Page 94 of Charity's Redemption

He left me in the closet for hours until I passed out. I’d woken up in my father’s arms, his hand patting a cool cloth over my face. And from that day forward, I avoided those small spaces. Unless the door was open and I knew I could escape, then for some reason, it didn’t bother me as much.

The tightness in my chest evaporated, and air filled my lungs without restraint. Max ran his hand up and down my back. “Feeling better?”

“You’re good at this.”

“I’ve had a panic attack or two before.”

I tightened my grip around him, then released him. “Get me out of here, please.”

“Sure. I’ll toss you out first this time.” Max gripped my hips and lobbed me into the air as if I were one of those skinny-ass cheerleaders.

“Oh, God,” I half laughed and cried as my body came down to the solid earth below me. “Why couldn’t you have done that in a more gentle way?”

Max plopped down beside me, his legs dangling down into the grave. “A little pain always settles you down.”

I gasped with a sharp breath. Did he pay that much attention? Max knew how to counsel me, not just in missions and advice, but in the psychological as well?

Scrambling towards him on my knees, I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed hard. “You are my wild Ace.”

Max had proven he was in my Goldilocks Zone. He wasn’t innately bad, nor was he all good. He was just right with a touch of each trait that did the perfect amount of damage to my soul, and I was madly in love with him.

“I don’t know what that means, but I like the sound of it.”

I laughed, then stood, brushing the dirt off my holey jeans. “Let’s get these fuckers in the ground so we can go to sleep.”

My arms and legs felt like jelly in a cup while someone shook it back and forth. I kicked the shovel out of the way, then walked towards the back of Van, thanking God Max backed in.

“Hi-ho, hi-ho,” I said in an exhaustive tone.

At least we didn’t catch Luca’s devil side. I’d be smelling rotting bodies while I sucked in air like it was going out of style.

Doing this makes me grateful I ended up in the kill business and not on the cleaner side. I’d much rather stand beside a man with piss-soaked pants and blood splashing against my boots.

“Come on,” he slapped me on the back, “it’s two in the morning, and I need a hot shower and whiskey.”

“I’m cutting off all your alcohol, big guy.”

“You think so, huh?” He lifted Kandy’s body on his own while I stood back, flabbergasted.

“I knew you didn’t need any help to lift them,” I said, pointing my finger at him as he dropped her in the deep hole.

“Of course not, but it was fun watching you struggle.”

“You’re a jerk sometimes. You know that?”

He grinned, then picked up Owen and threw him in on top of her face down.

“You should have put his ass on her face.” I giggled, letting my immaturity seep out. Max tipped his head to the side as he gave me the side eye. I cleared my throat, sobering my laughter. “I mean, they deserve each other.”

“She wasn’t half—”

“If you finish that sentence, I’m throwing you in with them.”

Max chuckled as he picked up his shovel, striking the dirt pile, then throwing it over the frozen bodies.

“Wait, I have a better idea.”

“Because you’ve become a pro at this in the last couple of hours?”

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