Page 5 of Maximus

“You didn’t call to let us know you’d arrived.” His father’s voice on the other end of the line made him smile.

“I don’t check in. You know that.”

Demos’ voice lowered. “You do when your mom thinks you’re traveling for business, and that’s what you told her.” His voice lifted to normal tenor. “So she wants to know you’re safely in London.”

“Ask her to forgive me. I started work as soon as I got in.” Which wasn’t a lie. “I’ll call when I’m heading home, but I probably won’t have time to check in.”

He could hear his mom taking the phone away from his father. “I was worried.”

“Not a problem, Mom. But I could be over here for months. I’m not sure how long the company will need my assistance. I’ll call when I can, but I’ll be busy for the next few weeks. Day and night.”

“Well, that stinks. Won’t you get to see any of the sights?”

“Not at first. Maybe later. I’ll be okay, Mom.”

“You work too hard.”

“Work isn’t hard.” He laughed.

“Well, for you, maybe not, but that doesn’t mean you need to do it all the time. You should be out meeting people your own age.”

“I promise I’ll get a bit of play in, too.” He knew what his mom was hinting at, but any future concepts didn’t have a significant other in them as far as he was concerned. Even so, his mind flitted to the beautiful brunette with the proper English accent. She was his version of damn near perfect. If she had a security clearance, she’d be perfect. But even if he wanted a relationship, one could never happen for many reasons. Most importantly, he had no idea how to function in a relationship other than what he’d seen of his mother and father. He watched and learned, but the connection they had with each other, and with him and their other children, was special. He wasn’t sure he was able to form those bonds. Besides, Elena worked for someone he would cut open, gut, and stake out. After seeing that happen, there was no way the woman would want anything to do with him.

“Good. I won’t bother you any longer. I love you, Max.” He blinked and jumped back into the conversation.

“Love you, too.” He smiled and opened his eyes. “May I talk to Dad for a second?”

“Okay, here he is.”

He heard his dad kiss his mom before answering, “What’s up?”

“Thanks for taking care of that for me. I’ll do better.” He did tend to forget to check in with his mom, which caused issues.

“No problem. Everything going as planned?”

“A bit faster than planned, but now, it’s a cat-and-mouse game. I’ve baited the hook, but I’m not going to set it until I know I’ll have access to the big fish.”

“I have every faith you’ll do what you need to,” his father said. “I’m outside now, and Mom is inside. Is there anything you need from us?”

“No. I have everything I need.”

“If you need assistance …”

“You know I won’t. I have three fucking shadows to watch my six. Don’t you dare show up here.”

His father sighed, “I know, but I’ll be there in a heartbeat if you need me.”

“Thanks, Dad. I love you.”

“Right back atcha, kiddo. Be safe.”

Max disconnected and flicked his screen back to his current target. The weakest link. He’d use the woman to get close to Abrasha, and then he’d kill the bastard and anyone who tried to get in his way. Val, Malice, Reaper, and Val’s husband, Smith, were making their way to their hotels.

He watched as Elena flopped her thick, brown hair over her shoulder and read an article. One he’d supplemented without the publication’s knowledge. His program had suggested numerous places to sprinkle his false persona, and he’d chosen a couple of other magazines to sprinkle with his newfound expertise.

He watched as she thoroughly searched for anything mentioning him on the web. That meant Abrasha could access her searches, too. Given she’d worked for him for the last four years, he wasn't sure if the man would, but he wouldn’t take anything for granted. She had quick intelligence and knew herart—or at least that was his current perception at that point. In the future, his initial analysis could and probably would change.

With step one accomplished much sooner than anticipated, he would wait to make contact when she reached out to him with Abrasha’s bona fides. Rushing wouldn’t fit the plan he’d carefully constructed. Strangely, that bothered him. Like one mistake in a line of code that led to finding many others. It was a detail he couldn’t abide by, but it was there, and he needed to find out how far it went and exactly what it affected. Regardless, either before the show Elena was planning or after it, Abrasha would cease his reign of terror.