Page 36

Max

The days that followed passed in a blur of rage, grief, and meticulous plotting.

Lara had insisted on retreating to her parents’ lake cabin to process everything, adamant that she needed the space and peace.

I offered to go with her, repeatedly, but she refused gently, saying that being alone would help her heal.

I made her promise to update me at least once a day that she was okay, that she was safe, and that if she needed me, all she had to do was text me and I’d drive straight over.

So instead of being with Lara, I called in sick to work, saying I was ill and needed the week to recover, and instantly threw myself into finding a way of bringing that bastard to justice.

I could feel my control slipping through my fingers, I was no longer careful, calculated Max.

No.

I was becoming reckless, volatile and dangerous.

Because this one was different, this one was personal.

And the line between justice and revenge had blurred so completely, I no longer knew where one ended and the other began.

The lack of control was an entirely new feeling, one I wasn’t sure I enjoyed outside of the bedroom, but one that I knew I had to endure anyway.

Connor was by my side every single step of the way, refusing to leave me alone even for a second.

The night after it all happened and Lara had left, he sat across from me at the table, his darkened eyes locking onto mine as he cautiously told me about meeting Tony in the basement the night Joe had kidnapped me.

“He showed up not long after you left,”

Connor explained, his hand wrapped around mine as his thumb traced soft, comforting circles across my knuckles.

“Apparently he’d dropped you off at the apartment after everything and knew something wasn’t right.”

I felt my chest tighten with anxiety at the thought of the two most important men in my life meeting.

“What happened?”

Connor let out a breathy laugh, his eyes crinkling in amusement.

“He threatened to kill me, actually.

I think his exact words were, ‘If you’ve hurt her, kid, you’re a dead man.”

Despite everything, a small smile had pulled at my lips, my heart squeezing painfully.

Tony had always been protective, but I’d never truly realised how much he cared until that moment.

He’d stayed loyal to my father, and now he was taking care of me without me even knowing it.

Connor squeezed my hand again giving me a soft smile.

“I told him that I’d rather die than ever hurt you.

He said he had figured out out pretty quickly, and if he thought otherwise, I would already be dead anyway.”

He laughed, shaking is head, “He’s quite the character.”

“Yeah, he is,”

I murmured, feeling a sense of warmth bloom in my chest.

“I guess he’s the closest thing I’ve got to family since my dad died, other than Lar.”

Connors eyes softened as he stood and came around the table, pulling me into his embrace.

I leaned into him, breathing in his comforting scent, allowing his warmth to ground me.

Maybe they weren’t the only family I had anymore.

“He then helped me with Joe, and the clean up.

He told me he’d get rid of his body.”

He choked on those last words.

“I wanted to give him a burial Max, but Tony said it wouldn’t be safe to start digging holes for unmarked graves.”

Tears pricked at Connors eyes again, and I pulled him in closer.

“I’m so sorry Connor, truly,”

I mumbled into his chest as I wrapped my arms tightly around him.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.

It’s okay.

Do you know where Tony took him? I feel like I need to know, so I can go say goodbye when I’m ready.”

I swallowed hard.

This was the last secret that I was truly holding onto when it came to Connor.

I looked into his tear-filled eyes, and knew instantly, that I could trust him with even the darkest of secrets.

“There’s an overgrown lake, a mile or so behind the house.

It’s unknown by almost everyone, and if anybody did happen to stumble upon it, its too deep and swamped out for anyone to care.”

I said, my voice shaking slightly.

“That’s where they all go.

The men I have killed.

The men my father killed.

Thrown in with something heavy so they can rot at the bottom forever like the monsters they are.

I know Joe wasn’t a monster Connor.

I know he didn’t deserve to be there.

But burying him would risk you.

Im sorry.”

He nodded slowly, “I understand Max.

Thank you for telling me, for trusting me.”

He swallowed, “ I texted Joe’s boss from his phone, pretending to be him, saying that he needed a week off because of a family emergency.

Then I smashed up his phone.

Tony took it to get rid of it.

That gives us some time to figure out how to explain his disappearance.”

I nodded, exasperated with everything, but Connor continuously reassured me that he had no regrets in what happened.

He was hurting, I could see it in his eyes, the dark circles underneath more prominent than ever.

But he swore that he would do it all over again if it meant saving me.

We were truly two cold blooded killers, who would do anything to protect our own.

It had been three days since the incident.

We laid in bed, Connor’s thumb idly stroking down my back as I rested my head on his shoulder, mimicking the same strokes on his chest.

My body was slowly healing, my leg wasn’t broken or fractured in any way surprisingly.

He had forced me to go to the ER just to make sure, fretting about me not taking care of myself.

I’d rolled my eyes at him but he insisted, threatening me with no sex, not even kisses if I didn’t go.

Bastard.

Even Tony was backing him up, telling me he would carry me there himself if I didn’t go.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about having two men being so protective of me, after feeling like I only had my own protection for so long.

It warmed me inside, but was also low-key annoying as hell being bossed around by two overbearing men.

