There was no way Lucas was letting him leave with Max. If Max had lied to Blackwater when she had a knife to her throat, it was doubtful she had any intention of telling Glen where to find the flash drive.
And the second Glen realized that, Max was dead.
Once they passed through the door, though, Lucas had every intention of going for the backup weapon tucked in his pants near the base of his spine. He knew he was fast, knew his aim was more accurate—even on a bad day—than Glen’s, but one second was all Max’s partner needed to press the trigger.
He mentally counted off the distance they travelled. One foot. Three. Five.
Glen’s eyes shifted just a fraction, and Lucas suddenly knew the man wasn’t leaving without putting a bullet in him. Max seemed to realize that too, and wrenched free, lunging for Lucas as Glen brought his gun up.
Her hands slammed into his chest, shoving him off balance. Lucas heard the gunshot then felt the hot spray of Max’s blood on his face as the bullet pierced her neck.
Jesus, no.
She fell against him, her body sliding down his, her fingers raking his back as she dropped. He locked his arms around her, keeping her from hitting the floor.
Her head was back, her eyes locked on his—and her hand locked on the gun at his back.
He pivoted, angling his body away from Glen’s and giving her a clear shot that caught her partner in the stomach.
Knocking into his desk, Glen doubled over.
Using his left arm to keep Max upright, Lucas reached behind him with his right and slipped the gun from Max’s hand. One bullet would have ended it, but Lucas didn’t stop pulling the trigger until he felt Max go slack against him.
“Stay with me, Max.” He gently lowered her to the floor, yanking off his shirt and holding it to the wound on her neck.
So much blood, but not enough, he prayed, to indicate the bullet had severed her carotid artery.
“Here.”
Max’s phone slid across the floor and hit his knee. Nodding in thanks at Ralph Burton, he dialed 9-1-1, rattled off the address and mentioned two police officers and one civilian had been shot before hanging up.
Bone-deep fear that help might arrive too late made it difficult for him to breathe. “Eli?” Lucas couldn’t tear his eyes away from Max’s pale face. “You okay?”
A pained snort. “Maybe you missed the part where that asshole shot me.”
“How bad?”
“I’m not dead.” He managed to get himself into a sitting position. “Toss the phone over here so I can call Tess.”
He did as Eli asked and then felt for Max’s pulse. Panic sliced through him at the thready rhythm. Fuck. He shouldn’t have left her alone here.
It seemed to take forever before Lucas heard sirens, and he clung to the hope that it wasn’t too late for Max. When he heard the EMTs enter the house, he hollered so they knew to come upstairs.
“All gunshot wounds,” Lucas explained to the first two EMTs through the door.” She took a bullet in the neck.” He nodded to Burton and Eli. “Abdomen and upper chest.” He didn’t waste his time pointing out Glen. “The shooter is already dead.”
If the EMTs doubted his assessment of the latter, they didn’t say anything and crouched to assess Max.
Two more EMTs arrived just as Max was ready to be loaded into the ambulance.
“Go with her,” Eli insisted when Lucas glanced back at his friend. “This is just a scratch.”
The EMT working on his friend snorted.
“I’ll find you when I can.” Lucas darted out the door, careful to stay out of the EMTs way when every part of him demanded he hold on to Max to keep her from slipping away from him.
Inside the ambulance she looked so vulnerable and pale. What had she been thinking shoving him out of the way like that?
The monitor tracking her pulse began to beep in warning as her pulse slowed down. Heart frozen in his chest, Lucas watched the beats grow farther and farther apart, until she flat-lined.
No!
The EMT’s movements seemed to slow, as though Lucas watched the entire scene in instant replay. She still wasn’t responding when they reached the hospital. The second she was wheeled inside, hospital staff swirled around her, and he was forced to the side.
A nurse gently touched his arm. “You can wait over there,” she said, motioning to an area that seemed miles away from Max. She tried to move him, but he didn’t budge, unable to look away from the people working on Max.
“You’ll only be in the way. Let them do their job,” the nurse added, sidestepping to prevent him from following her down the hall when they wheeled her away for surgery moments later.
God, he couldn’t lose her.
It was the only thought that repeated in his head, over and over, until he heard it in every breath, felt in every fierce beat of his heart.
Lucas had already checked on Eli—who had also been taken into surgery—twice, talked to Tess about Caleb’s success in retrieving the case, and contacted Max’s family before a doctor finally let him know that she’d pulled through.
So damn grateful, he’d nearly missed the chair when he finally allowed himself to sit. All he wanted was to talk to her, to see for himself that she was fine. Max’s family arrived before anyone was allowed to see her, and though he’d tried to blend into the waiting room background, having no clue what to say to them just yet, a nurse finally mentioned that he’d come in with Max.
Tempted to go wait with Eli, he couldn’t bring himself to go anywhere until he got to see Max, leaving him at her family’s mercy. And coming from a family of cops, there was no shortage of questions for him.
