Page 56 of Fallen Prince
“I’ll come back,” he promised. “No matter what happens, I’ll come back to you.”
My heart tore open. What could possibly happen to him? What would his family do to him? They’d already inflicted mental torment by lying about my father’s involvement with the Bratva, the organization that’d brutalized and murdered his mother right before his eyes. His sister clearly wielded words as a weapon, but what about his cousins? What were they capable of?
Bloody images from the case files filled my mind, and my eyes burned. His sensual lips brushed over my cheek, catching the tear that spilled over.
“I’ll see you soon,” he murmured in my ear, a fierce oath.
I swallowed hard and nodded. I dreaded the prospect of him leaving with his awful family, but he was choosing to go with them. Based on his sister’s veiled threats, I believed he was protecting me. Max was strong, but I doubted he could take on the two hulking men and come out unscathed. If he went with them willingly, they wouldn’t have a reason to hurt him.
I hoped I wasn’t being naïve.
He’d told me so many times that I was naïve, and I’d bristled as though it was an insult. But faced with Francesca’s delighted taunts, I realized I was completely out of my depth. Max knew it, and he wanted me to stay out of it. I would only be a liability to him if I insisted on involving myself further.
“I’ll be waiting,” I promised on a fierce whisper.
I wouldn’t let Max go, no matter what. I cared about him too much to allow his family to take him from me. I had to trust that he could manage the situation without my interference.
He trusted me with his darkest secret. And I trusted him with my whole heart.
It fluttered in my chest at the realization. I’d never felt anything like this for any man. It was too soon, too wild, to call it love. But it was powerful and addictive enough that I never wanted it to end.
He pressed one last kiss to my forehead before pulling away with stilted, jerky movements, as though leaving me caused him physical pain.
“Lock the door,” he commanded. “Now.”
He kept his eyes on mine, refusing to leave until I was safely barricaded inside. I didn’t want to lose sight of him for even a second, but I didn’t have achoice. Max wouldn’t be able to handle his family unless he believed I was safe.
I swallowed against the lump in my throat and shut the door between us, hiding him from my view. The heavy glide of the lock clicking into place slid between my ribs like a knife to the heart.
I rested my brow against the cool wood and listened to the heavy stomp of Max’s boots as he retreated with his awful sister. The car started up and drove off, carrying the man I’d come to crave far away from me.
My chest squeezed, growing tighter with each of my racing heartbeats. Waiting for Max to safely return would be agony.
CHAPTER 21
Max
My heart hammered in my chest, and I curled my fingers to fists to hide their shaking. Adrenaline and rage ripped through my body, seeking a violent outlet.
Instead, I had to sit calmly in the back seat while my bitch of a sister watched me with a cruelly amused expression on her flawless face. I was hyperaware of my cousins in the front seats. Their smug satisfaction flooded the car like noxious fumes. Everyone had been waiting to see me fail again. And falling for Alexandra Fitzgerald—our enemy’s daughter—was an epic fuckup.
Aw, she’s so cute. I bet our cousins would think so, too. Should I introduce them?The memory ofFrancesca’s threat made my fury surge, and my fists clenched tighter.
My cousins were little more than beasts, caring only for power and twisted pleasure. They would rip Allie apart if my father let them off his leash.
A terrible image of Allie in pain screamed through my mind, ghosting over the familiar, nauseating memory of my mother’s suffering before she’d finally been killed. My stomach lurched, and I swallowed against the acid burn in my throat.
“No one touches her,” I ground out.
Francesca’s light, hateful laugh floated through the car. “You really do like her. Pathetic.”
“Why do you even care?” I demanded, even though I knew exactly why my relationship with Allie was forbidden.
My sister scoffed. “Don’t pretend I’m an idiot. I didn’t recognize your little princess when she came to the house, but that article about her in theTimestold me who she was. Your girlfriend looks awfully cozy with Nikolai Ivanov. I’m surprised, Max. You were never good at sharing your toys.”
Article?I had no idea what the fuck she was talking about, but clearly, whatever she’d read had revealed Allie’s identity as Ron Fitzgerald’s daughter. And her connection toNiko.
My gut twisted. This was far worse than anything I could’ve imagined. I’d only met Allie because I was trying to prove my worth, but somehow, I’d managed to fuck everything up. The evidence I’d wanted to gather in order to blackmail Fitzgerald was supposed to ensure my family’s return to power. I would’ve been the one to usher in a new era of prosperity. I would’ve been a worthy heir, not a disgraced son.
