Chapter 32 Max
THIRTY-TWO
MAX
The room I’m in is dark, but I’m sitting on something soft.
A bed, maybe.
Or a comfy couch.
Is it my couch?
No. Definitely a bed. A bed that’s not my bed, and that’s alarming.
I open my eyes to take in my surroundings and wince at the pain radiating in my head. It feels like someone is hammering my skull and bashing it in repeatedly. When I try to sit up, I realize my hands are tied to an object I can’t see.
I can’t move. I’m bound, held against my will, and panic claws at me.
I squirm on the bed, doing my best to piece together what’s happening to me.
I dig into my memories, trying to pull the last couple of hours free, but I can’t.
There’s nothing there, an empty black hole I can’t figure out, and my eyes prick with tears.
Think, Max.
There’s school. Vocabulary words and talking to Principal Sheehan.
But after that?
Not a single fucking thing.
Noise from outside the door leading out of whatever room I’m in makes the panic even more nerve-racking. My shoulders shake. My breath comes out rough and ragged, and taking a deep breath feels like I’m swallowing knives.
Knives.
Hunter?
No. This isn’t his room. I don’t smell him. I don’t feel him. I don’t hear him, the sounds of his movements something I’ve started to memorize.
This is somewhere I don’t want to be, and I will myself to calm down. To rationalize what’s happening so I can have a clear head, but it’s impossible.
Footsteps approach. Heavy, determined. A flicker of light appears under the sliver of the door. The handle turns, bathing the room in bright colors as Brian steps inside.
Brian?
“Good. You’re up.” He walks toward me, and I flinch. There’s a flash, a grainy recollection of a glass of water. Feeling very tired. He laughs when I try to get away from him and rips a piece of tape away from my mouth. I try to scream, but my throat is dry. “Why so jumpy, Max? It’s just me.”
He reaches behind me. Now that I can breathe better, I can think clearer. My hands are tied to the headboard, but my feet…
My feet are free.
I am not fucking dying today.
I have too much to live for: my job. The kids I teach. Skyler and her warm and wonderful hugs.
Hunter.
The only way I get out of here is by fighting, and I need to prepare myself for what could happen in this struggle.
Injury.
Severe pain.
Torture.
All are better than the alternative, and I let out a slow exhale.
One second at a time.
“Why are you doing this?” I croak. “I was nothing but good to you.”
“I told you. Your boyfriend is poking into places he shouldn’t be poking.” Brian positions himself over me, his large body caging me in, and checks the security of my wrists with a grin. “You can blame him.”
“We’re not even really together. I said that to make you jealous,” I blurt, running with the only idea in my head.
Distraction. Diversion. Anything to stay alive.
Brian freezes for a fraction of a second, and I wonder if I might be able to get out of here unharmed.
“It’s just sex. That’s it. Nothing important. ”
“It’s too late. He’s invested and digging up things from my past. The only way I walk away from this is if I kill him. And I will to keep my secrets safe.”
“What secrets?” I cry out. “Who the hell are you?”
“Since you’re not surviving tonight, I’ll tell you. Seeing people’s reactions is one of my favorite parts. My name isn’t Brian. It’s Connor.”
“Connor is a nice name. Is Brian your middle name?” A tear rolls down my cheek and sticks to the tip of my nose. “I could’ve called you Connor.”
“I go by Brian because women I’ve dated have been hellbent on ruining my life.
Filing false claims against me. Saying I pushed them around and hurt them.
Is it against the law if they deserve it?
Fucking whores who spend my money,” he snarls.
“Who claim they like me, then two weeks later, move onto something ‘better.’ I always give them a black eye as a parting gift. The arrests are worth it to keep them in their place. I’d kill them if I thought I could get away with it.
” His eyes drag over to me. “But you. You I can get away with. A boyfriend who threatened me? It’s the perfect setup.
