Page 114 of The Ruthless and the Strong

I didn’t reply. I moved back to the house, but before I could take a step up the porch, the front door opened and Max stood there, looking past me and directly at the two men still standing by their car doors, before they climbed back in and drove off into the night.

I was close enough to him that I saw the fury lightening his eyes, though he didn’t say anything.

He held out his hand to me and I grabbed hold of it without hesitation, letting him pull me into the house. I hadn’t realized my hands were shaking, and I didn’t know why.

“What were you doing talking to them?” Max asked. I gauged his expression. It was unreadable, and though I did catch a hint of anger in his eyes moments before, it was gone now, and in its place were expressionless cold blue eyes that I didn’t like very much.

“They said to tell you hi,” I said.

“Did they?”

I nodded. “Yeah. They said their names were Officers Hernandez and Kyle. Is everything okay, Max?”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his grip tightening around my hand a bit, before he said, “Come with me to the living room?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

He didn’t let go of my hand. But he felt tense, and I didn’t know why that was. I was starting to get worried. We sat side by side on the couch, Max letting go of my hand. He also left some room between us. I eyed the space before moving my eyes back to him.

“I noticed them following me around three days ago,” he began.

My eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?” He nodded. “Why?”

“They’re doing an investigation of Lorenzo’s death.”

“Investigation? What investigation? He killed himself.”

Max nodded. “The official report was filed two weeks ago. The case is closed.”

“How do you know that?”

“Never mind that. It’s not important. But those two men, they don’t think Lorenzo killed himself. They closed the case because they were receiving pressure from their superiors, but they are doing a little investigation on their time off.”

“I don’t get it. Why are they looking at you?”

He raised an eyebrow at this and my eyes widened in surprise. “They think you have something to do with his death?” I let out a small laugh in disbelief. “That’s ridiculous.”

My laughter died down when Max didn’t join me. He was still looking at me with that expressionless look in his eyes and I didn’t like it.

“Max? Say something.”

“Remember how I told you about Terrance Hughes?”

I nodded slowly, my heart beating quickly in my chest. “Yeah?”

“Remember how I said there were rumors about him being murdered instead?”

I took in a deep breath, and when I let out, it came out shaky. “Yeah,” I said, my voice quiet.

“What if I told you they’re not rumors, but the truth?”

I shook my head and stood up, pacing up and down the living room. Max watched me, not saying anything. “I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me.”

“Don’t you? You’re a smart woman, Lizzie. You don’t need me to spell it out for you.”

“W-what?”

“Three weeks before you moved back home, I went on a little trip to Wyoming.”

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