Chapter Twenty-Five #2
“Unharmed,” I add sharply.
“But of course,” he purrs. He gently ushers Abby forward, then pauses. “You look familiar. Have we met before?”
All the men file out behind Muerte, leaving only Max behind.
The silence stretches between us.
I glance around the room, looking for something heavier, more substantial , to throw at him. My shoes didn’t do much damage, but maybe there’s a chair, a lamp, something that can make him at least bleed a little.
Several minutes pass before Max’s shoulders loosen. Then, without a word, he walks over to the door and quietly closes it.
When he turns back around, the cold, unreadable mask he always wears is gone, replaced with something fierce. Rage. And… worry?
“What the fuck is wrong with you, woman?” he hisses, voice low but sharp with emotion. “How the hell am I supposed to get you out of this?”
“What?” I blink, confused.
He grabs my shoulders, not roughly, but not gently either, and gives me a shake. Pain shoots through my ribs, but I grit my teeth. I’ve been in a state of pain since I woke up in that damn hole…what’s a little more? Plus, I think the adrenalin rush is helping dull the pain.
“Bones is going to lose his fucking mind if you get hurt,” he growls. “Why couldn’t you just keep your mouth shut long enough for me to figure something out? Now I’ve got to find a way to get you out of this mess before that bastard lays a hand on you!”
“What?” I ask again, even more lost.
“Before he rapes you, Sunny! Or has his men do it until you ‘learn your fucking place.’”
I freeze. “My what ? What the hell is going on? And stop shaking me. I have broken ribs, and you’re not helping.”
Max instantly backs off, eyes scanning me now with real concern. “What did they do, throw you down the hole?” He mutters a curse under his breath. “Damn it. I need to get you to a doctor. You could have internal bleeding.”
“I’m fine,” I say automatically, though nothing about this moment feels fine. “Jack’s the one who broke my ribs.”
“ Bones fucking hit you?” he snaps, and I’ve never seen him look more furious.
“No! No, he broke them giving me CPR. After that Billy guy poisoned me. It was a few weeks ago, but they still hurt.” I pause, completely thrown. “Also... I’m very confused. Aren’t you the bad guy? ”
“Fuck,” Max mutters, dragging a hand down his face. “Everything is a mess. I can’t just take you out of here. He’ll know it was me. It’s too soon to kill him. I still need the name of his partner, and the bastard’s being tight-lipped.”
“You’re going to kill him?” I ask, brows furrowed. “I thought you betrayed the club to be on Muerte’s side.”
“I didn’t betray them,” he sighs, dropping into a chair like the weight of it all finally hit him.
“Okay. Yes, I gave Muerte buyer intel. That was my trade for the cash my mom owed him. When she died, her debts became mine. I had to pay them off somehow and I didn’t have that kind of cash.
But I never gave him anything that would hurt the club directly. ”
“Why didn’t you just tell them that?” I ask.
“Because I didn’t want them pulled into this shit,” he says, voice low. “But it looks like they’re neck-deep now anyway.”
“Yeah,” I mutter, glancing around the room. “And if you’re undercover, maybe talking about that inside his house isn’t the brightest idea. He could have cameras.”
“He doesn’t,” Max says flatly. “This isn’t his house. This is the place he brings people to torture. Cameras would be a liability if the footage ever got out.”
“Charming,” I mutter. “So… what do we do?”
Max looks at me. Really looks at me. His expression softens, something rare and unsettling on his usually stone-cold face.
“I can see why Bones is drawn to you,” he says. “Every time I saw you, you were happy, carefree. But you’ve got this... inner steel. That’s good. Bones is a tough bastard to get close to.”
I blink. “Wait… every time you saw me?”
He shifts, suddenly sheepish. “Just… checking up on my brothers from time to time. I kept an eye on things when I could. You’re not hard to spot, Sunny, with your bright-colored dresses. You’re good for him.”
I clear my throat, caught off guard. “Well then… uh. Thank you?”
“I’m going to have to move the timetable,” Max mutters, standing and pacing. “I’ll have to kill him before I find out who his partner is.”
“Do you have a phone?” I ask. “We could call Jack and ask for help.”
He stops pacing, eyes downcast. “I don’t think they’d help me, Sunny,” he says, a sad smile tugging at his mouth. “I’m afraid I’ve lost that privilege. But, they might help me get you out of here.”
“I don’t think so,” I say, returning his smile with a small one of my own. “I mean, they would probably help you save me, but when it comes to your guilt…there are doubts. They don’t understand why you helped Riley that time if you really didn’t care.”
“Maybe,” he says with a thoughtful hum. Then he reaches into his pocket. “You should call him anyway. Let him know you’re alive.”
