Chapter 10 - Brooke

Even though I was locked in, I weakly dragged a chair to the door and wedged it up against it as best I could in my weakened state. Seeing Max’s speedy reply gave me just enough energy and hope to be able to do that, but then I collapsed against the side of the bed, trying to stay awake and focusing all my energy on the door and my phone.

Max had assured me he was on his way, and I clung to that, but how could he possibly know where I was when I didn’t know. I was so scared I considered calling the police while the seconds dragged by like weeks.

But what could I possibly tell them? I’d eagerly accepted the date with Luca, and he was so famous and well-loved by all of America, hell, the world, that who would believe a nobody like me over him? The bottle of water he’d given me was probably gone without a trace, but I could barely stand or speak without slurring. All Luca had to do if the cops arrived was tell them I was out of my mind on drugs, and they’d believe him because he’d be right.

Now that the adrenaline was wearing thin and I wasn’t moving around, I started to lapse back into unconsciousness. It was a welcome relief from the abject terror over what Luca had in store for me, and there was no fighting the strength of whatever I’d been dosed with.

I jolted awake from my half-conscious state by shouting, and I scrambled to my feet. There was a commotion somewhere in the apartment, and I scrambled to the door, tossing aside the chair I pushed up against it. The door was still locked, so I couldn’t find out what was going on, but after holding my breath and pressing my ear to the door, I recognized Max’s voice as that of one of the shouters.

Oh my God, he really found me. Filled with relief, and astounded that he’d managed to put my scattered description of the place together to find me so fast, I pounded on the door from my side.

“Max, I’m in here,” I yelled, stopping to cough and brace myself against the wall. Just that small bit of exertion had me dizzy again.

Feet thundered down the hall, and I staggered back. A second later, the door was flung open, and Max stood there, breathing hard like a bull about to charge. His eyes softened when he saw me, but his big body remained on high alert. Luca appeared behind him, holding a towel to his bloody lip and looking almost as furious as Max.

In fact, both of them looked so unhinged I cursed myself for not calling Jenna. Causing a scene while we were guests in her sister’s house didn’t seem such a big deal now that I was trapped in this apartment with two crazy, angry men.

I always worked so hard to be unproblematic, always the reliable one who didn’t make foolish choices. Embarrassment at having to admit to my best friend that I screwed up big time was now threatening my safety, maybe even my life.

Luca tried to pull Max away as he advanced toward me into the room, but Max spun around and punched him.

“I’ll break your million-dollar nose if you don’t get the fuck back,” Max snarled. “I swear I’ll kill you, and to hell with the consequences of having to hide your famous ass.”

Because of the look in Max’s eyes, as dark as a cave at midnight, Luca took a step back, but there was hatred simmering in his own eyes.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he taunted. What a damn idiot. Didn’t he see what I saw in Max’s face? They were both batshit deranged, but I knew who I’d bet on in a fight. “Brooke is mine,” he continued. “I’ll be damned if I give her up to you, Fokin.”

I fully hated Luca Ross, down to the marrow of my bones. For the life of me I couldn’t see why I ever thought he was handsome. He was hideous now that his mask was off.

With Max between us, I found the courage to hiss at him. “I’m not yours. I’ll never be yours.”

“That’s right,” Max said, moving a step closer to me but never taking his eyes off the snake. “Brooke is my fiancée, and that means family. You should know how the Fokins take care of people who mess with our family.”

I was too stunned to make another peep, but Luca called bullshit with a laugh.

Max reached for my hand, squeezing hard enough to grind the bones. I was so pissed off I almost disputed it, but then it got through my muddled head that this was a ploy to get out of here.

“That’s right,” I agreed, maybe a beat too late.

“Like hell,” Luca said. “When’s the big day, then?”

“Tomorrow,” Max answered instantly. “We’re eloping tomorrow.”

At that point, I thought I wasn’t understanding correctly because of the drug, but things got even more outlandish when Luca refused to believe it.

