Raging Heart On_ Friends to Lovers Romance(116)

“Hand me that roll of gauze,” he says startling me out of the semi-trance I was in, watching his hands.

I open the lid and quickly grasp it, handing it to him.

“And a few of those cream packets, the antibiotic ones.”

Once he treats the worst of the blisters, he rolls the gauze over my feet, securing it with the tape from the box. Then he goes back on his heels and looks at me.

“We can’t go anywhere today, there’s no way you’d last trying to walk on those feet.”

“Is that safe?” I ask, knowing not only that the law is on our heels, but also the other escapees. I don’t want to think about what might happen if they accidentally find us.

“We don’t have much of a choice. We’ll let you rest up today and head out early in the morning.”

“You could take me into town and leave me, Max. You should leave me. You need to keep on the move; it’s not safe.”

“Since you work for a lawyer and all, shouldn’t you be urging me to turn myself back in?”

“Would you listen to me if I did?” I counter.

“Not hardly.”

“That’s why I said you should keep running. Besides, it’d be better if you go to a police station and turn yourself in. Out here…”

“You think they might shoot first and ask later?” He says dryly with a cold smile on his face that in no way reaches those beautiful dark eyes.

“Probably…” I answer truthfully, and the very thought of it causes my blood to run cold. I can’t let that happen. I need to make it my mission to make sure Max gets back in jail safely and still be eligible for parole. I have no idea how I’m going to make that happen; I just know I need to.

“Last night you didn’t want me to leave you,” he says, getting up to return the things back where they belong. He sounds angry. He pours the water into a big barrel in the corner. It’s on my mind to ask what happens when that gets full, but since I won’t be around when it does, I guess it doesn’t matter.

“I don’t know what I want when I’m around you,” I answer with complete honesty. “I’m torn between wanting to go back to my quiet apartment or run off to Maine with you.”

“Maine?” he asks with a sardonic smile on his face.

“No one ever wants to go to Maine. Seemed like a good place. When people go on the run in the movies, they always head for the border. I always thought a quiet state to hide in would be better.”

He shakes his head and doesn’t say anything else. It almost feels like we’re friends, and then he does something I’d almost like to slap him for. He puts the handcuffs back on me. I don’t argue, instead I find myself staring at the light in the lantern he must have lit before I woke up.

Therapy. I definitely need therapy.





10

Max



It shouldn’t bother me that Tess seems so disappointed when I handcuff her back to the bed. It does, and that’s all kinds of bad. I have a soft spot for this little, brunette spitfire, and I need to tap that shit all the fuck of the way out. I am even staying here for another night just so her feet can heal a little more. That in itself is pure idiocy. I should do like she suggested and drop her. Not here though, if the Hernandez twins managed to escape and find her, Tess would never survive—or if she did, she would wish she hadn’t. I could take her to the local town as she said though. I have to go there anyway to get a car off of Zeke. I ignore that train of thought, however, because the simple truth is I don’t want to separate from Tess just yet. I may die today and if I do, these moments with her have been the bright spot in my sorry life.

In the back of my mind, I curse the fact that I couldn’t have met her before Renee, before the child, before I made the decisions that brought me to the place I am now. What would have happened then? My dick jerks against the zipper of my jeans, because I know what would have happened. I would have owned her body and made damned sure she never even thought to look elsewhere for a man.

“Rest, Kitten. I need to go back up top and see if I can see signs of any company.”

She doesn’t answer, and it pisses me off that she’s making me feel guilty. She’s my prisoner damn it. Mine to do with what I want, and in any way I want. Excitement courses through my system at that thought.

__________

I ended up spending the entire day up top. I needed to clear my head. I was right; the woman is under my skin. I am starting to think I’ll never get free, like she will always be there, and today, I found I missed her. I wish I had never touched her. Maybe if I hadn’t touched her or tasted her…maybe then she wouldn’t weigh so heavily on my brain. Tomorrow, I will let her go, I decide again. I’m giving myself whiplash with the way I keep changing my own damn mind. The woman has me going in circles, and I’m starting to get dizzy. I have to let her go. It’s best for both of us. Decision made; I head back to the bunker and check on her.