I swallowed hard, drawing on all my willpower not to cringe away from that terrible, beastly scowl. “Your family isn’t innocent, Max.” I spoke gently to avoid provoking him, but his jaw still ticked when I said his name. “They bear sole responsibility for the consequences they faced. I can understand why they might’ve told you a different version of what happened, but it’s just not true.” I paused, choosing my next words carefully. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I can tell that you’ve suffered. But whatever happened to you doesn’t—”
“Stop talking.” I didn’t miss the warning that roughened the command. “You don’t know anything about me, and you don’t know anything about your father. That’s why I let you go. But I don’t have to sit here and listen to your pitying bullshit.”
Despite his unnerving tone, I pressed on, desperate to protect my dad from his misguided vengeance. “Max, please. You don’t have to—”
“I said stop talking!” he barked, his massive body swelling with barely contained rage. He still knelt before me, but he suddenly towered over me, his hulking frame crowding me back against the bus stop bench. He leaned in close, so I could feel the heat of his hissed demand whisper across my cheeks. “Don’t bother pleading with me. You think I’ll forget all about your father’s sins if you just blink those big, doe eyes at me? You might be innocent, but he’s not. If you want to stay ignorant, that’s your choice, but don’t keep repeating the lies your daddy fed you about how fucking virtuous he is. Not to me. Not ever. Understand?”
I couldn’t stop the shiver that raced across my suddenly chilled skin, and my fingers clamped around my locket for comfort. My teeth sank into my lower lip to hide its trembling, but I managed a shaky nod. My eyes burned as the remembered trauma of being held captive settled over me like a suffocating weight. Maybe I had been a fool to approach Max so fearlessly.
I am a monster out of your worst nightmares.
The man looming over me wasn’t safe. He was unstable, and it didn’t matter if something terrible had happened to him to drive him to this madness. He might not be pure evil, but he was still dangerous, no matter if he’d been hurt.
A low grunt caught in his chest, and he abruptly shoved away from me. “I said I wouldn’t hurt you, and I meant it,” he muttered, mercifully releasing me from his intense black stare.
He pushed to his feet, then glanced down at me. Reflexively, I hugged my arms protectively over my chest and shrank into the bench at my back.
His lips pinched as though he’d bitten into something sour. “You don’t have to be afraid of me, Bambi. I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“It’s Allie,” I whispered, hating the way he dehumanized me with the dismissive nicknames.
A shadow danced over his tight jaw, and he shook his head sharply. “You’re still bleeding,” he rumbled. “You should get home and clean up. Come on. I’ll walk you to your door.”
He held out a big hand, and I cringed away. His fingers clenched to a fist as he slowly withdrew the offered support.
When I didn’t move for several tense seconds, he spoke again. “It’s late. I’m not leaving you out here on your own. Get inside, lock up, and I’ll go. But not until you’re safely home.”
“Why do you care?” I asked bitterly, hugging my arms tighter to my middle.
His eyes flashed as he fixed me with an intense stare, pinpoints of light glittering over the dark pools. The effect was mesmerizing, and for a moment, everything fell away except for the two of us. “You’re innocent,” he rumbled. “I don’t hurt innocent women. And I don’t let them get hurt. Especially when they’re as reckless as you are. There are other monsters lurking in the dark.”
That final remark needled at me, and I broke away from his deep gaze. “Yes, you’ve said that,” I managed to scoff. “Funny how you’re the only one I’ve ever seen.”
He jerked back as though I’d slapped him. “Fair enough,” he said tightly. “Doesn’t change anything. I’m not going anywhere until you’re safely in your apartment.”
I shifted on the bench, confusion tangling my thoughts. I should be terrified that my captor was standing over me, but he was acting as though he was my protector. I didn’t know what to do with that, so I sat stiffly for several more seconds, silently willing him to leave me alone.
As though that would work. The man was a stubborn monster, I’d give him that.
“Fine,” I bit out. “I’m going home now. Happy?” I pushed to my feet and immediately swayed, my shaky body wobbling on my high heels.
A strong arm closed around me, long fingers bracketing my waist to support my weight. I tried to jerk away, but I only managed to stumble. Max made a rumbling sound of unmistakable disapproval, and my spine went rigid with indignation. He didn’t let me go.
“Those things are a death trap.” He scowled at my designer shoes. “I’m walking you to your door. Don’t bother arguing. You can’t walk straight, and I don’t feel like scooping you up out of the way of oncoming traffic again.” When I still didn’t take a step forward, he sighed. “Are you going to walk, or am I going to have to carry you? Your choice.”
“I’m walking,” I said through gritted teeth. “You’re infuriating as well as insane, you know that?”
He kept his arm braced around me as we started to cross the street. “Yeah, and so are you.”
I huffed out a furious breath, but he held me as firmly as ever. The man clearly wasn’t even a tiny bit intimidated by me or my considerable anger. With his huge, muscular frame folded around mine to protect me from falling, I couldn’t deny that I truly wasn’t a threat to him. The very idea was laughable.
We reached my door, and I fumbled in my purse until my fingers found my keys. “You can go now,” I said as coolly as I could manage. I didn’t want to open my door when he was so close. The memory of his body pinning mine to the wall as he drugged me was still horrifically clear in my mind. A residual shudder of revulsion rolled through me.
He finally released me, stepping away quickly as though I’d become white-hot. “I said I wouldn’t hurt you, and I meant it,” he rumbled. “Now that I believe you won’t go tattling on me to your father, I’ll leave you alone.”
I stiffened. Tattling? That made it sound as though my abduction and interrogation had been child’s play. I pressed my lips together, locking my retort inside.
“I’m home. You can leave,” I reiterated, giving him a pointed stare.
His chin lifted, and he stared right back at me with those dark eyes. “I’m not leaving until that door locks behind you. If you want me to go, hurry up and do it.”
A sound like a growl that I’d never made before slipped between my teeth, and I jammed my key into the lock with more force than necessary. I quickly slipped inside and slammed the door in his scarred face, turning the deadbolt behind me. I pressed my back to the wood and heaved in a deep breath.
I waited until I heard his heavy boots stomping away, fading into the night as he finally left me alone. A tremor wracked my body, and I slid to the floor as all the strength drained out of me. I huddled there for a long time, my bleeding knees stinging and my heart racing.