chapter twenty-five
Max
“YOU SON OF A BITCH, I saw you with her.”
I grip my phone close to my ear and sneak into the bathroom off my bedroom, quietly closing the door. Fucking Pilar. I don’t want to talk to her. I’d hang up on her normally. After all, our business is finished. I failed her. Gave her back every dime she paid for my services, and I’m done.
But I want to hear what she has to say. Plus, I have an app on my phone where I can record this entire conversation. That’s called evidence.
“What are you talking about?” I ask innocently as I lean against the counter.
“Stop being such a moron. You know exactly who I mean.” She pauses, clearly for dramatic effect. “Lily. How stupid can you be? Why are you with her? Are you trying to get in her pants or what? Or are you still trying to get that damn laptop? Because if you are, I will pay you handsomely for it.”
“I thought we were done.” I don’t even acknowledge the “get in Lily’s pants” comment.
“So did I. In fact, I hired another investigator to finish up the job you were too incompetent to complete.” I ignore her jab, though my teeth are on fucking edge. “He reported back that she spent the afternoon with a certain gentleman and his description sounded eerily like you. Then he sent me photos, and what a shock. It was you.” Another pause. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“What does it matter? I don’t work for you any longer,” I say, emphasizing the last couple of words.
“But if you are trying to get that laptop …” Her voice drifts.
“What the hell is so important on that laptop, anyway? Does she have something on you or what?” I decide to play dumb. She likes it that way, I think. Makes her feel superior.
“Of course she does. But if she thinks she can double-cross me? Lily Fowler has another thing coming.” She laughs, making me wince. The woman is fucking loud.
And fucking annoying.
“What exactly does she have on you?”
“None of your business,” she snaps, all humor gone. “So tell me. Are you going after that laptop or not?”
“I’m sick and fucking tired of talking about this laptop, that’s for damn sure,” I mutter as I rub a hand across the back of my neck. Just listening to this woman stresses me out.
“You were supposed to do your job,” she says. “And you didn’t. It’s your own damn fault.”
“If I get it to you, what will you give me?” I ask, an idea forming in my head.
“Double the original fee we agreed upon,” she says promptly.
“Done.” I end the call before she can say anything else.
Perfect.
Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I exit the bathroom and go out to the living room, where Lily sits perched on the edge of my sofa, her cell phone cradled in her hand. She’s bent over the lit screen, apparently scrolling through messages, and when she hears me enter the room she looks up, her gaze full of wariness.
She doesn’t trust me and I can’t blame her, but it still hurts. I really messed this up. That she’s in my apartment, willing to listen to what I have to say, is like a miracle.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
“Pilar just called.” It’s my intent to be completely honest with her from now on. Full disclosure. I don’t want to hide anything from her.
Lily makes a face. “Why? I thought you refunded her the money and you’re through with her.”
“I did. She’s hired someone else.” I start pacing back and forth, my usual mode when I’m trying to puzzle something out. “That someone else is already following you and saw the two of us together earlier this afternoon. Sent her photos of us, too.”
“What?” Lily leaps to her feet, her expression full of fury. “You’re kidding me! That no-good, scheming bitch …”
“What’s done is done—no need to get in a tizzy over it.” I continue to pace, mentally skimming through the possibilities. I can feel her glaring at me and I probably shouldn’t have used the word tizzy, but I’m too wrapped up in planning our next move to worry about it. “I’m going to give her your laptop.”
Her face falls and she blinks up at me. “What?” she rasps out. “I thought …”
I stop directly in front of her and grab her shoulders, giving her a little shake. “I’m going to clean it up first. Or load a fake one with different information. I haven’t quite figured it out yet. I need to call Levi.”
She stares up at me, sadness in her eyes. She looks … lost. I want to console her so damn bad but I can’t. I’m lucky she agreed to come to my place after we finished lunch. I said I wanted her here so we could discuss how we’re going to approach her family with the bad news.
The truth? I just want her close to me. I want to watch over her and know she’s safe. Leaving her alone is not an option, especially after Pilar just confirmed my worst fear: that she’s hired someone else to keep tabs on Lily.
Who knows what that guy will do to get what Pilar wants.
“Why are you helping me so much?” Lily asks. “I don’t understand.”
Yet again, time to be completely honest. “I—care for you, princess. I don’t want to see you get hurt. I don’t want your family to get hurt, either, not at the hands of some crazy bitch like Pilar.”
Lily blinks up at me as if she didn’t hear me correctly, but she doesn’t say a word. I feel the need to fill the silence.
“Now that she has someone else following you, we need to move. And I … I can’t leave you alone, princess. I know you’re pissed at me, I know I fucked this all up, but you’re not safe. I plan on keeping watch over you.”
When she continues to gape at me, I can’t stand it. “What?”
She blinks again and shakes her head. “You called me ‘princess.’ Twice.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “Sorry, habit.”
“I—I like it. No need to apologize.” She tears her gaze from mine and the moment is broken. “And you said you care for me.”
“I do,” I confirm softly. She turns to face me once more. “I meant every word I said.”
