Dirty Maverick (The Maxwell Family) Read online

  “I’ll wait,” I said firmly and sat down in defiance.

  She sighed. She was probably used to people like me and knew that she couldn’t do anything to stop me. She told me to take a seat in the waiting room and that she’d be back as soon as she had some more news.

  “He’s in good hands,” she said in kindness, but the words did little to put me at ease. I was sure that they were her go to words for people like me.

  I was sat in the waiting room with Blake and Peter. There might have been more people around, but I had no idea. They were the only ones that seemed to register with me. They kept trying to talk to me, but they gave up after I didn’t answer back. I didn’t feel like making small talk. People seemed to come in and out of the room, and I barely took notice of them. I just kept looking at the door the nurse had disappeared through and wondered when she was going to come back. The minutes were dragging, and each time I looked at the clock, I was surprised by how little time had passed. Blake had given me a cup of coffee, but even that had reminded me too much of Max, and I couldn’t bring myself to drink it. It sat next to me getting cold. I got up when I saw the chief walk in.

  “Madison! Are you okay?” he asked when he saw me.

  “I’m fine. But Max . . .” I gulped. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t bring myself to even think about Max, let alone talk about him.

  “Come on, let’s get something to drink and you can tell me what happened.”

  “I want to stay here,” I insisted.

  A nurse walked in at that moment and overheard me. She came up to me and put a hand on my arm.

  “You’re talking about the guy who got shot tonight? Max?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Have you heard anything?”

  “They’re doing what they can. We’re all hoping he will pull through. But we’re not going to know for quite a while. Go and have a drink. It’s good to stretch your legs a bit. Maybe when you get back, someone will have some news for you. But it’s going to be a while. There’s honestly no point waiting. I promise you we’ll call you when we know more.”

  I sighed and nodded. “Okay. Thank you,” I said and then looked at the chief. “Okay, let’s get a drink.”

  The chief ordered himself a coffee and a muffin, and I ordered a hot chocolate. He insisted on buying me a muffin too, but I wasn’t sure if I was even going to eat it. We sat down.

  “Eat,” he ordered.

  “I’m not hungry.” Even the smell of the muffin was making me feel sick.

  “You’re in for a long night. Just take a few bites at least.”

  I did what he said, but the muffin turned to sand in my mouth. I got halfway and pushed it aside, focusing instead on my hot chocolate.

  “All right, are you ready to tell me everything that happened? Obviously, I know bits and pieces from everyone, but I want to hear it from you. Tell me from the start.”

  I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure I was ready to recall it, but I knew I had to. I had to put my job first. I told him all about how I’d been listening in on the exchange between himself and Shell and how it became obvious that they were onto us.

  “Neither of us had expected something like this. They put him in a car and told him they were going to a warehouse. Shell said the boss knew there was a rat amongst them, but Shell didn’t seem to know that it was Max. At that point, he seemed just as confused as we were. I listened closely for signs that he was setting Max up, but it didn’t seem like it to me. Thankfully the tracker was still working so I was able to get to the next location. But they were two steps ahead of me, and they caught me. They . . .” I shivered as I recalled the feeling of the man’s hands holding me hostage. It didn’t matter how much I had seen it on TV, or from footage at work; there was nothing that could truly prepare me for that feeling. I had never felt more hopeless in my entire life. I had been certain that I was about to die.

  “Don’t worry, Madison. You’re safe now. You’re safe,” the chief said.

  I nodded and took another sip of my hot chocolate to distract me. The hot cocoa warmed me from the inside out and seemed to calm me down. I continued my story about how when they dragged me in, I saw a dead man, presumably Shell, lying next to the man I assumed to be the boss. I tried to tell the story as if it hadn’t happened to me because I didn’t want to get emotional again.

  “He was shouting orders and saying something about Max being the rat. The man next to me had a gun pointed at my head, and the next thing I knew, Max had gotten out his gun and had shot the guy next to me. It all happened so quickly. Max has always been a good shot, and he got the guy on his first try. Next thing I knew, the guy next to me was on the floor, but so was Max. I’m guessing the boss got him. I don’t know.”

  “And the boss got away?” the chief asked.

  “Looks like it,” I sighed. “What a mess.”

  “Who the hell got involved with this whole thing? We had everything planned to perfection. Do you think it was one of our guys? Or do you think they were onto Max the whole time?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think they knew about Max. I really don’t. I think someone snitched. Who, I don’t know. Blake was there for me, and so was Peter. So, I don’t think it’s them. It could be one of the other guys. It sounds so crazy, but that’s all I can think of.”

  The chief shook his head. “This is awful. Come on, let’s go back to the waiting area to see if we can find out what’s happening with Max. Why don’t you stay here, and I’ll get the other guys in for a talk? Maybe I can get some information out of them. Maybe I’ll be able to tell who is lying. I’m going to interview them all. We have to treat everyone like a suspect right now. But you stay here. I want you to be here when Max wakes up.”

  I was so grateful that he had said when Max wakes up and not if. We were not the hugging sort, but he gave me an awkward hug anyway, and it felt good to know that he cared. We went to the waiting room, and he called everyone out.

