Devil's Prey(14)

     



 

Max smiled back and decided he liked Mags more than he cared to admit  but he still went in for the kill shot. "So you have absolutely no fear  of the two men who caused you to have three abortions?"

"I asked for them," she said with no emotion in her tone. "I didn't want their kids . . . I still don't."

"And the baby you had?"

Mags' pale green eyes lit up for a moment before they dimmed again and she bit her lip. "Wasn't their kid."

"Yet some inbred White Knight piece of shit is raising that kid you did want?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I trust Jake and his old lady. He's a tough  bastard but he's fair. It's not him who can't have kids but her. She  had a rough upbringing. It gave her happiness to have the baby and I  wanted to do it."

He slowly walked toward her. "So, Jake is the father of the baby?"

A smile played on her lips again. "I never indicated he was."

Max's heart beat faster in his chest but he still managed to keep his calm reserve. "Who is the father?"

"Just a married man I was once deeply infatuated with and cannot have.  I'm not gonna tell you because he doesn't know. I knew . . . Jake wasn't  the father. My son's father was separated from his wife at the time and  we would get together when I came through town. It was five years ago,  leave it alone."

He pushed his robe out of the way as he sat next to her, admiring the  silky waves of her dark hair, the way her skin seemed naturally  sun-kissed with just a hint of gold, her full pinks lips, high  cheekbones, and her imperfectly pert nose, which had been broken at one  time but fixed enough to fit her face.

"How did you break your nose?"

Mags glanced at him with a sly look in her green eyes. "I didn't. Stella  did . . . she's Nel's wife. Some doctor they have on the payroll fixed  it. He did a pretty bang up job but I didn't want plastic surgery. I  think it gives me character. Why? Do you think it makes me ugly? My nose  . . . with a slight bump on the bridge if you look carefully enough?"

Max stared at her for a long time. "Nothing could make you look ugly,  Mags. You should know that by now. You're stellar-strong, intelligent  and fierce. You're harder than a lot of the men I work with and know.  Why didn't you fight back?"

"You're assuming I didn't. She also had a broken nose and a couple of  broken ribs by the time I got done with her. She opted for the plastic  surgeon though." Mags sighed and stretched. "It's late. Go to bed.  Tomorrow, we work on becoming more buddy-buddy with each other, yeah?"

He nodded his head. "We'll also move out of here into the house I told  you about. There's transportation for you there so you can get around.  Then we can start to strategize when we need to meet your uncle. It has  to happen . . . soon. Dimitri is not a man known for his patience."

She pushed herself off the bed and stood, her tiny sleep shorts riding  up the half moons of her ass before she pulled them down. "I never  thought he was but you also need to let him know that this situation  isn't gonna happen overnight. From what I know about Angelo, he's an  extremely suspicious man. You think he's not gonna think I have an  agenda if I just pull up with you and gush how I wanna get to know him  all these many years later? The plan won't work that way."

Max glanced from Mags' body to her face. "I didn't think it would be  that easy. At the same time, I do believe both of us have enough  resources and life experience to pull this off, don't you?"

"Of course, that goes without saying." She turned toward him, smirked  with an almost childish deviousness and said, "Good night."

Just like that, she was gone, and Max was left with one of the worst case of blue balls he'd ever experienced.

Mags was right, this wouldn't be an easy situation at all, but little  did she know, his reasons-and hers-for coming to that very conclusion  were as different as night and day.





The next morning, shortly after Max and Mags enjoyed a delicious  breakfast together of scrambled eggs, sausage patties, artisan rolls,  fresh fruit and copious amounts of coffee, he made good on his promise.

They left The Heritage together and drove to Birch Tree, where the quiet  and well maintained Serenity Village was located. Mags looked out of  the window, again, alone in her thoughts and firmly inside her own head.  He didn't bother to interrupt what ever she was thinking about with  insipid talk or useless conversation.

However, Max admitted freely she was correct. They needed to get to know  each other and the best way for that to happen included establishing a  life of normalcy as soon as possible.         

     



 

He wasn't crazy about hotels either and preferred to stay at the simple  yet gorgeous home he owned in Serenity Village although he failed to  alert Mags it was his house and not just a place for them to crash. Part  of him was afraid of what she might think and what his expectations  were if she knew they would be living in a house he bought and paid for  with his own money. At this point, when they still didn't trust each  other anywhere close to one hundred percent, it was easier for her to  believe Dimitri had set the home up as a front for their upcoming  assignment.

The house had a rather grand yet upper middle-class look to it with its  dark stone paint, two stories and welcoming front yard covered with  grass and flowers. Meanwhile, there was a roomy backyard with a  pool/Jacuzzi he kept covered in the late fall/winter months, a large  barbecue grill and a full outdoor set replete with table, chairs and an  in-built stereo system.

Max parked in the three-car garage and immediately lowered it as soon as  he turned off the Range Rover. The garage also housed a top of the  line, seven hundred series silver BMW and sangria-red Mini Cooper. He  didn't realize when he'd decided to purchase the pint-sized car perhaps  it might be too girly for a woman like Mags but it was too late now.  Whether she liked the vehicle or not, it belonged to her and would  provide a means of transportation.

He stepped out of the SUV moments after she did and marveled as she  strolled over to the Mini Cooper before squealing with glee. "Is this  mine?"

Max waited until she turned around to face him before he nodded his  head. "I thought you'd want something more feminine but now I know you,  I'm beginning to reassess my choice in vehicles."

Mags shook her head. "No, it's perfect! For a moment there, I thought  you would think I was a Smart Car type of chick but this is the perfect  combination of badass and feminine. I love it!"

He felt quite pleased with himself until she walked over and embraced  him. It was mildly awkward at first since he wasn't used to being  touched and he never expected a show of emotion from her in that  capacity. Beneath the hard exterior, that same young woman who lost her  parents still existed.

Max didn't know whether to feel elated or disconcerted before he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed.

As they separated, she looked around the garage before those gorgeous  pale green eyes settled on him again. "Sorry . . . I think I had a  bonafide chick moment there. Perhaps I went a little overboard but I'm  not used to receiving gifts. I want you to know I appreciate what you've  done for me-that's all."

"Consider it a pleasure." He smiled before he began to walk towards the  garage door and opened it, allowing her to enter before him.

They walked directly into a large laundry room with a washer and dryer,  and an industrial sized sink for hand washing items. It was spotless and  extremely well organized. If Max despised anything in the world, it was  clutter.

He'd grown up around it and remembered his beautiful mother who was  indeed the most important person in the world to him. The level of  laziness and lack of care she had for her clothes, jewelry and expensive  shoes disgusted him. He knew his fastidiousness was a symptom of a  chaotic childhood but it was not a secret he planned to share with Mags  anytime soon.

She studied the containers of washing detergent, bleach and fabric  softener before she turned toward him with a sly smile. "I didn't take  you for being so domestic but this house definitely has . . . a woman's  touch."

Max raised dark eyebrows over calm blue-green eyes. "That would be the  housekeeper, Darby. She makes sure all of the supplies are kept up to  date and in stock. She also comes by to dust once a week when no one is  here to look after the place. I don't like walking into a house that  doesn't feel like it's not . . . lived in."

Mags opened the door and walked down the hallway, passing a full  bathroom on her way to the formal living room. It was complete with a  set of black leather sofas, a glass coffee table and a La-Z-Boy chair  that he found to be quite comfortable. A Bose stereo system had also  been set up in the room but obviously it was a place of relaxation since  the sun streamed directly into the room. The pale gray walls  complimented the set up beautifully.