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Oh, shit. Why did it not occur to me that Silus could be recording and eavesdropping on every conversation me and Max have when we video chat? The thought honestly never came to mind. I’m so stupid.
“Doesn’t matter, anyway,” Max huffs. “Silus and Roark’s men were faster, and now we’re the poor idiots who’ve been kidnapped.” As if to prove his point, he pulls at his handcuffs beneath the table, rattling the metal a bit. “I do find it odd, though, that we’re here.”
My brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“I think it’s weird we’re here, since, you know, we’re the kidnapees. There’s no reason we should be here, just like there’s no reason we should be able to talk and see each other at all.” The more Max talks, the more he sounds confused. “It’s almost like…”
I don’t know where he’s going with this. “Like what?”
“Like maybe you’re able to get shit out of him you normally wouldn’t because you’re…” He drops his voice, “Banging the dude.”
My cheeks heat up. “So should I keep banging him or should I stop? One moment it sounds like you think it’s the stupidest thing ever, and the next you’re admitting it’s kind of nice. It can’t be both.”
“Thea, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this isn’t exactly normal circumstances. I’ve never been in a situation like this, so I don’t really know how to act, how to think. I’m sorry if I’m not my normal self.” My brother actually sounds annoyed with me when he says all this, which is just ridiculous.
“Need I remind you that we wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for you,” I tell him.
“Hey, I apologized a few minutes ago. I know this is my shit. It’s why I feel so bad that you have to sell yourself out to that asshole just so we’re not tied up in a warehouse somewhere—”
I have to force myself to take a sip of my pop before I respond, otherwise I’m liable to smack my brother upside the head. It’s only when I calm down somewhat that I tell him in a hush whisper, “I’m not selling myself out.”
Max tilts his head. “If you’re not selling yourself out, then he’s either raping you or it’s what I said a few days ago. Obviously, raping would be the worst out of those three options, but you know what’s the second worst?”
“Don’t say it.”
“You being in love with the asshole,” Max goes and says it, but at least he says it quietly so it’s not shouted across the empty club. A quick glance at the two men at the bar tells me they didn’t hear the L-word get spoken.
When I don’t say a word, my brother asks, “Well? What is it? Which one? Are you selling yourself out or do you actually love that jerk?”
This isn’t a conversation I want to have with my brother. Not now, not ever. We’re close, but we’re not that close. He doesn’t tell me about the girls he’s been with and I don’t speak of the guys I’ve been with. It’s literally the one thing that’s off-limits for us.
I run my hands along my face as I mutter, “Falling in love with Silus McLean would be pretty stupid, huh?”
“Yeah, it would,” Max is quick to say. He’s much slower in saying this next part. “But… maybe it’s not the stupidest thing in the world. One could argue that it is, that there’s no way this can ever work itself out—and one would probably be right—but look at where we are. I’m in chains, but you’re not. It’s dangerous as hell to try to get close to someone like that, but maybe…”
“Maybe what?”
“Maybe it’s not as stupid as I thought.” Max leans forward over the table, and I mimic him to hear him better when he whispers, “A man like that has no reason to care. By all logic, he shouldn’t be swayed by a pretty face—not that I’m calling you pretty or anything.”
I frown at him. “Thanks, bro.”
“You know what I’m saying, though. He can get whoever he wants. He doesn’t need to do favors for someone he kidnapped. This whole meeting—hell, even our chats—none of it should be happening, and honestly?”
Max faces the bar from where he sits, so unlike me he doesn’t have to look over his shoulder to see the two men there. All it takes is a quick flick of his eyes and he sees them, and it takes every ounce of self-restraint in me to not look at Silus over my shoulder.
“Honestly,” Max mutters, “it makes me wonder if it’s not just you.”
If it’s not just me. What the hell does he mean by that? He’s not saying… I mean, it sounds like my brother is wondering if Silus is in love with me, but that can’t be what he’s getting at.
Can it?
No, no. That’s just not possible. Just because Silus and I have amazing sex doesn’t automatically mean either one of us is in love with the other. It’s just sex. And he’s just being nice by letting me have more freedom and letting me see Max in person. That’s all. There’s no hidden, deep feelings of love behind any of it.
After Max’s words finally hit me, and I mentally debate them for a while, I bust out laughing. I can’t help myself. There is absolutely no freaking way Silus McLean could be in love with me. It’s just not possible.
“Really?” Max huffs, clearly annoyed at my reaction. “You’re laughing?”
I shrug. “What else am I supposed to do? You just insinuated that Silus is—” I whisper this next part. “—in love with me, and there’s just no way. There’s no way, Max. We’re sleeping together, that’s all.”
