Page 88 of All My Firsts

I stopped my advance as Max made his way closer to me. Karl remained close to the black sedan, covered by the darkness of the night, refusing to look at me. I’d hoped he would be a confidante of mine still, but it looked as though Max won him over.

I frantically looked around the lot, hoping to see a sign of Bryce or someone else here with us. But there was nothing. The frigid temperatures kept students in at this time of night as well, so we were completely alone and isolated.

My attention went back to the man from my horrific past. I never thought I would have to see Max again, yet here he was. And I was going to him, willingly.

“Lanie,” he said my name with a sneer, his voice making the bile rise into my mouth. Him saying my name like that usually meant one thing back at home.

Come give me what I want,what I need.

And it usually involved pain.

My physical reaction to seeing him, hearing him, was visceral; my body shook, uncontrollably, and I had trouble staying upright. My instincts yelled at me to run in the opposite direction.

But I needed toforge ahead.

I was almost within reach of Max, his outstretched hand getting closer, my brain expecting the pain of it on my wrist already.

“Lanie, stop! Please don’t go with him!”

I froze at Xander’s voice, my heart melting and hurting. At the same time, Max looked over my shoulder at the approaching force.

“What do we have here? Looks like someone has decided to bend the rules and come out for some play time.” Max wasn’t making any sense as he continued his advance toward me.

I was between the two, closer to Max than Xander, not sure which way to turn at that point. As Max continued toward me, I noticed him waving his hand in the air, a signal to Karl,I believed.

“Xander, go back inside. It’s better this way, please. You don’t know what you’re dealing with when it comes to Max,” I begged him. He looked at me with pleading eyes as I spoke, apparently trying to tell me something, but the message wasn’t clear.

“Listen to Lanie, Alexander. She knows what she’s talking about. She knows all too well what happens when someone doesn’t listen to me. And she’s about to findout again.”

As soon as he said that, he lunged for me, wrapping his arms around my waist and dragging me toward their waiting car. Karl popped up, and Max handed me off as he turned his attention toward Xander.

That was when I saw the gun he had in his hand, at the sideof his body.

“No, Max, no! I listened to you, Max! I’m here! Leave him alone and take me!” I was screaming, kicking at Karl as he dragged me toward the imposing vehicle with blacked-out windows. It was then I realized there was another person in that car, a driver waiting to take me away.

“Karl, what are you doing? Don’t do this! Let me go, please!” I begged Karl as he dragged me toward the car.

I clawed at him, digging my heels into the ground as much as I could. I got a hold of the handle of a parked car, but my grip wasn’t strong enough, my nails breaking off as he pulled me away. His hands slipped for a moment as I flailed, and I almost got away, but I crashed against the door of the car, my head cracking into the sideview mirror.

“Fuck, Lanie,” he whispered in my ear as he pulled me tighter to his body. “Please stop fighting me. Are you OK?” He pulled me closer to him, his voice pleading with me. “I’m trying to make sure nothing happens to you, but you have to stop fighting me. And now you’re fucking bleeding.” He reached up to my forehead, where I felt a big knot forming. I froze and looked over at Karl, his serious eyes connecting with mine. “Listen to me: I can’t get you and your boyfriend out of here. You’re my priority. I have to think about you, only you.” His solemn face told a story of pain; he didn’t want to be here, with Max, any more than I did. He was stuck in this mess just as much as I was. We looked toward Max and Xander, who were still yelling, the gun still pointed at Xander.

“I have to get back to him, Karl. Max is going to kill him!” I struggled against his hold, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Lanie, you’re not understanding me. You can’t go near Max. I have to get you out of here.” He tried to move me toward the black car again, but I couldn’t leave, not without Xander.

“Karl, the FBI is coming. They can help you. Let me go and they’ll help you!” I knew I could get Bryce to help Karl, and I could stay here until they got on site. I would tell them about the time he helped me in Texas as well. But Karl only shook his head.

“Lanie, you don’t get it. I have no way out of this.” He was a handsome guy – brown hair, shaven on the sides and a bit longer on the top. His dark eyes looked darker in the dim light of the lot. But he looked older than his years, the work he did aging him faster, I was sure. “My priority right now is to get you out of here, even if it kills me. I don’t care anymore. He can’t do this to you. I won’t let him.” He started looking around, a bit of panic on his face. “But it’s not good that the feds are coming. That’s going to mess things up. Myplan ...”

The next moments must have happened quickly, but they felt likeslow motion.

“What the fuck did you say, Karl?” The voice of a monster was over us, looming over us as we crouched next to the car. “What did you fucking say to her, you motherfucker? Did you double crossme? After all these years? Forher?”

Max raised his gun as Karl slid along the pavement, pulling me with him. The small space between the cars made it hard for the both of us to advance quick enough. Karl tried to put his body in front of mine as a barrier, as the barrel was pointed right at us. Max’s finger was moving; the trigger was being pulled. I turned my head to protect my face, knowing the worstwas coming.

Max was aiming for me, I knew it.

That was when arms came from behind him, wrapping around in the perfect football tackle. Max wasn’t expecting it as his body jerked forward, his torso wrapped tight by Xander’s arms, both of them falling forward.

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