Page 80 of Hellbent
I open my mouth to reply, but his words register a second too late, my response stuttering on my tongue.
Clever. But snarky.
I stiffen. “I’m not avoiding you.”
“No?”
I inhale and shrug, aiming for casual. “Just didn’t want to get another lecture.”
He blinks slowly. When he speaks, his voice is edged with dry disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
And just like that, my softness toward him evaporates.
Great.Here we go.
“Well?” I tilt my head defiantly. “Was it not?”
He drags a hand over his mouth like he’s physically biting back a reaction. “Jesus Christ, Maxwell. You really didn’t hear a fucking word I said, did you?”
“Oh, I heard you just fine. Loud and clear,” I snap. Heat flares in my chest. His condescension is gasoline.
He scoffs. “No, you didn’t. Or you wouldn’t be standing here like a goddamn teenager pissed she got grounded.”
I laugh—a bitter, disbelieving sound. “Wow.”
“It wasn’t a scolding, Maxwell.”
“That’s exactly what it was!”
“Bullshit,” he snaps, his tone sharp enough to make me flinch. I’ve never heard him this raw. “It was a reality check. Me trying to get you to fucking think before you act.”
Every. Time. We can’t have a single conversation without it blowing up. I should back down, diffuse this situation, and head back to the garage. That would be smart.
But I can’t. God help me, I can’t stop myself.
“How I act isn’t any of your business!” I fire back, too loud, too harsh—and he slams his hand against the truck. The metallic boom reverberates between us.
“Like fuck it isn’t!” He jabs a finger toward me, sharp and accusatory. “You fucked Damian in the garage, Maxwell.”
I jerk back like I’ve been slapped. “I know what I did.”
“Yeah. And you just don’t fucking care.”
“We’re adults! We consented. But you and Wyatt go around acting like you’re the only adults here. Like the two dads. You talk about community, but then try to police the rest of us like we’re kids.”
“It’s not about policing,” he growls. “It’s a business—Wyatt’sbusiness. This is about respect. About not acting like fucking children. About being treated like adults when you actually act like them.”
“Right. And dragging me up to your house like I’m being called into the fucking principal’s office is the grown-up way to handle it?”
“It was clearly a conversation that needed to happen.”
I shake my head. “No, it was a performance. You playing judge and executioner, showing me exactly who holds the power. Don’t pretend that was just about the business. That was aboutyou.”
His eyes narrow, voice dropping low. “You think I’m the only one who had a problem with it? How do you think it made Wyatt feel, walking in on you getting fucked on his shop floor?”
The words hit like a gut punch. Thinking about how it made Wyatt feel is at the very top of mydo not engagelist.
The truth is, that’s what embarrasses me most—that he saw me like that.