  “Let us know if you hear anything,” he said to me.

  I nodded and continued looking at the door.

  About an hour later, the chief had still not returned, and nobody had come to tell me about Max. I got up and went to speak to the receptionist.

  “I’ll find out for you,” she said and made a quick call.

  After talking to one of the nurses, she said that I could go in and see Max.

  “Does that mean he’s okay?”

  “He’s stable, but he’s still not conscious at the moment. They said you can go in and see him, but not for long. Ten minutes at the most. He needs his rest.”

  She gave me his room number, and I quickly rushed over to find him before she could change her mind. Him needing his rest meant he was still alive, and no words had ever filled me with so much happiness before. I walked in as a nurse was walking out and almost burst into tears the moment I caught sight of him. Max was lying in bed, tubes attached to him everywhere. He looked peaceful though, and I could see that he was breathing normally, so that made me feel a bit better. I took his hand and thought about how mad I had been with him just the day before and how I had argued with him over telling the team. I still stood by the fact that he shouldn’t have told them, but I still wished I hadn’t reacted the way that I did. It all just seemed so pointless now. I should’ve been nicer to him about it. He was only doing what he thought was right. I couldn’t believe that after everything we had been through, Max was fighting for his life after having just saved mine. I took his hand and stroked it gently.

  “Come on, Max, don’t die,” I said.

  I pictured him opening his eyes and telling me that he never does.

  Chapter Seven

  Max

  I woke up and smiled at the beautiful woman sitting on my bed. It took me a while to realize that it was Madison because everything looked hazy, as it normally did when I first woke up. I blinked a few times and chuckled at the sight of her. Then I grimaced as I tried to sit up and felt a bolt of pain throughout my body. I immed
iately lay back down, closes my eyes, and opened slowly again. When I opened them a second time, I saw that Madison had moved closer to me and was now touching my arm. Tears were rolling down her face. I couldn’t figure out what was happening, so assumed I must be dreaming.

  “Goodnight,” I mumbled and closed my eyes again.

  I heard her chuckle and felt her fingers rubbing my hand. Why was Madison rubbing my hand? It was . . . intimate. I opened my eyes again. It wasn’t a dream. She really was sitting next to me, crying and stroking me.

  “Am I dreaming?” I asked.

  “No, you’re not dreaming. You’re alive.”

  “Alive? I know I’m alive. I’m talking to you. Why are you in my bed? Did you sleep over?” I asked. The question felt strange. Why would Madison sleep over? I tried to remember why she would’ve been at my house the night before, but I couldn’t figure it out. I definitely could not remember her coming over.

  I looked around the room and frowned. I wasn’t in my bedroom. Where was I? I tried to sit up but again it was too fast, and the room started to spin. I closed my eyes.

  “Steady now. Don’t move too fast.”

  “What’s going on? Is this a hospital? Am I in a hospital? Am I dreaming?” I asked again. I was still convinced that none of this was really happening.

  “You’re not dreaming,” she said again. “But you are in a hospital. Max, you’ve been in a coma for five days.”

  “What? A coma? I don’t understand.”

  “You were shot.”

  I laughed. “Okay, I’m dreaming. I’m going to bed.” I closed my eyes again.

  Madison shook me slightly. “You’re not dreaming. Max, you’re in a hospital.”

  I opened my eyes again and looked around. The room had not suddenly morphed into my bedroom. I was still lying in the same hospital room I had seen a few moments ago. But what was Madison talking about? A coma? Surely, I would know if something like that had happened to me. She was messing with me or else she was very confused.

  I shook my head slowly. “No. I’m not in a coma.”

  “I know you’re not. You’re awake now. But you were. It’s Wednesday now. The last time we spoke was on Friday. Do you remember what happened?”

  “I . . . I don’t know.”

  “What is the last thing you remember?” she asked gently.

  I tried desperately to conjure up some sort of image, but nothing came to me. “I don’t know. What’s going on, Madison? I’m so confused.”

  “You were shot, but you’re fine now. Max, do you remember what the boss looked like? I think I saw him, but only briefly. I was so confused at the time anyway that it’s hard for me to really visualize that night. Can you describe what he looked like to me?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Her eyes were widened in concern. “You don’t remember? You don’t remember the boss? Do you remember Shell?”

  “Shell? What shell?”

  She shook her head and squeezed my hand. “Never mind. It’s nothing to concern yourself with right now. I’m going to go and talk to the doctor. But you’re fine, Max. You probably just need some time to recover. I’m so happy to see you.”

  “Your hair is gorgeous,” I said out of the blue. I’m not even sure why I said it, but I suddenly just wanted her to know. She’d looked like an angel sitting on my bed. Suddenly I wanted her to know that too. “You’re like an angel.”

  She looked at me strangely and laughed. “You’re crazy.”

  She stood up, reached down and kissed me gently on the cheek. “It’s good to have you back. You had me very worried.”

  She walked out, and I tried to figure out what was going on. I remembered seeing a nurse and talking to her, but I couldn’t recall what I had been saying. Everything felt like a dream to me. That’s why when my brother walked into the room I was sure I was definitely still in a dream.

  “Xavier?” I asked.

