I don’t know what gave him the right to think he could even call her that.
“Ex-girlfriend,”I bit out, stepping forward until we were nose-to-nose. My voice dropped, the kind of sound that came from a place buried deep in my bones. “Don’t come near her again. Don’tfuckingtest me, Jackson.”
Jackson smirked, tilting his head slightly like he was amused. Like I was a game he was looking forward to playing.
“That’s not your decision…bro,”he said. “She’s mine. She always was. Why don’t you back the fuck off before I kill you?”
Jackson might have the devil’s smile, but the beast inside me? The one that had been locked away for years? He was ready to play ball.
I sneered.
Game on, you twisted bastard.
“I’d like to see you try. The only body they’ll be dragging out of the lake is yours,” I said flatly. “Your death will be endless, brutal, and horrifying. The last thing you’ll remember as the water fills your lungs is my hands holding you down, and the cruel certainty that Mackenzie was always mine. I will marry her. I will give hermybabies. Not yours. Mine.”
It was settled. I was staking my claim on her, whether he liked it or not. I didn’t care if the entire camp heard.
“You’re finished. You don’t talk to her; you don’t even look at her. You so much asbreathein her direction, and I’ll make sure you regret it every single day you’re still able to open your eyes. You think you’re scary? Try me. I’ll rip the smirk off your face and make you choke on your teeth. One wrong move, Max, and I’ll remind you exactly why you should have never touched her in the first place,” Jackson spat in my face.
I balled my fist and pressed it in the center of his chest, pushing him backward again.
Rage flickered in his eyes. I hope he swung first. Iprayedfor it.
“Okay, testosterone overload,cool it,”Mackenzie said, putting a hand on my chest. “No one’s killing anyone tonight without my say in it.”
“Careful, baby. If you want to be the ringmaster, people might wonder if Daddy passed on more than his eyes,” Jackson taunted.
Mackenzie’s face went pale.
“You threatening her now?” I asked, my voice deceptively calm.
Jackson’s lips curved. “Not a threat. Just a reminder of who she is. Deep down, you know it. You’ve always known. It didn’t take you long to figure it out, did it?”
Mackenzie was frozen next to me, and I could feel her eyes on the back of my head. Jackson had just royally fucked up everything. I moved closer to him, toe-to-toe, my rage barely simmering under my skin.
“Touch her again,” I said. “And you won’t have to worry about reminders. You’ll be lucky to fucking walk.”
Jackson’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t move.
“Hey, guys? Why don’t we play a game before you two kill each other?” Megan called from over near the water.
A campfire had started, and the group had now dispersed to a small number of us.
I grabbed Mackenzie’s hand, pulling her into my side. I wrapped my arm around her and strolled to the campfire, shielding her with my body.
We sat near the fire, and I rested my arms on my knees. Her voice broke through then, soft and barely above a whisper. She wanted only me to hear her. “Max… how much do you know?”
I could feel her hesitation, the quick hitch of her breath, the way her fingers pressed against mine. She looked incredibly vulnerable, and seeing her in this state stirred something dark and protective within me.
I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I squeezed her hand, my voice low.
“All of it. Okay? Don’t be mad. Just know that it doesn’t change anything. You got that?”
Her eyes widened with terror, pupils darkening, a shiver running down her spine. I sensed the tremor in her, the shock that I could care this much, that I could see this. A flicker of reliefpassed over her face, and I watched her finally take a deep, steady breath.
I wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to be scared. That I had a plan, a fucked up one. But arealplan to protect her.
I let my grip linger, the heat between us palpable. We could finally bury all this bullshit behind us and move on. She didn’t need to know how far I’d gone—about my hacking history. She just needed to know that I was hers and that nothing and no one would take her from me.
