Page 78 of Max's Mission

Tad scoffed. “Yeah. Because the feds have done such a great job so far.” He shook his head. “You had a year by then to nail Devin and Fred. With my help! And you couldn’t do it. So, forgive me if I didn’t have any faith you could keep them safe. I still don’t.”

A touch of admiration took the edge off Max’s anger toward Tad. It seemed he wasn’t an entirely selfish bastard.

Marchand speared him with a glare. “You also didn’t tell us the whole truth. How about you start with Conroy?”

Tad’s jaw worked. He glanced away. “I’d rather not.”

Margot’s fingers tightened. Max squeezed back, knowing she had to be hurting. Tad had as much as admitted to killing the old man.

Several beats went by as Marchand stared at Tad. “So, what was your plan coming here?” Marchand continued, apparently choosing not to press the issue for the moment.

“Find Berry before he could get to Margot or the kids. I figured if I hung around in the shadows, I’d see him coming.”

“And do what?” Margot asked. “Let him take you instead of me or Em or Lily? None of those scenarios are acceptable.”

“I wasn’t going to let him take me. Or any of you.” The hard glint in his eyes said what he didn’t vocalize.

The muscles in Margot’s jaw clenched, then she looked away.

Max let go of Margot’s hand to run his up over her shoulder and rest at the back of her neck between her shoulder blades. He turned to his friends and Marchand. “We need a better plan than sit and wait.”

“I’ll check with the Costa Rican travel authorities,” Marchand said. “Find out if he used his passport to get into the country.”

“I doubt he did. There are a number of ways he could get down here without going through official channels,” Max said.

“He’s right,” Sam added. “We need to set up a sting of some sort.”

“Such as?” Marchand raised an eyebrow.

Sam tipped his head, looking at Tad. “You mentioned you still have some contacts from your previous life. Are these ones that know Berry?”

“Yes.”

“You’re going to call one you know would snitch and ask for help.”

Tad frowned. “Help with what?”

“What you set out to do. Killing Berry.”

Thirty-Four

“There. All done.” Margot set the hairbrush down, having finished brushing out Lily’s hair after her bath. “Go pick out a book.”

The girl scampered out of the bathroom and down the hall to the room Max had set up for them months ago. It was outfitted with two twin beds, a mountain of toys, and a bookshelf filled with every children’s book he’d been able to find. Margot had tried to protest when he did it. She didn’t mind the idea of him having some toys and books in the house; they did spend a lot of time here. But he’d gone well over the top with their room. She’d convinced him to return some of the toys, but he’d put his foot down on the books, telling her more books were never a bad thing.

She couldn’t argue with that, so her daughters now had a better library than she did.

Turning off the light, she left the bathroom and followed Lily down the hall. Emily was already in the bedroom, picking out her own book.

The scene on the floor by the bookshelves made her smile.

Max was in one of the oversize bean bags, Emily in his lap. The book she’d chosen was open in front of them, but he’dpaused to help Lily pick hers. She had two in her tiny hands and was holding them up for him to see.

Margot walked over, grabbing the second bean bag and dragging it close to his. She sat down, and Lily climbed into her lap with a book about kittens. Max flipped back a couple of pages and started Emily’s book again, so Lily could hear it all.

Normally, once they finished their stories, Margot would pop both girls in bed and bid them goodnight. But tonight, she and Max wanted to talk to them. The girls were bound to notice how differently they treated each other, and she didn’t want there to be any question about why.

So, when Lily tried to get up at the end of the book, Margot tightened her hold. “Hang on, sweetie. Max and I need to talk to you two.”

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