Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41558 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41558 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
She traced the lines of my face with reverence, as though I was her personal miracle and not the other way around.
“This means everything to me, Max. I know that you’ve lived your whole life trying to make your father proud of you. I wanted the same thing. But we don’t have to live for their approval anymore. They don’t deserve us. We have each other now, and that’s more than enough for me. I love you so much.”
My phone chimed, interrupting our kiss. Unease stirred in the pit of my stomach as I reached for it. No one should be contacting me at this time of night unless there was a problem.
A text from my father lit up my screen: Come home. Now.
My chest tightened. Had he somehow already found out that I’d successfully blackmailed Fitzgerald? Was he ordering me home to reprimand me for withholding the information?
“What is it?” Allie asked, voice tight with worry.
“My father. I have to go.”
I sat up in bed, but her delicate fingers closed around my forearm, shackling me to her.
“Don’t,” she pleaded.
I cupped her cheek, caressing the moonlight on her alabaster skin. “I have to face him, anyway. It will be worse if I wait until morning.”
Her eyes flashed through the shadows. “You don’t have to do this alone. I’ll come with you.”
“No.” It was a sharp refusal. “If he’s angry with me, he might try to teach me a lesson in respect. The worst thing he could do to me is punish you instead. Stay here.”
Her fingers tightened to a vise. “I can’t let him hurt you. There has to be another way.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be okay, Bambi. I’ll come back to you. I promise.”
No matter what happened to me, I had to tell my father that I wanted out. I could only hope that he hadn’t found out about the blackmail yet. I had to try to undo that in order to save Allie’s friends from the Russians and get her out of Nikolai Ivanov’s clutches.
I had no idea what was waiting for me at the house where all my nightmares had been born, but I would face it for her. For us. I would have my future with Allie, and nothing my father could do to me, no amount of pain, would take it away from me.
CHAPTER 15
Max
I gritted my teeth and ignored the phantom screams that echoed down the corridor, ghosts of my mother’s agony as she’d died. I loathed this house, and the only thing that kept the debilitating nightmares at bay was the knowledge that I’d soon be leaving it for good. After tonight, I’d never step foot in my family home again.
I just had to endure whatever my father had in store for me first.
Before I stepped into the study, I briefly closed my eyes and thought of Allie: her silken hair beneath my fingertips, her gentle, floral scent, her eyes shining with love while I staked my claim over her body and soul.
Holding that vision in my mind, I squared my shoulders and went to face my father. As soon as I stepped through the door, the crackle of the fire sent stinging sparks popping across my face. It was too warm for the hearth to be lit; Father wanted to unnerve me.
I forced myself not to flinch and met his shark’s gaze head on. “It’s late,” I said coldly, matching his icy demeanor. “What do you want?”
He knocked back his whiskey and grimaced.
Fear fluttered in my chest. He’d been drunk on the night he’d scarred me. If he flew into a drunken rage…
I kept my spine straight and lifted a brow, coolly waiting for a response as I drew on thoughts of Allie to give me strength and maintain my composure.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what this is about,” he seethed.
I managed a nonchalant shrug. I wouldn’t admit to the blackmail until he said it out loud. I still wasn’t sure what this meeting was about, and I wouldn’t give myself away. Not if there was still a chance that I could take it all back and save Allie’s friends.
“You killed your cousin, you little shit!” Father boomed.
I ducked just in time as he flung the heavy crystal glass at my head. It smashed against the mantle, the sound clashing with the roar of the fire.
I took a single step back before I could plant my feet firmly on the rug, rooting myself to the spot through sheer force of will. I hated that my father could shred me like this, that fear still slithered down my spine whenever I was near him.
Why had I wasted so many years, done so many terrible, bloody things, seeking his pride and approval? He would never love me. The way he treated me wasn’t love. He wasn’t capable of it. I could see that now that I had Allie in my life.