Page 133 of Reckless Vengeance

Hunter had gotten him good, but knowing he’d escaped had me fuming on the inside. Why hadn’t Skeeter told me Hunter found him? What was his damn problem today?

It was Max’s fault that Slash was dead, and that thought alone made me murderous. All the trouble we were dealing with was because of him, and he kept getting away with it.

Was I thinking clearly? Absolutely not. Between the lines of coke and the shots I’d taken earlier, I was a fucking mess, but I was so angry.

The guys were all downstairs mingling, trying to be the kings of the school that everyone expected them to be, giving me plenty of time to go and look for Max myself.

It was surprisingly easy to slip out of the house and out to the Corvette, my heartbeat slamming in my ears as I tried to focus.

Where could Max even be? Where did I start looking?

I ended up driving along the main road as I scanned the sidewalk for any sign of him as if he’d just be there waiting to be found. He wasn’t wandering Ashburn Valley or Rawson Grove, and if I pulled over to inspect every suspicious person walking around the Heights, I’d be there all night or get myself stabbed.

Frustration gnawed at me as I turned the car around and smacked the steering wheel, heading back through Rawson Grove feeling defeated as the sky opened up and it started to pour.

How was Max hiding so fucking easily when he had nothing? Someone had to be helping him.

I slammed on the brakes when someone appeared in front of me on the road, and it took me a second to realize it was Skeeter.

I opened the door, climbing out to glare at him. “What the fuck are you doing? I almost ran you over!”

“What the fuck are you doing?” he countered, walking towards me.

“Looking for Max since it’s obvious you’re not. How did Hunter find him but you haven’t? Are you even looking for my mom?” I demanded, his jaw clenching.

“Of course I am.”

“Then where are they?” I bit out, his hand snapping out to grab my cheeks firmly.

“I’m doing the best I can. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, and I also have to run the crew. It’s not like I sit around all day pretending to help you. I’m busy, and I don’t have a lot of clues to track them down. Hunter got lucky, that’s all. It’s not like they found a secret hiding spot, they just stumbled across him.”

“I’ll find them myself. Don’t worry about it,” I replied, trying to push him away, but he didn’t budge.

“The fuck do you want from me, Aurora? You want me to dedicate all my waking hours to play detective? This is going to take time. You’re drunk and high, so driving around at night in the rain is pointless and stupid. You know I’m right too or you wouldn’t have snuck off.”

“If I’d have asked you to help, you would have brushed me off.”

“If you’d have asked literally anyone to wander off from the party to help you look for Max, they’d all tell you it was pointless. Did you think you’d see him in the street? It’s late, he’s inside someone’s house like a cockroach.”

I stared him down, not being able to bite my tongue.

“Hunter would have helped me look.”

His eye literally twitched before he shoved me back against the car, getting in my face.

“You think that piece of shit would drop everything for you so he could chase your delusions in the dark? Why would he do that?” He roughly spun me around and slammed me against the car again, not caring that we were literally in the middle of the road as he tugged my jeans down to my knees. He was inside me in seconds, my hands holding onto the top of the car as he railed me so hard it hurt.

“You drive me fucking insane,” he bit out, his hand on the back of my neck to keep me in place, punishing me in the only way he knew would probably stop him from murdering me.

“Get off me!” I growled, trying to move away, but he had me pinned. “I said get off!”

“You said you loved me. You can’t take it back now,” he snapped, holding me so tightly that it would leave bruises. “He’s only helping you to piss me off. You’re playing into his fucking game, and I won’t allow it anymore. You’re mine.”

“He’s more honest with me than you!” I shouted, not caring if we drew attention at this point. “If I called him right now, he’d come here and search for Max all damn night. You just want me to go home, don’t you?”

“Of course I do! It’s pouring, it’s late, and there’s danger everywhere. He might help you, but it’s because he doesn’t care about you like I do!”

I struggled to try and free myself from his hold, managing to pull away enough for him to slip out of me, but his hand circled my throat and hauled me back.