Twelve years ago, Max Harman survived a vicious attack by his ex-lover Tony. It severed their relationship and landed Tony in prison.<br><br>When Tony’s released from jail, Max’s nephew Jack fears the man may seek revenge on his uncle. Wanting to buy a gun for protection, he visits Deacon Young's shop. Deacon convinces him to bring Max by to do the same. Despite his misgivings, Max gets a gun for security, too.<br><br>When Jack’s fears prove to be correct and Tony starts to stalk Max, Deacon steps in to try to protect him. Can Max's growing interest in Deacon -- and vice versa -- survive Tony's escalating reign of terror?

Protecting Max

At that point, Officer Stern took out a pen and notebook, asking for Deacon’s and Jack’s names. Then he questioned all three of them about where they’d been before coming home. “Not that we think any of you had anything to do with this,” he said when Max frowned deeply. “It’s routine.”


By the time he finished questioning them, the CSI team had arrived. They went over the porch with a fine-toothed comb, dusting the door handle and any other surfaces around the box for finger prints, in the process. Then Max let them into the house via the door to his office, after disarming all the security—which, he pointed out, was still activated.


“I’m glad we cleaned the house this afternoon,” Jack said with a brief smile that didn’t reach his eyes.


Officer Stern chuckled. “Trust me, we’ve seen places that you wouldn’t let a pig live in.”


Chapter 31