Page 32 of Property of Max
I turn to the man in question and freeze. He looks like death come to life, scars cutting hard lines into his face. My throat tightens. “Jack,” I whisper. “You’re not that young teenager anymore.”
“You two know one another?” Spike asks.
Bones nods, his dark gaze flicks to me. “Sorry to hear about your parents,” he says, his voice low and matter-of-fact. Then he gestures behind him. “This is my wife…”
A woman turns from where she’s painting something on the far side of the room. My heart stutters.
“Sunny?” I breathe.
“Oh, my stars!” she exclaims, rushing over to me. She pulls me into a hug, laughing. “What are you doing here, Lila? How are the kids?”
“They’re fine,” I manage a smile. “Bree’s at school, and Micah should be finishing his lessons about now.”
“You two know each other?” Cody asks, brows up.
“Yeah,” I say quickly. “We met at Marv’s Market. We see her at least once a week.”
Sunny beams. “Why have we never hung out? That ends now. After you’re finished with…whatever this is, come see me. We’ll plan a girls’ day out with Riley and Abby.”
“Lila?”
The sound of my name makes me turn, and I freeze. The man who’s haunted my dreams since I met him walks into the room like he owns every inch of it.
“Max,” I whisper.
“Wait, you two know each other?” Sunny asks, eyes wide.
“Hey, Lila,” Tank says as he comes in right behind Max. He squints, recognition dawning. “Oh, wait. You’re Cody’s friend? The one with the asshat of a boss?”
“Wait, you two know each other?” Skip mimics, grinning widely. “Sorry, I just wanted to be part of that club.”
Bones cuts him a look before turning back to Sunny. “Head home, baby. I’ll be back soon.”
She nods, hugging me one last time. “Tell one of these brutes to give you my number,” she says warmly. “We’ll talk soon.”
Then she’s gone just as several more men file into the room. Each one is large, broad, dangerous-looking, and when the last one shuts the door, the air feels heavy. Trapped.
“How are you doing?” Max asks once everyone has settled around the massive round table. His voice is steady, but his eyes never leave me.
“A bit in shock,” I admit, folding my hands in my lap so no one can see how badly they’re trembling. “I didn’t even know I was coming here until Cody had me in his truck.”
Max’s jaw tightens, his expression darkening. “So, you’re the one whose boss propositioned you?” His voice drops, rough and dangerous. “I’ll make sure we do more than slap him with tax fraud. Foster, I want his address.”
“Wait,” Cody cuts in, a sly smile tugging at his mouth as he lifts a hand. “Before you go full biker on the guy, you need to hear everything first.”
Skip leans forward, draping an arm across the back of my chair like we’ve known each other forever. “Alright, before we get to the doom and gloom, let’s do introductions. I’m Skip. The best-looking and funniest of the bunch. Come on, Bones, don’t leave her hanging. Tell her who you are.”
Bones shoots him a glare sharp enough to cut steel, then turns to me. His scar catches the light, and for just a second, his features soften. “They call me Bones now,” he says quietly.
I nod, swallowing hard, and force myself to look around the table. Spike, heavy and commanding. Knuckles, silent and watchful. Max…my heart stutters again just seeing him. Crusher, broad shoulders filling his chair. Foster, face unreadable. Tank, leaning back with that easy grin that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. And Maverick, lounging in the corner like he’s carved out of shadow.
“Alright.” Spike’s deep voice cuts through the room. “Why did I call this meeting, Cody? You said it was important.”
“And it is,” Cody says, his tone shifting into something serious. “This morning, Lila called me in a panic. Her asshole ex-boss sent her a threatening text.”
“What?” Max growls, low and dangerous. “What did it say? Show me.” His eyes flash toward me, sharp enough to cut through the air between us.
“Hold on.” Cody lifts his phone. “Gotta connect to your TV first. Foster, you wanna hook me up?”
