Max had never felt time crawl as slowly as it did the morning after Chris had decided to make an unannounced appearance. Every time the bell rang above the door or a customer’s shadow loomed over the counter he was working, he jolted. Luckily, his coworkers seemed to brush it off as a case of new employee nerves.

By noon, he was reasonably convinced that if Chris had plans of making another visit, he already would have. Max kept reminding himself of John’s advice. He had been looking for Gavin for twelve years, but it would take more to repair his reputation than a single month, and appearances were everything when it came to dealing with a man like Chris Bram. If he came forward as Gavin’s father, there was a chance Chris would do the same, just to spite him. While illicit, their relationship hadn’t technically broken any laws at the time. It might have meant the end of Chris’ career back then, but he could always lie and say that Max had seduced him. His own parents wouldn’t vouch for him, so why should anyone else?

If there was one thing Max was willing to put above his desire to have a relationship with his son, it was the instinct to make sure that he was safe. If keeping Gavin away from Chris meant waiting a little longer to come forward, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. After all, he’d already waited twelve years. What was a few more months?

Maybe if he kept telling himself that, he’d come to believe it. The first half of his shift was passing slowly enough, so somehow, he doubted it.

When the front door opened, Max found himself praying the customer would go to any other department. He still had a stack of returns to process, and an aisle to clean up after a flock of rowdy children had rummaged through the displays. As he reached under his desk to toss a fresh stack of hangers into the recycling bin, a shadow that could only have been cast by a broad-shouldered Alpha eclipsed his workstation.

Of course. “I’ll be right with you,” he said, taking the time to stuff the hangers down in the bin. He knew it wasn’t Chris, if only because this Alpha’s scent, while undeniably woodsy and masculine, didn’t churn his stomach the way Chris’ did. In fact, it was nicer than any of the colognes they kept stocked at the perfume counter…

“Take your time,” the Alpha replied in a rich, pleasing baritone.

When Max finally stood, he froze. The Alpha standing in front of him looked like he’d just stepped out of one of the advertisements in the sporting goods store’s window. The pattern of his red flannel shirt did nothing to hide the bulging muscles underneath, or the imposing slope of his wide shoulders. His face was chiseled to perfection, even though the five o-clock shadow on his square jaw and dark circles under his eyes made it clear he was far from refreshed. His brown eyes were the only thing soft about him, and the golden hue of his skin gave him an overall warm appearance that made Max feel like he was going to melt.

At least, until those eyes turned cold with shock and the pleasant smile on the Alpha’s handsome face faded into a hard line. Max had never been stared at with such intensity, and he felt a violent shiver run down his spine. Max took a step back on instinct and felt his throat tighten.

“Are you Max Redding?” the Alpha asked, his rich voice turned stiff and full of anger. It had to be anger. Max couldn’t fathom another reason why a perfect stranger would react to him so viscerally.

“Yes,” he choked out. Despite his casual clothing, the guy had police written all over him. Max had been around enough of them to know. He knew the chances that the guy hadn’t been sent by Chris were slim to none, but he was still on the clock and telling a customer to go to hell was on the short list of things that would get him fired. “Can I help you?”

“I know you don’t know me, but I think we both have someone in common,” he said, glancing over his shoulder as a family came through the doors. “Is there somewhere more private we could talk?”

“I’m on the clock until five,” said Max, trying to calm his racing heart. “I can’t leave, I’m the only manager in the store right now.”

The stranger seemed disappointed, but he nodded. “Alright. I’ll come back then.”

Max nodded, forcing himself to stand still behind the counter until the man left. He waited a few minutes just to make sure he had time to leave before rushing into the back.

“Max!” Amber cried. “What’s wrong?”

“I have to go,” he said, his hands trembling as he took off the uniform smock over his clothes. “Can you cover my shift?”

“Sure, but —“

“I’m sorry, I can’t explain right now. If a big guy in flannel comes in here looking for me, call security, alright?”

Her eyes widened. “Okay…”

Max knew he probably wouldn’t have a job by the time all this was over, but he had to at least get Chris’ goon away from the store. He went out into the employee lot and got into his car before taking out his phone to dial John’s number.

“Please pick up,” he breathed, resting his head against the seat to catch his breath as the phone rang.

“Hello?” The beta’s pleasant voice filled him with relief.

“John, I’m so sorry, but one of Chris’ men showed up at work and I didn’t know who else to call.”

“Where are you?” John asked without hesitating.

“I’m still at work. He left, I think,” he said, glancing around the lot to make sure he didn’t see the massive Alpha.

“Get out of there right now. Don’t speed, but start driving and I’ll meet you as soon as I can.”

“Where?” Max asked, starting up the car.

“Somewhere public. There’s a rest stop off I-86 and there are cameras everywhere. Go there and head straight into the shops until I get there.”

“Okay,” Max said, still shaking even though he felt calmer now that he knew he wasn’t going to have to face the stranger alone again. “Thank you.”

“Be safe,” John said before hanging up.

Max pulled onto the road and glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure he wasn’t being followed. Chris just had to wait until he actually had something good going to start stalking him. He knew he should have figured that the Alpha would show up, no matter how many years it had been. Chris had always had an uncanny ability for showing up just in time to ruin his life when things were finally starting to go right.