An easy plant. This will be his fault. And no one else will know. ”
“Br—Connor. Just let me go. I can bring him to you. I can help you,” I beg. “I promise.”
“Shut up, bitch,” he yells, surprising me by slapping me across the face. My cheek stings, a burning pain slicing through me, and I can’t hold back my wail. “From now on, you’re only going to talk when I give you permission to.”
“Please. Whatever you’re going to do to me, just do it.” I sniff, looking at him straight on. His gaze is soulless, blank. Devoid of any human emotion, and I know he’s beyond help. My fate is sealed. The grave is dug. I have to accept and bear it. “Don’t make me wait.”
“I want to do a lot of things to you.” He reaches down.
Yanks my skirt up to my waist, and I squeeze my eyes shut.
If I don’t look, it’s not really happening.
I can pretend it’s a nightmare. Something I’m watching from above, not actively a part of.
“And I know what’s going to hurt him the most. Torturing him before killing him is going to be so much fun, and touching what’s his is the perfect way to do that. ”
I should’ve told Hunter where I was going.
I should’ve shared my location or not trusted someone so blindly, and both of us might die because of it.
How fucking stupid of me.
There’s now time to wallow. Not when Connor is running his hand up my leg. Leaning in close, his mouth on my neck, and moaning when he touches my underwear.
It’s now or never.
This is my chance.
When he pauses to undo his belt buckle, I draw my leg back. I open one eye so I can see my target, ramming my knee into his stomach as hard as I can.
“Fucking bitch,” he spits out on impact, keeling over.
When he tries to reach for me again, I flail my lower body, aiming my feet wherever I can land a blow: his ribs.
His shoulder when he tries to grab my ankles.
I don’t stop moving, but Connor launches himself at me.
He forces me into the mattress, rendering me useless with his bodyweight, and I know this is it.
“Stay fucking still,” he whispers, and my shoulders shake with a sob.
“Cry all you want. Struggling makes it more fun.”
I take a deep breath, letting my mind disappear to anywhere but here.
I wonder what Skyler is doing. Would she notice I was gone? Would she assume I’m spending time with Hunter and not think to ask him where I am? Fright Nights has to have started by now. She won’t have time to check her phone.
And Hunter.
The pain is coming, but I can’t help but smile at the thought of him.
I’ve had the best month of my life with him, and I wish I could’ve told him how much he means to me.
I wish I could’ve told him how easily I would’ve fallen in love with him, if I had a little more time.
How I’m already on my way there, so close to diving into the pool of infatuation, not caring how fast it is.
I wish, I wish, I wish, but the wishes mean nothing now.
Not when Connor grabs my knee and digs his fingers into my skin. Not when he yanks his pants down and sneers, a drop of saliva dripping on my forehead.
I brace myself, waiting for what comes next.
Pain.
Loneliness.
So much ache.
“Max?”
I’m so far gone, I’m hearing things that aren’t here. Pretending I know someone I care about is nearby, when really, I’m all alone.
“Maxine? Where are you angel?”
My name echoes down the hall. Urgency behind every word, and it’s real. It’s real and I let out a choked laugh joy radiating over me.
“Right on time,” Connor smirks.
Footsteps—lighter, determined—race down the hall.
They match the beat of my sputtering heart.
I blink and the door is flying open. Hunter is there, his eyes on mine, and I want to scream I love you.
I love you, please keep me safe, but no words come out.
His attention moves to Connor, a look I’ve never seen from a human flashing across his face.
In two steps he’s covering the length of the room. He’s hauling Connor off of me and shoving him against a wall, lifting him as if he’s made of feathers, not the pathetic excuse for a man.
“I warned you,” Hunter says, a knife pressed against his throat. It’s the same one he held the night I found out about the other parts of his life, a long and terrifying piece of steel. “I told you to stay away from her, but you couldn’t resist, could you?”
Connor tries to fight back. He kicks and he swings his arms, but his attack is pointless. Hunter keeps him there, feet off the ground. Struggling and cutting off the air to his lungs bit by bit.