“What the hell happened?”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Were you with her when she was shot?”
And dozens more. He answered what he could, well aware of the fact it wasn’t to their complete satisfaction, but with her family just as eager to see with their own eyes that she was alright, they let it slide.
Judging by more than one speculative look from her family, they were just as curious about his relationship with Max, but he wasn’t having that conversation with any of them until he talked to Max.
And god, he needed to talk to her. Touch her. Kiss her.
Once her parents had been in to see her—and watching them walk down the hall while he was forced to stay put had taken the last of his restraint—Max’s mother motioned for him to go in.
As eager he’d been to see her for the last few hours, he found himself hesitating on the room’s threshold. Even though he knew she was fine, the relief that slid through him at seeing her there, a little more color in her cheeks, left him weak enough he needed to lean in the doorway.
He’d come so close to losing her.
Slipping into the seat next to her bed, he linked their fingers, resting his forehead on their joined hands.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting that way when he felt her fingers move across the back of his hand. When he lifted his head, he found her eyes open, her expression groggy.
“Hey.”
Her lips parted in a weak smile. “Hi.” Her voice was no more than a whisper. “Did I dream my parents were in here earlier?”
“No. They’re outside, along with your brothers.”
She nodded, then winced. “My throat hurts.”
“Getting shot in the neck does that to a person. You know, most couples usually go for matching tattoos over gunshot wounds.”
Instead of smiling at his joke, her brows drew together. “What happened to Glen?”
“He’s dead.”
She glanced at her blanket, her gaze strangely distant. “And Eli and Burton?”
“I haven’t seen your captain since they took him into surgery. Tess spoke with him though. Eli is doing good. Apparently he took one look at his nurse and predicted it would be a long recovery process.”
“I’m glad he’s okay.” Her
eyes drifted shut, and she mumbled something about needing to rest.
Pressing his lips to the back of her hand, he stayed by her side until her mother returned and insisted he grab a shower and something to eat.
Lucas did both in record time and was back by her side in just over an hour, but didn’t catch her awake again until he woke up from spending half the night asleep in the chair next to her.
Although she looked to be feeling better, she didn’t seem as happy to see him as he expected.
“Have you been here all night?”
He nodded, trying to get a read on her and getting nowhere.
“You didn’t need to do that.”
Hell yeah, he did. He would have gone crazy wondering how she was doing if he hadn’t been right there with her. The guarded look on her face, though, warned him she might not want to hear that.
She glanced past him to the door. “Is my family still here?”
“I saw one of your brothers a little while ago. And your mom said she’d be back first thing.”
Max nodded, looking a little relieved to hear it. She fiddled with the blanket for a minute. “He was the one who killed Cara.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “Burton told Tess everything he’d overheard before I got there.”
“Did you find the lip gloss in my pocket?”
“Yeah, Tess has it.” He’d completely forgotten about it until Eli, in between bragging about his hot night-shift nurse, had told Tess about it.
“Good.”
“When did you realize it was Cara’s flash drive?”
“I dropped it on the ground outside Glen’s, but didn’t put it all together until I was inside.”
They lapsed into an awkward silence that suddenly felt way more strained than anything before this, and he couldn’t figure out what he was missing that would explain why she seemed to be looking everywhere in the room but at him.
“Any idea how long they’re going to keep you here?” Lucas asked, hunting for something to fill in the silence.
“Another couple of days at least.” She glanced at the doorway again. “After that I’m going to stay with my parents for a few days, until I get things figured out.”
Why did that sound like some kind of, it’s-not-you, it’s-me brush off? “Things like us?”
She refused to meet his gaze. “I know we’ve been through a lot together, I’m just not sure… I need some time.”
“Time to what exactly?”
Something in his tone—probably the irritation he felt at how quickly their whole conversation seemed to be going in the opposite direction he’d anticipated—seemed to get her back up.
“You and I have been through a lot, under really intense circumstances. I think we both could use some time—”
“We?”
A flare of familiar determination flashed in her eyes. “Fine, I need some time.”
He shook his head, resisting the urge to hold a hand to the stomach that was suddenly killing him. “I thought you were tired of running, Max?”
“I’m not running from anything,” she insisted, just enough edge to her words to really get him worried and move the ache in his stomach up into his chest.
She looked away from him. “It hurts to talk, so I think I just need to rest for a while, okay?”
Awhile turned out to be two days. Two days of her family putting him off, or her pretending to be asleep when he managed to get in to see her. He understood that Glen’s betrayal had blindsided her, that she’d been through a lot and he was more than fine with giving her time to deal with that.
But shoving him out of the picture while she did, wasn’t going to happen no matter what she thought.
“When are you gonna snap out if this slump?”
The sound of her father’s voice brought Max from her trance. She frowned, letting his words sink in before she picked up her coffee mug and carried it to the kitchen sink.
She’d been asking herself the same question since her release from the hospital. Because she still didn’t have an answer, she kept her back to him, wishing he’d drop the subject.
