Page 40

Max

The days following my confession to Lara passed in a strange blur.

Every morning, I woke up feeling lighter than the day before, as though the years of secrets I’d carried had finally loosened their hold on me.

Lara had taken the news far better than I’d imagined, supporting me completely even after everything she’d been through herself.

She was resilient, brave, and seeing her pull herself together so quickly filled me with pride and hope.

I quit my job at the law firm with immediate effect.

I decided it was time to start letting go of my past, and leaving that godforsaken job was the first step.

Lara’s departure to Paris crept closer, and while I was thrilled for her, sadness lingered heavily in the pit of my stomach.

My best friend—the woman who had been my rock for as long as I could remember—would soon be thousands of miles away.

I knew we’d still talk constantly, but it wouldn’t be the same without her.

I sighed softly, stirring the cream into my coffee absentmindedly when I felt strong arms wrap around my waist, pulling me gently backward against a familiar, comforting warmth.

“Morning, beautiful,”

Connor murmured against my ear, his voice deep and rough from sleep.

“Morning,”

I smiled softly, leaning back into him, enjoying the feel of his strong chest pressed against my back.

He kissed my neck lightly, causing a pleasant shiver to ripple through me.

Connors presence was soothing in a way I hadn’t expected—he was the calm amidst the chaos, the anchor I hadn’t realised I’d needed so desperately.

“Thinking about Lara?”

He guessed, quietly, his thumb softly stroking circled into my hip.

“Yeah,”

I mumbled.

“She’s leaving soon.

It’s gonna be so weird without her here.”

Connor hummed in understanding, “You’re gonna miss her.”

“So fucking much,”

I admitted, turning in his embrace to face him.

“But it got me thinking.

Maybe it’s time I did something new too, you know? Maybe it’s time to finally stop living in the shadow of my past and finally just... live.”

Connor’s expression softened, eyes warm and encouraging.

“You deserve that, Max.

More than anyone.”

I bit my lip, looking up at him hesitantly.

“Would you...

would you ever consider travelling with me? Just leaving all of this behind, even only for a little while?”

His eyes twinkled, amusement tugging at his lips.

“Max, there is literally nowhere in the world that you could go where I would not follow.

I thought I’d made that pretty clear by now.”

A soft laugh escaped me, relief and happiness swelling in my chest.

“I know, I just...

I guess I wanted to hear you say it again.”

He cupped my cheek gently, brushing with his thumb lightly as he looked down at me with undeniable intensity.

“Where you go, I go.

No hesitation.”

A comfortable silence stretched between us as I tiptoed up to kiss him softly.

He deepened the kiss gently, his hands gripping my hips, holding me securely against him.

When we parted, our breathing was slightly heavier, Connor’s eyes glinting with affection.

“You’re sure about leaving this behind?”

He asked softly, genuine concern laced in his voice.

“You don’t think you’ll regret it?”

I shook my head slowly, certainty strengthening my voice.

“I won’t regret leaving behind death, darkness, and all the pain.

My father would have wanted me to be happy, Connor.

To have a real life filled with love instead of vengeance.”

He nodded slowly, eyes searching mine carefully, as though looking for any hint of hesitation.

“Then, that’s exactly what we’ll do.

I want to give you that life, Max, starting with freedom.

I have something for you.”

He pulled me over to the sofa, pulling open his laptop and slid it over to me, eyeing me with caution.

“I found a way for this to all go away; I didn’t want to bring it up until you were certain that you were ready to leave all of this behind.”

I looked at the laptop in confusion, then back at Connor.

“What is this?”

He nodded toward the screen, “Press play.”

I pressed play on the video, Joe’s face popping up into view with him sat in the basement, a dark hoodie on with the hood pulled up, barely showing his face, but he was recognisable enough.

I looked to Connor confused but he just nodded toward the laptop.

The video played with Joe, admitting to all of the murders, admitting to killing all of the men that I had killed.

My lips parted, my breathing hitching as I heard Joe’s voice say how he’s confessing to his crimes because of the guilt getting to him.

But that he could not hand himself over to rot in a prison, so he has fled the country, and that they will never find him.

I turned to Connor in absolute shock, my eyes wide, “How...

how did you get this?”

“I filmed myself in your basement and used a programme to change my face to Joe’s.

I used an editor to change my voice to sound like his,”

he breathed.

“This way, Joe didn’t die for nothing, this way, he died to give you the life you deserve in a sick, twisted kind of way.

This ties up all the loose ends Max.”

I just stared at him, in utter awe, in shock, at this beautiful, yet terrifying man.

“I...

I don’t know what to say.”

“I can send it right now, from his email to the head chief.

This is it Max, your way out.

Our way out.

If you are truly ready to leave your fathers legacy behind, this is how you can do it.”

I nodded, not knowing what else to say as words escaped me entirely.

I watched as Connor loaded the video into an email from Joe’s account, sending it over to the Chief of Police.

This was it; this was the end.

No more searching for the killer, for me.

I was truly fucking free.

All because of Connor.

I cupped his face in my hand, looking directly into his beautiful dark eyes, tears blurring my vision, “Thank you, Connor.

I don’t know what else to say.

Thank you.”

He closed the space between us, placing a gentle kiss against my lips.

“There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you Max.

I said I wanted to give you the life you dreamed of, this is only the start.”