“You’re going to be very sorry you ever touched her,” Hunter adds, then he bashes his head with the handle of the knife.
Connor falls to the floor, a crumpled body against the hardwood.
Hunter kicks him in the ribs, and when he doesn’t move, he rushes toward me.
He brings the knife to my hands, cutting my wrists free from the ropes binding them together.
Gathers me in his hold and wraps his arm around me, a shield from the evil in this world.
“You’re here,” I sob. My shoulders shake with exhaustion and fear. I can’t stop trembling. “I can’t believe you’re here. I thought I was going to die.”
“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” Hunter’s voice cracks, pain lacing the words. He hugs me tight to his chest, stroking my hair. “You’re safe. You’re okay. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“I should’ve told you where I was going. I didn’t think he would act like this, but then he roofied my drink. The next thing I knew, I was waking up with my hands tied to the bed and—this is all my fault.” I sob again. I’m so cold, so tired. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t—”
“Baby. It’s not your fault. Do you hear me? You did nothing wrong. I should’ve taken care of him when I had the chance, but I didn’t.” He kisses my forehead, my cheek. “This is my fault.”
“How did you know where I was?” I wipe under my eyes, pausing when I see the raw skin around my wrists, a tattoo from my struggle. “I never shared my location with you.”
“You don’t think I put a tracking device on your car the minute that dirtbag was hanging around?” he says, and a laugh rattles out of me.
“You’re insane. Of course you did.”
“When you didn’t answer my texts before Fright Nights, I followed the GPS to your car. I realized it was his place and snuck in through the back door after doing recon to make sure this piece of shit doesn’t have an arsenal of weapons.”
“He said he wanted to kill you and use me to do it. He said you were poking into his life. Is that true? Why didn’t you tell me who he really was? I never—” I stop to gulp down another breath. It feels like I’m being held underwater. “I wouldn’t have come here had I known.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should’ve. I thought I could protect you by not letting you know what he was capable of, but I was so, so wrong.”
“How many women has he hurt?” I whisper.
“Too many. At least five, but I’m sure there are more that have been unreported because of threats.”
“Oh my god.” I bury my face in my hands. “It could’ve been me. It should’ve been me.”
“But it’s not. It’s not ever going to be you, because I’m going to take care of him.”
“You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Hunter says without any hesitation. “Unless you tell me not to.”
I look over at Connor’s body and think of the women he’s terrorized. How afraid they must have been, knowing no one was going to come and help them. There was no escape, no heroes.
Only fear.
“He’s not worthy of being saved,” I say. “He deserves whatever happens to him.”
“Okay. Then that’s what I’ll do.” Hunter collects me in his arms and stands, holding me.
“We’re going to my place so you don’t have to be alone.
I texted Skyler, but she hasn’t replied to me yet.
Leo is home. He can sit with you while I—” His grip on me tightens, like he’s afraid I’m going to disappear. “While I handle Connor.”
“Can I take a shower when I get there? To get the feel of him off of me?”
“Anything you want, angel. God, Max.” He rests his forehead against mine, and I see the tears in his eyes. The pale cheeks and fear still written on his face. “I thought I lost you, baby. I thought I lost you, and I wanted to die. I would’ve. Life wouldn’t be worth living if you weren’t in it.”
“I did too. I thought that was it for me. And all I could think about was you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I guess I’m just as obsessed with you as you are with me.”
His laugh is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard, like sun after days of rain.
A warm blanket on the coldest night. Light in so much darkness, and it makes me cry again.
He doesn’t say anything else when he buckles me in the passenger seat.
When he disappears back in the house and carries Connor to the trunk over his shoulder, but I can feel it when he sits next to me.
As he takes my hand in his, kissing each knuckle.
A reminder that I’m here. That I’m still fighting.
Love.
Brilliant, blinding love.