All the King's Henchmen Read online

  Content.

  Happy.

  And at peace.

  With his family.

  * * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *

  Across DC

  Sunday

  Eleven Fifty-Two P.M.

  Tonight with her had been an amazing date. It was probably the best one he’d ever had, even if he screwed it up royally out the gate.

  Maximus Chase had been nervous, and it showed. He only hoped Harmony would forgive him.

  This had been their first official date. After a few weeks of trying to build up the nerve, and believe that she was actually into him, Max called Harmony and asked her out to dinner and a movie.

  While their paths crossed on a case, and again at Elizabeth and Callen’s wedding, there was just something about Harmony that made him want to spend time with her.

  She was a really amazing woman. He could see it in how she acted, carried herself, and believed in justice.

  At the wedding, he’d gone alone, and so had she. At first, he thought that would be a disaster, but it ended up being the best thing ever.

  Miraculously, they ended up at the same table and got to talk for the entire thing. When they weren’t talking, they had a few drinks, he relaxed, and there was dancing.

  The booze helped.

  It allowed Max to chill out and not panic around her. That was the worst part. He was prone to be a disaster, and why not?

  What did he know about women—other than his own mother?

  This one had him tied up in knots. She was smart, and she was beautiful. For some reason, she was paying attention to an ex-cop from Boston who was trying to navigate the intricate world of the FBI.

  At the wedding, she led, and he followed. That was generally the story of his life.

  They laughed.

  They had a few drinks.

  She told him to call her sometime.

  For him, that had been the hardest part. Max, while hearing the stories of how slick his father was with the ladies, he didn’t inherit that slickness.

  He bumbled.

  He stumbled.

  He generally made an ass out of himself when he was alone with a woman.

  Only, someone saved him. With Alex Bartlett’s help, and a lot of pushing and prodding from Noah Stokes, his mentors at work, he got up the nerve to call her.

  And she said yes.

  Then the real terror set in.

  Max had to pick her up, navigate a whole dinner, and then a movie.

  Well, he’d survived the dinner.

  BARELY.

  He knocked over a glass of wine, cursed, and turned beet red after dropping profanity in front of a lady.

  It was mortifying.

  Fortunately for him, Harmony didn’t bat an eye at his mess.

  Or pull a gun on him.

  The way he babbled like he was possessed, he was pretty sure she would—or should have done just that. Maybe, had he not driven, she would have raced for the door to escape.

  Only, she didn’t do either of those things.

  Instead, she helped him wipe it up, told him not to stress it, even when some of it had spilled onto her, and then moved on with the date.

  The movie had been easier—thank God for a dark room and no talking!

  The whole time, she was sweet.

  They shared popcorn, and true to his klutzy nature, he spilled it on her.

  She laughed and didn’t stress it. In fact, she threw a handful at him and called it even.

  God!

  He needed to survive this night. By the closing credits, he wanted to weep.

  Instead of leaving his ass there, she reassured him, tucked her arm through his, and told him she had fun.

  Only, it was do or die time. It was time to say goodnight to a woman who captivated and tied him up in knots. This was why he didn’t date.

  He didn’t know how to maneuver these kinds of things. Dinner, movie, and then kiss goodnight.

  That’s how it was supposed to happen, but it wouldn’t. He’d bet money on it. Max knew he’d likely knock her off her porch or break something when he bumped into her.

  His palms were sweaty.

  His skin felt clammy.

  Yeah, he was going to do something mortifying.

  As he pulled up to her house, he raced around to open the door for her. As she went to get out, he stepped on her foot.

  She yelped.

  And there it was.

  “Oh, Jesus! I’m so sorry!” he said, feeling that flush come back again.

  She tried not to wince.

  “It’s okay! Don’t stress it,” she stated. “It was a bad day to wear open-toed shoes,” Harmony stated, smiling at him. He was cute, even if he was trying to kill her.

  “I’m a disaster.”

  “And yet they gave you a gun,” she teased. “How did you pull that one off?”

  He wanted to be sick.

  This was why he DIDN’T ask pretty girls, or any girls, out on dates.

  This.

  Right.

  Here.

  “I’m so sorry. I’m bad at this.”

  She laughed.

  “You don’t say, Maximus.”

  Oh, crap!

  She was using his full first name.

  When he picked her up, it was Max, and now it morphed to that. It couldn’t possibly get worse.

  “It’s okay, really. I had a good time with you,” she stated, trying to keep him from losing it. The man was seconds from a breakdown.

  It was kind of sweet.

  He was trying so hard, and she really liked being with him. He was gentle, kind, and not like the last man she’d dated. He had been a dick who bailed when the going got tough.

  Max…he would stick.

  She could tell.

  “I really screwed this up, Harmony! I’m so sorry. I wish I could go back and not ask you out.”

  Well, so much for not bailing. It looked like Harmony had shitty man radar.

  His words sucked.

  “I see,” she stated, wishing she could tell him that he wasn’t the only one having a hard time. Dating was hard for her, too, but for a whole plethora of other reasons.

