Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
He’s strong, but in a quiet way that no one notices until they really look.
BAILEY
“Are you ready to get started?” Officer Mehrtens asked as she connected the feed to Max’s laptop and a loading bar appeared on the screen.
I tucked my legs beneath me and cuddled into the corner of the sofa, grateful that my body had healed enough for me to be able to do so without it hurting.
I wanted to cover my head with a blanket and ignore all of my real-world problems. It would be even better if I could snuggle with Max.
I’d learned there was nothing as comforting as having his arms around me and his strong chest pressed to my back.
Unfortunately the police needed answers, and I was their best shot at finding them.
There was also the minor detail that I wanted to avoid getting hurt again, and making sure the people who hurt me were caught was the best way to achieve that.
So, yeah. Hiding from my problems was tempting, but it wouldn’t do me any good.
“May as well.” The words were flat, but I forced myself to look at the screen as the loading bar vanished and the image resolved into a familiar landscape.
“I’m here,” Max said, taking my hand and squeezing it.
Warmth flooded me. He’d been such a rock this past week. Everything I needed, he was willing to give.
I dreaded having to leave. Not only did I not want to lose my excuse to spend time with him, but the thought of spending a night all alone in my cottage with no one else around gave me the shivers.
There would be no one whose presence I could take comfort in, and no one to wake me if I had a nightmare. No long, lean body to seek shelter from during the night.
Honestly, going home sounded terrible, but it was also inevitable.
“We’re just starting up the track,” Connor said, his voice coming through loudly enough that I had to assume he was the one wearing the camera. They’d probably decided it was best for Nate to have his hands free in case they ran across anything concerning.
Mehrtens came around to hover behind us, and I did my best to tune her out and focus on the grounding heat of Max’s palm against mine as the path appeared on screen and they started their journey along it.
I made myself focus on the scenery as they continued, although I did take a perverse pleasure in hearing Nate’s grunts of effort in the background.
It was nice to know I wasn’t the only one who struggled on the steep trail.
Of course, Connor was as silent as a cat.
He could probably traverse hills and ravines in his sleep.
My stomach knotted as they turned off toward the hut, but instead of continuing along the trail, they left it and wound between the trees.
“This is where we found you,” Connor said, coming to a stop. “Anything?”
“No.” I bit my lip, hating to let them down. “Maybe if you turn around so I can see everything better.”
He turned in a slow circle, but the trees and shadows didn’t ring any bells. I closed my eyes and tried to mentally run back through the day of the attack, but no more details had exposed themselves to me.
I blew out a breath. “Sorry. Nothing.”
“We’ll try the cabin,” Nate said, his hand appearing at the edge of the screen as he motioned for Connor to backtrack to the trail.
We watched as they rejoined the trail and followed it to the hut. Connor paused as they entered the small clearing before moving closer. That movement, which mimicked my own from a week ago, threw me headlong into a moment I wished had stayed forgotten.
A face jerking toward me.
My breath freezing in my lungs.
The man lunging, his dark eyes like burning coals.
And then running, running, the ground rushing up to meet me.
A hand wrapping around my ankle.
I gasped and tried to back up, but there was nowhere to go. The sofa surrounded me on two sides, and Max blocked off another.
Max.
I threw myself onto him, burying my face in his chest and clutching at the fabric of his shirt as I struggled to fill my lungs with air.
The world was shaking. The sofa rocked slightly. Was there an earthquake? What the hell was happening?
“Shh, shh, it’s all right.”
Gentle hands stroked the length of my back.
“Feel my hands on your back?”
I nodded.
“What do you smell?”
I breathed in, my chest seizing because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get enough oxygen.
“Lemon and… and maybe grass.”
“How does the sofa feel under your knees?”
“Soft.”
The tension in my chest began to ease.
“What can you hear?” he asked, still stroking me, the movements slow and soothing.
“Your voice.” I took another breath and tried to filter out the fogginess. “Nate is saying something.”
“Anything else?”
The rushing of blood in my ears faded away, allowing me to make more sense of things.
“Mehrtens is running water.”
“She’s getting you a drink.”
I drew away and sat, my head spinning slightly, but the worst of the panic was gone. Only now that I was more aware of myself did I realize that sweat beaded on my upper lip and hairline and that my shirt was plastered to my torso because I’d sweated right through it.
Ew.
I pulled in a shaky breath and blinked so my vision cleared, and Max’s handsome face came into focus. “Sorry about that.”
He scowled. “You never have to apologize for something like that. Are you okay now?”
“I think so.” I glanced at the laptop and was relieved to see that the screen was blank.
Mehrtens crouched in front of me and offered me a glass of water. “Thirsty?”
I took it but knocked my teeth when I tried to sip because my hands were trembling. Max curved his hands around mine and steadied them so I was able to drink properly.
“Did you remember anything?” Mehrtens asked, tone gentle as she took the glass and placed it on the floor.
“Yeah.” The face flashed through my mind. “I remember what he looks like.”
“Good.” She smiled. “Do you think you’d be able to identify him if you saw him again?”
Reflexively, I started to close my eyes so I could recheck my mental image of the guy, but I jerked in place and stopped. What if picturing him made me panic again?
“I think so. He was about Toby’s height, with dark hair and dark eyes. Brown, I think. He was white.”
“How old?” Mehrtens asked.
“Maybe mid-twenties. Could be younger, though.” He definitely hadn’t been older than thirty, and something about the set of his face made him seem young.
Mehrtens pulled out her phone and tapped away at it. “That’s really helpful, Bailey. Thank you for putting yourself through that.”
“No problem.”
Except, it kind of was. I didn’t think I’d be getting that angry face out of my head for a while.
Hardly aware of what I was doing, I snuggled closer to Max, plastering myself along the length of his body until my cheek rested over his heart and the rhythmic thump-thump reassured me that at least one thing in the world was all right.
“I’ll tidy everything up and get out of here,” Mehrtens said, standing up. “We’ll take a proper statement later.”
I didn’t pay attention as she bustled off, instead concentrating wholly on Max. He smelled of lemon and trees in spring. Despite his firm muscles, he was a surprisingly comfortable pillow. I wanted to burrow into him and never come out.
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
I considered that. “I will be.”
For now, I couldn’t bring myself to let him go. I tilted my chin up to look him in the eyes, and when he caught my gaze, something fizzed pleasantly in my abdomen. There was something tender in his expression. Something soft and caring that gave me hope.
Maybe Max Braddock wasn’t as off-limits to me as I’d always assumed.