A tear rolls down my face and then another. “I’m wondering how you left for so long. I couldn’t do that to you. Why didn’t you sneak back? Why didn’t you try to talk to me? Why didn’t you call? Email? Text? There were a million ways to contact me, but you didn’t.”
“I knew you’d be watched. I thought I was protecting you.”
“Didn’t you think your dad would kill me? Viktor hired someone to watch because he couldn’t stand the thought of me being alone.”
“By the sounds, Viktor had direct orders to kill you. I didn’t have that information, Evie. If I had, I’d have done better than hire you a computer programmer as a guard. I’d have pulled out of that situation, come back, and taken you far away. I’d never let you out of my sight.”
I think back to all the years I remember seeing Viktor, not knowing if he was in my imagination or if he was a legitimate stalker. He was following me. He was trying to keep me as safe as he could, given the circumstances.
“It’s easy to talk now,” I finally say. “But you still left. After the first year you had to know I wasn’t coming.”
“Evie,” Max says, glancing toward me. “I fucked up. I really, really fucked up. But I swear to you, I’m here to do more than talk. I’m here because I love you. I never stopped loving you and all I want more than anything on this earth is to keep you safe.”
There’s assuredness in his tone. Confidence. It’s the same intensity that Viktor had when he was talking to me at the bar the first night we met. I believe him.
My heart sinks as my emotions tie themselves in knots. Caring for three men is complicated, weird, and for most people toxic as hell. But to me, something about it feels right, and when I glance over at Max with that wide grin that got him out of every argument we ever had, I know without a shadow of a doubt, that my heart is in for trouble.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Everleigh
It’s late when we finally reach the cabin so I can’t see much of what’s outside, but as I step from the car, there’s an overwhelming pine scent that fills my lungs, like I’ve just landed in the middle of a Christmas tree farm. It’s an odd scent to be frolicking in considering there’s so much fear in my stomach. Usually, pine and cedar remind me of happier times. My aunt would decorate the tree so nicely, and though I knew I wasn’t her child, she never treated me any different. When this is over, I should visit. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to know her niece is dating three gangsters.
I roll my eyes in spite of myself and stare back at the cabin. It’s smaller than I imagined it would be, like the type of place you’d book if you were on a long weekend with one other person. Maybe it’s deceiving. Some places are like that. They look really small on the outside, then you open the door and they sprawl on forever. Not that I mind being crammed in this tiny space with three oversized bears, but having some space would be nice too.
We’ve parked at the back of the property and make our way to the front, walking through the tall night grass, crickets chirping in the distance. Ryan and Max stand behind me as Viktor leads, guiding us all toward the entry of the cabin. He turns back and says, “I’m going to check it out before we all go inside. Stay here and don’t make a sound.”
I’m not sure we planned on chatting it up given the circumstances, but we just listen, and do as he asks. I can’t deal with him right now. I need to get into this place and shower. It’s all I’ve wanted since we left the apartment. A nice, long, hot shower. Maybe it’s something about washing away the stress and trauma of the day, or maybe it’s the silence. Either way, I need it!
Viktor slides into the cabin with his gun drawn. It’s a black gun that looks small in his massive hand. I didn’t even know he had it, but I don’t let that get me worked up. There have been so many other things that’ve happened over the last few hours that a gun tucked into his ankle doesn’t seem like a thing.
Ryan reaches out for me and pulls me against his chest. He’s warm and comforting before his thumb tips under my chin and he draws my gaze up to his. “You know I love you, right?”
I nod. I do. I don’t think he could’ve faked it. Besides, it took me a while to warm up to him. No one was telling him to fall in love with me, listen to all my problems, move into my apartment with me. He did that on his own.
He bends down and kisses my lips softly, my cheeks burning. He’s so studious, paying attention to my every move, my every breath, deciding what I need before he gives it to me. “You’re cold.” He strips off his jacket and covers my shoulders, rubbing his hands up and down over my arms as I stay close to him.
Max is close by, and I can tell he’s unsure of what to do or how to act. Instinct tells me to reach out for him, hold him. He must be scared too. He’s run from this life because it terrifies him, not because he loves it. He loved me.He loves me.He thought he was doing the right thing.
“All good,” Viktor says, his voice dark and graveled.
We walk toward the cabin, and the guys move forward but Viktor pulls me to the side, his body hard against mine as he holds me close. “What did Max say to you?”
My eyes narrow. “That’s none of your business.”
“You’re my business,” he growls. “This… is my business. What did he say?”
“He said he loves me, and that he never stopped.” I say it with a sense of arrogance, as though a part of me wants him to be aggravated by it. Maybe I do want to be spanked. Maybe I like riling him up.
“Oh, he loves you?” he says with sarcasm. “Is that why he left?”
Max turns the corner and stares back at us. “Where’s the water gauge? I want to dump that guy in my trunk and scrub the fabric clean.”
“There isn’t one. This is a dry cabin. There’s drinking water under the sink so—”
“What do you mean there’s no water?” I’m questioning him as though he’s personally attacked me, gazing right past Max’s disposal of a body. Apparently, this is something I’m used to now.
“I mean there’s no water. There aren’t pipes that bring water up here. It’s not a luxury accommodation. It’s a hideaway. We can fill the tub with some of the drinking water if you need to clean up that badly.”
