Page 26 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

I raised my voice. “Will you two just shut up and let him talk?”

Max took my hand within his as the door to my room ripped open.

“Do I have to start removing people from this room?” the nurse asked.

I looked over at her. “No. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

The nurse looked at me hard. “You know where that button is if you need it. But if I hear your voices again, all of you are gone. Got it?”

I nodded. “We got it. Thank you, Nurse.”

“Uh huh.”

But when she closed the door, the chaos didn’t stop. It simply got quieter.

“You talk to me right now,” Dad hissed.

Max nodded. “It’s a long and involved story. But the gist of it is this: my father is not a good man. He deals with a lot of very bad people. He tried to rope me into something I wanted no part of. And when I told him no, he looked for any kind of leverage he could find against me to change my mind.”

Mom gasped. “Oh, my gosh. Sweetheart.”

Dad glared. “What did he do to my little girl?”

Max swallowed hard. “He bound her to a chair and lured me to his house. I swear to you, Mr. Young, your daughter’s safety was the only thing on my radar. The reason she was under for so long was because she couldn’t move. I continued refusing my father’s advances and he pushed her in. I--”

I squeezed Max’s hand as he blinked back tears.

“What did you do?” Dad growled.

I sighed. “He killed his own father to save me, Dad. That’s what he did.”

Mom paused. “You--killed your father to save Danika?”

Max nodded. “I did, yes.”

I saw how hard it was for Max to look my father in the eye. But he did. And I was so proud of him. I felt like shit, though. I didn’t know how in the world my parents were going to take this. I knew it wouldn't be good. I watched as Max and my father stared at one another for a long time. I saw how uneasy this made him. Both of them, really. And as I squeezed Max’s hand, he drew in a deep breath.

“I’m not a fool either, Peter. I know what you must think of me. You’re not alone in that position. I think of myself the same way, too.”

I whimpered. “Max.”

He looked down at me. “Gorgeous, this never would’ve happened had it not been for me. You know that as well as I do. I might not have put you in this hospital bed, but the things that come with my life did.”

I shook my head. “This doesn't change anything. I care about you. I--I’m not going to let you take all of the blame for this. It’s not entirely your fault. Your father’s to blame here. It lies with him. None of this would’ve happened in the first place if he would’ve just left you alone.”

“You know that’s not how my father works.”

“And that’s somehow your fault? Come on, Max. Your father is a no-good criminal. A terrible father. A psychopath, really, who tried to kill his own son less than twelve hours ago.”

Mom interjected. “Wait, is that why you look so bad?”

Max gritted his teeth. “More or less.”

I reached up and cupped his cheek. I wanted to kiss him, to pull him close. But he wouldn't come to me. He wouldn’t get anywhere near me. I knew my own father was to blame for that reaction. Having my father here was causing Max to back away from me. Especially with the negative emotion he was putting off.

“Daddy, can’t you see? This isn’t his fault. None of this is his fault. His father is a terrible, disgusting man. But you heard Max. Right?”

I looked over at my father to search for some kind of answer in his eyes before I heard people murmuring on the other side of the wall. Something was stirring outside, and Max squeezed my hand harder as he turned to look at the door. Then his head whipped back around to me. And as my father stood up, Max dipped his lips to my ear, lowering his voice.

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