  It should be the other way around. I should have been the one visiting him in hospital. Xavier was known to be the wild child of the family. He’d been a bad boy as a teenager and was still an adrenalin junkie to this day who wanted nothing more than to spend his days riding his fast motorcycles. I’d always been the smart one, making sure that I didn’t put a foot wrong.

  “Max, I can’t believe you’re here. I’m so glad to hear that you’re going to be fine. Well, you’ve got quite the war story to tell everyone at least. Now I can’t say you’re boring anymore.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I heard about the accident and flew in to see you the moment I could. They told me that you were in a coma, but they all had high hopes that you were going to be fine. Apparently, you’re quite the fighter. But I knew that already. You never give up on anything.”

  “I have no idea what’s going on. Are you sure I’m not dreaming? Although you wouldn’t tell me if I was. It sure feels like a dream. The room is even hazy.”

  He laughed. “If you were in a dream, you wouldn’t think you were in a dream. You never question them when you’re actually dreaming. You’re awake, Max. The nurses tell me that you’ve been floating in and out of consciousness for a while now. They say it takes a while for people to feel normal again. You’ve been sleeping for five days, so no wonder everything is hazy for you. Don’t worry; it’s all going to come right. They said your vital signs are all good.”

  “Well, it’s good to see you. You look well.”

  “I’d love to say the same, but you’ve definitely seen better days.”

  I laughed. It felt good to laugh even though it hurt at the same time.

  “Where are Mom and Dad? Are they waiting outside? I bet you dad’s gone to get coffee. Coffee . . . hmm . . . I could definitely use some. But not that shit from the office. That stuff is awful. I don’t know why they don’t put better coffee in.” The words were tumbling out of me now. But when I looked at Xavier, I saw that he was frowning at me.

  “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong? Oh, I’m rambling. Sorry, I can’t seem to help myself. The words are just falling out of me. Maybe it’s because I’ve been sleeping for so long.”

  “No. It’s not that. It’s just . . . did you really just ask about Mom and Dad?”

  “Yeah, I did. Where are they? I’m assuming you came together. I’m just surprised they’re not here right now.”

  “Max, uh . . . I’m not sure how to tell you this.” I noticed that Xavier couldn’t look me in the eye. This made me feel uncomfortable.

  “Tell me what? Why do you look so nervous? What’s going on? Am I dying?”

  “Are you dying? No, Max. You’re not dying. Goodness, not at all. You’re fine. But, Mom and Dad have been dead for five years already.”

  “What? They’re not outside?”

  “No. They’ve been gone for a while now. Don’t you remember?”

  I blinked. I blinked again. I tried to figure out if what he was telling me was true, but I knew he wouldn’t lie about something as big as that. We might joke around but that was taking it too far, even for him. I shook my head and felt a heavy sadness come over me.

  “I’m not sure,” I whispered. It was the honest truth. A part of me recognized that what he was telling me was the truth. But a part of me couldn’t quite figure it out either. It was like I remembered and didn’t remember at the same time.

  “I’m sorry,” Xavier said.

  “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. My memories seem kind of jumbled up. I think I knew. I mean, it sort of sounds right to me now that you’ve said it. But . . .” I shook my head. “Wow, for a while I honestly thought they were still alive. I miss them.”

  “I miss them too. I’m sorry. But don’t you worry about anything, okay? You’ve gone through a lot of trauma, and you’re still trying to recover from it. You’re going to be fine, Max.”

  We changed the subject, and I asked Xavier to tell me some stories about his life. I didn’t want to talk for a while. I just wanted to sit bac
k and listen to him. It was nice, and it made me feel a bit more like myself. It was strange that I could remember who Xavier and Madison were but that I had believed my parents were still alive. It didn’t make any sense at all.

  “Did you see Madison? She was here when I woke up,” I said.

  “Madison? Yeah, I saw her on the way out. I think she was going to talk to the doctor or something. To be honest, I don’t think she’s really left your side this whole time. She barely got any sleep these past few days. She’s been out of her mind worrying about you.”

  I smiled at the thought her pretty face sitting next to me while I slept. There was something comforting about that idea.

  “Do you know if she’s single?” I asked.

  Again, the strange look from Xavier as if I’d just said something crazy.

  “Do you know who she is?”

  “What? Of course, I do. I work with her.”

  “Yeah, she’s your partner. She’s been your partner for a while now.”

  “I know. That’s not what I asked you. I asked you if she’s single.”

  “Well, that I don’t know,” Xavier said. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully now. “But, I tell you what, I’ll try and find out for you.”

  I smiled, finally satisfied by his answer. “I like that idea,” I said.

  “Now, I think you better get some more rest. You look sleepy.”

  “I am,” I said. Just the word ‘sleepy’ had made me want to close my eyes.

  “Come on then. Get some rest. I’ll go and chat with the doctors in the meantime.”

  “But you’ll still be here when I wake up.”

  “Of course, I’ll still be here.”

  I closed my eyes and then quickly opened them again. “Wait! What if I go to sleep and I don’t wake up again?” I felt nervous at the thought of falling into a coma again. I hadn’t known about it before so why couldn’t it happen again?