Chapter 48
Fear hit Max all at once.
One second he was steady, focused, and handling the situation.
The next, the gun had gone off.
All he could see was Hadley on the ground wrestling with Kendra.
She could have been killed.
The thought slammed into him, stealing the air from his lungs.
He dropped to his knees beside her. “Hadley—”
“I’m okay,” she whispered.
He searched her face, his gaze taking in every detail: the pallor of her skin, the faint bruise forming along her cheek, the way she held her ankle slightly off the ground.
Behind them, Kendra’s voice rose, sharp and frantic as deputies moved in. “You don’t understand! He needs me! He—Max!”
The words turned into a jumble as they secured her, but Max didn’t look back. He couldn’t.
All his focus stayed on Hadley. “Are you injured?”
“Nothing too bad. I’ll live.” She managed the smallest hint of a smile.
Relief flickered through him, but it didn’t settle. Not completely.
“What about Herb and Billie?” Hadley’s gaze sharpened despite everything she’d just been through.
“They’re okay. Shaken, but okay. I untied them.”
Her shoulders loosened at that.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” The words slipped out before he could stop them. His gaze locked onto hers. “Running back in like that. Coming after her.”
Hadley lifted a hand and gently touched his face.
The contact stilled him.
“Of course, I should have,” she murmured. “You’re worth it.”
The certainty in her voice caught him off guard.
Max frowned. “Even knowing . . . my past?”
Hadley didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”
Max swallowed, something tight in his chest shifting. “But you don’t even know all the details.”
“I don’t need to know the details. I know you.”
The words settled deep and solid.
Relief flooded through him in a way he hadn’t expected, loosening something he hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying. For so long, his past had defined how people saw him—what they assumed, what they feared.
But not Hadley.
Max exhaled. Then his focus shifted again as he took in Hadley’s condition more carefully. “You are hurt.”
“It’s just my ankle—”
Before she could finish, he slid one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back.
“Max—”
“I’ve got you.”
He lifted her, pulling her close as he stood. She tensed before relaxing against him, her head resting against his shoulder.
Behind them, Kendra’s voice still carried through the trees, still frantic and disjointed as deputies led her away.
Max didn’t look back.
He turned toward the path through the woods, his steps steady despite the uneven ground, despite the cold, despite everything.
Hadley was safe.
That was all that mattered now.
And he wasn’t letting her out of his sight again.
Hadley barely registered the first few steps.
One moment she was on the ground, the cold seeping through her clothes, her body trembling with exhaustion. And the next, Max’s arms were around her, lifting her like she weighed nothing at all.
She didn’t protest. She didn’t have the strength to.
Instead, she let herself lean into him. Her head rested against his shoulder as the steady rhythm of his movement carried her forward through the trees.
For the first time since this nightmare had started she felt . . . safe.
The tension that had been wound tight inside her began to loosen, little by little, with each step Max took. His grip was firm as if he weren’t about to let anything happen to her. Not now—or ever.
Hadley closed her eyes, breathing everything in—the cold air, the woodsy earth, and a familiar scent beneath it all.
Max.
There were so many things she wanted to say.
That she believed him.
That she trusted him.
That she was sorry for ever doubting him—even for a second.
But the words stayed where they were, caught somewhere between her heart and her throat.
This wasn’t the time. Right now, it was enough just to be here with him. To know it was over.
The forest still surrounded them—dark and quiet—but it no longer felt suffocating.
Not with him there.
Flashing red and blue lights appeared ahead, faint at first, then brighter.
Voices followed—low and urgent but controlled.
They were almost out.
Max pushed through the last line of trees, and suddenly the world opened up again. Herb and Billie’s property stretched out beyond them.
Relief swept through her, unexpected and overwhelming.
“Over here!” someone called.
Two EMTs hurried toward them with a gurney, their movements efficient as they reached Max’s side.
“We’ve got her,” one of them said.
Max hesitated before he carefully lowered her onto the stretcher.
The loss of his warmth was immediate.
Hadley swallowed and pushed herself up, despite the protest from her body. “No—wait. Check on Herb and Billie first.”
The EMT nearest her offered a reassuring smile as he adjusted the blanket around her. “We’ve already checked them out. They’re okay.”
Relief flooded through her so quickly that she felt lightheaded. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. A little shaken, but stable.”
Then another thought struck her. “Vaughn. The deputy—”
“He’s fine too,” the EMT replied. “Took a hit, but he’s going to be okay.”
Hadley sank back against the stretcher, the tension draining from her all at once.
Herb and Billie were safe.
Deputy Vaughn was safe.
Max was safe.
She was safe.
Her gaze drifted to Max as he stood beside her, his attention still fixed on her like he hadn’t quite let himself believe it yet.
Maybe . . . maybe this really was over.