“You’re much too vain to elope,” he jeered. “You love being the center of attention and having the best of everything. There’s no way you’re not having a huge society wedding in Dubai or some shit.” He looked pretty pleased with himself, asking why he wasn’t invited. “Since I’m one of your oldest friends and all.”

“We were never friends,” Max snapped. He squeezed my hand tighter, and got stone quiet for a long moment, glaring at Luca. Then he finally spoke again, in a low rumble that had my knees quaking. “I’d be happy to have you stand up as a witness for us, though.”

It was then that my eyes dropped to notice Luca had a gun tucked into his waistband. My eyes shot to Max, and saw a suspicious lump under the side of his jacket. Holy crap, I’d been worried about punches flying, not bullets. Was Max putting up this ridiculous story to get us out of here without firing any shots? That made some kind of sense, because surely, he was as averse to the police as I was. Hell, he was a mafia kingpin, he’d probably do anything to keep the cops from showing up.

Even say we were engaged to get married? And the wedding was tomorrow? What the hell?

If only my head would stop swimming, or I’d wake up from this nightmare. This was no longer fun, or any kind of fantasy. I hated everything about the glamorous life of these insane rich people. I was going to book myself home on the first budget flight tomorrow, no matter how much Jenna begged me to stay.

If I got out of there alive, which was still up in the air.

All I could do was keep agreeing with Max, eyes never leaving Luca’s gun as he slowly seemed to accept we were telling the truth about eloping the next day. What an idiot.

Eventually, he begrudgingly let us leave without any more violence, warily following us to the door to see us out. Really, I didn’t believe any of it was actually happening myself, and I was there.

“What a dummy,” I said, frowning at the thick sound of my voice and the way my tongue felt too big for my mouth.

Max herded me into the elevator, keeping a hand on my arm to prevent me from melting into the floor. “No, he’s smarter than he looks,” he muttered.

The downward swoop of the elevator had me groaning, and Max pulled me close to his side, his arm firm around my waist. I closed my eyes and relaxed against his solid warmth for just a second. He’d found me, and I was out of Luca’s clutches, but I had to remind myself that I wasn’t home free yet.

Before I knew it, Max was bundling me into his car, and we were headed back to Katie’s. Or so I thought. When I opened my eyes as the car stopped, I blinked in the dim lights coming from a completely different mansion. Way too many palm trees, more steps leading up to the sweeping front entrance, and too many pillars.

Max led me inside the place, completely dwarfing and somehow outshining the grand luxury of his older brother’s massive home. Lights automatically switched on as we entered the front hall, illuminating so much opulence I almost had to shield my bleary eyes. It seemed that what Luca had said about Max liking the finer things in life was true.

“Is this your house?” I asked, too exhausted to wind myself up into a fresh ball of fear. “Or did we somehow get to Versailles?”

He smiled at me, chuckling as he answered. “Yes, it’s one of my houses. Too much for your taste? It’s about time to be redecorated.”

“Oh, no, it’s perfect.” What was I saying? And why was I wandering over to one of the carved gilt picture frames to inspect the painting in it? Oh, right, I was still hammered. “Did you bring me here to sleep off whatever that asshole gave me?”

Another deep chuckle as he took my arm when I swayed on my feet. “Sure. That’s as good a reason as any. You definitely need some rest.”

I was still none too happy with him, with anyone for that matter. It was embarrassing needing to be rescued at all, and his outlandish lie still made my cheeks burn. It was only the haze of the drug that kept me from disintegrating under my anger at everything, which was much easier to handle than the deep fear that still hadn’t left me. If Max hadn’t found me, who knew what I’d be going through by now. Or if I’d even still be alive.

Since it was better not to stagger into Katie’s and risk upsetting Jenna because of my own bad decisions, I begrudgingly let him guide me to a guest room, where I gratefully fell onto the bed, barely able to wave at him as he shut the door. Soon enough, this would all be behind me.

Seconds later, I was asleep. Alone and safe, at least for the moment, thanks to Max. But I was still booking that flight home as soon as I woke up and felt back to normal. No more lux life for me.