions and you’re gonna have a whole other kind of trouble on your hands.”
“Yeah, I know, her family bleeds blue.”
“There’s the cop factor, but I’m talkin’ about her boyfriend.”
“Michael? He’s not a cop.”
“He’s more dangerous than a cop. His instincts are telling him there’s something off about you. Most people don’t even notice Otto but he pegged him in no time. I did some checking on him after I got home last night and the guy didn’t grow up on the streets the way we did but he’s street smart. He doesn’t know enough about you yet to be suspicious of the accident he had yesterday but give it time and he could come to the same conclusion you have.” He nodded when he saw Max’s worried look. “Yeah, it was written across your face last night when Maria told you what happened to him. I haven’t found anything to support Damon’s involvement in that accident, but I haven’t ruled it out yet either.”
Max shook his head. “He’d have to know about Damon before he ever – “
“What I’m telling you is he has connections on the street. His past is centered on seeking the approval and love of a father who was more interested in his illegal activities than he was about the child in his care. And like any child he wanted to please the bastard so he became one of the best damn car thieves on the streets at the time. His old lady took off when he was eight and left him with his father so he learned from a very young age how to survive the streets because it was the only thing the bastard would respect.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“He’s watching you.” Shakes crossed his arms over his chest, the fingers of his right hand plucking at the deep green sleeve. “People underestimate him and he plays that to his advantage. He lets them see what he wants them to see and nothing more. He’s got feelers out, asking questions about you, and chances are good that he’s already got Maria’s cousin doing a little investigating of his own.”
“Maria said he’s SWAT.”
“He’s a cop, that’s all that matters. Word leaks to any of Knight’s dirty cops it’ll get back to him in no time.”
“That’s not good,” Max muttered.
“No, it’s not. That gets out and he could start thinking that you’re a plant. And you not sealin’ the deal with Linwood tonight? That’s gonna make him even more suspicious that you’re up to something.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do it.” He felt the tips of his ears turning red at Shakes’ amused expression and he glared at him. “You know what I meant.” He scratched his jaw. “I can’t screw around on Liz like that.”
“C’mon, kid, follow me.” He led the way up the wide staircase to the second floor and then down a hall to the right. He paused at a closed door and punched in a series of numbers on a keypad mounted where a doorknob should’ve been. When the code was accepted it flashed for a moment before the locking mechanism clicked and the door swung inward.
Max looked around the large room as he stepped inside behind Shakes. “What the hell is all this?” The place looked like something out of a spy thriller. Or at least what he’d imagined command central would look like for some elite law enforcement agency. Monitors lined one entire wall from about waist-level to ceiling and a large desk was set up facing them, set up with computer equipment and other electronic equipment that he had no knowledge of.
“I’ve been doing my own investigation into Knight and his organization.” He started punching buttons and the monitors came to life one by one. “It’s not exactly on the legal side of things but eventually Knight will slip up and I’ll have the opportunity to slip information to an agent that I’ve carefully selected in time for him to be caught red-handed.”
Max slowly paced back and forth, his eyes riveted to the monitors. “You’ve got eyes and ears inside quite a few places.” He moved closer to one of the screens and tapped it. “The backroom at the club where Pascal’s right hand man Grainger handles the bookmaking action,” he moved down a couple of screens, “Damon’s office at the strip club, “he made a face at the screen above, “Dorothy’s apartment. How’d you get into these places?”
“Creatively,” Shakes answered with a dismissive wave. “I’ve been able to send information to my agent on several occasions and it’s led to some successful takedowns but none of them have put a serious dent in the organization and none of them have been enough to take Knight down.” His hands fisted on the desk. “I don’t care if it takes the rest of my life or if it takes every cent I have, I will see him destroyed.”
Max frowned and turned away from the monitors to look at Shakes. His tone was fierce, underlined with a level of hatred that seared the air around them. “Why does it matter so much to you?”
Shakes cleared his throat and forced his hands to relax. He stared down at them for a moment before he rolled his shoulders back. “He’s taken enough from the people of this city and if the justice system can’t reach him then someone has to make sure he becomes more… accessible.”
