“I do not share,” Max finished.
CHAPTER 23
ROSALIE
Ididn’t know what to do with Max. I couldn’t believe how impulsive the man was.
He was amaniac.
He was absolutelyinsane.
What was he even thinking? I’d once had control—if you could even call it that—but I certainly didn’t have anything of the sort now.
What was I supposed to do? The man had the temper of a twig. I had no choice but to follow him. I needed to make sure my family was safe before I let him kill me.
Max, with his inscrutable expression, led the way. I didn’t know where we were going, and I didn’t bother to ask. Perhaps the dimly lit trunk of his car. How about a remote dock, with a heavy cement block tied to my foot? Or maybe an abandoned warehouse, where he’d draw out my torment.
Hell if I knew.
He was silent the entire time, just like I remembered him. It spoke volumes no matter how nonexistent his words were. He didn’t know what to say to me, but that didn’t stop him from walking on my heels, hovering over me like a shadow, creeping in on my vulnerability.
We walked for what felt like an eternity, twenty blocks blurring into a monotonous stretch of pavement under the harsh streetlights. MyValentinoswere killing my feet, but if I was going to die, I was going to die wearing these.
Duke came along with us. Trusting Max alone was a gamble I wasn’t willing to take—not after seeing what he’d done. I guessed the rumors were all right about him after all.
I could still see Lucas’s body—his dead body—lying on the floor of my apartment. His eyes were wide and pleading, begging me for help. My stomach churned at the thought of his loose limbs. Did I have to drag his body somewhere? Would it smell?
Ohgod. The stain ... How would I even begin to clean this up? Bleach? Absolutely not. Bleach would only make the whole thing worse. Vinegar was a possibility, but the smell ... No amount of Febreze would mask the tang it left behind.
I mentally raced through various cleaning solutions, each one discarded in the back of my mind as impractical or ineffective. I envisioned myself hunched over the rug for hours, scrubbing the incriminating stain as if I were the one who’d pulled the trigger. I was going down for Max’s crimes and his loose temper.
Had Max gone for my family already? What if he’d killed them? What if I was doing all this for nothing, and I was just his last victim, his grand finale?
Max extended his arm out to my stomach, forcing me to stop. My heart hammered in my chest as I moved back. Then his hand moved to the small of my back, leading me to a door as he opened it for me.
He seemed nervous I’d try to make a run for it.
I couldn’t lie—I’d been thinking about taking that chance the entire time.
The store we entered was tiny, almost suffocating. The shelves were crammed with random items such as snacks,drinks, and toys. The speakers played a staticky version of a Rihanna song from 2007. A bored-looking woman sat behind the counter. She had washed-out blonde hair, blue eyes, and she wore a pink shirt that read “this girl loves Jesus.”
I questioned her fashion sense, which was funny considering she held a magazine in her hands I noticed immediately. The newest catalog. My mother was obsessed. She’d ordered everything from it already. The clothes, the shoes,andthe makeup—my favorite.
Oh. I needed to focus. She looked like a nice person, someone who could help me.
The woman’s eyes were fixed on Max as he headed down one of the narrow aisles. I grabbed a random candy bar off the shelf and placed it on the counter.
“Can you help me?” I barely whispered, moving my lips without a sound, my eyes darting to hers. Duke sat beside my foot.
The woman understood me, that much was clear, but she acted as if she didn’t. She scanned the candy bar and gave me a blank look.
“That big man over there is kidnapping me,” I whispered again, hoping she’d do something.
Call the police,scream—anything, really.
“Cash or card?” she asked, her eyes looking above mine.
My mouth fell open slightly. I turned to find Max standing behind me. He towered over me, and I felt the heat of his body again. The nerves were back, and they were growing rapidly.