  Max realized how that sounded.

  It was rude.

  Jesus!

  This was a horrible date, and he was an asshole. That was totally unforgivable for him. You didn’t treat a lady like that. You didn’t say stupid shit.

  He tried to make it right.

  “I didn’t mean…”

  Harmony cut him off.

  She wasn’t playing this game. She’d been burned by a man who was supposed be to one of the good guys, and now this?

  Nope.

  “Goodnight, Max,” she said, moving away from him. “Have a safe drive home.”

  “Harmony,” he called, knowing this was going to Hell in a flaming, shit-filled handbasket.

  “See you at work sometime,” she said.

  And there it was.

  That was the date kiss of death. It was officially over at that point.

  Max stared at her.

  He’d really blown this. A gorgeous woman wanted to go out with him, he’d doused her with wine, dumped greasy popcorn on her dress, and then told her that.

  Jesus.

  His father would be rolling in his grave at his woman ineptitude. Here was his proof.

  “Harmony.”

  “It’s okay, Max. I get it. It was a bad date. You wish you could erase it.”

  He was horrified.

  “Please wait!”

  She stopped short of her steps. While she wanted to get to know him, Harmony now saw that this had been a mistake. Being single wasn’t so bad.

  She’d survive it. God knew she’d survived a lot already, but she wouldn’t let a man tell her he wished he could un-ask her out.

  The date wasn’t horrible.

  He’d been nervous.

  “Please?” he asked.

  Well, why not really let him tear her down?
It wasn’t like it could get much worse.

  She opted to give him a shot. Turning, Harmony faced him, waiting to see what happened next.

  “What, Max? Are you going to tell me I look fat next?” she asked, hoping he didn’t do that.

  “WHAT?” he asked, panicking.

  She didn’t speak.

  “I ruined this night. That wasn’t my plan.”

  She lifted a brow as she tucked her blonde hair behind her ears. Well, that was news to her. His parting mark was icing on the shitty cake.

  “What was your plan?” she asked.

  “I wanted to have a good night, but you scare the hell out of me. Being with you is intimidating.”

  And there it was.

  Harmony Wells’ reputation of being tough, badass, and a ball-buster had scared off one more man. She’d made a couple run for the hills, and Max was joining that list.

  Great.

  Really fucking great.

  “I’m sorry that’s the case. I’m actually not the boogeyman, Max. I’m a normal person outside of work. No one sees that.”

  Yeah, no one bothered to see that she had a rough patch in life, too, and she just wanted to feel safe and find that connection with someone.

  It looked like she was wrong—it wouldn't be him.

  “And I’m a mess outside the job. Detective work I can do. I can even muster being a Fed. A date…yeah, that’s out of my wheelhouse.”

  She stood there.

  “I’m sorry I dumped wine on you.”

  She laughed.

  “Well, it goes so well with the popcorn.”

  He closed his eyes and the heat crept up his neck to his face, and right to the roots of his hair. He felt like he had a sunburn.

  Yeah, this was a nightmare. The only way it could possibly get worse is if he opened his eyes, and he was buck-naked.

  “I should go. I’m sorry.”

  She saw he was struggling with it, and yet, Max kept swinging away. If anything, he was persistent.

  She’d give him that.

  “Max?”

  He stopped.

  “Yeah?”

  “Other than the popcorn, wine, and the foot, it was a good date. You were fun. I liked being with you—until you told me you wished you didn’t ask me out.”

  He looked horrified.

  “That sounds way worse than it was meant.”

  She hoped he was being sincere. Harmony really did, if not, that made it all the worse.

  “Really?” she asked.

  He moved back toward her to stand with her beneath the lamppost in her yard.

  “Harmony, I swear I didn’t mean it like that.”

  Harmony saw that he was a decent guy. Elizabeth had seen her at their qualifying rounds, and they’d talked about him. He was smart, a hard worker, and a good guy. He just sucked at dates.

  Yeah, just her luck.

  “What did you mean?”

  “That I feel bad that I’ve pretty much destroyed your dress, your foot, and our date. I wish I could go back and stay home because I’m a disaster with the opposite sex. I don’t date for a reason. You’ve seen it tonight.”

  She moved closer.

  “You were still okay until you made the last comment. My last date stuck me with the tab, slapped me on the ass, and asked when I was giving him head.”

  He looked horrified.

  “Oh, well, at least there’s a bigger nightmare out there than me,” he offered.

  She laughed.

  “Oh, you’re hardly a disaster.”

  Max tried to compose himself and pull this one out of the shitter—if that was possible.

  “I really think you look beautiful, popcorn grease and all,” he said. “And the wine is a pretty smell on you. It’s a good vintage and refreshing.”

  That made her smile.

  “Well, it was warm in the restaurant, so I needed to cool down with a nice drink.”

  He laughed.

  “Thank you for that.”

  “And it was chilly in the movies. The warm popcorn butter heated me right up.”

  He grinned.

  “I can’t wait to see how you make the foot thing sound good. This one should be interesting.”

