Page 40 of Her Righteous Protector

She stared at him in amazement.

13

Max had always prided himself on his ability to get shut-eye no matter what time zone he was in, or what harsh environment he was suffering through, but here he was on a soft mattress with a full stomach and he couldn’t get to sleep to save his life. He punched the pillow again. It was no use. He got up and threw on his Navy sweatshirt on top of the sweatpants he was already wearing, snagged his cell phone off the nightstand, and went downstairs to the living room.

It was oh four hundred. Kane had texted him three times yesterday, and he’d ignored all of them. Kostya had texted him too; he wanted to talk about the Commander. He’d better answer that one today. As for Kane? Shit, he fucking needed to talk to Kane.

YOU UP?

He sent the text to Kane.

His phone immediately vibrated with an incoming call.

“How does A.J. feel when you sit around waiting for incoming texts? Isn’t she the slightest bit put out?” Max asked.

“You are so out of the loop. A.J. is in Atlanta again. I was waiting around for her text, you dumbass,” Kane chuckled.

“Well, now that you have me, you’re stuck. What’s more, I don’t even give a shit if A.J. tries to call in; you still have to stay on the line with me,” Max demanded.

Kane whistled. “Holy shit, the kid is yours,” he breathed out.

“Yep.”

“I’ve got to stay here for a while. Meggie had terminal breast cancer that spread. Shit, Kane, she went through everything, and when I say everything, I mean everything.”

“How did that impact the kid? Was her family there for her?”

“Her family isn’t worth shit,” Max answered. “But she’s got a surrogate family worth their weight in gold, especially a friend who was like a sister to her. I don’t know all of the details yet, but she’s been living with Meggie and my son for the last year of Meggie’s life. Zephyr adores her.”

“Zephyr?” Kane’s voice was soft.

“Yeah,” Max smiled. “Zephyr Maxwell Lancaster. The attorney said that after a paternity test I can claim him as my own and then he’ll be Zephyr Maxwell Hogan.”

Kane cleared his throat. “Max, are you sure he’s yours?”

“There was a little bit of doubt until I saw him, but he’s a mini-me.” Max’s grin got wide as he thought of his son sleeping upstairs.

Kane laughed. “Poor kid. What can I do to help?” Kane asked.

“I’m going to talk to Simon tomorrow. I’m going to need to take all my leave.”

“Nope,” Kane said immediately.

“What are you talking about?”

“Max, this isn’t vacation. This is emergency family leave. That’s what you would be pushing through for any of us. Simon will be taking care of this for you as soon as you explain the situation.”

Max felt himself relax just a tiny little bit. Kane was right. That’s exactly what this situation was.

“Now, when are you bringing him home?”

Max slumped forward on the couch, his elbows resting on his knees, the phone up to his ear. “Jesus, Kane, that’s the whole fucking problem. For almost a year and a half, Hannah Woods has been playing nurse to Meggie and damn near mom to Zephyr. Meggie considered making Hannah Zeph’s guardian, then I would have been completely cut out.”

Kane’s breath hissed out.

“I don’t see a way I can separate the two of them, at least not right away. It’s almost like I’ll need to set up some kind of custody arrangement.”

“If that’s what’s best for your son, then that’s what you do,” Kane said decisively. “However, I need a little information on this woman.”