I shook my head, cutting him off before he could say any more. I couldn’t bear the excuses or to hear any more lies. “You need to leave,” I said, my voice steady even though I felt anything but. “I don’t care where you go, but you can’t stay here. Not after this.”
He stared at me, his eyes pleading, but I refused to give in. I’d made my decision, and I knew it was right the one.
“I’ll go,” my father finally said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “I’ll head to Chicago. But Rose ... I want you to know that I love you. I always have.”
The words spilled from his mouth like vomit. I knew they were worth nothing. He was just scared to lose everything—his control and his family. But he had already, and the realization was punching him in the gut.
“Go,” I repeated, my voice steady. “And do not come back.”
For a long moment, he stood there staring at me. It was as if he was trying to memorize my face; to burn the image of his daughter into his mind before he left for good. And then, without another word, he turned and walked out of the warehouse.
The door clicked shut behind him, and the silence that followed was deafening. It was over. He was gone. That was supposed to be a good thing, a necessary thing, but I’d just lost my father in a way I’d never expected.
I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen to my family now. My father was the one who kept everything in line—how were we supposed to move forward from this? Then I turned to face Max. He was kneeling down beside Sean to check if he was still breathing.
“Is he going to be okay?” I asked. “Is he ...?”
Max looked up at me through his brows. “He’ll be fine, but he’s bleeding like a motherfucker.”
This was a huge weight off my chest. “Where was he shot?” I asked.
“Shoulder,” Max said. “My guy can fix him right up.”
“Are you sure he’ll be okay? He’s not awake.”
Max didn’t seem the least bit concerned as he hefted Sean’s limp body over his shoulder. He glanced at me with a light smile. “He’ll be fine, Rosalie,” he reassured me. “He’s out cold, but that’s probably a good thing. Less pain until we get him to the doctor.”
I followed behind Max, trying to mirror his calm, but the sight of Sean’s blood-soaked shirt made it incredibly difficult. My heart was pounding in my chest. How was he still alive? I’d never seen anything like this before.
“Max,” I started, hesitating as I searched for the right words. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to my family now. My father ... he was in charge of everything.”
Max paused. His eyes softened slightly as he looked at me. “Your family will adapt,” he said, his tone matter-of-fact. “People like your father ... they always think they’re the ones who can hold everything together, but that’s never true. It’s just control, and control shifts. Someone else will step in—maybe even you.”
“I have no interest in any of this,” I replied.
Max regarded me for a moment and then nodded as if he understood something I wasn’t sure of yet. Without another word, he turned and continued toward the door, Sean still slung over his shoulder.
Much as I didn’t want to be involved, I knew I was now at the center of the problem. My father had left a void, and whether I liked it or not, that void would need to be filled.
CHAPTER 52
MAX
Rosalie had been quiet since we got back, lost in her own thoughts. I could see what tonight had done to her, but she was handling it better than I expected. Hell, she was handling it better than most.
Rosalie slipped off her heels, her dress rustling softly and a quiet sigh of relief leaving her lips as her feet hit the cool floor. She was still wearing her wedding dress, and she looked damn good in it too. Her father had deprived me of the chance to see her wear it down the aisle.Bastard.
I must have been staring, because she looked up at me with a curious smile.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
My head fell back, and a chuckle slipped past my lips. “I think you were right about us having bad luck.”
She paused, her eyes meeting mine. Then a smile reached the corners of her lips and the creases of her eyes. “I’m starting to think the universe doesn’t want us to be together.”
“I don’t really give a damn about what the universe wants.”
She shook her head as she walked toward me, her steps slow. When she reached me, she placed a hand on my chest. Shealways wanted to feel the beat of my heart. She knew when I was nervous, anxious, and tense at all times.