  She smiled.

  “Oh, I can’t even begin to come up with something. That was just a disaster. There’s no saving you from that—but nice try, Max.”

  He was well aware. He’d own it.

  “That’s me. I am a disaster, and yet, this is NOT my worst date. I once threw up on a girl.”

  She laughed—in that ‘thank God it wasn’t me’ kind of way.

  “Oh, Max.”

  She moved even closer still.

  “Thank you for not puking on me.”

  “It was a carnival, and I was sixteen. She wouldn’t talk to me after that. In her defense, we had just eaten ice cream and cotton candy.”

  She snorted.

  “So freaking gross.”

  “I know,” he said, smiling.

  Her heart skipped.

  When he was calm and smiling, there was a dimple in his chin. It was pretty sexy. Max was a handsome man—when he wasn’t throwing food and beverages at her.

  “I didn’t have a bad time,” she offered. “You were just out of your element.”

  “I am ALWAYS out of my element with the opposite sex. My dad had this reputation of being slick, and I did NOT get anything from him when it came to that skill. My mother taught me how to date, but even she was better than this.”

  Oh, it was clear his mother had raised him.

  Max had shown up with flowers, opened her car door, and pushed in her chair. He was polite, kind, and he didn’t try to feel her up on the first date.

  And that was why she was willing to overlook the wine, butter, and foot stomp.

  Plus, she was genuinely attracted to him.

  “I still had fun.”

  “Well, you get shot at for a living, so I won’t really take that as a compliment. You’re an adrenaline junkie. I hope I don’t hit you with my car…”

  She laughed.

  “That’s true, but I also don’t get to meet nice guys on the job. My partner is an asshole, and I chase fugitives. It’s refreshing when a guy is sweet.”

  And didn’t bail.

  The one thing Harmony couldn’t stand was when a guy was a pussy and ran for the hills. She may be tough, badass, and independent, but a man should still be a man.

  Right?

  “Perks of the job,” she teased.

  Okay, he could handle sweet.

  That was a good one.

  “I’ll replace your dress,” he offered.

  She shook her head.

  “No, that’s okay, but if you’d like to come in for a drink, I would like that. We can sit on my porch and maybe try to salvage this date.”

  He swallowed.

  Jesus.

  Could he be this lucky? After all of this, she was going to invite him into her home?

  Holy shit!

  “Are you up for it?” Harmony asked. “I have some beer if you promise not to knock me out with the bottle.”

  He had a million witty things to say.

  Only, that was the OPPOSITE of what came out of his mouth.

  “I don’t have sex on the first date,” he blurted, not knowing why those idiotic words flowed from him so easily.

  That wasn’t what he wanted to say.

  He wanted to say, yes.

  Ten seconds ago, he wanted to weep in gratitude. Now he just wanted to weep.

  Period.

  Harmony took a second to let that sink in. She was pretty sure she had misheard him.

  WHAT?

  She stared at him.

  “I actually meant a drink, but…awkward. Someone thinks highly of himself in the getting laid on a first date department.”

  He went bright red from his toes to the top of his head. His whole body was flushed with embarrassment. Instead of telling her that he was sorry, he did the smart
est thing he could do.

  He ran.

  “I have to go. Thanks for the offer,” he stated, backing away from her like she was an explosive device ready to go off at any second.

  “Max.”

  He didn’t stop.

  He couldn’t.

  There was no freaking way he just made that big of an ass out of himself with her. There was no way he just said he didn’t have sex on the first date.

  Christ Almighty.

  What was his issue?

  Max headed for his car, got in, and pulled away without even looking back, and she watched him go.

  Harmony stood there, watching him take the corner and gun it out of there.

  Well, that didn’t go well.

  At all.

  She sighed, heading to her door. Harmony unlocked it, went inside, and dropped onto the couch.

  Well, that was one hell of a disaster if she did say so herself. She just chased another man away.

  Great.

  She was a mess herself.

  Here was the proof.

  Plopping her feet on the couch, she closed her eyes and gave up. Some people weren’t meant to have someone in their life. When they were so damaged, this was the outcome.

  Harmony was going to be alone for the rest of her life.

  * * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *

  Monday

  Morning

  When Elizabeth woke up, Ethan was already gone from their bed, but Chris was still there and asleep. Sometime during the night, she’d rolled over, and he was pressed against her back.

  As she lay there, trying to acclimate herself to the time, she prayed that today was a slow day at work. While she wanted a case, Elizabeth knew that Chris’s doctor appointment was an important part of their day.

  They needed to get some blood work results and discuss his drug therapy.

  It weighed on her.

  How could it not?

  So, as she allowed herself the luxury of waking up before mom duty kicked in, she enjoyed the calm before the storm.

  It was barely seven, and she was still groggy.

  When she felt the bed shift behind her, Chris moved to cuddled against her body. His arm tugged her into his body as he held her to him with his arm over her waist.

  “Morning, sweetness,” he said, yawning.

  “Morning,” she said, relaxing into his chest.