Stolen from the Hitman: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance(71)

But he’s softer now.

And I know that, in some small way at least, I am to blame. Even Felix, who is not particularly observant or tactful, noted this to me earlier tonight, about an hour after Max headed out. I was pacing back and forth nervously, my anxious tics in full drive as I twirled my hair, fidgeted with the hem of my shirt, and chewed my nails. Felix looked up at me from his laptop and shook his head.

“You and Max have gotten close so fast, haven’t you?” he said.

I jumped at the sound of his voice, being shaken from my thoughts. “I-I guess so, yeah.”

He scratched at his chin thoughtfully. “I’ve never seen him be so gentle with anyone before, you know. He’s even nicer to me when you’re around.”

I had just shrugged off his words like they weighed nothing, but deep down I know he was right. I can feel it even when Max just looks at me, those vivid green eyes staring right down into the depths of my soul. I know time has changed him, and distance, too. He’s spent some time away from the life and I worry he might be a little rusty. Felix assures me that he’s well-trained enough that the coldness he was accustomed to will never totally thaw.

And that only breaks my heart a little bit.

I know that he needs that coldness to survive, at least for now. If he hesitates to take a guard down, if he’s even a millimeter off his game, it could spell tragedy for him. Disaster. Even death. So I hope I haven’t softened him up enough to weaken him. But now, curled up in the bed we shared not twenty-four hours ago, I make a silent vow to myself: if and when we survive this mess, I will make it my life’s mission to work on softening him, melting the icy cage around his heart. I will bring him back to planet Earth, ground him with my love. I’ll show him that light and happiness can be just as powerful a reservoir of strength as years of battle-tested darkness.

Suddenly, I’m ripped from my reverie as Felix’s cell phone rings. I bound out of bed and rush to his side, staring anxiously at the phone as he slides it open and answers.

“Are you out? Max? What’s going on? It’s been hours —”

His words are cut off and his face goes pale. “What is it? What happened, Felix?” I ask quietly, tugging at his sleeve. He shakes his head, shushing me as he listens to Max for a moment, then hangs up.

“Get your stuff. We gotta go. Something’s happened,” Felix says worriedly.

I immediately feel a wave of nausea hit me. “What? Is he okay?”

“Come on, I’ll tell you on the way,” he replies quickly, urging me to follow him. We race out of the hotel down to the street, where Felix hails us a cab. After giving the driver specific instructions in rapid French, he rolls up the partition and explains to me in a hushed tone, “Max has been injured, but you’ve got to stay calm, okay?”

I’m surprised at how calm Felix is, considering his usual high-strung personality, but that only worries me more. If it’s serious enough that even Felix is acting this way… it must be bad.

“What happened to him, Felix? Tell me,” I demand.

“He… he was shot.”

The world around me goes silent, my head spinning.

“Wh-what?” I murmur weakly, feeling bile rise in my throat.

“Shh, it’s okay. He’ll be alright. He didn’t sound that bad on the phone —”

“It’s not okay!” I cry, tears burning in my eyes. “Why are we driving so slowly? Come on, hurry up! Step on the gas!”

Felix takes my wrists and pushes them back down as I start to beat on the partition, working myself into a frenzy. “He can’t hear you and he’s going as fast as he can, Olivia. Just let the man drive. Listen to me: when we get there, I’m going to take Maggie and you’re going to ride with Max to the hospital.”

“Hospital?” I repeat breathlessly. “Wait — he found Maggie? He got her?”

“Yes, yes. Keep up, Liv, come on. Do you understand what’s going to happen?”

“Oh — uh, sure. I got it. I’ll get Max to the hospital,” I say dutifully, even though I really don’t know how I’m going to manage that. Max’s car is a stick shift and I only vaguely know how to drive a manual vehicle, plus I don’t know the way to a hospital. And then there’s the added panic of the fact that the love of my life is gravely injured.

But I will figure it out. I have to, for Max’s sake.

When we pull up, I jump out of the taxi before it’s even completely stopped. Felix tells the cabbie to wait and runs after me, the two of us bolting around the corner toward Max’s parked car. I race to the driver’s side and throw the door open, kneeling by Max, my heart hammering away in my chest. “You’re hurt,” I mumble, tears blurring my vision. There’s so much blood, and it’s streaming down from his shirt. He was shot in the upper chest.