She laughed softly, the sound doing strange things to his insides. “Don’t worry, Max. The in-house cameras are only for my father’s paranoia. He’d never let an outside security company monitor his life, and I’m not entirely alone. My two bodyguards are still here, but they never leave the staff wing unless I call on them.”
Even with her assurances, Max’s instincts screamed at him to reach her as fast as possible. He glanced at his friends, their faces grim. “I need to go to her.”
Carter, Logan, and the others exchanged glances before nodding.
“We’ll take the van,” Ezra suggested, pointing to one of the bulky vehicles that had just arrived and were parked at the curb, just outside the driveway. “Carter can follow in his car. You can meet us there.”
Max agreed, his mind already on the route he would take to reach Mia as fast as possible. The worry in his gut didn’t ease, but he clung to the anticipation of seeing Mia again, a steady anchor in the chaos that was rapidly becoming his life.
Max walked to the front of Mia’s grand residence, the stately structure looming over him. Mia was waiting for him at the gate, her face illuminated by the soft glow of the exterior lighting. As soon as he walked through the open gate, she ushered himinside, then pressed a button on a nearby box to close the gate again. Before they moved on, Max grabbed Mia and pulled her to him, kissing her full on the mouth.
“I’ve been thinking about doing that all day,” Max admitted.
Mia grinned. “So have I, actually. It’s good to see you again, Max.”
“You look just as beautiful as I remember,” Max said.
“Thank you. Come on, let’s get inside, out of sight.”
Mia guided him quickly up to the house then through the grand entrance hall and up a wide, sweeping staircase.
“My bodyguards are watching TV in the staff wing,” she explained as they ascended.
“Staff wing? Damn, just how big is this place?”
“Too big,” Mia said.
Max followed her to a spacious bedroom decorated in warm, inviting colors. The scent of her permeated the space, a comforting reminder of the woman he was forever tied to.
Mia motioned for him to sit on a plush chair near a window. He complied, watching her as she took a seat across from him.
“How did you get here so fast?” she asked, her eyes searching his.
He ran a hand through his hair, wondering how much he should tell her. Eventually, he decided on the truth. In the future, there would undoubtedly be missions he could not discuss with her, but as this particular job concerned her, he decided it was in both their interests that she knew what was going on.
“My friends and I were nearby. We were searching for the shifters that attacked us.”
Her eyes widened. “Did you find them?”
“We did,” he confirmed. “One of them...didn’t survive. The others are in our custody.”
She recoiled, shock evident on her face. “You don’t understand, Max,” she said, her voice a strangled whisper. “When those men don’t check in, the cartel will send more to replace them. They might have already sent more after you interfered with their plan to kill me.”
“We anticipated that,” Max assured her. “We’re going to try to get the location of the cartel headquarters. I don’t suppose you know where they’re based?”
Mia shook her head. “No, but my father does. He’s been there to meet with them a couple of times. Why do you want their location?”
“Our plan is to go there and end this once and for all.”
“You can’t just walk into a cartel, Max!” Mia exclaimed, her eyes wide with fear. “It’s too dangerous.”
Max shrugged, unfazed by her concern. “I’ve done it before. It’s what I do. And I’m good at it.”
The room fell silent as Mia processed his words. The tension was almost tangible, the air heavy with unspoken fears and hopes. Max wanted to ease her worries, but he knew that empty reassurances wouldn’t suffice. Instead, he sat there, waiting for her to digest the information, ready to face whatever would come next.
“I suppose that if this is to work between us, then I need totrust that you can take care of yourself and that you know what you’re doing.”
Max breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you for understanding. Hey, did you get in trouble for ditching your bodyguards last night?”
