Page 52

CHAPTER 51

MAX

V egas feels like a dream and a nightmare all at once. The majority of the trip was easily the most fun I’ve ever had. But the entire time we were there, I couldn’t shake the lingering fears dancing in the back of my mind.

There were so many people, too many to keep track of, and it would only take one person to recognize me. One person to ruin my entire life, all over again.

I just started feeling comfortable in my new life. I’ve accepted the realities of it and the fact that it’s going to include three slightly unhinged men that are borderline obsessed with me. I’m accepting myself and the fact that I like that these three have pushed me so far past my limits that I can’t even see them anymore.

My entire life view has changed in the couple of months I’ve lived in my new home, and I’ll never go back. Never have to hear about all the things I’ve done wrong, and how anything I show interest in gets skewed and changed for someone else’s pleasure. For the first time in my twenty-five years of life, I’m living for me and only me.

We got back from Vegas a couple days ago, and I’ve embraced my new routine. In the morning, I go to the beach and take it all in. Even when it’s cloudy and so foggy that I can’t see the ocean until it’s only a few feet in front of me. I go and sit in the sand while looking out at the water that seems to go on forever.

If I have training, I go and drive the guys slightly crazy with my taunting because they don’t dare touch me at Uncaged. Especially when class is going on. But fuck, is it fun.

I’ve gotten some looks from that bitch Karissa who always hits on the guys, but I don’t say anything. She can try, I know they don’t want her. They want me. There’s a power in that, that I’ve never understood until now either.

Carson never was mine. I never wanted him to be, even though he thought I was his. Not that it stopped him from looking elsewhere. I know his bed wasn’t empty on the nights we were apart, and whenever I told my mom, she just said that it’s the realities of this life and that I’ll get used to it.

I didn’t want to get used to it. I wanted better for myself. I wanted more for myself. And that’s exactly what I’ve found here.

If it’s a day I don’t have training then I’m at home dancing, practicing on the pole in my living room, or falling back in love with ballet because I’m doing it for me and only me.

I’ve never felt so strong, both physically and mentally.

Afterwards, I go to work, where I’ve become more accepted than I was when I first started. I’ve even made plans to hang out with Danner again. I’m making friends.

Everything’s been getting better.

Though the nightmares haven’t stopped. They’re less when the guys are around, but they never go away completely. They add to the lingering fear that hangs around, telling me that it could all be ripped away from me.

I try to shake it off, I’m trying to move on, to get comfortable and know that they aren’t going to find me. I’ve been careful, and I continue to be careful. They’ll give up eventually. Carson will find someone else, and my parents will accept that they’ve lost me for good. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but eventually, I’ll be able to live my life without the worries plaguing me.

Unfortunately, that day is not today. After I get home from work, I can immediately tell something is off. That feeling is only compounded when I see my front door is cracked. My nerves kick up, but I rationalize that it could be one of the guys.

It wouldn’t be the first time any of them have broken in. In fact, after work it’s pretty common to find one, two, or even all three of them here waiting for me. This doesn’t feel the same though, because they never leave my door cracked open.

But they’re also completely unpredictable, which is why I walk in, despite the uneasiness in my stomach. I push open the door, and call out, “Hello?”

No one responds, and as I step inside, it doesn't take long for my stomach to bottom out at what I discover.

My house is trashed. Not just a little bit, but completely ransacked. Cushions are tossed and look like they had a knife taken to them. The TV is smashed on the ground. Dishes are broken and thrown. It’s utterly destroyed.

I should leave. I should do something, but I feel like I’m in a trance as I walk through the space, mentally cataloging everything that’s broken. Even my pole is knocked over.

Not an inch of my house has been left untouched, and my fear morphs into anger. I don’t know who could have done this, but I know who would have the access to. While I thought we were done with the mind games and fucking with me, apparently I was wrong.

I let the anger build. It starts as a simmer, but quickly turns into a raging inferno. I’m seeing red as I storm out of my house with one destination in mind. Pulling out my phone, I start to call my first suspect, but then put it away. No, I’m going to invade their space just like they did mine.

While I haven’t been to Caine’s house yet, I know where it is, and it’s not far. I drive the short distance over and once I arrive, I attempt to walk in, but he has his door locked and I’m annoyed. Searching around, I find a rock that should work.

