Page 106 of Crush

Max slid off her onto the ground, he was breathing heavily, his hair flat to his forehead and dirt and sweat covered his face and hands. His clothing was ripped, and I could see blood. Pulling away from Dexter, I ran towards him, my feet felt nothing, they were that numb.

“Max, are you hurt?” I yelled as he pushed onto his knees. I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and squeezing, his arms fell around me as we embraced. I then pulled back and stared at the cut on his neck.

OMG, he was hurt.

“Do you need an ambulance,” I said, oblivious to what was going on around us. The only thing I could hear was a rushing sound in my ears and the faint noise of a siren in the distance.

“No, it’s just a scratch,” he said. “Did we get them all?”

“Yes, you saved her. You saved mymother’shorse. I thought you were dead, oh my God, I was so scared.”

We sat there on the ground with the fire still burning but time stood still as Max gazed down into my face, looking at me in wonderment like I was the most precious thing in the world.

I pushed my cheek into his hand as he cupped one side of my face.

“You were so brave. I was terrified I’d lose you,” he whispered.

And in that moment, I understood why I loved him so much.

Max’s mouth met mine in a hard, brief kiss before he pushed to his feet. “Are you OK? Your feet are a mess, Amber,” he said as he took my hand, and we moved over to Dexter. Some of the other staff were standing with shocked faces. Dex was on his phone. I was so relieved Daddy wasn’t home to see it. It would have finished him off.

My gaze took in the horses. And then it hit me. How had the fire started in the first place?

A million fears jetted through me and then a fire engine appeared, slowly negotiating the gap between the gates into our property.

The next hour was chaos.

It took over an hour to put the rest of the fire out. It hadn’t spread to the tennis courts or any of the other outbuildings but the trees beside the boundary wall had caught fire and now sat there as charred black stumps. Another wave of sadness hit me.

Max wasamazing, he spoke with the staff and asked them to supply the firemen with anything they needed. Bottled water was passed around. My feet were torn up and Max lifted me onto the kitchen counter and cleaned them before wrapping some gauze around my wounded soles.

My God, I loved him so much and was desperate to tell him, but would he believe me? What if it wasn’t something he wanted to hear? I felt so confused. Not about my feelings but how todealwith them. I had never felt that way about anyone. That moment when I thought him dead in the barn, I wanted it to be me. I would have offered myself in exchange.

As I came off the phone with my father, the chief fireman was speaking with Max. He explained that once the heat settled a thorough investigation as to how the fire started would be carried out.

It was almost four in the morning and Max suggested I take a shower and then get back in bed. It wasn’t unbearable pain but my feet were sore. As I was in thebathroom, Max knocked and then came inside. He took his shirt off and helped me out of my bedclothes which were unsavable.

We showered together with Max washing my hair. He was so attentive and caring and I felt safe and cared for.

We did all that in silence. It wasn’t a sexual thing. We just needed to be clean, to wash the horrible event from our bodies.

Max said the police would be calling in at the house during normal hours and as we lay together in my bed, fresh from the shower. Max explainedwhythe police would be involved.

And my stomach plummeted. Suspected arson. A purposeful attack on my family.

Nineteen

Max

The next few days were chaotic and I spent half of my time at the office and the other half with Jonny and Amber. It had been confirmed that the fire had been started on purpose and I knewexactlywho the culprit was. AlexanderfuckingHarker. I wondered if he’d seen me at the house with Amber thus sending him into a jealous rage. Amber had come clean about seeing him and told me the fucker had delivered loads of flowers to her house. She also explained that she’d felt like someone had been following her. Jonny hadn’t put extra security on as he didn’t know anything about Harker having made contact. And the fact that I hadn’t told him that I’d seen Harker with Amber that day made me feel like a sack of shit.

I’d fucked up in the worst possible way.

Amber also told me about what had happened. How she was taken when she was fifteen by Harker and how their relationship had progressed. The man had manipulated a minor in the worst possible way. She hadn’t gone into detail about the night he had taken her virginity but she did say he lost his temper easily. I felt sick to my stomach when she explained how he had beaten her one night with his belt. And how the buckled end had torn at her flesh. That was the reason for the scars Amber had at the bottom of her back. The thought of him hurting her, or any other woman in that way made me see red and I knew I had to make a hard choice.

Having spoken to both Gabriel and Leonie one night I made my decision. I couldn’t protect Amber or her family from someone like Harker. He wasn’t part of my circle; he was much darker than that.

I decided to find Kai Kinlan. He was theonlyone who could protect her. I had to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse for her safety.

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