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“Detlef should have called me sooner, damn it. He never listened to me.”
Max patted Winston’s shoulder as Sloane stood up. She scanned the lobby until her eyes settled on him. He met her halfway, taking her face into his hands. As he skimmed his thumbs across her cheekbones, she inhaled a ragged breath.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“As okay as I can be. I should call Brody. I can’t be alone tonight.”
Brody. How stupid could Max be? Ofcourseshe would want to be with her boyfriend. He was a cop, so he was perfectly capable of protecting her. Why Max had entertained the notion that she would want him to take care of her, he had no fucking idea. Against his better judgment, Max put his arm around her shoulders.
“Let’s go outside. You can call him out there.”
“Thank you, Max. You helped keep me sane in there. I don’t know what I would have done had you not been here.”
Max stood next to her as she called Brody. Three times it went to voicemail. She sighed. The sound spoke of disappointment. He wanted to kiss her again and make her see she was wasting her time on a man who couldn’t appreciate her. He was just about to do that very thing, when she lifted the phone and dialed yet again.
“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you.”
Max listened to the one-sided conversation. It definitely wasn’t Brody.
“…Sounds like fun. I hate to ask, but what time was Brody on tonight?…Oh. Okay…I see…No. No, that’s all right…I’ll come by tomorrow…Love you guys too.”
After a minute of pleasantries, Max realized Foster was on the other end of the phone.
Sloane ended the call, slumping against the side of the building. He stood beside her silently for a few moments. Finally, he slid his finger under her chin, tipping her head up to look at him. Max felt like he had been sucker punched—the resigned defeat in her eyes crushed something deep inside him.
“What happened? Does Foster know where Brody is?”
Tears glistened in her eyes. She tried to blink them back, but one spilled slowly down her cheek. He swiped it away with the pad of his thumb.
“He doesn’t know. His shift ended over an hour ago.”
“You’re coming home with me.”
“What? I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
He watched the expressions fly across her face as she tried to come up with an answer. “Because…well, because.”
“I’m not asking you to jump in bed with me. Although, I would be a damn moron to refuse if you wanted to.”
He winked at her, hoping his humor would lighten up the situation some. Her eyes widened in shock. The look was innocent and damn near undid him.
“I have a spare room. You can stay there as long as you want. You shouldn’t be alone and honestly, it may not be safe at your apartment.”
“I didn’t think of that,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “Thank you, Max.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Chapter Six
Sloane
Sloane followed Max back to his house, constantly watching the mirrors trying to see if she was being followed like in the crime dramas she loved to watch. It only took a few minutes for her to admit that she didn’t know what the hell she was doing. At least she didn’t have to go back to her apartment alone tonight.
The city slowly fell away, leaving open fields and small farms before her. The smell of manure was strong, but surprisingly not as repulsive as one would think. Caught up in the simple beauty surrounding her, she almost missed Max turning down a hidden gravel driveway.
The two-story, brick-colored farmhouse coming into view was quaint. The white wraparound porch was inviting to friends and strangers alike. Black shutters framed each window.
