Page 79 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

Because if a woman like her wanted to die at my side, it made my job harder trying to save her life.

26

Dani

Every time my heart skipped a beat, I had to take in a shaky breath. But my heart wasn’t skipping because of Max. I mean, my legs were shaking because of him. My hands were trembling because of him. The weakness I felt in my gut was because of him. Not my heart skipping beats, though.

Those were nerves.

“Breathe with me,” he murmured.

I nodded softly. “Okay.”

I felt his chest expanding against my own, so I drew in a breath through my nose. I let it in slowly, focusing on my chest meeting his in the middle. I felt our hearts intertwine. I felt his hand venture to the dip on my waist. And as he clamped his thighs down against my leg, he whispered, “Now, out.”

I heard him counting mindlessly and I followed every order. I breathed in when he did, and out on the counts he created for me. I felt my heart settle back into place, but only for a moment. Because the second I stopped the breathing techniques, it would happen again.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you, gorgeous.”

I sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t--”

He wrapped his arm around my back. “You’re nervous, Dani. It’s normal to be nervous in circumstances like this.”

Yeah. No shit.

I wondered if Max felt the same way I did. I mean, I didn't feel his heart skipping beats. But that didn’t mean he was all right. I pulled my face out from the crook of his neck and found his eyes. He winked at me, and it tickled my cheeks. Only for a second, though. I let my fingertips dance over his body. They gravitated up his torso and along his shoulder until I felt them touch down against his cheek. He felt safe. He felt like home. And the idea of having that ripped from me gave me more anxiety than I knew what to do with.

“On the count of three. Ready?” he asked.

I nodded. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“In through your nose. One, two, three. Out, two, three. In, two, three. And out, two three.”

A sound at the head of the bed startled me and I jumped. I pushed away from Max and leapt up, standing with my feet planted into the mattress. My knees were bent. My hands were up. I had my fists balled up as I started clocking all of the weapons I could see.

The lamp on the table to my right. The knife in the pocket of my jeans on the floor. The--

“Dani,” Max said curtly.

I swallowed hard. “Are they here? Is this it?”

I felt his hand against my shin. “Dani, get down here. Everything’s okay.”

“What was that sound? It was very loud. Is there someone in the room next to us?”

“Remember the plan, Dani. Your fear is clouding your mind. Push through the fog and remember.”

In, two, three. Out, two, three. In, two, three. Out, two, three.

I felt my fists relaxing as I slowly sank back to the bed. Max wrapped me up in his embrace as he sat up, his back falling against the headboard. He pulled me into his lap and pressed my head against his shoulder. And as the adrenaline coursing through my veins slowly ebbed into nothingness, I closed my eyes.

“The guys,” I murmured.

He kissed my forehead. “Exactly. The guys. Don’t be startled about sounds on either side of us. You know who’s there.”

I breathed out hard one last time before I opened my eyes. Good. The guys were here. That meant we weren’t alone. I felt my nerves abating a bit, but not much. I mean, just because some of the guys were holed up in the rooms beside us didn’t mean Benji wouldn’t come with

backup. And lots of it. For all we knew, he’d roll up with an army and we’d only be six or seven strong.

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