“Thanks,” I say softly, accepting the phone.
“It’s already pulled up. Just hit call.”
I glance at the screen and can’t help but laugh. Jack’s contact photo is him mid-glare, looking like he’s ready to murder the person behind the camera. But it’s the name that really gets me: Arrogant Bastard with a Peeling Obsession.
My shoulders shake with silent laughter. “Really?”
Max smirks. “What? It’s accurate.”
Shaking my head, I hit call… only to be greeted by a growl so deep and low it barely forms words.
“You’re… fucking… dead.”
“Hey, Jack,” I say softly.
“Sunny.” His voice breaks on my name. One word…half rage, half relief.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I’m okay. Well… mostly. Sort of.”
“Where are you?” he snaps. “Put Max on the fucking phone.”
I glance at Max, who’s already holding out his hand, grim-faced.
Hitting speaker, he looks at me with so much sadness that my heart breaks.
“Brother,” he answers.
“If she has so much as a scratch on her, I’ll kill you slowly, Max. Years of torture.”
“She’s fine,” Max says, glancing at me.
“Abby’s on her way back to you,” I add quickly.
“What?” Jack’s voice cracks. “Why aren’t you ?”
“Because your woman doesn’t know how to keep her damn mouth shut,” Max says, shooting me an accusing look.
“Don’t fucking talk about her,” Jack snaps. “Where is she?”
“We’re in Mexicali,” Max admits. “Abby’s being sent back because Sunny made Muerte a deal. She agreed to stay, to do whatever he demands, if they let Abby go.”
“She did what?! ” Jack roars.
“They had us in a hole in the ground, Jack,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “The same way Abby was kept for three months last time. I couldn’t let her go through that again. I did what I had to do.”
“ FUCK! ” Jack roars through the phone.
“I’m going to get her out of here, Bones,” Max says firmly. “I won’t let them touch her.”
“Fuck you, Max. How can I fucking trust you to take care of the woman I love when you betrayed us?”
“No, he didn’t,” I cut in before Max could speak. “Things happened, but not the way you think. I trust him, Jack. Please... trust me.”
“I’ll explain everything,” Max adds. “But first, I need your help to get Sunny out of here.”
He pauses, clearly debating how much to say.
“Tell them the rest,” I prompt, when it’s obvious he’s holding back.
“I’ll handle that part on my own, Sunny,” Max warns quietly. “I told you…I never wanted them dragged into this.”
“We’re already involved,” another voice cuts in…Spike. “I always felt something was off about how it all went down, Max. We’ll figure out the truth later. But right now, what the hell’s going on?”
“ Fuck, ” Max mutters, pacing a hand through his hair. “Alright. My mom took out a massive loan with Los Fantasmas. When she was killed, no doubt by them, the debt transferred to me.”
He pauses, jaw clenched.
“That’s why I betrayed you. I needed to pay it off before they killed me and passed the debt to someone else I cared about. Since I had no family, it would have most likely been to the club.”
A heavy silence hangs on the line.
“The only thing I ever gave them was buyer information. That’s it. I never sold out the club. Never gave names. Never gave locations. But that’s not the point right now.”
His voice hardens.
“Once I realized how deep this runs…how fucked these people really are…I knew I had to take action. Way worse than we ever thought. I got in close, played the part, and now I’m deeper than I ever intended to be. But Sunny and Abby? They were never supposed to be part of this.”
He looks at me, the weight of guilt in his eyes.
“Muerte’s got a plan,” Max says, tension tightening his voice. “He wants to lure Spike and the rest of the officers out, kill you all then install me as the new president of the Shadows while he takes over Palm Springs.”
“What?” someone on the line snaps.
“But that’s not all,” Max continues. “Once I’m in charge, he plans to use the compound as a base for his partner’s business.”
“What kind of business?” Spike asks, voice sharp.
Max’s jaw ticks. “Skin.”
A beat of silence.
“Trafficking,” he clarifies grimly. “I’ve been trying to figure out who the partner is, but the bastard keeps it locked down tight.
My plan was to get names before I killed him and walked away.
But there’s no time for that now. I need to get Sunny out before he touches her.
Which means I’ve got to kill him early. Tonight, maybe even sooner. ”
“What part of Mexicali are you in?” Bones asks.
“Don’t worry about it,” Max says, grabbing my hand and heading for the door. “We’re coming to you. Muerte will most likely bring Abby back himself…just to gloat.”
He mutters, more to himself than anyone else, “Fuck. How the hell am I going to get you past all these men?”
“If this was his plan,” Spike cuts in, “then why the hell did you come to the compound?”