Page 21

Hailey

For the first time in maybe my whole life, things are going well. I made so much money tonight working solo, and I think some guests tipped me extra because of the Jason incident. Kaiser is dead, so I don't need to worry about seeing his creepy face ever again.

And there's Max.

Standing at the front door of the penthouse, waiting to give me a ride back to his huge, safe-haven of a home. I wonder if he realizes what kind of effect he has on me. It was almost unbearable tonight with how distracted I was.

"Ready?" His brown eyes twinkle at the sight of me.

I nod, feeling myself grin. He opens the door for me and guides me out of the hotel and into the casino, his hand around my waist .

"I like this shirt on you," he whispers in my ear as we walk through the lobby, everything around us decorated in gold. I feel butterflies in my stomach, wondering if anyone in line at the desk heard him.

"You do? I was worried it was too much."

It's a black skirt and black mesh top paired with a bralette, something I would have never considered purchasing, but Savannah insisted I try it on. I was surprised that I actually felt confident in it.

"Oh, it was. All I could think about was tearing it off of you the entire night."

He squeezes my side. I feel my face blush and move even closer to him, addicted to his touch, his scent.

We make it down to the private garage reserved for Max and his family.

He opens the door to an expensive-looking blue sports car.

It's different from the one he usually drives.

I asked if it was new, and he said yes and gave me a bunch of car details that went over my head. "Do you want to drive it?" he asks.

"Me?"

He laughs. "Yes, you."

"I'll crash it. Don't you have something less intimidating I can practice in?"

The car's coating is so shiny I can see our reflection in it. It's in perfect condition and parked next to a yellow column I’m sure I’d scrape.

"You'll do fine." He hands me the keys. "If you fuck it up, I promise I won't be mad. It's not one of my expensive cars. "

"This isn't expensive?" I ask, scratching my head.

I feel completely lost with all this. Now that I think of it, some of Dad's cars look a lot more expensive, but I'm too used to seeing the same black SUVs around the compound, so this stands out.

He says he won't be mad, but guys get weird about their cars.

I look over at it. It does look fun to drive. I tentatively grab the keys. He smiles wider. "Seriously. If you crash it, I can get a new one. I have cars that are more precious to me that I'll never let you drive."

Okay, that makes me relax a bit.

I sit in the driver's seat as the interior of the car lights up and the new-car smell hits me.

The engine hums after I press the start button.

I rub my hand on the cool leather seat, trying to figure out how to move it forward since Max is so much taller than me.

Once I find it, I work on adjusting the mirrors.

I look around the car, trying to find something else to fiddle with to delay the inevitable disaster.

"You learned how to drive, right?" Max asks, picking up on my anxiety.

"Yes, but it's been a couple of years."

I had a car in college, but I mostly used it to go to the grocery store. The private college was in the middle of nowhere, so there weren't many adventures we could go on.

He shrugs. "You'll be fine. Put it in reverse and let's go."

Right. Put it in reverse. It doesn’t help that being around Max in general kills some of my brain cells from being in a state of constant excitement. Finally, I get my body to work and put my foot on the brake, switching the car into reverse.

I hold my breath as I release the brake and gently press the gas. We crawl out of the parking lot at a snail's pace, but so far, so good.

I'm calm as I drive through the garage, but my palms sweat once we hit the street.

"You're doing great," he murmurs. His hand brushes my thigh.

His encouragement comforts me, and after a few minutes on the road, it’s like riding a bike and I calm down. Even merging onto the highway wasn’t too bad.

"See? You had nothing to be worried about," Max says.

"Shh. Don’t say that until we’re safely parked in your garage.

" I can feel him staring at me, but I don’t dare to look, keeping my eyes on the road as I match the traffic around me and speed up.

I turn on some music and can’t help but smile at the sense of freedom.

Being able to drive myself is a privilege most people take for granted.

Once I save enough for my own car, I can go wherever.

Maybe I can drive west, all the way to California. Maybe Max can come with me.

"You might want to slow down, Hailey. We absolutely cannot get pulled over." He pulls me out of my daydream.

