Page 22 of Second Chances with my Billionaire Bosses

Doctor Bianca snorted.

“Straight people are so strange.”

Vera looked at each of us, eyes watery but intense.

“Is that right? The three of you are going to be there for Maxie? For real?”

Arlo stepped away from the wall he’d been leaning against and I could see the way his eyes scanned Maxie, looking for more damage no one had noticed.

“Maxie is ours.”

Maxie had passed out again but she chose that moment to try to lift her head. Her eyes rolled as she fought to stay awake but she was fighting a losing battle. Still, it didn’t stop her from grumbling one more thing at us.

“Maxie is mine. Me.”

Nellie grinned.

“Seems that our sweet big sister is going to make you work harder than that.”

CHAPTER 17

Arlo

Maxie had been asleep for over twenty-four hours. She’d roused enough a time or two to ask for the bathroom or water but other than that, she slept. Hard. After her fever broke she didn’t talk anymore or reveal anything else to haunt us.No one cares about Maxie.Rhett told us about the way she’d uttered that her momma hit. I’d known Jenny Hellstone as much as a grown man got to know his buddies’ mom but she’d never seemed violent towards her kids. I knew that looks could be deceiving, though. I also knew that Maxie was the kid who’d stayed with her parents before they died. When everyone else was doing their own thing, Maxie had taken care of them. Was that when the bad shit happened?

I had a million questions I wanted to ask Maxie but mostly I just wanted her to open her pretty green eyes and look at me. My chest had been in a knot since I’d watched her go down in the kitchen. I’d seen some of the most fucked up shit overseas but somehow seeing Maxie go down was among the worst.

Shep came into the upstairs room we’d turned into her space and handed me a cup of coffee.

“Anything?”

I blew out a breath and shook my head.

“It’s about time for more medicine.”

He knelt next to the bed and stroked her hair out of her face. Her curls were wilder than ever and bounced right back. Cupping her face, he pressed his lips to her cheek and sighed.

“Time to rejoin the living, sweetheart.”

Rhett leaned in the doorway, watching.

“I’m going to call the doctor again. I know she needs rest but maybe something’s wrong.”

“Leave the doctor alone.” Maxie’s voice was scratchy and broken. She coughed and groaned. “Need a bath.”

“I’ll run one in my bathroom.” I hurried to start the water, happy to have something I could do to help. It’d been brutal to feel so helpless as she’d lain there, suffering.

They’d already gotten her up on her feet when I went back to her room. She was unsteady and didn’t protest when Shep scooped her into his arms. He carried her to my bathroom and put her down in front of the toilet.

“Go pee, Maxine.”

She scrunched up her face.

“Are you crazy?”

I laughed, over the moon to hear her getting a little sass back.

“Let him help you get your pants down and then we’ll turn around so we don’t see you peeing.”

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