Page 95 of In The Dark
“Too many. At least five, but I’m sure there are more that have been unreported because of threats.”
“Oh my god.” I bury my face in my hands. “It could’ve been me. Itshould’vebeen me.”
“But it’s not. It’s not ever going to be you, because I’m going to take care of him.”
“You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Hunter says without any hesitation. “Unless you tell me not to.”
I look over at Connor’s body and think of the women he’s terrorized. Howafraidthey must have been, knowing no one was going to come and help them. There was no escape, no heroes.
Only fear.
“He’s not worthy of being saved,” I say. “He deserves whatever happens to him.”
“Okay. Then that’s what I’ll do.” Hunter collects me in his arms and stands, holding me. “We’re going to my place so you don’t have to be alone. I texted Skyler, but she hasn’t replied to me yet. Leo is home. He can sit with you while I—” His grip on me tightens, like he’s afraid I’m going to disappear. “While I handle Connor.”
“Can I take a shower when I get there? To get the feel of him off of me?”
“Anything you want, angel. God, Max.” He rests his forehead against mine, and I see the tears in his eyes. The pale cheeks and fear still written on his face. “I thought I lost you, baby. I thought I lost you, and I wanted to die. I would’ve. Life wouldn’t be worth living if you weren’t in it.”
“I did too. I thought that was it for me. And all I could think about was you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I guess I’m just as obsessed with you as you are with me.”
His laugh is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard, like sun after days of rain. A warm blanket on the coldest night. Light in so much darkness, and it makes me cry again. He doesn’t say anything else when he buckles me in the passenger seat. When he disappears back in the house and carries Connor to the trunk over his shoulder, but I can feel it when he sits next to me. As he takes my hand in his, kissing each knuckle.
A reminder that I’m here. That I’m still fighting.
Love.
Brilliant, blinding love.
THIRTY-THREE
HUNTER
Max can’t stop tremblingin the front seat, and I can’t stop seeing red.
Vicious, murderous red.
I’m trying to stay calm, to be rational while we drive to my house, but I’m seconds away from pulling off the road and slicing up Connor’s fucking neck until he bleeds out in the median.
Then I’d throw him into oncoming traffic so his body splattered across someone’s windshield.
I want to reach over and touch her. I want to take her somewhere far away where she feels safe, where she feels protected, because I’m afraid what I’m doing isn’t enough. She’s jumpy. Shaken up and not saying anything to me, and I could kill myself for not getting to her sooner.
It can’t take more than twenty minutes to get home, but it feels like hours pass. There are long stretches of silence, nothing but the hum of the air conditioning keeping us company. Pulling into the driveway with her unscathed and Connor still breathing in the trunk is my greatest fucking accomplishment, and I drop my head back when I shut off the engine.
“Leo’s inside,” I tell her. “And I’ll keep trying Skyler.”
“Okay.” Max smiles weakly, and my heart rips in fucking two. “Do you mind if I rinse off first?”
“Do you want a shower? Or does a bath sound better?”
“A shower. I-I want to scrub my skin until I feel clean.” She pauses and glances at me from across the car. “Will you shower with me?”
