"You sounded like you meant it," I say, closing my eyes because looking at him hurts too much. "You humiliated me in the OR. You cut me loose the second Sterling pushed you."
"I cut you loose because Sterling had a gun to your head," Max says fiercely.
I open my eyes. "What?"
Max reaches into his pocket. He doesn't pull out a phone;he pulls out a crumpled, water-stained envelope that looks like it’s been gripped in a fist for hours.
"Sterling had photos," Max says. "Of us. In the parking lot. On the terrace. In the tailor shop."
My breath hitches.The tailor shop.
"He threatened to release them," Max continues, his voice trembling with rage. "But that wasn't the leverage, Jax. I didn't care about the scandal. I didn't care about my reputation."
He leans closer, his blue eyes intense and terrified.
"He drafted a complaint to the Medical Licensing Board. He was going to accuse you of trading sexual favors for the grant. He was going to have your license revoked."
I stare at him. The pieces click into place. The cruelty in the OR. The "warm body" comment. He wasn't rejecting me; he was making it look real so Sterling wouldn't destroy my life.
"He was going to take medicine away from you," Max whispers. "He was going to take the only thing you have that keeps the ghosts away. I couldn't let him do that. So I made him believe we were done."
"So you decided to destroy us instead?" I ask. My voice is raspier now, harder.
Max pauses. "I... I protected you."
"No, Max. You made a choiceforme." I try to sit up, but the pain slams me back down. I grit my teeth. "You didn't trust me. You didn't come to me and say, 'Hey, Sterling is blackmailing us, let’s fight this together.' You just decided you knew what was best for the poor, broken veteran."
"I panicked," Max admits. "I saw a threat to your survival, and I eliminated it. It was triage."
"It was arrogant," I snap. "I’m not a patient on your table, Max. I’m your partner. Or I thought I was. Partners don't amputate the relationshipto save the career without asking first."
Max looks down at his hands. He looks ashamed. He looks small.
"You’re right," he whispers. "I treated you like a problem to be solved. I was so terrified of losing you that I... I broke everything."
He looks up at me.
"I am sorry, Jax. Not just for the lie. But for thinking I had the right to make that sacrifice for you."
I look at him. I see the exhaustion. I see the fear.
"You’re an idiot, York," I say softly.
"I am aware."
"But," I reach out and take his hand again. "You’re my idiot. And you came back."
Max squeezes my hand so hard my knuckles crack. "I will always come back."
"Okay," I say. "But we’re not done fighting about this. When I can stand up without passing out, I’m going to yell at you properly."
"I look forward to it," Max says, a small, relieved smile touching his lips.
"So," I say, shifting gears. "Sterling still has the photos. He still has the complaint. If he sees you here..."
"Screw Sterling," Max says. The ice is back in his voice, but this time, it’s protective. It’s dangerous.
"Max, if he files that complaint?—"
