Page 72 of Crave

“Did you hire Gio to attack me at Red?”

He jerked back in shock. Disgust radiated from his aura as he stared at me. “Are you fucking kidding me? Of course not! Who told you that?”

I kept my gaze focused. “Adam said Gio admitted it in the café this morning. Said you paid him to attack me so you could play hero and get me back.”

He began to pace while curses streamed from his mouth. “I fucking don’t believe this. Either Gio is playing some sick game or Adam is. Landon, you know I’d never hurt you. Can you imagine me doing something like that? For god’s sakes, I dragged my ass all the way up here because I was worried about you! Tell me everything Adam said.”

I repeated the story but my voice had become rusty. Once again, I felt separated from the ground beneath my feet, as if I was looking down at myself having this conversation.

Max had lied.

His response was picture perfect. All the emotion was on point. If I hadn’t been dialed in, I would’ve never caught it, but now that I’d seen his tell, it’d be impossible to live in ignorance or denial again.

A tiny spark of smugness flickered in those blue eyes. Barely noticeable, but a clear indication he’d been waiting for this accusation. He’d imagined his denial, practiced, and cultivated his reaction so I’d believe him. He intended to win over Adam no matter how he did it. I’d seen that same reaction before, usually when he achieved some type of success he’d worked hard for. Max loved the hunt and conquer and wasn’t afraid to show his dominance in life’s game of who was best.

Now, I knew the truth.

His words were rehearsed. Max ranted on, peppering me with questions, in his usual way when he got caught doing something he needed to turn around. In that instant, the image of so many other moments throughout our relationship hit me hard. He’d always been a liar. It was part of who he was. Maybe I knew all along and accepted it because I’d never felt truly worthy of something more. Being with Max was easy. We were perfecton the surface and skimmed through life, reveling in our spot at the top. We understood one another’s ugly parts.

The difference between Max and Adam was Adam embraced and morphed those parts into something better.

Max exploited it with cruelty.

My entire body shuddered as my familiar world closed up, boxing me in. There was only one way out.

“Do you still love me?” I asked.

Hope flickered over his face. He stepped forward with his arms outstretched. “Yes. I will always love you, Landon. Thank God, you see the truth. That you didn’t let Adam twist what you know about me.”

The lump in my throat thickened. Each action and choice had led me right here and nothing would be the same. I wished there’d been time to mourn, but maybe I’d already had too much of it to begin with. Enough that I’d almost lost Adam over preferring denial.

“I don’t believe you.” He stilled, nostrils flaring. Ice edged my tone. “I want you to leave, Max.”

He stared at me in confusion and obvious hurt. “Adam really got to you, huh? He’s trying to control you! Hates the idea we can even be friends, which is ridiculous. You know me better than that. Hell, why don’t I give you Gio’s number? You can text or call him yourself and ask.”

Clever. I was sure that had been rehearsed also, in case of a blow up. It was so clear now, how I was manipulated. But it was my fault, too. I just hadn’t wanted to see the truth.

I took a few steps back, needing the distance. “No need. Adam already told me the real story. You know the worst part? We could’ve actually stayed friends. There was hope we could heal and rebuild the group, but your ego would never allow that. I feel sorry for you, Max. Because until you accept who you really are, you’ll end up with nothing but shallow, sad relationships.”

He stayed in character, even though his jaw tightened and fury darkened his eyes. “Adam is feeding you lies and one day, you’ll see your own truth. He’ll keep you as his little groupie and strip you of everything. Your ambition, your strength, and your identity. You’ll be his puppet, while he fucks other women. Is that what you want?”

I stiffened. Max knew how to hit my sensitive parts. I was scared of many things, but that was the worst. My old self would walk away and seek protection, but I’d changed. Adam had shown me something bigger and I needed to take a risk for the payoff.

“It’s always been Adam.” I raised my chin. “It will always be him, no matter what happens. Now, get your ass off this property and don’t ever contact me again.”

His body shuddered as he clenched his fists. I watched with calm, wondering if he was going to lose his shit, but Max shook his head and drew back his lips in a snarl. “Good luck. Funny how your win is gaining the biggest liar out of all of us. This time, I’m not taking you back when you come running.”

With a nasty glare, he stalked off and disappeared down the path.

I slumped over, shaking hard, and called Adam.

But he didn’t answer.

Chapter Forty-One

Landon

Listen to Look What You Made Me Do

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