I glance at him as he looks nervously out the windshield.

"Wait? Why?" I ease off the gas. "This car isn't stolen, is it? Are you a wanted criminal? Is there a dead body in the trunk?" My voice cracks at the last question. Cars violently merge around us as I drop to five below the speed limit, feeling more dangerous than going eighty and blending in.

Max laughs like a psycho.

"Max!" I step on the gas to pick up speed. I realize he was trying to get a rise out of me, but I can't help but laugh. "That wasn’t funny."

He wipes tears from his eyes. "Then why are you laughing?" He brushes my hair behind my ear. "Come on, you know I’ll make it up to you."

I swallow. "How?"

He gives me a devilish smile, his gaze combing up and down my body. "I have some ideas..."

"I want specifics." I raise my eyebrows, quickly looking back at the road.

Normally, when he says something suggestive, I blush and look away. Maybe being behind the wheel gives me confidence, feeling in charge for once. Even if it’s just a car.

"Well, we already kissed. I already saw those beautiful tits in the pool."

Heat floods my face recalling how that make-out session ended, but I know he’s not trying to embarrass me.

"So," he continues, "I think the next step involves getting a taste of..."

I glance at him when he goes silent. His eyes are wide, clutching the ‘oh-shit’ handle.

I instinctively slam on the brakes as he yells to stop .

The highway has turned into a parking lot, and if I reacted one second slower, I would have rear-ended the truck in front of us.

Max whistles. "Good reflexes. That was a close one."

I clutch my chest at the near-accident, catching my breath. "I almost really did crash your car."

"Hell, I wouldn’t have blamed you. Traffic was stopped at a blind turn. I’m surprised there weren’t more accidents." Max opens his window, sticking his head out. He winces. "There’s a bad accident up there. A semi is fucking horizontal."

I try to look around the truck, but it’s too hard. “Damn it,” I say. "Why is it so busy this late?”

He shrugs. “Maybe a concert or something. Either way, we’re going to be here a while.”

I’m so glad I used the bathroom at the penthouse before driving.

After sitting stalled for a while, I put the car in park and wait for something, anything, to happen with traffic. It’s funny. Max and I had such good banter while driving, but now that we’re stopped, I can’t think of anything to say.

Max unbuckles, putting his feet on the dash. “Think we’re sleeping here tonight?”

I groan. “I was just wondering the same thing.” I know I don’t have anything until the next casino night, so it’s no big deal if we’re here for hours. “Do you have an early morning?” I ask. He keeps some business secret. I mean, I get why, but it’s weird not knowing what he does every day .

“I’m playing tennis with my sisters tomorrow morning, but I can cancel if we get home too late.”

"That sounds fun. Hopefully, you don’t have to cancel."

He scoffs. “I don’t know if fun is the right word.”

I raise my eyebrows; I thought he got along with his sisters.

“I’m kidding. Kind of,” he laughs. “My youngest sister, Bianca, is visiting this weekend. She’s mostly in Ann Arbor at school, but visits more in summer.

Anyway, the two of us play against Sophia.

She played for Princeton and there’s no way in hell we could face her alone.

Sophia is the most competitive person I know. ”

“It’s nice having two siblings. I was an only child so I was always outnumbered. I assume only children who get along with their parents don’t mind, but I’d have killed for siblings. I don't even have any cousins."

Max pauses. I can tell something important is on his mind. “Do you miss them? Your parents?”

I sigh. “Is it bad to say I don’t?"

“Not at all. Knowing about how you were raised.”

“I mean, they were good parents.”

“Really?” Max raises his eyebrows.

I sigh. “They tried. If it weren’t for the stupid cult, things would be different.”

“Maybe they’ll get out one day.”

“Maybe.” I parrot him, but I doubt it. I appreciate his optimism, though. Max is capable of bashing heads in, but he always looks on the bright side. It’s a refreshing contrast to my paranoid brain.

Max gets a faraway look. “What are you thinking?” I ask.

He takes his hand off mine. “You mentioned I have two siblings?” I nod.