When it flies through the window by his front door, it does, in fact, work. I clear the glass, reaching in to unlock his door, and storm in. He’s passed out on his large bed, and while I normally would take a second to enjoy seeing his muscular, shirtless back on full display for me, I’m too mad to care.

I go back to his kitchen, fill a glass of water and bring it back to his bedroom, dumping it on him.

He shoots up. “What the fuck?!”

I stand my ground, hands on my hips as he searches, then he narrows his eyes on me.

“What’re you doing, killer? If you wanted to wake me up with something wet, I would’ve preferred your pussy on my face.”

“I don’t know how you were sleeping so peacefully after destroying my house, and for what? Fun?” I accuse, but instantly regret it once the words leave my mouth.

“Wait what?” His tone becomes serious as he stands up, not even caring about how soaked he is.

“You fucking heard me.”

“Someone broke into your house?” His voice is dark, it reminds me of when I first met him. When he first took advantage of me in my kitchen.

“Like I said, you fucking heard me.”

“Let’s go. Show me.” He grabs clothes, pulling them on, and I shake my head.

Even though his reaction is not what I would’ve expected for someone who actually did it, I stick by it. Because if it wasn’t him, then the probability of it being someone even worse is higher and I just can’t have that.

Because really, I know it wasn’t Drew or Adam. And right now, I don’t think it was Caine either, but I’m planning to hang on to my anger for a little longer. Just so the fear doesn’t completely consume me, like it’s threatening to do.

I storm out of his room, not waiting for him to get dressed to follow me. I don’t know what I’m doing, or even where I’m going. Everything feels like it’s consuming me, and I just need to get out. Someone was in my space. Touched my stuff. Destroyed my things. My safe place doesn’t feel safe anymore.

As I quickly leave Caine’s house, I swipe his keys from the entryway and don’t think about what I’m doing or the fact that I’ve never driven a motorcycle before. I can figure it out, I’m smart, determined, and pissed the fuck off.

Once outside, I straddle the bike, finding the ignition easily, twisting the key and starting it up. I can’t help the cackle that comes out of my throat. I remember how I’ve seen him get the bike to go and rev the engine just as Caine bursts outside.

“What’re you doing, killer?” He sounds amused.

“Destroying your shit, too,” I state firmly, knowing full well that if I manage to get this thing to move, I will end up with it crashed somewhere.

Caine steps up in front of the handlebars, and he puts his hands over mine where I’m white knuckling them.

“You can destroy anything of mine you want, I’ll let you because I don’t give a fuck about anything I own. I can replace any of it. But if you’re planning on driving this into a wall or doing something that will end up destroying yourself, then I’m going to hop on with you because you’re the one thing I can’t fucking replace.”

My mouth is agape as I stare at him. The seriousness of his tone has me pausing. I want to believe him. I want to believe he cares enough that he really would jump on the back of this motorcycle with me and let me run us into a wall. I want to believe he didn’t destroy my house. I want to believe that maybe, just maybe, Caine is capable of being someone who has feelings.

Then the mixture of fear and anger takes over again, and I rev the bike even under his grip. It’s a challenge, even though it’s silent. I look directly into his light blue eyes, trying to see something there, something that tells me he did this. That says he’s the one that broke into my house and that there’s an explanation here.

There’s not. Because all I see is how dead set, he is on letting me destroy anything I want.

I take the key out of the ignition and sit back slightly. Caine stands up to his full height. Without saying anything he stretches his hand out, and I set the keys in his palm. He doesn’t pull his hand back, and that’s when I realize that’s not what he was gesturing for.

Putting my hand in his, he lifts me off the bike and brings me inside. “You’re staying with me tonight, and tomorrow I’m going to find out who broke into your place, and I’ll take care of it.”

While I want to fight and argue with him, I can’t. Because he wraps an arm around my shoulders and the way I easily lean into him scares me. Especially because the feeling of safety I get while he tucks me into his side feels odd to be getting from him.

I look up at him. “Sorry about your window.”

He shrugs. “It’s like you put your touch on the place. I like it.”

I shake my head because only Caine would like property destruction.

Even as I get into his bed, I can’t stop thinking about who destroyed my house. Uneasiness weighs on me and I struggle to fall asleep. That is until Caine takes advantage of having me in his bed and makes sure I have three explosive orgasms which at that point has me tired enough to finally fall asleep.