Page 61 of Make Me Whole

Anger and frustration twisted his handsome face. I knew neither was directed at me, but it still made me uncomfortable. I deeply feared uncontrolled, angry men.

“You shouldn’t have done that! Assaulting him like that . . . it was stupid.”

Max’s brows pull together. “What? I didn’t assault him. I defended you.”

“I know, but he’s crazy, and you put yourself and Aiden on his radar. He’s gonna hurt you now.”

“Let him try,” he deadpanned and reached for my hand. “The only way he can hurt me is by hurting the ones I love—Aiden, you, and Ella. That’s exactly why I had to draw a line.”

The ones I love.The words echoed in my heart. Not even caring whether anyone was watching or not, I interlaced my index finger with his.

“I’m still afraid of what he could do to you. Or to Aiden. Imagine if he takes Aiden the next time? He has no use for him. He’ll hurt him.”

“He’s sadistic and an asshole, Sky, but he’s not stupid. No matter what his job is, if he hurts my son, there won’t be a single judge in the world who will protect him or a place where he’ll be safe from me. He only threatened me to get you back.”

“I’ll never go back to him.”

Max smiled at me. I could see that he wanted to kiss me, and I wanted to kiss him too. “Good. Because it would break my heart.”

He brought our joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of mine, giving me major Halloween flashbacks. “But let's wait and see what Eli’s next move is going to be. If he tries something else, I’ll think of how to keep all of you safe, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Then let’s go talk to the kids. They must be scared.”

Max and I held hands as we walked to the front door. That small, innocent touch made me feel safe and like we were a real team who cared for and looked after one another. And in a way, we were.

"Thank you," I told him as we stood outside the front door.

Max smiled and peeked inside the house through the front door window. Satisfied that no one was watching, he leaned forward and gave me a quick peck on the lips.

It was the most innocent kiss we had ever shared. Still, it was the most intimate and my absolute favorite.

25

MAX

The days that followed were tense. As much as I tried to reassure Sky that I would always keep her safe, it was clear she didn’t feel safe. Not anymore.

She kept Ella back from school from Monday to Wednesday and only sent her on Thursday because the school threatened to call the authorities on her unless she produced a doctor’s note that justified her absence. I almost called that idiot principal to yell at her some more for adding even more grief to Sky.

Worried that Eli would play a repeat on the kidnapping, she spent the whole day on Thursday sitting outside the school, waiting. I didn’t protest even though I hated the idea because I thought it would relax her, but it didn’t. In fact, she arrived home tenser than she was before leaving.

The same happened on Friday. This time, I got pissed as well as worried—not at her, of course—but at the fact that she was so anxious all the time.

With Al always at the house, it was damn near impossible to find time alone with Sky. I tried to talk to her in whichever ways I could, but her replies were short and evasive. As for comforting her, the thing I wanted to do the most, it was downright impossible.

It had been three weeks since Halloween, three weeks since we last had sex, and the distance was getting to me. It wasn’t the loss of orgasms I missed—though I really missed them—but the loss of taking care of her and feeling her trauma and self-loathing melt away beneath my fingers.

Moved by built-up frustration, I wasreallylooking forward to our “family” breakfast on Saturday. Hopefully, after the kids had their bellies full, she and I could find some alone time together. But of course, nothing was that simple.

When I arrived at the house on Saturday morning with the warm croissants Sky liked so much, Al’s laugh was the first thing I heard. I groaned louder than intended, which earned me a stink eye from my son.

“You okay, Dad?”

I smiled at Aiden and nodded. “Peachy.”

He frowned like Mel Gibson. But because he was ten and excited to have the big family meals he’d always dreamed about, he quickly shrugged and ran to join the others in the kitchen. I sighed at another frustrated morning and followed him.

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