Page 27 of Fall Before Her Throne

A few steps behind. Close enough that he could feel me. Far enough away to annoy him.

His limp grew heavier the farther away we got from the main rooms of the house. His breathing became more pronounced as his injuries flared. He needed to rest.

I would not let him.

“Are you going to kill me?” he grunted, finally glancing over his shoulder. Sweat misted his brow.

“Eventually. Probably.” I flipped my knife end over end in my hand, watching him. He wasn’t in good enough shape physically to attempt anything, but I didn’t fucking trust him.

“Sooner rather than later, if you would.” He braced an arm against the wall. His room was only a few steps ahead.

I scoffed. “You want me to kill you?”

“Might save us all some trouble, don’t you think?”

My eyes narrowed. “Nah. You’re not getting off that easy.”

“Figures.” He pushed off the wall and finally reached the closed door that marked his “guest” room. He pushed inside. I watched as he struggled forward until he reached the bed and then sat on it, finally facing me head on. “What do you want, then?”

“What the fuck do you want?”

Max didn’t answer.

He said he wanted to stay, but in my head, there was only one reason that could be true. He wanted her.

And I wanted to kill him over it. It didn’t matter to me that the more we heard from him, the more she told us, made it seem like he’d been protecting her for far longer than any of us knew. He had still hurt her, tried to kill her, rejected her, and made her feel worthless. I said it before and I’d say it again, I was the king of motherfucking grudges.

“Do you want her?”

“No.”

His answer was too quick, too definite. I used the tip of my knife to clean under my fingernails. “I thought we weren’t going to lie anymore.”

He exhaled slowly. “She doesn’t want me that way.”

Were we really sure about that?

If she did…then I guessed that changed things. I’d have to cross that rickety, decrepit bridge when I came to it. Even if that were true, it still didn’t change how I fully believed he’d hurt her again.

“But you do.”

“It doesn’t matter what I want.”

I cocked my head to the side. “That is true.”

“Even if I wanted her, it’s a nonstarter. The five of you would never let me in, you least of all. You’ll kill me the minute I take a breath wrong.”

“Careful, Max, it sounds like you want to be let in.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You say a lot with what you decide not to say.”

His face closed off. “Fuck off and leave me alone.”

I flicked my knife, and it embedded in the bed next to his leg. “Nah. I want to drive you crazy.”

“Don’t you have better things to do?”