Worst possible outcome.
So, like the non-confrontational adult I am, I go for the next best option: hiding in a bathroom stall. There’s no way I’ll go back out there, where I have to look at Max and Logan once they return to the room. I need to get the chaos inside ofme under control before I even startthinkingabout any kind of interaction.
What I’m feeling is not only concerning but also wrong. Fear and attraction should not lie this close together, and feeling the rough hands of a man who threatened to hurt me just hours ago on me should definitelynotcause a reaction like mine, where anxiety pooled in my stomach—until it turned into something else.
The sound of approaching footsteps doesn’t help my racing heart or thoughts.
“Everything okay in there?” Max asks, knocking on the door of my hideout.
“Honest answer?”
“Always, Lily.”
Well, no answer then.
After giving me a minute to not answer, Max clears his throat.
“Can I come in?”
“No.”
“Are you gonna come out?”
“Do I have to?” I ask, counting all the tiny blood stains on my jeans.
“Yep,” Max says, and the lock turns.
I keep my gaze fixed on the floor as he grabs my hand and pulls me out of the stall with ease, making me more than aware of the difference in strength between us. He leads me out of the bathroom, over to the inflatable mattress he and Logan must have brought here for me, pushing me down until I’m seated.
“We need to talk about it,” he says, crouching before me so we’re face to face. “I’m sorry. I should have—“
“Can you give me some time to think about—this?” I interrupt him.
He runs his fingers through his hair while his free hand rests on mine.
“You’re still missing a lot of context,” he says, and I sigh. “Like, 95 percent of the whole deal.”
“And I really need a few hours to think about the five percent I’ve just discovered,” I say, finally finding the courage to meet his gaze. “Please, Max.”
“Just promise me one thing,” he says as he puts his hand on my cheek, forcing me to keep eye contact.
Funny how the same touch can feel so vastly different.
“Don’t try to leave this room. You won’t get far either way, but it would make things unnecessarily complicated. For you, mainly,” he says, quickly adding, “since we’re on a military base.”
And there it is again. A darkness in his gaze, disappearing so quickly I’m questioning my judgment.
“Try to get some rest. We’ll talk later,” he says, leaving the room and taking the minuscule sliver of calm and warmth I’ve felt with him.
He locks the door, and I let myself fall back on the mattress with a heavy sigh. Slowly, the severity of the situation sets in. Apart from Max and his unhinged colleague, no one knows I’m here. They could keep me here forever, locked in this room, able to do whatever they want to me—and the worst part is it’s not just fear that makes my heart race when I think about it.
I wakeup with a scream and a startled Max, who puts his hand over my mouth to silence me. How naive for me to think I could sleep away my conflicting feelings. It didn’t work, and the way Max smiles at me doesn’thelp either.
“Got settled in? Calmed down a little?” he asks, letting go of my face.
“Yes, and no, not really,” I answer. He opens his mouth to say something, and I’d do anything to avoid the scary conversation waiting for me, so why not start by complaining about the amenities?
“The showers back there don’t work.”
