Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

Landon

Listen to Greedy

by Tate McRae

I stared at the phone in shock. Max approached me slowly, as if trying not to startle a scared deer. I looked at him through a veil of fog because even though my mind kept telling me it would all be okay, my heart knew it would not.

I think I’d lost Adam.

The breath that he’d ordered me to take wheezed from my lungs. Nerves raw, I leaned forward and started to hyperventilate.

“Landon, what’s wrong? Holy crap, are you having a panic attack?” Max asked sharply.

His voice came from far away. What had happened? I thought we were agreeing that each of us experienced drama but we didn’t have a choice. Our careers were forcing us to deal with situations we rather not. But we trusted each other and would move forward. Right? Hadn’t that been the conversation?

“Landon, I’m going to count and you’re going to focus on your breath, okay? I got you.”

His grip tightened as he held on to me, but nothing mattered except figuring out how everything had gone wrong.

Max . Adam had said Max paid a guy to attack me in Red. Adam wanted me to believe him. Was that all? He’d hung up and left me with a gut instinct I’d done something horrible; something that had changed us. Imagining Max committing such a betrayal was against everything inside of me. To even accept such a fact would put me on a road I didn’t want to travel. A road where the man I’d once loved was really a monster.

Adam had needed me to say I believed him. Why? Why was he pushing this so hard? I’d imagined it was because he needed to win over Max and prove I loved him more. But now, I wondered if Adam had seen my refusal to accept his truth as a betrayal.

My vision cleared. I heard Max’s soothing words in my ear. His arms held me in support. A terrible instinct washed over me. Slowly, I straightened, my lungs finally allowing me to receive precious air.

Max stepped back but kept his hand on my arm. “Do you feel better? You scared the hell out of me. You never had attacks before.”

“I’m okay. My conversation with Adam was intense.”

His eyes dimmed but he slowly nodded. “I can imagine. It looked intense. He’s pissed I’m here, right?”

I eased away from his touch and gained precious distance. “Of course. You shouldn’t have come, Max.”

Pain reflected on his face. I stared at him, trying to sync up with the idea he’d sunk to new depths in order to gain what he wanted.

Me.

I always knew Max was selfish. It was a part of him I understood as I owned my role as the pampered princess—the Queen bitch. I’d been playing it most of my life, and no one had ever dared to try and tame me until Adam. With Max, I was able to flourish, but eventually, such selfishness would have strangled me alive. I owed myself better. I owed myself the truth.

And suddenly, I was beginning to see things crystalize before me, whether I liked it or not.

Adam’s voice echoed in my head. I glanced through his texts and studied the picture Adam snapped. Gio. He didn’t look familiar. I hated what I was about to do. Accusing Max broke my heart. But I’d be more broken if I lost Adam and didn’t listen to his warning.

“Max, do you know this guy?” I asked casually, holding up my phone.

A tiny frown creased his brow. He squinted at the picture for a few seconds, then nodded. “Sure, that’s Gio. You met him once at one of the clubs.”

“I don’t remember.” I paused, waiting, but he remained silent. “He a good friend of yours?”

Max shrugged. “Nah, it’s casual. We don’t hang out one on one. Why? He dating one of your friends or something?”

I knew the next few seconds were crucial. Max had taught me a few things about himself over the year. It was possible to scent a lie, but I needed to open up and separate myself from the outcome I wanted. I needed a calm, clear mind. So, I took a deep breath, slowly let it out. And asked the question.

“Did you hire Gio to attack me at Red?”

He jerked back in shock. Disgust radiated from his aura as he stared at me. “Are you fucking kidding me? Of course not! Who told you that?”

I kept my gaze focused. “Adam said Gio admitted it in the café this morning. Said you paid him to attack me so you could play hero and get me back.”

He began to pace while curses streamed from his mouth. “I fucking don’t believe this. Either Gio is playing some sick game or Adam is. Landon, you know I’d never hurt you. Can you imagine me doing something like that? For god’s sakes, I dragged my ass all the way up here because I was worried about you! Tell me everything Adam said.”

I repeated the story but my voice had become rusty. Once again, I felt separated from the ground beneath my feet, as if I was looking down at myself having this conversation.

Max had lied.

His response was picture perfect. All the emotion was on point. If I hadn’t been dialed in, I would’ve never caught it, but now that I’d seen his tell, it’d be impossible to live in ignorance or denial again.

A tiny spark of smugness flickered in those blue eyes. Barely noticeable, but a clear indication he’d been waiting for this accusation. He’d imagined his denial, practiced, and cultivated his reaction so I’d believe him. He intended to win over Adam no matter how he did it. I’d seen that same reaction before, usually when he achieved some type of success he’d worked hard for. Max loved the hunt and conquer and wasn’t afraid to show his dominance in life’s game of who was best.

Now, I knew the truth.

His words were rehearsed. Max ranted on, peppering me with questions, in his usual way when he got caught doing something he needed to turn around. In that instant, the image of so many other moments throughout our relationship hit me hard. He’d always been a liar. It was part of who he was. Maybe I knew all along and accepted it because I’d never felt truly worthy of something more. Being with Max was easy. We were perfect on the surface and skimmed through life, reveling in our spot at the top. We understood one another’s ugly parts.

The difference between Max and Adam was Adam embraced and morphed those parts into something better.

Max exploited it with cruelty.

My entire body shuddered as my familiar world closed up, boxing me in. There was only one way out.

“Do you still love me?” I asked.

Hope flickered over his face. He stepped forward with his arms outstretched. “Yes. I will always love you, Landon. Thank God, you see the truth. That you didn’t let Adam twist what you know about me.”

The lump in my throat thickened. Each action and choice had led me right here and nothing would be the same. I wished there’d been time to mourn, but maybe I’d already had too much of it to begin with. Enough that I’d almost lost Adam over preferring denial.

“I don’t believe you.” He stilled, nostrils flaring. Ice edged my tone. “I want you to leave, Max.”

He stared at me in confusion and obvious hurt. “Adam really got to you, huh? He’s trying to control you! Hates the idea we can even be friends, which is ridiculous. You know me better than that. Hell, why don’t I give you Gio’s number? You can text or call him yourself and ask.”

Clever. I was sure that had been rehearsed also, in case of a blow up. It was so clear now, how I was manipulated. But it was my fault, too. I just hadn’t wanted to see the truth.

I took a few steps back, needing the distance. “No need. Adam already told me the real story. You know the worst part? We could’ve actually stayed friends. There was hope we could heal and rebuild the group, but your ego would never allow that. I feel sorry for you, Max. Because until you accept who you really are, you’ll end up with nothing but shallow, sad relationships.”

He stayed in character, even though his jaw tightened and fury darkened his eyes. “Adam is feeding you lies and one day, you’ll see your own truth. He’ll keep you as his little groupie and strip you of everything. Your ambition, your strength, and your identity. You’ll be his puppet, while he fucks other women. Is that what you want?”

I stiffened. Max knew how to hit my sensitive parts. I was scared of many things, but that was the worst. My old self would walk away and seek protection, but I’d changed. Adam had shown me something bigger and I needed to take a risk for the payoff.

“It’s always been Adam.” I raised my chin. “It will always be him, no matter what happens. Now, get your ass off this property and don’t ever contact me again.”

His body shuddered as he clenched his fists. I watched with calm, wondering if he was going to lose his shit, but Max shook his head and drew back his lips in a snarl. “Good luck. Funny how your win is gaining the biggest liar out of all of us. This time, I’m not taking you back when you come running.”

With a nasty glare, he stalked off and disappeared down the path.

I slumped over, shaking hard, and called Adam.

But he didn’t answer.