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over at Rider when he invited him to eat with them. “Nah, I’m going home. I have some things I need to get…who are you?”
    “Max Murphy.” The man nodded and sat down. “You’re one of the Lanning men, right? One of Rider’s brothers. You look like them.”
    “Thanks.” Without asking him if he could, the man cut his burger in half and took part of his fries. Max decided that if he could eat them, so would he. “I can smell her on you. Who is she?”
    “My mom?” The man paused in shoving a handful of fries into his mouth. “You can smell her on me? I guess that’s good being that she’s my mom.”
    The man finished his half of the burger and went up to the counter. When he returned, he had two more burgers and the biggest pile of fries Max had ever seen. He gave Max part of them and a slice of apple pie. Max was suddenly hungry too.
    “I’m not going to make a big deal out of this, but I have to meet your mom. Do you know where she is?” He told the man between bites that she was in the emergency room upstairs. “And do you know who is working on her and why?”
    “Yeah.” Max finished his half of the burger and was offered half of the third one that the man was eating. Declining it, he finished off the fries, then the pie. The man asked him again. “I don’t know you. I don’t know why I’m not afraid of you, but I don’t know you.”
    “Carter Lanning.” Max nodded and played with his last two fries. “Doesn’t mean anything to you, I guess. But I’m Rider’s brother, as you guessed. And I work for Lanning Search and Rescue. Right now…I’ve been in a funk lately. I think you’re…you and your mom are going to make it worse.”
    “Why is that?”
    Carter looked at his mom, then at Rider. Max didn’t think he was going to answer him, and he was a little afraid. Reaching out, Max brushed his fingers over the man’s hand and got more than he’d bargained for. When he stood up, the man did as well.
    “It’s not nice to rape a man’s mind just because you don’t get answered when you want.” Max nodded. “I’m not going to hurt either of you. Not ever. I just want to see if what I think is true.”
    “Carter, what is it?”
    But he didn’t answer his mom either. He just kept staring at Max. When Carter came around the table toward him, Max took a hasty step back. Carter stopped moving.
    “You’re to stay away from her.” He told him it wasn’t that easy. “Well, you make it that easy. We don’t want you in our lives. We’re just fine the way we are.”
    “And who do you think will protect you when she’s hurt again? You think she’ll trust anyone again?” Max had no idea, but he needed to protect his mom from this man. Max tried to judge the distance to the elevator, but Carter spoke again. “You know what I am to her. And to you. I can’t just let you out of my life now.”
    “She’s your mate?” Carter nodded at Rider. “Mother fuck.”
    Mrs. Lanning hit Rider in the back of the head, but he only stared at his brother. Max thought about moving to get away again when Carter moved with him.
    “Just let me see her. If I’m wrong, then what are you out? Nothing. I just need to see if she is or not. It might be someone else that you’ve been around.” Max didn’t think that was it, and he didn’t think the man did either. “I promise you, she’ll be safe with me.”
    “Like she was with her dad? The man who was supposed to keep her out of harm’s way?” Max had never spoken to an adult like he was this man, but he was beyond terrified. “You aren’t going to make her go to him. You’re not going to get the chance, because I will kill you.”
    He let his power go. Not a lot of it, because once it got too far, he lost control of it. But before he could funnel it to Carter, Linyah was standing in front of him with two more people.
    “Bring it down, Max. Now. Bring it back down or these men will hurt you.” Carter growled and Linyah told him to stand