Chapter 46
Relief hit Max.
Hadley was on her feet. Hurt, yes—he could see it in the way she held herself. But she was alive.
For a split second, that was all that mattered.
Then reality snapped back into place.
Kendra pointed a gun at Hadley.
Max forced himself to slow his breathing, to steady the rush of adrenaline threatening to consume him. This wasn’t over. Not even close.
One wrong move, and everything could spiral out of control.
He lifted his hands slowly, palms open, and stepped forward just enough to make his presence undeniable but not threatening. “It’s okay, Kendra. I’m here.”
Kendra’s gaze locked onto him, something flickering there—hope and disbelief. “You came.”
“I did,” Max told her. “I knew you needed me. That you needed my help.”
The words tasted wrong, but he pushed past the feeling.
This wasn’t about him. This was about getting Hadley out of here alive.
Kendra’s expression softened, her shoulders easing. “I knew you would. I knew you wouldn’t leave me.”
Max took another step forward, keeping his movements slow and deliberate. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She smiled. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” The lie pressed against his conscience, but he kept his gaze steady.
“You just . . . you don’t understand,” Kendra went on, her voice tightening again as her attention flicked toward Hadley. “Everything was fine before she showed up.”
Max shook his head, desperate to get Kendra’s attention off Hadley. “Hey, look at me.”
Her eyes snapped back to his, and she waited.
“Hadley’s not the problem,” he said. “She’s innocent in all of this. This is between you and me.”
Something shifted in Kendra’s expression. Doubt maybe. Resistance.
“I can’t let her go.” Her grip tightened on the gun. “She’ll ruin everything.”
“She won’t.” Max stepped closer, closing the distance by another foot. “I promise you—she won’t.”
Kendra shook her head, agitation rising in her voice again. “You don’t know that. You don’t know what she’s—”
“It’s going to be okay. We can fix this. You and me. But we have to take this one step at a time.”
Her breath hitched.
Max held her gaze, willing her to stay with him, to focus on his voice instead of the chaos in her head. “Will you let Hadley go?”
The question hung there, heavy and fragile.
For a long moment, Kendra didn’t move.
Then she slowly nodded.
Relief surged through Max, but he didn’t let it show. Not yet.
He shifted his gaze toward Hadley, careful not to draw Kendra’s attention away from him.
He gave the smallest motion. Go.
Hadley didn’t move right away. Instead, she stared at him, searching his expression.
Max held her gaze just a second longer. Then he mouthed the word. “Go.”
Something in her gaze changed. The next instant, she turned and ran, disappearing into the darkness beyond the trees.
Max didn’t allow himself to look after her. Not yet.
But relief loosened some of the tension in his chest.
She was out. Safe. Or at least safer.
He shifted his focus back to Kendra. Now he had to figure out how to get through this next part. How to help her . . . without deceiving her any further.
Without losing control of the situation.
And without breaking her completely.
Hadley ran.
At first, instinct drove her—pure, desperate instinct that pushed her forward through the trees, away from the gun, away from Kendra, away from the rocky ridge that had boxed her in.
Branches clawed at her sleeves, snow slipped beneath her feet, and her ankle screamed in protest with every step. Her lungs burned, her head still felt thick and aching, but she didn’t stop.
She couldn’t.
Not until she’d put distance between herself and Kendra.
Not until she was sure she wasn’t about to feel a bullet tear through her back.
But as the seconds stretched, as the darkness swallowed her again, something else began to rise beneath the fear.
Guilt.
It hit her hard enough to slow her steps.
Max.
She stumbled to a stop, her breath coming fast and uneven as she turned, looking back the way she’d come.
He was still there.
Still facing Kendra.
Still in danger.
Hadley pressed a hand to her chest, trying to steady the wild rhythm of her heart.
She couldn’t just leave him.
The thought settled deep, firm and unshakable.
But what could she do?
She was barely steady on her feet. Her ankle throbbed with every movement, and her head was still foggy from whatever Kendra had given her. She wasn’t thinking as clearly as she needed. If she went back in recklessly, she could make things worse.
She could get in Max’s way.
She could get him hurt or even killed.
Hadley squeezed her eyes shut. Lord . . . help me do the right thing.
The cold air bit at her skin as she stood there, caught between instinct and reason.
Then she made her decision.
Carefully, she turned and began to move again—but this time slower, quieter. She limped through the trees, angling wide before circling back.
She kept every step deliberate, and she stayed low, using the trees for cover.
She didn’t know what she would do if things went wrong. Didn’t know how she could help in the condition she was in.
But she knew this: She wasn’t going to abandon Max.
Not when he’d come for her.
Hadley paused behind a thick tree trunk, her breath slowing as she strained to listen. Voices carried faintly through the trees—Max’s, steady and controlled. Kendra’s, more volatile, harder to predict.
Hadley’s chest tightened.
She pressed her hand against the rough bark, grounding herself.
Please, let this be the right choice.