Chapter 30 #2
When no one responded, Landon pulled out a list from his pocket and split us into groups. “Angela, Claudia, Izzy, Luna, and Vivian, you can follow Max, and he’ll lead you to your cells. Everyone else, come with me.”
I pouted at Izzy as we split up, and she held out her hands as she walked away, reaching for me with the type of yearning I loved in my book boyfriends. It distracted me so much I snorted.
Elaine, who’d naturally ended up on my team because fate was a meddlesome bitch, made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. If the opportunity to leave her to rot in jail arose, I’d gladly take it.
If I didn’t have the sneaking suspicion that temptation was a test.
Fortunately, after what happened with Kingston two nights before, Elaine couldn’t get under my skin the way she had in the first challenge. She might think he’d be hers one day, another gift from Mommy and Daddy for their precious baby girl, but one thing she’d never own was Kingston’s heart.
That was mine.
And Landon’s, too, I guess. A little bit.
I smiled to myself at my secret joke, because if Landon and I put Kingston between us and both called to him like a lost puppy, I was pretty sure he’d go to Landon.
I thanked the universe for one, making the thought of that so hot , and two, leaving me a third broody Knight to snuggle.
While we watched the other two cuddle or whatever.
Or while I watched, and he just scowled.
Didn’t much matter to me, honestly.
Was I dick drunk?
My eyes had been tracing the outline of Max’s superhuman sculpted ass while my thoughts had run away from me. That had to explain why Elaine scoffed and whispered slut under her breath like she was reenacting an overdone scene from a high school movie.
“Problem, Elaine?”
“I’m just so grateful I get to save Kingston from making the worst mistake of his life. A trashy home-wrecker with wandering eyes isn’t a good look for Camelot Court’s Queen.”
“I’m sorry, I must’ve misheard you. Trashy? And did you seriously just call me a home-wrecker? Do you even know what that word means?”
My eyes had wandered. I had to give her that.
“It means you thought you could whore it up with his best friend and be good enough for him, when where you come from, alone, takes care of that. Kingston would never end up with some poor girl off the streets. He might have fun with you for a little bit, but you could never be what he needs. Unless it’s as the help, of course. ”
She leaned in close, flicking a speck of dust off my jumpsuit. Where the fuck this was coming from, I had no idea.
But that was the last straw.
I saw red.
As hard as I could, I slammed my palms against her chest and shoved her away from me. My chest heaved as she stumbled backward. And while she scrambled to get her balance, I pressed forward.
“I don’t know who rammed the elitist stick up your ass, Elaine, but you do not get to talk to me like that.”
“Quinn, don’t!”
“No! I’m sick of this!” I launched myself at her, ready to pull out her hair, but before I could do it, a stupid, huge arm wrapped around my midsection. Hauling me away from Elaine, Max ignored my cries of protest.
He carried me, kicking and screaming at him, past both groups and into one of the cabin bedrooms. The whole time I glared as Elaine shouted about how I’d attacked her.
How I’d just attacked her .
This whole place was insane. The things they got away with—none of it was fair. None of it was right. I couldn’t take it anymore, hearing her put me down like I wasn’t good enough because of where I came from. As if Camelot Court was the epitome of standards and anyone different was beneath them.
Like it wasn’t a cesspool of abuse, greed, and corruption.
I wanted to scream.
But I shouted at my captor instead as he slammed the bedroom doors shut and carried me to the bathroom. “Max, this is bullshit!”
“I know it is, Princess, but you were two seconds from starting a fight. And shoving her? She fucking deserved it, I know, but”—he set me on the ground in front of him and gripped my face—“she’ll use any chance she has to get you eliminated, baby. You can’t give her that.”
“You don’t know what it’s like to hear that over and over again, Max!
It’s exhausting.” I tore my hands through my hair because he was right.
I knew he was right. But fuck , I wanted one day.
One day to enjoy the moment of peace we’d found in the insanity, and beauty in all the goddamn pain.
“Having to constantly ignore them, having to pretend I don’t hear it, that those thoughts don’t get in my head and I don’t wonder?—”
“Yes, I do get it. What’s the first thing you heard about me?”
My mouth popped open, but nothing came out.
“Everyone here runs their mouths like they know what’s going on, but they don’t. I get it. But she’s not fucking worth it, alright? Not during The Quest, at least. After it? I’ll set up the fighting ring for you myself.”
I growled, but his logic and his hold on my face were too strong to ignore. “Promise?”
“I swear it. Just don’t for a second let her project her insecurities onto you. Don’t forget he chose you . We all did.”
He crashed his mouth down on mine, sweeping his tongue in and clearing the rest of my rage.
I grabbed his shirt, wanting more, wanting to express how much his words—not just about him, but about Kingston—meant to me. How much I’d needed the reminder from him that he saw through to my heart.
And I was two seconds from doing it.
But Max had the wherewithal to pull away. Though, he grabbed the back of my neck and tilted my head up to look at him. “I got you, Princess. You know that, right?”
“Yeah,” I choked out, swallowing past the emotion in my throat. “I got you, too.”
“Good girl. Now, I hate to do this, baby, but you’re in lockdown for twenty minutes.” He pecked my lips with a quick kiss and released me. Spinning me around, he nudged me toward the bathtub. Swatting my ass when I didn’t budge.
I yelped. “Hey! Are you for real? I have to go in there?”
“Yup. Now, go on, or I’ll do it again.”
Covering my ass with my hands, I scurried into the bathtub.
“Big brute,” I muttered.
Even though we both knew I liked it.
Max smiled for the first time that day, so I released a breath and shook off what happened. Shook off Elaine’s bullshit and reminded myself who I was.
Reminded myself her words meant nothing compared to the feeling pounding inside my chest.
And I held onto that for twenty minutes in the dark.