His boys. They were home right now. Probably waiting. Probably asking questions that the housekeeper didn't know how to answer. Probably watching the door.
He pressed his lips together hard and looked away, his jaw working silently like he was chewing on words he couldn't quite swallow.
A long moment passed.
"Call me," he finally said, his voice stripped down now, quieter and rough around the edges. He cleared his throat.
"The moment you have news, anything, you call me." He turned back to Samuel, and there was something in his eyes that went beyond anger now, something steady and immovable. "And if that Laura girl wakes up, I want to know immediately. I want to talk to her myself."
Samuel held his gaze and nodded once. "You have my word."
Max stood there for just a second longer, like his body needed one final moment to accept what his mind had already decided.