“So you’ve made it your personal goal to make sure he’s what?”
“If it’s at all possible I’d like to see him eradicated from the face of the earth. Barring that I’ll accept his imprisonment for life, where if there is a God, he will suffer for every atrocity he’s committed against his victims.”
Max studied him, wondering at the animosity rolling off of him. “I didn’t realize you were so invested in bringing him down.”
“Nothing in my life is more important, kid.” He rubbed his forearms unconsciously as he dropped down into the chair behind the desk. “Does Knight ever leave you alone when you go to his house for a meeting?”
“Sometimes, yeah.”
“Do you think you could get a camera inside?”
Max shook his head. “I don’t know. They frisk me every time I walk through the door. And Damon probably has his own surveillance in every room of the house so even if I made it inside with it he’d catch me planting it.”
“Would you be willing if can I figure out a way to do it?”
“Yeah, if you think we can do somethin’ to bring him down, I’m in.”
“Alright, let me think on that. For now, go home and reassure yourself and that girl of yours that you’re alright.” He waved his right hand dismissively. “It’s late and Bernard, the man I have watching her, says she’s been by your place twice already and he’s just waiting for her to head over there again.” He shook his head when Max opened his mouth to protest. “I’ll take care of Linwood. As much as she enjoys younger men she enjoys money more.”
“You know I’m never gonna be able to repay you for everything you’re doing.”
“I’m not keeping a running tab, kid. I’ve got more money than I’ll ever be able to spend in a couple of lifetimes and if it rids the world of a snake like Knight then I’ll consider it money well spent. What I do with this money, I do of my own free will, so don’t ever worry about paying me back. Me and you, we’re square.”
Max reached across the desk to hold his hand out. “Thanks for everything you’re doing, Shakes. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there tonight.”
Shakes took his hand and shook it. “Stay straight, kid.” He stood and released his hand. “C’mon, I’ll walk you out and have Liam take you home. If you decide to go somewhere else just give him the address, he’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
When they reached the bottom of the staircase Max paused and bent over to pick up the two vials. “These should probably go back to Dorothy.”
Shakes held his hand out and carried them into a bathroom down the hall where he unscrewed the caps and upended the contents into the toilet bowl. “This stuff only serves one purpose.” He flushed the toilet and rinsed the vials out in the sink before tossing them in the trash. “I won’t move this stuff even to return it to its rightful owner, if there is such a thing. Don’t worry, she’ll be compensated for her loss and I’ll make sure Knight is left in the dark about tonight.”
“You’re that sure you can buy her cooperation?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
*****
Liz was pacing back and forth, gnawing on her thumbnail and glancing at the clock on the mantle above the fireplace every time she passed it. She had driven by her parents’ place after her trip to the grocery store but Max hadn’t been home yet. He still hadn’t been back after she had taken the groceries home to put them away and taken Diablo for a run in the park.
She was trying to respect his wishes and give him the space he wanted but the waiting was driving her crazy. She didn’t know what was going on with him but she knew he was involved in something that could get him into serious trouble. A few months ago she wouldn’t have thought twice about calling the cops and reporting him. But now she wasn’t sure that was the right thing to do.
He believed there were dirty cops out there and it made sense that he would be in a better position to know about something like that. It wasn’t just the threat of dirty cops though, she admitted to herself. She knew if she reported him he’d end up right back in prison and she didn’t think she could do that to him.
“You know, a few months ago there wouldn’t have been anything to debate about. Ex-con behaves suspiciously, call the cops and let them deal with him.”
Diablo watched her, whining in sympathy because he could sense her agitation but didn’t understand it.
“I know, right? Before Max there wouldn’t have been any hesitation.” She sighed and turned to stare at the dog. “But what if he’s right about corruption in the police department? It would be naïve to think that every cop’s clean and I’m not naïve. Cops don’t make that much money so it stands to reason that there’re gonna be some who’ll do whatever’s necessary to makes more money.”
