Chapter 38 - Brooke

My head throbbed as I came out of a dream, disoriented that I wasn’t in my own bed. It was familiar but not quite home. And yet, when I thought of home, my mind didn’t go to my apartment in Berkeley. It went to the beach house in San Diego, and the big plush bed I shared with Max when I didn’t want to rip his head off.

Okay, so where was I? The room was dark, making me jerk upright as everything rushed back. Was I still in that awful place, waiting for Luca to show up? Had the part where Max burst in and rescued me in a blaze of fury been the dream?

No. I was fine, and quickly figured out I was in the Los Angeles mansion where we’d spent the first few weeks of our tumultuous marriage before, he’d made me move down south. And now, here I was thinking of that place as home. Would I ever get to see it again?

Now that I had figured out where I was and how I got there, I was disappointed that Max wasn’t still by my side. He’d been so attentive and sweet, never budging as I struggled to keep my eyes open, afraid he’d leave me alone.

Armed with the promise that I’d never have to see Luca again, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, remembering how Max had helped me wrap up in the thick robe that fell well past my knees when I stood. He had seemed bound and determined to make sure I felt safe, carefully stroking my hair off my face and making reassuring noises whenever I jolted my eyes open. So, where was he now?

In the bathroom, I rinsed my tear-streaked face and inspected my bruises before chugging down some water and aspirin to put a dent in my headache. There were still plenty of my clothes in the closet, so I put on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt from Max’s side, hoping to catch a whiff of his manly scent. It was only laundry detergent that filled my nostrils as I held the soft cotton to my face, and even with all my stirring, he still hadn’t come in to check on me.

I’d given him an awful lot of hell leading up to that rescue. Had he finally given up on me now that his conscience was clear and he knew I was safe? Well, to hell with that. It only made me more determined to win him back and make him see my change of heart. He knew how stubborn I was and how long it took me to trust someone. Surely, he’d understand. He had to.

I only found Max’s second-in-command standing guard at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the banister. When he saw me making my way down, he straightened up, giving me the closest thing to a smile that any of the guards ever mustered. It was then that I remembered he was Pavel’s cousin, and I burst into tears halfway down.

“I’m so sorry,” I said as he rushed up to help me the rest of the way. “I’m so sorry about Pavel.”

“You did nothing wrong,” he told me, hand firm on my arm until we reached the landing. “We all know what we signed up for.”

His kind words didn’t ease my sadness or guilt but it was clear he didn’t want to have to comfort me anymore, and it would have been selfish to make him try. He only told me that Olivia was in the kitchen, waiting for me to wake up. That was a bit of a bright light, and I hurried to find Max’s assistant staring at her phone as if she could force it to give her some news.

“Anything?” I asked.

Her head swung in my direction, and she beamed at me, rushing forward to give me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said, pulling back.

We had become friends, but she was still very much Max’s employee, and she seemed overwhelmed about her sudden display of affection. I pretended not to notice her awkwardness and sank into a chair as she fluttered around, offering every morsel of food in the fridge.

“I’m not hungry,” I said. “Just sit back down and tell me what’s going on, please.”

Based on the anxious look on her face, I didn’t expect much information, or at the very least, a watered-down version of events, but to my surprise, she spilled everything and answered every last question I asked.

I almost wished she hadn’t, because now I was worried. Max loved that diner, and even though he’d been excitedly getting ready to open up a second branch that was going to be bigger and better, that place was like his baby. Learning that it was burning to the ground while I slept made my heart squeeze, remembering my first and only time there. The start of this entire mess.

Would I change anything? Well, sure. I could have definitely done without all the kidnapping, but that glimmer in Max’s eyes before our first kiss was a memory I would walk through fire to keep. Just like I’d do anything to make him see I was all his now, just like he couldn’t go five minutes without telling me.

He had to be devastated. Of course he would have raced to the scene. I had seen with my own eyes how he treated his employees. Every last one of them were like family to him, and if anyone had been hurt in the explosion, he’d be by their side. I didn’t realize I was wringing my hands and gnawing through my lower lip until Olivia patted my shoulder.

“It’s all over,” she said. “Believe me, you’re never going to be bothered by that freak again.”

I stared at her in confusion. She thought I was still upset over Luca, when he’d completely slipped my mind in my concern over what Max was currently going through. I didn’t want to think or talk about him, and only wanted to find a way to get to Max in case he needed support. Before I could tell her any of that, she grinned widely.

“You’ll like what he told me,” She said, like she was about to reveal an important secret.

“What?” I asked, my voice rising.

“He said he’s giving you your freedom. You can go anywhere you want.”

What the hell? I didn’t realize I had practically spat those words out loud until Olivia’s eyes widened. “He really said that?”

She nodded, confused by my reaction, which wasn’t the relieved joy she expected or that I should have been feeling. Was he giving up on me after everything? Well, why wouldn’t he? After telling me he loved me, I had turned away from him, been angry and unyielding, never giving an inch. I wanted what I wanted and nothing less, and it was the only thing he wouldn’t give me.

Couldn’t give me.

But I saw the truth of it too late, because he was done with me, setting me loose now that the danger to my life had passed. Maybe his words really did mean nothing, or I had tricked myself into believing he cared about me so much I could stomp all over him however I pleased.

“I can go?” I whispered. Olivia’s nod hurt worse than my headache or my sore face. Worse than any pain I’d experienced.

“When everything’s settled,” she said.

So, he was going to wait to spell things out to me. Fuck that. I jumped up, nearly knocking the kitchen chair backward in my haste.

“You have to wait until things are back to normal,” she called after me as she hurried to catch up.

No, I didn’t have time for that. I couldn’t wait around for this agony to consume me. I had to get out of this house, sick and tired of being told what I could and couldn’t do and when I could or couldn’t do it. I had to get back in control, for the first time in far too long.

I was already colliding with Max’s second-in-command before she could reach me, so I grabbed his arm. “You have to get me out of here,” I demanded, on the verge of hysteria. I could barely see straight. I only had one objective, to get that pain in my heart to stop. “You have to take me where I want to go, right now!”