Page 55 of Fallen Prince
Oh, god. What if it was my dad, not Gavin? I couldn’t imagine why he would come over right now, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d randomly stopped by to check on me.
My stomach dropped to the floor. I couldn’t allow Max to see my dad. Especially notwhen he was so raw from his confession about witnessing his mother’s murder. I’d seen the damage his massive fists could do to someone’s face. If Max attacked my father, he would severely injure him.
I reached the foyer just as Max wrenched the door open. His low growl gave me pause, but I resolutely pressed forward.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demanded.
His hostile tone made my stomach knot, and I skidded to a stop just behind him. His muscular frame filled my doorway, blocking me with his bulk. I peeked over his shoulder, and my heart skipped a beat.
Max’s sister stood on my front porch. The streetlight illuminated her sharp cheekbones, transforming her stunning face into something savage and cruel. The physical similarities between her and Max had never been more apparent, with her harshly beautiful features and full lips twisted in a smirk. Her shark’s eyes danced with cruel delight as they fixed on me.
“Hello, princess.” Her white teeth flashed through the darkness, and her razor-sharp gaze cut back to Max. “Why didn’t you tell me that sweet little Allie is the mayor’s daughter?”
“Leave.” The word was a barely intelligible snarl, and Max’s big body practically vibrated with rage.
She lifted a slim shoulder in a casual shrug. “There’s no need to be rude. I’m happy to leave with you, little brother. Father wants to see us.”
All his muscles locked up tight. “Allie, go back inside.”
Francesca gave him an exaggerated pout. “Don’t be like that, Max. I’ll leave your precious princess alone.” She bared her shark-like smile at me. “You have nothing to fear from me.”
My insides squirmed, but I forced myself to meet her glittering gaze. “Max is here at my invitation,” I announced, lifting my chin in defiance. “You aren’t. Please leave.”
She turned her grin on Max. “Aw, she saidplease.So polite. Far too sweet for a brute like you. Come on, little brother. It’s time to go.”
Max’s muscles coiled tight, ready to unleash violence to protect me. “I’m not leaving her. You shouldn’t have come here, Francesca.”
Her head canted to the side, her eyes gleaming as she waved behind her. “But I’m not the only one who came to pick you up. Our dear cousins are here. They’ll drive us home, and we can all have a family meeting.”
A black sedan was parked at the curb. Two men waited beside it, shrouded in shadow. I could barely make out their features, but I noted identical anvil-hard jaws and glittering eyes that flashed through the darkness.
I edged closer to Max, swallowing hard. My heart slammed against my ribcage as reality crashed down on me. I’d been so intent on convincing Max that he didn’t scare me that I’d forgotten how frightening his relatives were. These people were mobsters. They’d committed the horrific, bloody crimes that’d given me nightmares during the week I’d spent poring over the Ferrara case files.
He was too young to have participated in those crimes. They weren’t.
And they were waiting outside my house. They knew where I lived.
“Fine,” Max ground out through gritted teeth. “I’ll come with you. Just leave her alone.”
“No!” I grabbed his forearm, desperate to keep him away from the monsters that waited for him in the dark. They might be his family, but they weren’t kind to him. He wasn’t safe with them. “Stay with me, Max.”
His muscles flexed beneath myfingers, as though my weak hold was an iron shackle binding him in place.
“Aw, she’s so cute,” Francesca said in that awful singsong voice. “I bet our cousins would think so, too. Should I introduce them?”
A flash of vicious white teeth drew my attention back to the men in the shadows. They leered at me, and I shuddered in soul-deep revulsion: an animal response to the threat they posed.
“No!” Max barked, angling his body in front of mine so that I was completely blocked from their view. “I’m coming with you. Allie, stay inside. Lock the door behind me.”
I couldn’t let him leave with those monsters. My fingernails sank into his skin. “Please, don’t go.”
He wrenched his arm free, and my nails scored bright red lines into his flesh. He rounded on me, eyes blazing. “I’m leaving, Bambi.” He spat the nickname in a warning tone.
He wanted me to know that I was putting myself in danger by confronting Francesca. The longer I kept him here, the worse things would get.
Francesca’s tinkling laugh needled the base of my skull. “You have pet names for each other? Adorable.”
He ignored her, focusing completely on me. Hisbig hand cupped my cheek, his thick fingers sliding into my hair.
