Chapter Twenty-Five
TREAT’S ARM FELL on an empty sheet. He opened his eyes and found Max curled up in the chair by the window. “Hey, babe. You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said softly as she came to him and sat on the bed. “I need to talk to you.”
“I’m all ears.”
She pressed a kiss to his bare chest and said, “Well, not all ears.”
He put his arm around her, pulling her down for a kiss. “What’s going on? You seem tense.”
“I am. I have to leave.”
“Leave?” He sat up, feeling gutted. “Why? What’s going on?”
“Nothing bad. I promise.”
The uncertainty in her beautiful eyes worried him. “Then why are you leaving?”
She drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “When we were in Nassau, I knew right away how much we felt for each other. And when we reunited in Colorado, my feelings for you became crystal clear. Being here these past few days has only solidified that in my heart and in my mind.”
“Then why are you leaving? Is it because of the Thailand deal?”
“Not really, but in a sense, yes. I’ve been where we are now, where one person has to give up something big to make the relationship work. And I know that the love that drives people together can turn to resentment. Once the honeymoon stage wears off and real life comes in with deadlines, pressures, and late nights and all you want is to be left alone, you can’t help but lose the feelings that drove you together. And then resentment creeps in.”
He took her hand in his and said, “Max, that’s not true. I don’t know who you’re using as your basis for that knowledge, but if it’s your ex, then please, throw that out altogether. That’s not going to happen with us.” He gripped her hand tighter, unwilling to let her break their connection.
“Maybe you’re right, but we need to think about a way around that, and while we’re thinking about it, I need to finally get closure with my past. I don’t want to bring my ghosts into our relationship, no matter how willing you are to let me. I love you for that, but it’s time for me to grow up and finally face the man who hurt me. That’s the only way I’ll ever put what happened behind me.”
“What are you saying, exactly? Where are you going?”
“To see Ryan. To unbury my ghosts and finally set them free. I spoke to Chaz and told him I needed a few more days off.”
The thought of Max facing that deviant brought Treat to his feet. “I’m going with you.” He strode toward the shower, rage and concern warring inside him.
“Treat, stop.”
“You’re not doing this alone, Max.”
“You told me you liked that I was supremely strong,” she said as she closed the distance between them. “That if we were together back then, you’d want to hear what I had to say. I love you for wanting to go with me, but this is my past, my hurt, and letting you deal with it would make me as weak as I felt when it happened. I’m finally taking my grandmother’s advice and speaking my mind. I have to do this, and I have to do it alone.”
“You’re asking me to let you walk into the hands of a deviant. The hands of a man who hurt you so badly that it still haunts you.”
She wrapped her arms around his middle, gazing up with trusting, determined eyes. “I am, because if we are going to have any chance at a normal future, I need to do this. The same way you need to not give up the things that make you happy. You deserve a woman who is whole in every way. Let me try to become that woman.”
He embraced her too tightly, gritting his teeth against all his basal instincts. “I want to go with you. I’ll wait in the car, whatever, just let me be there.”
She shook her head, and it was that fierce determination that made him cave. “I will never go through with it if you’re with me. It’s too easy to let you take care of me in that way. Please grant me the space to do it.”
He ground his teeth together. “For the record, I hate this idea, no matter how proud of you I am for taking this step. I’m driving you to the airport, and I want to know this guy’s name, where you’re meeting him, and when.”
“I already wrote down everything. It’s on the counter. I knew you’d want it, and don’t worry. I’m meeting him in a public place, where he works.” A small smile lifted her lips, and she said, “I’d really like it if you would drive me to the airport, but what about my car?”
“Smitty will take care of returning it.”
“Okay, but we need to hurry. I don’t want to miss my flight.”
AFTER DROPPING MAX at her gate for her flight, Treat’s protective urges surged even stronger than they had all morning. He had his bags packed and in the trunk, but Max had remained adamant about doing this herself. He strode toward the ticket counter, hoping she’d forgive him for showing up anyway.
His phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket without looking at the number.
“Max?”
“Sorry, Savannah.” Treat’s mind was reeling. He had to get a ticket.
“I thought Max was with you.”
He tamped down the urge to snap at her. “She was. What do you need?”
“It’s Dad. He’s sick, and I’m really worried about him.”
“I just saw him. He was strong as an ox.” He decided to hell with the ticket for a later flight. He’d charter a plane and beat Max there, so he could be waiting when she arrived.
“Treat, are you listening to me?”
The edge in Savannah’s voice pulled him back to the call. “Yes, sorry.”
“You have to come home. Dad’s having bouts of dizziness and chest pains, and I’m scared.”
His gut wrenched at the position he was in, but Max had made her choice, and his father may not have one. “Get him to the hospital. I’m on my way.”
Cursing under his breath, he called and left Max a message telling her he was heading home, and then he called his buddy Brett Bad, owner of Elite Security, and arranged for an investigation into the man who had hurt Max, as well as a private, plain-clothed security professional to watch over her in his absence. She might get pissed at that, but he wasn’t taking any chances with her safety.