I looped my arms around his neck. “Now, you’re talking.”
He lifted me up as he stood from the chair, carrying me over to the bed and laying me down on it. And then, he made good on his promise.
We both did, because the world could’ve been falling apart around us, but at least, for that moment, we had each other.
Landon
The other Knights had stayed to help clean up their cells, but as they gathered their things to go, only Max and I would remain to finish the rest.
Tristan and Josh offered to stay.
Ben had his foot out the door the minute Quinn solved the final clue. He had tosee a man about a dog. Which had always been his insufferable way of saying he wanted tofuck some bitch. It had gotten him punched in the face more than once.
The urge to do it again rose, but this time, Max beat me to it.
“Shut your fucking mouth, Ben. Haven’t you run it enough?”
“What’s wrong, Maxie?” Ben laughed. “Still rocking a major case of blue balls because your girl won’t put out.”
Ben was pinned to the wall by his throat a split second later.
“Say that again. I fucking dare you.”
Ben’s eyes bulged a satisfying amount before Max released him. He crumpled to the floor like a marionette whose strings had been cut. And the idiot glared up at Max as he coughed and tried to catch his breath.
“Fuck you, Max Dread.”
Max clenched his fists at his side, but Ben didn’t know when to shut the fuck up.
“I’m glad I didn’t eliminate her when I had the chance. I hope you get fucked in the end.”
He scurried away before Max swung around to shut him up for good.
Disappointing, really.
Ben had been begging Max to kick his ass since high school. Since Max and Vivian had gotten together.
Awareness ticked in the back of my brain. Like a pen jotting down notes on a record I couldn’t find but always kept. It filed away these moments like data. Searching for trends and patterns. Hunting for connections.
The way my brain worked felt clearer now, even though I didn’t have all the answers. It didn’t stop until the world made sense.
And it tapped incessantly whenever Max Dread was around.
Peter, who’d been posing as a criminal, walked over to Max. “Vivian would never touch him.”
Max didn’t even spare him a glance. “Did I give the impression I was worried?”
Peter bristled but didn’t release Max’s shoulder. “With everything coming...I just thought you should know.”
My eyes narrowed, honing in reflexively as thetap, tap, tapdrummed inside my head.
“Alright, everyone out!” Max barked at the remaining Knights. “Golden Boy and I will take it from here.”
I shrugged at Tristan and Josh, who’d been gearing up to help with the rest. “It’s all good, guys. We’ve got it.”
“We’ll see you in a few days, then. For the party?”
I nodded, and they both eyed Max before sharing a look. When they cleared out, it was just the two of us. And my plan to talk to him about Desi seemed like a wash.
