“And those inconsistencies are…?”Max prompted, his voice clipped and cool.
The chief hesitated.“Well, one of them said she just laid there and…didn’t fight back.”
Lexie’s stomach turned at his dismissive tone.She set her cup down carefully, trying to suppress the anger rising in her chest.
“And the other two?”Max asked, his tone low but beginning to darken.
“The other two didn’t report the incidents for three and four days, respectively,” the chief replied with a shrug.Then, shockingly, he chuckled.“It’s hard to take a report seriously if the victim doesn’t take it seriously either.”
The casual way he dismissed the rape survivors sent a chill down Lexie’s spine.She glanced at Max, expecting an explosion of anger, but his face was calm.Too calm.The tension in the air was suffocating, and Lexie knew that the chief had just crossed a line.
Max set his coffee mug down, the faint clink against the table cutting through the silence like a warning bell.“Let me be clear, Marshall,” he began, his voice quieter now, yet somehow even more commanding.“When a rape survivor comes forward, whether it’s minutes, days, or even years later, it is not your place to decide how ‘seriously’ they took their experience.Your job is to listen, investigate, and deliver justice.Do I make myself clear?”
Chief Calloway’s jaw tightened, but he nodded.“Of course.”
Lexie remained silent, watching the interaction with a mixture of admiration and unease.Max’s ability to command respect—and fear—was both impressive and unnerving.She wasn’t sure if she was more unsettled by the chief’s dismissive attitude or the chilling precision with which Max dismantled it.Either way, she had no doubt that Max wasn’t one to tolerate excuses or failures, no matter who they came from.
Max’s expression didn’t change, but the temperature of the terrace seemed to drop several degrees as he leaned forward, his dark eyes locking onto Chief Calloway.
“Perhaps I should send some of my men to your house, or the homes of your officers,” he suggested, his tone dangerously smooth.“I have men who could re-create the exact circumstances those women endured.Perhaps I should let you and your officers experience the same trauma, the same sense of helplessness and shame.Let’s see how long it takesyouorthemto report your rapes.”
The words hung in the air like a blade, sharp and unyielding.Lexie’s heart pounded, digging her nails into the arms of her chair.She didn’t miss the calculated pause Max gave, letting the weight of his statement sink in.
“Tell me, Chief Calloway,” Max continued, his voice deceptively calm, “wouldyoureport it immediately after it happened?Or would you hesitate, blame yourself, wonder what you should have done differently?”
Lexie’s throat tightened as her own thoughts raced.She knew Max’s words were meant to provoke, to expose the chief’s callous attitude.Survivors often blamed themselves, replaying events over and over, questioning their own actions.Reporting was often not an immediate or easy decision—it required courage, and that courage wasn’t always instantaneous.
Calloway shifted uncomfortably, his face a mix of indignation and unease.“I don’t think that’s necessary!”he huffed, trying to maintain his composure but failing to meet Max’s gaze.
Max leaned back in his chair, his movements deliberate as he placed his cup on the table with a soft clink.“Perhaps itisnecessary.Perhaps your officers—and you—need to understand the psychological trauma that every survivor of sexual violence endures.Perhaps then, your department might start treating these allegations with the seriousness they deserve.”
The color leeched from Chief Calloway’s face, his jaw tightening with anger.“Why the hell do you give a damn about three women who were in the wrong place at the wrong time?”he snapped, his voice rising.“It’s not like it’s affecting your bottom line!”
Max’s lips curling into a slow, menacing smile that sent a chill down Lexie’s spine.He didn’t raise his voice—he didn’t need to.“Because, Chief,” he said softly, his words razor-sharp, “I don’t tolerate cowards.And if I ever hear of your officers dismissing survivors or belittling their courage again, I will ensure thatyourworld burns before my bottom line even twitches.”
Chief Calloway flinched, his indignation faltering.The balance of power on the terrace was unmistakable, and Lexie realized all over again just how deep Max’s control ran.His words weren’t just a warning—they were a promise.
Max sighed.“Two of those women were attacked in places near my place of business.The third one was attacked near a police station.Myinterest,” he emphasized, “is always control.Anything that hinders customers from coming to my places of business makes me interested in resolving that obstruction.So, perhaps you could look into those rape accusations, perhaps even consider the fact that three women of the same age and similar looks being attacked within a seventy-two hour period could be due to a serial rapist.And just maybe, it would benefit the mayor’s office to know that her–”
“Fine!”the chief snapped, standing up abruptly.He pushed the chair backwards.“I’ll get on those reports!”He backed up, still stammering.“Just…give us time.”
“Update me in forty-eight hours, Chief,” Max warned.“Otherwise, I will be forced to demonstrate exactly how traumatizing it is to be raped.”
The chief’s jaw went slack, but he didn’t reply.The man almost tripped over his feet in his effort to get away.By the time he reached the stone steps, he was nearly running.
“You’re a dangerous man, Max,” Lexie said softly, her voice laced with a mixture of awe and uncertainty.She watched him closely, trying to reconcile the contradictions that made up the man before her.
Once again, he was demonstrating that his power—power rooted in what most would call criminal activity—was being wielded for something else.For justice?For order?For something that looked a lot like improving the world, even if the methods were anything but conventional.
But wasn’t that antithetical to his entire existence?How could a man who thrived in a world of shadows and secrets use that influence to protect, to build something better?Was Max’s power truly criminal, or was it a force he’d honed to fix the broken systems others refused to address?
Lexie couldn’t tell if that made him more terrifying or more admirable.
Chapter 31
“Alldone?”Maxaskedwhen Lexie stepped into his office later that afternoon.He leaned back in his chair, setting aside a tablet he’d been reviewing.
“Yeah,” she replied, moving closer to his desk.Her brow furrowed slightly as she studied him.“Whoareyou, Max?Really?”
