Page 96 of Joey

ChapterThirty-Eight

JOEY

“Hey.” Max grabs my wrist and yanks me into the study, closing the door behind us.

“Hey yourself.” I smile. “I thought you were out with Dante.”

“I was,” he says, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Is everything okay?”

His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. “We found Vito.”

“Oh? That’s good right?”

Max frowns, tension radiating from him in waves.

“Oh, god. He’s not dead, is he?”Poor Kristin.

“No. He’s alive, but from what we know, he’s in rough shape. Dmitri’s men are bringing him here now.”

“Why aren’t they taking him to the hospital?”

“Dante called the surgeon, and he’s on his way. Kat’s going to assist. We can’t risk Vito going to a hospital until we know who kidnapped him and why.”

“Where did you find him?”

“In that warehouse in Michigan. He was beaten really bad. Locked in a cage and left for dead.”

My grief over all the poor people who were trafficked through that place has me blinking back tears. Kat and I looked into the situation, tried to find a trace of what happened to them once they left the warehouse, but no records were ever kept and there were no leads to chase. Shaking my head, I refocus on Max. “Why not just kill him though?”

“Maybe they wanted more from him? Maybe they thought he was dead? Who knows? Anyway, I’m going to need your help with Kristin. She didn’t grow up in the same world we did. This will probably be the first person she’s ever seen who’s been beaten within an inch of his life.”

“And it’s her dad.”

“Exactly. Can you stay with her? Help me prepare her for what to expect when she first sees him?”

“Of course. But where will you be?”

“I’m going to be in with Kat and the doc while they’re checking Vito over, in case he says anything. Dante and I are going to need answers from him. If he was found at that warehouse, maybe there’s a link between him and Pushkin?”

“I know he really hurt you in the past,” I say softly.

“I’m not going to fucking kill him, baby.” He sighs. “You think I’d go to all this trouble to find him if I was going to do that?”

Slipping my arms around his waist, I rest my cheek against his chest. Despite his cool, calm exterior, Max’s heart is hammering. “I know you wouldn’t, but I also know how much what he did affects you.”

“I told you it doesn’t. It’s all in the past.”

Lifting my head, I look up into his dark brown eyes. “Don’t lie to me, Max DiMarco. It’s okay to feel pain.”

“Not in my world, baby.”

“Yes, in your world.Ourworld. In fact, don’t we feel more pain than most?”

He brushes my hair back from my face. “As long as I have you, nothing can ever hurt me.”

I wish that were true. “What time will Vito be here?”