Page 52 of The Rebel King

“I’m not sad or conflicted about shooting Jackson Keene. Gregory held a gun to your head. He almost dropped you off a cliff. If, by chance, hedidsurvive four bullets and didn’t drown in that river, God help him if we ever meet again because Iwillkill him, too.”

A balloon of fear swells around my heart, popping, leaking into my belly.

“Pull over,” I say, sudden anxiety making the words breathy.

“What?” He lobs a confused look over at me.

“Pull the fuck over, Maxim.”

With a frown, he eases the car onto the shoulder of the road. His legs are so long, his seat is already back to its limit. I undo my seat belt and maneuver over to the driver’s seat, straddling him. I settle my knees on either side of his thighs, slotting myself between his big body and the steering wheel. Taking his face between my hands, I trace the rise of his cheekbones with my thumbs, catch his stare, and don’t let go.

“I don’t want you to see him. I don’t want him anywhere near you.” My breath gets choppy at the thought of Maxim facing that maniac again. “I just want him to leave us alone. I just want you…” I bury my face in his neck, wrap my arms around him. “Leave him alone, Maxim. If he’s alive and not bothering us, just leave him alone.”

He pulls back and frames my face between big, gentle hands. “Ifhe’s alive, and that’s an unlikely if, there’s always the chance that hewillbother us,” Maxim says, his voice like granite. “And I’ll be damned if anyone will bother you again. I’ll kill him myself if he’s still breathing.”

“Please stop talking like this. I don’t want you killing anyone for me. Most of all, I don’t want you dead.”

“I would kill a thousand times for you.” His voice throbs with truth. “I’d die a thousand times for you if I could. You asked me what I love about my father. I lovethat. He protects those he cares about at any cost, and I’m sorry to break it to you, Nix, but I am just like him in that respect.”

A transfer truck passes so close on the highway, our car trembles. We’re so vulnerable on this remote stretch of road. Panic wraps tight fingers around my throat. I’ve rejected the idea of security, but Maxim’s words about killing and revenge take me back to that jungle, to that river; back to the bullets slicing through the air, through flesh. I was literally in mortal danger, but Gregory Keene could have killed Maxim that day. I push away and glare at him.

“Where’s your security? Why are we out here in the middle of nowhere alone?”

“Babe, we landed in San Francisco. I hardly think this is the middle of nowhere, and we’re fine.”

“We’re fine? What the hell doeswe’re finemean? Those guys should be trailing this car right now. Does Grim know where you are at all times? I mean, what if your tracker fails? Do you sleep in that watch?” I try to remember if he wore it in the shower. “Is the watch waterproof?”

“Okay, you’re kind of spiraling.”

“So when I’m concerned for your safety, it’s spiraling, but when you’re concerned for mine, it’s—”

“Perfectly justifiable. Correct.” He keeps a straight face, but humor brightens the green eyes that have captivated me since day one.

“This isn’t funny,” I whisper. “We have a deal.”

“A deal? What deal do you think we have?”

“I’ll be in love with you if you don’t make foolhardy, life-endangering choices.”

He sifts his fingers into my hair and tugs, tilting my head backto level me with the penetrative graveness of his stare. “There’s no deal, no going back. I’ll probably always be a lot more cautious with your life than I am with my own, but I don’t have a death wish. Living for as long as I can with you is the dream, but please don’t ever think you get to stop loving me or I get to stop loving you. That shit won’t happen.”

I grip his shirt and pull him so close our breath mingles and I feel his heart beating into my chest.

“I don’twantthat shit to happen,” I say, my eyes watering. “But I’ve lost the most important person in my life once before. Don’t ask me to do that again.”

CHAPTER 21

MAXIM

“This place is breathtaking.”

It’s one of the few things Lennix has said since our conversation about Gregory Keene.

“Yeah,” I reply, slamming the car door. “Point Reyes is one of my favorite spots in the world.”

I walk around to the passenger side where she leans against the car, her eyes fixed on the vivid landscape of verdant coast and azure water.

She drags her gaze away to meet mine. “It is?”

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