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“What about when you get there?”
“I think best on my feet.”
“No plan?”
“You mean other than sneaking in, getting it, and then sneaking out? We already kill them all, anyway.”
“Yeah, I better go with you. But,” he holds up a finger that’s still bloody, “I won’t tell you where it’s at. I’ll merely keep you company.”
“Did you at least bring water?”
His lips curve into a grin, and he holds out a bottle of water. I take it and gulp down two-thirds of the bottle before I kneel and drip a thin stream in front of Buddy. He laps at it until the bottle is empty.
“Looks like you’re stuck with me then.” Max takes the bottle back with pride. I shouldn’t have emptied it so soon. Maybe Griffin is right and I won’t survive out here on my own. That’s something I’ll never confess.
Feeling like I have no choice but to accept the offer, I continue walking with him by my side. I’m following my compass west, but I’d like to believe that if I head off course that he’ll correct it. Though that’s probably nothing more than wishful thinking. Maybe I could sweeten the deal by telling him I’ll let him kill every single dreg all on his own. He’d like that.
After about another thirty feet, Max stops, grabs me, and spins me around to face him. Buddy growls and Max smiles down at him. “What an excellent guard dog he is to you already.”
I struggle against his grasp, but he holds me in place. “Why are you here?”
“Griffin would kill me if he knew I saw you walk away and didn’t go after you. Well, I might wind up killing him instead, but he’d sure as hell put up a good fight. He’s a little trooper.”
“Not like he’d care. He yelled at me to go on my own and get myself killed, if you recall. Not the words of someone who would worry about my safety.”
“He might surprise you.”
He’s basically repeating what William had said. I can’t believe it until I see it and I’m tired of all the dancing-around-the-subject that they’re doing. I can’t hang onto hope that these strangers will go to such great lengths to help save someone they’ll never meet. I’ve already been let down by people I trusted. I can’t go around relying on people I’ve met only a day ago.
“Why did you grab me?”
He shrugs. “Idunno. Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
His green eyes are almost vibrant as they roam across my face, taking in every detail. I shiver under his gaze and his grin widens. “If you’re trying to stop me from finding that place, then it’s not going to work. I’ll even let you kill every single dreg all on your own.”
“You will?” His eyes sparkle. I knew he’d like that. But when I try to pull away again, he still holds on.
“Max.” Buddy growls and butts his head against Max’s leg until he finally lets go of me with a laugh.
That was weird, even for Max. Every time I wonder what he’s thinking, I remind myself that the inside of his mind is likely more scary than the physical world right now. But it’s not enough to stop me from being curious.
We continue on in silence. This is a waste of time and energy. He has the information I need. He can’t be perfectly content watching me go in the wrong direction. Or maybe he is. These guys have been messing with my head since I met them. “Why won’t you let me walk away? Why won’t you guys just let me go home?”
His head tilts to the side. “You really want to know?”
“Yes,” I say with exasperation. “I know you like the chase, but this is getting ridiculous.”
He grabs me again, turning me to face him, his eyes turning fierce even when his ink black hair falls into his face. I don’t understand why he needs to do this in order to talk to me right now. We don’t need to be in each other’s arms every time we have a damn conversation. “The chase is one thing, but actually leaving is entirely different. Because the last time someone walked away from me, it was to leave me for dead, and I don’t quite favor that feeling. Not back then, and not now.”
Tension melts out of me, and my heart hurts for him. Being abandoned is an internal wound that isn’t easy to heal. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
His normally bright, playful eyes turn haunted. “I’m not, because it shows the real people in my life, so if you want to leave, then you can leave, but don’t pretend to care. Because leaving after you convince me you care is the worst thing you could do.”
His words catch me off guard, and I’m not sure if we’re talking about the same thing. He doesn’t understand. My problem is that I care too much. That’s what put everyone at risk back in the colony. Because I cared about someone I shouldn’t have. “Max, it’s not that I don’t care. In case you missed it, I’m not walking away from you; I’m walking with you. Sure, you didn’t give me a choice, and you keep stopping us on this walk, but I’m not leaving you; I’m only trying to help my friend, because I’m the only one who will.” I pull myself from his grasp and before I can think too much on this random weird conversation, I trip over something in the grass and fall face forward. A cold, clammy hand wraps around my ankle. Oh, hell no.
Sitting up, I slice the hand straight off at the same time Max slams the morning star into the skull and Buddy sinks his teeth into the rotter’s calf and tugs until it tears in two. I shake the hand free from my ankle and when it falls to the ground, lifeless; I laugh. I can’t help it. A big belly laugh that I haven’t had in a long time rolls through me and I have to really work to clench my teeth together to keep from making too much noise.
Max grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet before wrapping me in his arms. I bury my face against his chest while I try to stop laughing so much. Only now do I realize how broad his chest is on his lithe form. I almost fit perfectly against him, with his arms wrapping around me. When my laughter dies down, he lifts one arm and twirls me around in the sunlight streaming through the trees like something ethereal.
