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His words stung, but I moved past it. “He needs me.”
“Damn it, Bambi. What Max needs right now is for you to keep yourself safe. I know how much he cares about you. And no matter where he is right now, I know he’s worried about you. Don’t give him something to worry about once we get him out of this predicament.”
I heard him groaning still as I backed into the road.
“I’m telling you, Bambi. I’ll find him. We’ll get him out. And I’ll let you know as soon as it’s done. Stay put. Keep whatever door you have locked. Text this number and tell me where you are once you get there. Save it in your phone, too. This is my number. And if you hear from Max, at all, you call me immediately. Got it? Good.”
Then, he hung up the phone.
“Dani! Damn it, if you don’t pick up this phone back right now--”
I groaned. “Will you shut up, Hannah?”
She paused. “Finally. You’re back. Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were switching over?”
“Because you're not important right now.”
“Wow. Ouch. But, okay. What’s going on?”
“Like I’d tell you. I gotta go.”
“Dani! Don’t hang up. We have to talk. Dan--!”
I cut the call and picked up my phone. I put a temporary block on Hannah’s number so I wouldn’t be bombarded with her stupid calls or text messages. I’d have to deal with my father later. Because some things were simply more important. I sat in the middle of the darkened road, gripping my steering wheel tightly. I looked into the darkness and felt it staring back at me. Taunting me, as Rupert’s words rushed around in my head.
The last thing we need is you getting involved and making things worse.
I stepped on the gas pedal and took off. I didn’t know how I was going to find Max, but I sure as hell wasn’t sitting around and doing nothing. I wasn't a damsel in distress. I didn’t need saving. I didn’t need protecting. What I needed was for Max to be alive, to come back safely. I wasn’t going to sit around in a driveway or in a dorm room or in a hotel somewhere waiting for my damn phone to ring.
“I’m not the weak girl I used to be,” I murmured.
I raced into the darkness. I felt it swallowing me whole as I peeled around the corner. My tattoo called to me. To my soul. To my heart, as it throbbed against my thigh. I was a Red Thorn. Or, close to it. I felt it run through my veins and fill my gut. And if there was one thing I’d learned about the Red Thorns, it was the fact that they fought for what was theirs.
And I sure as hell was going to fight for Max.
34
Max
“Max!”
“Dani?”
“Max! Over here!”
I turned around and saw her waving in the distance. A thin figure on the horizon, flagging me down with all her might. I smiled as her voice graced my ear. I whipped my leg over my bike and made the engine roar. I heard her giggling. Even from so far away. And as I grew closer, I saw her hand reaching out for me.
“Get on here, gorgeous.”
She laughed. “Take me away, big boy.”
She clung to me, and the wind whipped around us. We passed through beautiful wooded areas and tore through a field of wildflowers. Rivers rushed. Fish jumped out of ponds as I wrapped us around the incredible expanse of land in front of us. Her cheek pressed against my back and her hands gripped my shirt. Her legs pressed hard against mine as I picked up the pace.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
She giggled. “You’ll see.”
I felt her leading me. I felt every turn I had to take just before I took it. The earth spoke to me, guiding me all the way up to a cabin in the woods. There was a lake off