Diablo barked as if in agreement.
“Okay, so if we go to the cops we could potentially be putting his life in danger, right?” She nodded when the dog barked again. “Right. So what do we do?” She was so deep in thought that she jumped and nearly screamed when someone knocked on the door. She crossed the room to lean against the door and peer through the tiny peephole. “Max,” she whispered and hurried to unlock the door and pull it open. Her mouth nearly dropped open when she realized that he was carrying his bag.
Max grabbed her around the waist with one arm and lifted her up against him. He suddenly felt like he had some control over his life and it was an amazing feeling. He pushed the door shut behind him and slapped the locks into place before leaning back against it. “That offer to spend the night with you still up for grabs?”
“Yes, of course.” She smiled at him and rested her forearms on his shoulders. “You’re okay,” she said as she ran her hands over his face.
He frowned. “You were worried?”
“I can’t help it. I don’t know what you’re doing when you’re not at home or at work, and I know it’s not my place to keep tabs on you. I mean, you’re a grown man and you’re gonna do what you want to do – “
“Liz, I am gonna do what I wanna do, but there’re times when it’s about what I need to do. I wish I could talk to you about what’s going on but I don’t want you involved for your protection. It’s hard to blindly trust someone when they give you so little to go on, but that’s what I’m askin’ you to do. I know there’s still so much about me that you don’t know and that has to make it even harder to trust me.”
She studied his features. “You’re not gonna tell me where you were tonight.”
“No. That other world is dark and dangerous, Liz, and I want so badly to have it behind me but it’s gonna take time. It has to be done right or it’ll never be over.”
“It’s not just about finding Ava anymore is it?”
He shook his head. “No, and I wish it was.”
“Are you in danger?”
“That possibility will always be there until I get out from under my past.” He leaned in and kissed her slowly. “I never wanted to put you in the position of knowing anything about me that could make you compromise your own beliefs. You believe you should’ve already called the cops on me, and I won’t say you’re wrong.” He laughed quietly. “Well, it’d be wrong from where I’m standing, but morally and legally, I know it’d be the right thing for you to do. You’ve never had to deal with corrupt cops, most likely never had to think of them beyond the occasional movie, but it is a reality. I don’t know what’ll happen when this’s over but there’s a very good chance I’ll end up back in prison serving out the rest of my sentence.” He sighed. “At the very least. So if you’d rather end this before you have to deal with that reality I’ll understand.” It’d hurt like hell but he would understand and he wouldn’t make her feel guilty if that was her decision.
She stared into his eyes, fascinated by the different shades of amber visible there. She could see the emotions rolling across his face and she was surprised by the depth of her need to erase his fears and worries. “I’d better not have to wait for you to get out of prison a second time to find out if the rumor about ex-cons being so good in bed is true,” she said with a teasing smile.
He responded with a slow smile at the realization that she wasn’t going to walk away. “Well, I’ve never been with an ex-con so I guess you’re gonna have to be the judge of that.”
They looked down when Diablo tried to squeeze between them, laughing at the annoyed growl the dog made as his teeth clamped onto the shoulder strap of Max’s bag. He gave it a hard tug and it hit the floor with a thump when Max released his grip on the carry straps. They watched him as the dog sniffed it, pawing at it on occasion before he picked it up and carried it into the bedroom.
“Think now’s a bad time to tell him I’m gonna need my Psyche book?” Max asked.
“Looks to me like he just told you homework’s out for tonight.” She patted his stomach as she backed away and took his hand. “C’mon, it’s late and I’m guessing you haven’t eaten since lunch.”
He followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, watching her as she put a quick meal together. He absentmindedly stroked Diablo’s head when the dog joined them, sitting beside him and waiting for someone to offer him a treat. Max hooked the thumb of his left hand in his front pocket and let the peace of the moment wash over him. He and Shakes could do this, he thought, feeling certain of it. Together they could bring Damon down and his life would be his own. With Damon out of the picture maybe Ava would resurface and that mystery would be solved too, freeing all of them from the past that still held them imprisoned.