Page 41 of Max

“Kade.”

Max’s first instinct would be to call Viktor, but seeing how Cole and Kade both came from law enforcement, he understood the choice. Military stuck together, and the same could be said of law enforcement.

Max leaned back against the chair, staring at the ceiling while he listened to Cole explain the situation. He loved Desi for coming, loved how much she cared, but he didn’t need the shit show her appearance would bring. What if Shay’s stalker decided it would be fun to mess with her best friend?

He was good and truly fucked.

“Here, Kade wants to talk to you.” Cole shoved the phone in his face, and Max accepted it grudgingly.

“Yeah?”

“How fucked are you right now?”

“On a scale of one to ten, we’re at a one hundred.”

“Shit.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Okay, I’ll reach out to some friends and get some private security for you by the time you show up at the hospital. What time are you arriving?”

“Shay wants to be there by five so she can see her father before surgery.”

“I know the police chief in Richmond. I’ll talk to him as well and get some police coverage there. I’ll handle it. Your sister’s getting a bill for all this, though.”

“That’s fine.”

“Okay, call me later when you’re heading back to the city.”

“One thing before you go, Kade.”

“What?”

“I want Cole to remain as my sister’s bodyguard as long as she’s with us. She may come back to the city too. I want him to watch her.”

“She’ll need to sign a contract.”

“Email it to me. She’ll sign it.” There was no mistaking the steel in his voice. Desiree would sign the damn thing.

“Okay. I’ll send it to you.”

“I want Jarrod to replace him on Shay’s team if he’s free.” Jarrod was Sloane’s cousin and ex-military. He was also very good at his new job of keeping people safe. He trusted the man as much as he did Jasper and Cole.

“He is. I’ll have him on the first flight out.”

They hung up, and Max turned to face the room. Cole was wide-eyed. “You’ll do a good job. Now, get your ass out there and watch those two. I don’t trust them to not do something stupid like sneak off to the hospital now while we’re in here.”

“So little faith.” Shay tsked as she came in, carrying a tray with steaming cups of coffee and a half gallon of milk. She set it down on the desk.

“I know my sister and her ability to talk people into doing stupid things,” he countered.

Shay smiled. “I’ve been victim of that myself a time or two, but trust me when I say this. I’m not going to do anything to make today harder for my father.”

Max stared her down, trying to gauge the truthfulness of that statement. After a moment, he nodded. “Cole is going to be Desi’s full-time bodyguard. Kade is sending Jarrod McDaniels to take over for him.”

Shay’s body tensed. She was used to Jasper and Cole. Max hated doing this, but he needed Cole on his sister.

“Jarrod is Jasper’s future cousin-in-law. You can trust him.”

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