But she knew this: She wasn’t going to abandon Max.
Not when he’d come for her.
Hadley paused behind a thick tree trunk, her breath slowing as she strained to listen. Voices carried faintly through the trees—Max’s, steady and controlled. Kendra’s, more volatile, harder to predict.
Hadley’s chest tightened.
She pressed her hand against the rough bark, grounding herself.
Please, let this be the right choice.
CHAPTER 47
Max didn’t movewhen Hadley disappeared into the trees.
But he felt the shift, the space she’d left behind.
Now it was just him and Kendra.
And the gun.
He kept his hands raised, and his posture loose, nonthreatening—even as every muscle in his body stayed coiled and ready.
“You did the right thing,” he murmured to Kendra. “Letting her go.”
Kendra watched him, her breathing uneven now. Her emotions flickered across her face too quickly to track. Relief. Doubt. Hope.
“You came for me,” she said again, like she needed to hear it one more time.
“I did.” He took a slow step forward. “Why don’t you give me the gun? We don’t need it anymore.”
Kendra’s grip tightened instantly. “No.”
“Okay.” He nodded as if that made sense. “That’s okay. You can hold onto it for now.”
Her shoulders eased a fraction.
Max let a second pass, then another, allowing the tension to settle before he spoke again. “We had some good times, didn’t we?”
The edges of her expression softened, her focus narrowing on him like everything else had faded away. “Yes, we did.”
“Are you the one who sent me those texts, threatening to expose me?” he asked.
“I needed you to know that I’ll still be there for you, even when no one else is. Your past doesn’t matter to me. I needed you to know that!”
Max forced himself to stay steady, to keep her there, grounded in something that wasn’t anger or fear. “You’re special, Kendra. I wouldn’t have spent time with you if you weren’t.”
Her lips parted, hope rising again, fragile but powerful. “So . . . when this is over, we can get married?”
Max hesitated. He couldn’t lie. Not about that. Not when it mattered this much.
“Kendra . . .” He swallowed hard. “You need help.”
As the words landed, everything changed.
The softness vanished from her expression like it had never been there. Her eyes hardened, something dark and volatile snapping back into place.
“Help?” she echoed, her voice rising.
