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“Put the fucking knife away and let her go,” Max snapped, violence rippling through his muscles.
“Fine.”
The blade withdrew from my chest, and the world spun as oxygen rushed back into my lungs. I stumbled forward and was caught by a pair of strong arms. I shrieked and tried to twist away, terror fluttering in my chest.
“I’ve got you.” Max’s scent enfolded me, and I recognized the familiar shape of his body shielding mine.
My knees shook, and I sagged against him as all the strength drained out of me. I dimly registered the heavy slap of his cousins’ boots on the pavement as they retreated. Max held me for several racing heartbeats, waiting until they were gone before he lifted me up to cradle me against his chest. I buried my face in his shoulder as a harsh sob wracked my body.
I clutched at my torn shirt, fisting the parted material to cover myself. Even though they’d only bared me to just above my breasts, I felt raw and terribly vulnerable in a way I’d only experienced once before: when Gavin had groped me. Only this was so much worse, because my life had been on the line as I endured the monsters’ sexual threats.
“I’ve got you,” Max said again, his voice rough with strain. “You’re safe now.”
Safe? Sadistic mobsters knew where I lived. They might come for me again.
I needed my dark protector more than ever. Those awful men had warned him away from me, but I couldn’t bear it if he left me alone now.
I wrapped my arms around him, holding on tight. “Stay with me,” I begged, my plea hitching on another sob.
“I will, Bambi,” he promised, brushing a kiss over my forehead. “I’m not going anywhere. They’ll never touch you again.”
The last rumbled with an echo of the dark menace that’d rolled off him in the alley. If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you. Both of you.
I didn’t want to believe that Max was capable of something so vicious, but his threats had saved me. As long as he was with me, his cruel cousins wouldn’t dare to harm me.
I clutched him to me more tightly, unwilling to put an inch of distance between us. Max would keep me safe, and that was all that mattered.
MAX
Impotent rage tightened my jaw, and echoes of helpless terror twisted my insides in knots. Seeing John’s knife at Allie’s throat had reached deep inside me and ripped up the nauseating memory of my mother’s murder. For a few horrifying minutes, it’d happened again: I’d failed to protect Allie, just like I’d failed my mom all those years ago.
Feeling her warm breath against my skin as she sobbed into my neck was an awful miracle. She was alive. She was shaking and crying in my arms, but she was still with me.
I dropped down onto her couch just as my trembling knees gave out, keeping her cradled close to my chest. I couldn’t put so much as an inch of space between us. Even if her ragged cries tore at my heart like a serrated blade, I couldn’t let her go.
My hands roved over her body, checking for injuries. From what I’d seen, John’s knife hadn’t so much as nicked her soft skin. But I didn’t know how long they’d had her before I heard her scream my name. Before my worst nightmare had become reality.
“Are you hurt?” The gravelly question was laughably insufficient. She might not be bleeding out in my arms, but my sadistic cousins liked to play with their prey before they struck the first blow.
Her cheek rubbed my neck as she gave a little shake of her head before pressing closer to my chest. A harsh shudder wracked her delicate frame, and I tasted acid on my tongue.
“Tell me what happened.” My stomach knotted, but I had to know what they’d done to her before I got there. They’d said that they were terrorizing her as a warning to me. My father hadn’t ordered the attack, but I needed to know what they’d said to her. I couldn’t protect her if I didn’t know what was coming for us.
“They grabbed me when I was walking home. They said…” Her breath hitched, and her skin pebbled beneath my hands. “They said they would break me.”
I couldn’t bite back the low growl that rumbled from my chest. “They’ll never come near you again,” I swore. “I won’t let them hurt you.”
“They said you aren’t supposed to be with me.” She finally pulled back just far enough so that her shining eyes could pierce my soul. “Is that why you pushed me away? On the night you told me… When you told me about my mom’s death. You hurt me to push me away. Is it because your family threatened me?”