“I have a brother too I haven’t talked about.” He swallows, eyes darting. “He’s in prison now.”

“For how long?”

“Life. That wasn’t his original sentence, but he stabbed a correctional officer to death within a week of arriving.”

My stomach sinks. “What happened?”

“It was my eighteenth birthday. Jack was twenty. Neither of us was old enough for the business. Jack took some college classes; I was in high school. We got into typical trouble: drinking, smoking weed, hell, I know Jack took too many shrooms and ended up past the Canadian border once. But that wasn’t enough.

We were fucking idiots needing to prove we were tough enough for this life. "

“Jack had the bright idea of learning to hot-wire cars.” Max looks at me and sighs.

“You didn’t hear this from me, but family steals cars and exports them wherever there’s demand.

We manage the process—not the stealing. It’s too risky.

We knew that, but it didn’t stop us. Before I graduated, we probably stole a couple dozen cars.

We’d drive them, then ditch them or worse. "

This explains Max’s driving skills when he saved me from Kaiser .

“We didn’t normally drink doing this, but Jack and I walked past a Ferrari after clubbing. Parallel parked like nothing. We took it. Drove it. Did our thing. Then Jack hit someone at a crosswalk.”

Max pauses, rubbing his chin. When he speaks, his voice wavers.

“I won’t give you the gory details of the fucking thing, but the man died on impact. We left the car, ran away like cowards. Planned to walk twelve miles home, too afraid to drive. But only walked half an hour before the cops got us.”

He buries his face in his hands, and I wonder if he’ll stop the story. I put my hand on his back, trying comforting words, but I’m worried his walls are up too much to let me in.

He leans back, clearing his throat.

“Now again, I was eighteen. Aside from guilt about killing someone innocent, I worried about my parents finding out. So, I talked to the cops after they separated us, thinking I was smart enough to talk myself out of the situation. I wasn’t.”

I watch as Max clenches his fist, worried he’ll draw blood.

“If only I shut the fuck up and let the lawyer handle it. My brother wouldn’t be in prison. He’d be out here, free, like me. But my dumb mouth managed to pin it on him. The memory is blurry; I don’t know how cops got it out of me. But they did.”

Max laughs without humor. “He was supposed to take over after my grandfather and father pass. Now it’s on me.

I’m a rat because of this. No one says it, but I sense it.

I live my life fucking paranoid that everyone is going to turn on me.

The only reason they didn’ t back then was because I was a teen and my father’s rank. ”

“You were young, Max. I’m sure they understand,” I say.

He continues, ignoring me. “Jack says he doesn’t hold it against me. But it’s not the same. Every conversation I have with him is strained. The lawyer got me out since I wasn’t driving, but sometimes I wish it were me in there instead. It would be easier that way.”

Max looks at me. He’d been lost in his story, just realizing I’m here, listening. His face covered in despair and regret.

“You probably think I’m a monster.”

“No,” I say, voice shaky. “You were young. It was a mistake. A horrible mistake, but...”

“I don’t want to fucking hear it.” He shakes his head, then looks away. I can faintly see tears forming in his eyes. “I should have known better.”

He curses under his breath. “I don’t talk about this to anyone.

I act like I don’t have a brother. I don’t rehash this with my family.

Why? It brings me to tears, makes me look weak.

” He looks at me, his brown eyes lack spark and warmth.

“I shouldn’t have told you this shit. You have enough on your plate. I’m sorry.”

“I’m glad you told me.” I put my hand on his, squeezing. “It’s not weak to be upset about losing your brother.”

I see him relax in his seat. His eyes are bloodshot; I never thought I’d see Max so vulnerable. I was so concerned with my life; I didn’t know he had his own baggage.

The car behind lays on the horn.

I snap my head forward; the road’s opening.

I put the car in drive as Max puts his seatbelt on. It takes time, but they clear a lane, funneling us past the accident. Max’s eyes close as he leans against the window. I can’t tell if he’s really sleeping or faking. When I feel safe, I rest my hand on his, and he gives a faint smile.