Fuck.
He needed to erase her.Tonight.He would fuck three of these women—hard—one after the other.He would make them scream, make them beg, make them forget their own names...and with Xia watching, forced to witness every second of it, she would finally see him for what he was—a man who didn’t need her.A man who could move on.A man who was free.
Because he wanted a wife now, and he wasn’t prepared to wait two years for a woman.Not even one who had cracked every barrier he’d ever placed around his heart.
Because he couldn’t admit the brutal truth...that he wasn’t good enough for her.
“Time to hunt down the last four.The fuck master is ready to crank up the pace,” he said in a low growl as he turned on his heel, his boots crushing leaves underfoot as he strode toward the next potential’s last known location.
Until a chill stopped him in his tracks.There was a prickle at the base of his skull, and a voice echoed in his head, silent but screaming.
“Fuck.Something’s wrong.”He looked around as his breath hitched.A cold sweat broke out along his spine as his pulse roared in his ears like a drumbeat of doom.
“Xia.”
The name slammed into him like a physical blow.His vision tunneled, and the forest around him blurred into a haze of shadows and torchlight.His chest tightened.
“No!No, no, no—”
He didn’t believe in premonitions.Didn’t trust instincts that couldn’t be quantified, measured, or controlled.But this?This was real.This was fear.
Axel’s voice cut through the fog.“Rex?You good, man?”
Rex didn’t answer.He ran.His boots pounded against the dirt path.His muscles burned as he sprinted toward the resort.A jeep was parked at the edge of the trail with the keys still in the ignition.He didn’t remember grabbing them.Didn’t remember anything except the terror clawing at his throat.
He had to get to her.Now.
The engine roared to life.The tires spat gravel as he peeled out of the parking area, and the jeep lurched onto the narrow road leading back to the resort.His hands were white knuckled on the wheel, and his breath came in ragged, panicked gasps.
Something was happening.He could feel it.Something bad.Very, very bad, and Xia was at the center of it.
Max DuPont
“What the fuck?”Axel’svoice carried over the roar of the jeep’s engine as Rex tore past them, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Max’s eyes narrowed.“That’s not like him.”
Jax crossed his arms, his usual smirk absent.“Unless he finally realized he left his dick in his other pants.”
Dexter didn’t laugh.His gaze was fixed on the disappearing taillights, his expression unreadable.“Or unless he’s got a reason to haul ass like that.”
Axel scoffed.“Come on.It’s Rex.The man’s got ice in his veins.He’s not about to—”
“He’s not leaving because he wants to,” Max cut in, his voice low.“He’s leaving because he has to.”
Willow’s eyes widened.“You think something’s wrong, honey?”
Max didn’t answer.He was already moving toward his own jeep.His voice rasped a command.“Let’s go.Now.”
Axel hesitated.“You really think—”
“Rex can hold his dick in his pants,” Max snapped, swinging into the driver’s seat, Willow settled in the back, and Axel into the passenger seat.“But one thing he’s never wrong about...”His gaze locked onto Axel’s.“Is that voice in his head.”
The jeep’s tires screeched as Max slammed his foot on the accelerator.The engine roared in protest before surging forward.The headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating the winding path back to the resort.Behind him, Jax and Dexter piled into the third vehicle.Their voices were a mix of confusion and concern over the walkie-talkie.
But Max didn’t have time for explanations.His mind was already racing as his instincts screamed the same warning Rex must have felt.
“Do you think it’s Xia?It has to be about her,” Axel said with concern in his voice.