“Maxine Marie Walker, your mother and I did not raise you to tuck your tail between your legs and run. And I’m not talking about the hiding out in Canada.”
“I haven’t run from anything.”
Just shy of six feet and built like an ox, from his big brown eyes and broad shoulders to the steady strength, Fred Walker crossed his arms. “Why the hell are you hiding out here then?”
“I’m not hiding. I’m spending time with my parents. The ones I didn’t see for three months, remember?”
Her father arched a brow, clearly not believing a word she said. Hell, she couldn’t even convince herself that it was her only reason for staying either.
Sinking back into her chair, she drew circles with her finger on the table. “I’m not sure what to do.”
“What’s to decide? The only mistake you made was to believe that son of a bitch was looking out for you. You’re still a good cop.”
She shook her head. “I should have seen it, should have picked up on some vibe.” She’d relied on her instincts for so long and they’d ultimately failed her. How would she be able to trust her gut after such a colossal mistake?
“You weren’t the only one Glen fooled. I’ve been a cop for over thirty years, Maxie, and never suspected him of taking payoffs. Does that mean I should give up, quit being a cop?”
“Of course not.”
He turned her around. “Don’t you let Glen make you lose faith. Don’t let him make you afraid to believe in yourself, afraid to believe in others.”
She knew her dad was right, knew she was giving Glen one more victory over her by constantly questioning herself. Only she didn’t know how to stop it.
“What about Lucas?”
“What about him?” This wasn’t the first time her father had brought up him either. The way her father went on about him made her suspect they had spent entirely too much time together while she was in the hospital.
“Maybe you should give him a call.”
“Playing matchmaker doesn’t suit you, Dad.” By now Lucas had probably gotten tired of waiting for her to figure things out, if he even wanted to hear from her after the way she’d shut him out at the hospital.
She hated that most of all, how Glen had made her question her feelings for Lucas, if she could have truly fallen for him after such a short time.
“I just want to see my little girl happy.”
“I know, Dad. I just need—”
“To get back on your feet.”
Max looked up at him. “Are you kicking me out?”
He dropped a quick kiss on the top of her forehead. “It’s just time to get your life back.”
She knew he was right, knew how determined she’d been to reclaim her life, but the thought of making another costly error in judgment terrified her. She wanted to trust herself, trust her gut, but she wasn’t sure she knew how.
“I’ll let your mother know you won’t be staying for dinner since you’ll want to get back to your apartment and all. And you can thank your sister-in-law later for watering your plants while you were gone.”
It didn’t escape her notice that he’d failed to mention her parents had taken care of her rent while she’d been away.
She stared after her father once he’d walked out of the room. They both knew if she insisted on staying with them, he wouldn’t turn her away, but maybe he was right in giving her a push.
Parked outside her apartment building, Max had finally worked up the nerve to call Lucas, using the number for the Lassiter Group, only to have Tess tell her that he’d taken a leave of absence and she wasn’t sure when he’d be back.
Unsure what she wanted to do with that information just yet, she told Tess she’d call her back later.
Grabbing the few groceries she had stopped to get on the way home, she trudged up to her apartment, no longer feeling as good about her decision to le
ave her parent’s place.
With her arms full, she couldn’t hit the light switch, and nearly set her bags by the door to do a full sweep of her apartment. A habit she’d been struggling to break, even while staying at her parents’ house.
Even with her name cleared and Snake and Edward Blackwater in police custody, it took a little more effort than she expected to walk from the doorway, into her kitchen, in the dark.
Setting her bags on the table, she decided she’d get something to eat and then figure out what to do about Lucas.
Light from the fridge spilled at her feet when she opened the door to put away the carton of eggs and jug of milk. Instead of a bare fridge like she’d expected, it was loaded with food.
Okay…
Something warm bumped up against her ankle, and she stumbled back, barely resisting the instinct to go for her weapon.
A fat orange cat stared up at her. A foot away from him, she noticed a bowl on the floor that read Cujo.
The lamp beside the sofa clicked on. “I promise he doesn’t eat much.”
Her heart went from zero to sixty at the sight of Lucas in her apartment. “Leave of absence, huh?”
“Figured I could use a real holiday.”
Suddenly needing something to do, she picked up the cat curling around her feet. It helped keep her from staring at Lucas, at how good he looked in the plain white T-shirt and jeans. How good he looked in her apartment, period.
“Cats do need oxygen, you know.” He grinned, and she realized Cujo was trying to jump out of her arms.
She set the cat down—and wished she hadn’t the second Lucas walked toward her. She’d barely wrapped her mind around being wrong to push him away and doubting if her feelings were real, and here he was.
Butterflies soared in her stomach, and with every step he took, she knew she’d been out of her mind to think she needed time to figure out anything. All it took was seeing him for the first time in days to know she was hopelessly in love with him.
God, he hadn’t even touched her yet and already every cell in her body was dying for it.
Trust Me: The Lassiter Group, Book 1 Page 24