“We barely know each other.”
“I know enough. And I’m not going to let someone destroy you because that person was caught in her own dubious game.” I squeeze Lily’s shoulders, smooth my thumbs over them, and I feel the muscles loosen beneath my touch. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. I swear. I’m on your side.”
She’s quiet again and these long silences are gonna kill me, swear to God. I continue to massage her shoulders, wishing I could touch bare skin, but I’m pushing her limits already. I’m surprised she hasn’t shoved me away yet.
“No one’s ever really been on my side before,” she admits, breaking what I thought was my unbreakable heart.
“You have your sisters, don’t you?” When she nods I continue. “They love you. Look at the lengths you’ve gone to protect them.”
“Right,” she snorts. “I ran away when Pilar threatened me. I should’ve stayed here and gone to Violet. I should’ve told her what Pilar was planning and instead like the total coward that I am, I ran. That’s how I always handle my problems. I run away and hope they disappear on their own, you know?” Tears fill her eyes and she blinks against them, sending them streaming down her cheeks.
The sight of those fucking tears shreds my heart into ribbons and I pull her into me, burying her face in my chest as I slip my arms around her waist. “You don’t have to run any longer, baby. Like I said, I’m by your side. I’ll help you.”
She doesn’t reply, but I feel her shoulders shake and my T-shirt is getting wet from her tears. I run my hand over her silky, soft hair, thankful she took the band out earlier. Her hair is still damp and I thread my fingers through it, tuck a few strands behind her ear. “Why do you do it?”
“Do what?” she asks with a loud sniff.
“Run?”
Lily pulls away slightly to look up at me. “I don’t know. It’s easier. Everyone abandons me when I’m in trouble, so I figure it’s best to run away from the trouble I cause rather than face it.”
“Are you afraid of disappointing them?”
“Who?”
“Your family. Your friends. Whoever you’ve wronged.”
“I don’t want anyone to be mad at me,” she admits.
“Lily …”
“My mom would get mad at me when I caused trouble. But I only did it because I was so jealous of my sisters taking up all of her time, especially Rose.” Lily looks down, her voice small. “But she was just a baby. I didn’t realize the pressure my mom was under, how unhappy she was, how sick she was over … everything. I acted out because I wanted her attention, and bad attention is better than none at all, right?”
Christ, my heart feels like it’s splitting in fucking two for this woman.
“And then she killed herself. For a long time, I thought it was because of me. Of what I did to her,” she admits, her voice soft, her words hollow.
“How old were you?”
“Six.”
I tug her back against my chest before she can say another word and hold her close. As close as I can get her. I press my mouth to her forehead, breathe in the delicious scent of her hair, her skin. “It wasn’t your fault. You do realize this, right?”
“Uh-huh.” She doesn’t sound very convincing. “She was having an affair, too. Rose discovered that recently, after reading our mom’s old diaries. She didn’t love our dad. She didn’t want to be a part of our family anymore.”
“I’m not going to abandon you,” I tell her vehemently, and I mean it. I fucking mean it. I want this girl—I care for her. Most likely I’m falling in love with her, too—as freaky as that is to think about; I can’t focus on my twisted views on love and relationships right now, though.
I need to take care of her, this woman who is still like a broken little girl deep down inside. I hate that. I want to fix her. I want to reassure her that everything’s going to be okay. That I’m going to be here for her no matter what.
It’s crazy, how fast I’ve fallen for her, but I’m done denying it. Full disclosure, I promised myself. That’s how I plan on treating Lily from now on. She deserves the truth, no matter what.
She says nothing and I worry that she thinks my words are meaningless. That she’s heard this all before and still ended up hurt and alone. Not only do I need to tell her these things and make these promises, but I also need to show her that I mean it.
“You ready to go back home?” I ask, my voice muffled against her hair.
Lily doesn’t say a word, but she does slowly wrap her arms around my waist and I close my eyes, letting the mixture of satisfaction and relief roll through me.
“Thank you,” she whispers. “For helping me.”
I pull away slightly and slip my hand under her chin, tilting her head up so her gaze meets mine. “I will do anything for you, princess. Anything. I want you to know that.”
She nods and presses her lips together. I want to kiss her, but … not now. Not like this. She’s upset. Mad at me. I push myself on her and she could use it against me later. And I couldn’t handle that. I need to approach her just right. Prove to her that I will do right by her. Whatever it takes, I will prove to Lily that we should be together.
“Anything,” I whisper again, tucking her hair behind her ear, drifting my finger across her cheek. Her skin is soft and warm, her eyelids flutter, and it takes everything within me not to haul her in close and kiss her.
“Max,” she murmurs but says nothing else. Just closes her eyes as my hand falls away from her cheek. She leans her head against my chest, tucks her face in close, and I hold her. Savor the feeling of her in my arms.
This is what I need, what I’ve been missing for what feels like my entire life. I had no idea she would come to me as the wild-and-crazy party-girl heiress Lily Fowler, but I’m not complaining.
She is the woman for me.