“I know this one is different for you, Max,”

he murmured into my hair, his voice low, approaching the subject with care.

“I know you’ve always done this alone, but you don’t have to this time.”

I lifted my head to look at him, his eyes sparkling and intense, the determination burning behind his eyes at the want, the need, to help take the weight of the world off my shoulders.

“I want you there,”

I whispered, my voice breaking slightly.

“I need you there, actually.

This kill...

its personal, Connor.

I’ve never done personal before.”

He used his other hand to cup my face gently, his thumb softly caressing my cheek as he leant forward to press his forehead against mine.

“Then we’ll handle it together, sweetheart.

You don’t have to face this alone anymore.”

The following days blurred into nights as I meticulously planned every detail.

Connor, who I discovered was a natural planner and far more strategic than I’d ever imagined, sat with me night after night, meticulously laying out our plan.

I knew everything had truly changed when I made up my mind to trust him with this, when I allowed him into this side of my world.

We worked together seamlessly, planning every detail, making sure that nothing could be traced back to us.

Connor hacked into Jake’s —Lara’s rapist— social media, where we kept a close eye on where he would be the easiest to trap, to target.

He even showed me how he could track his phone, which we agreed would be for the best, so we could know exactly his whereabouts.

I eyed him, “Did you do all of this to me?”

A blush swept across his face as he took a hard swallow.

“Uhhh… fuck.

Yeah, partly.

I found your number going through your instagram direct messages.

You gave it to some knucklehead called Tim.”

I squinted, trying to take in what he was saying and then I gasped, “Oh my god, you were the bank alert text!”

He let out a soft laugh, “Yeah, that was me.

I would apologise, but I think we have both established that I’m not actually sorry about what I did.

Except for the cameras and stealing your panties.

Maybe that was too far.”

He gave me an innocent smile with a tilt of his head, and I burst into laughter.

“I still cannot believe you stole my panties, you freak! Also, I want my fucking lipstick back you jackass.

I looked everywhere for that for weeks!”

I pushed his shoulder lightly, smiling at him.

“I don’t understand how I got so lucky.

Not are you the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on, you’re also just as insane as I am.”

I gasped, “What.

How am I the insane one here?”

“Because you’re more annoyed by the fact that you spent weeks looking for a lipstick, than you are about the fact I stole in and took your panties along with it too.”

He chuckled.

I stopped for a moment.

Holy shit, he was right.

I didn’t entirely care that this man had broken into my apartment and completely violated my space.

If anything, the thought of it made a heat pool in the core of my belly.

I was insane.

Completely and utterly insane, because despite all of this, I still loved him and trusted him.

Yep, I needed to speak to a therapist ASAP.

We watched Jake’s every movement until it was time to make the move.

On the night we decided to act, my stomach churned with nerves.

For the first time, I didn’t feel strong or controlled.

I felt vulnerable and scared.

This was entirely out of my comfort zone.

I often went into luring these men with confidence because despite reading their files, their sick and twisted actions never directly affected me.

Yeah, they made me angry, and I hated them all, each and every one.

But this guy, I hated with an intensity that was so strong set my body alight with rage.

It made me uneasy, anxious.

I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of seeing this man in the flesh.

Connor noticed almost immediately, pressing his lips to my forehead as he held me close, “You’ve got this, Max,’ he murmured softly, soothing my trembling nerves.

“You’re the strongest person I have ever met.

But remember, you no longer have to be strong alone.”

I nodded, breathing him in, “I can’t do it my usual way,”

I admitted quietly.

“I can’t flirt with him; I can’t let him touch me.

I just can’t.”

I responded, the last words coming out as a silent plea.

I started tugging at the dress I was wearing, panic taking over me at the thought of him placing his hands on me.

My breathing started to grow ragged, my chest aching at the memory of Lara sat outside of my door, her dress ripped, her blank, broken stare.

I started to shake, the tears pricking at my eyes threatening to fall at the thought of him even daring to place a hand on my body.

“Shhh, you’re okay princess,”

Connor whispered, cupping my face so I was forced to look up at him.

“Tony and I will go get him, all you have to do is finish it.

We’ll do whatever it takes to get you through this okay? If you don’t want to do any of this, we don’t have to.”

I let out a sigh of relief, the tears I was so desperately trying to hold on to threatening to fall as I looked up at this man I loved so much.

This man was willing to do anything to make me happy, to make sure I was okay, even by risking himself to help me bring my best friends’ rapist to justice.

“I want to finish it,”

I breathed.

“Go get changed into something more comfortable and then take my car to the house.

Me and Tony will meet you there, okay? I’ll handle this part, sweetheart.”

He responded, handing me his keys before stepping away to call Tony.

And they did.

Watching Tony and Connor drag Lara’s rapist, bloodied and battered into the basement filled me with a bitter satisfaction.

My jaw clenched with barely controlled rage at the sight of him as they shackled him to the chair, blood already dripping from his nose, his eyes wide with terror.

Tony tossed me a small, reassuring smile as Connor moved to my side.

“He’s all yours,”

Tony murmured softly.

“Make him pay, kid.”