“Because I’m fucking screwed up in the head!” he yelled and stormed out.
I stood there, staring at the empty doorway, feeling as if the bottom of my world had just fallen away. The front door slammed, and I flinched as if it were a slap. Moments later, the sounds of an engine tearing up the street and spinning tires reverberated in the night.
***
The unexpected fight with Max left me reeling. I understood it was hard on him going to the cemetery for the first time. But why wouldn’t he talk to me?
I scrubbed a hand over my burning eyes, hating this fight—this distance between us. My anxiety mounting, I glanced at the quiet street again. An hour had past and no sign of him.
Dammit, I couldn’t sit here and do nothing. The only place I knew he’d go to was Jack’s. They’d been friends “since the crib” as Max had put it…but that guy ran parties twenty-four seven. And that wouldn’t help with Max’s headaches at all.
I pushed off from the window seat, changed my clothes then grabbed my jacket, so grateful Ray had mentioned where Jack lived. I didn’t care if it was five in the morning. Max was all that mattered.
Taking a cab to Octavia Street, lined with elegant Victorians, I easily found the lavender, two-story, semi-detached with white trim. Two bikes were parked at the curb, a Porsche in the driveway along with Max’s Jeep.
Inhaling a lungful of cool, early morning air, I walked up the paved pathway, took the few steps to the door, and rang the bell. After what seemed like forever, the door opened. War filled the entrance. He was huge, and wore only jeans. He blinked bleary, red eyes and scratched his wide chest. “Yeah?”
“Max?”
Frowning, he peered closer at me. “Hey, Ila.” He stuck his thumb out behind him. “Through that door. Upstairs, second door on the left.”
Then he lumbered back and collapsed on the couch again. Two guys I’d never seen before were knocked out, snoring on the other couches. One had a girl wearing only a t-shirt draped over him.
Pizza boxes lay scattered on the coffee table. Bottles and glasses lined every surface. The place reeked of spilled beer and stale food.
Grimacing, I gingerly picked my way over the littered wooden floor to the entrance War had pointed out, and as I entered a slightly cleaner and much smaller living room, I saw the black baby grand. With my churning emotions, I wasn’t in the mood to admire it. I headed straight for the stairs I spied through the archway and ran up, then stopped, warily eyeing the dark passage. Two doors on the right, two on the left. I didn’t want to inadvertently end up in the wrong room. Second door on the left, I repeated, and knocked. It opened it into a darkened room. “Max?”
Moans and grunts had me freezing. My eyes adjusted to the darkness. Dammit, I must have opened the wrong door. Maybe it was the right?
A girl whimpered. A deep male groan followed.Shit.
“Harder—harder,” she moaned. “I missed you, Max…”
I froze.
“What the fuck, Anabel?” a gravelly voice hissed. A flash of blond hair. Tattooed arms grabbed her.
No—no!Oh, God—please...I stumbled back, an agonized moan caught in my throat.This can’t be happening, not again.
My entire being fracturing, feeling as if someone had stomped on my chest, I spun and ran down the stairs, tears blurring my eyes, and slammed out the front door. The sight of Max’s Jeep only intensified the pain splintering my heart. I tore down the silent street. Had no idea where to go, what to do, I only knew if I stopped running, I’d shatter and fall and doubted I would ever find myself again.
“Logan!”
I didn’t stop—didn’t want to hear his excuses. He’d probably seen me, why he came sprinting after me. But he’d just proven me right. He was just like Devyn, ready to screw around the second I did or said something he didn’t like.
The next minute, hands grabbed me around my waist, dragging me to a halt.
“Dammit, Logan—”
“How could you?” I shoved him hard, tears falling hot and messy down my cheeks. “How could you? Knowing what Devyn did to me? I suppose I should be grateful at leastshedidn’t laugh in my face at what a fool I am.” Only because I hadn’t remained to give her that pleasure.
I pivoted and darted onto the middle of the road, flagging the cab crawling toward me. Footsteps thundered in the darkened street. Growling, Max grabbed my arms and yanked me back, his fingers biting into my biceps, trying to keep me there. His expression fierce. “Dammit, Logan—wait just one minute—”
“Let me go!” I kicked his shin. “I should have never trusted you!”
“Logan—stop!” He hauled me close, his arms banding around me. “You’re hurting us both. Come on, dancing girl, please stop. I would never dothatto you.”
“Liar!” I hit him hard on the chest, pain spreading up my wrists. “I saw you. War said the second bedroom was yours. I saw you with her! She called your name.”
