Page 26 of Max

He walked into the living room, sat on the couch, and gave Melanie a killer smile. Whoa. Vinny was handsome. And judging by the dreamy look that stole over Melanie’s face, she thought so too. She looked at me, and we shared a confused look.

“Skylar, I’m not here to hurt you,” Vinny began. He was looking up at me from the couch, and I realized he was sitting so he could be lower than me, to put me at ease. “And I promise, Nico is not on his way here. Even if he were, he would not be able to enter the premises.”

“Why should I believe you?” I asked, inching away from him and towards the door.

Vinny reached into his pocket and pulled out something that looked like a wallet. He leaned over and offered it to me.

“My name is not Vinny,” he said as I took the wallet thingy from him. “My name is Chace Ryan, and I’m a DEA agent. For the last three years, I was working undercover, trying to infiltrate and gather as much evidence on Nico Barone and all his associates on dealing, retiring, and human trafficking.”

I opened the black leather, and sure enough, there was Vinny’s, or I should say Chace’s picture confirming what he was saying.

“I’m also that bastard’s brother,” he lifted his chin to Max.

“What?” Melanie asked a million-dollar question.

Chace looked at her and flashed his smile only this time he added a wink. Melanie flushed.

“Yup,” he said. “I’m Max’s baby brother.”

“You are a baby,” Max deadpanned.

"Take that back," Chace gasped and put his palm on his broad chest. He was acting like a southern bell who was deeply offended.

"It's the truth," Max shrugged.

If I had any doubts that what Chace was saying was the truth, I didn't have any now. Only brothers could banter like that. I relaxed; Max sensed it and pulled me into his body and wrapped his arm around my waist. Chace watched us with great interest, and when he saw that I was looking at him, he winked. Then in a flash, his good mood disappeared, and I was reminded of why I was scared of Vinny. His face clouded over, a frown pulled his mouth down, and his eyes became troubled.

He looked into my eyes and rasped, "I'm so sorry, Skylar. I'm sorry for not telling you who I was. And I'm sorry for not getting you out of there sooner. What you did, walking away that day, took a lot of courage. Even if you didn't know what Nico was doing." He looked away and swallowed. "I'm especially sorry for not capturing him tonight and ending this nightmare. I promise you; we'll find him."

"It's okay," I whispered.

It wasn't okay.

I was scared.

I was hurt.

I was confused.

But I understood.

And seeing remorse washing over Chace in waves, I knew what he said was true. He will find him. And he will end it. Not only for me. He lost three years of his life on a case that still didn't end.

"I should have done something," he kept talking. Each word hitting me deeply. "I should have found a way to get you out of there. I should have-"

"Stop,” I tried to go to him, but Max refused to let me go.

I looked over my shoulder and into Max’s face was a mix of thunder and sorrow. I found his wrist and shook it lightly. He looked down, flicked his eyes to Chace, and shook his head. With no other choice, I leaned over Max’s arm to try to get as close as possible to Chace.

“There’s nothing you need to apologize for. You couldn’t stop him. Out of everyone in this room, you know how Nico is. Down to the very last nauseous detail, you know.”

“Is that why you didn’t want me to see her tonight?”

“That,” Max gasped. “And the fact I didn’t get a chance to tell her the truth about you.”

“Is she always like this?”

“Chace, you have known her for three years,” he pointed out. “What do you think?”