Deadly Infatuation

Chapter 41

Lily

When I make it to Max's childhood bedroom, I quickly phone my mom to inform her of the plan for tonight while Max readies the room for sleeping. I normally wouldn't call her at this hour of the night, but after filling her in on the fire at the hospital, she told me she would stay awake until I came home.

She reassures me it's fine for me to stay here and when I tell her that Max will provide her with her own bodyguard until Sarah is caught she asks me to thank him for his generosity even though she lightly protests that she doesn't need any.

"Mom says thank you for the security," I tell him when I end the call and place my phone on the table for the night.

He shrugs nonchalantly before pulling the covers of the bed back. "It's nothing."

"No, it means a lot to her and me, Max." I walk over to him on my bare feet and kiss his stubble jaw. "You do so much for me when you don't have to."

"I want to." He blows out a breath, and he suddenly places his hand on the side of my cheek. "You mean so much to me and I want to protect you any way I can. If something were to happen to you again," he trails off and a sad expression crosses his face.

"Hey," I say calmly, kissing the palm of his hand. "Nothing bad is going to happen to me. You've made sure of that."

He grunts. "I had Johnson watching over you and look what happened tonight."

My forehead creases as I think about the fire again. "I'm sure he did all he could. The vineyard is huge, and there are so many blind spots that Sarah could have used to get an advantage."

"Hmm. Maybe."

"What did you speak about when we got back?"

He takes a seat on the edge of the bed and he gently pulls on my hand so that I join him. I hook one of my legs under me as I sit facing Max and patiently wait for him to open up to me. Clasping my hands in his, he runs his thumb in circles over my skin. "We checked the CCTV overlooking the driveway, and we caught someone dressed in black heading towards your car. Unfortunately, a firetruck blocked the view of them vandalizing it, but forensics collected the blood sample we know about and they also found two black strands of hair trapped between the knife and rose."

Sarah's hair is black! "What about the cameras overlooking the vineyard? Was she picked up on any of them?"

He shakes his head and his mouth goes thin. "The camera close enough to the area was smashed. Right now, all we have to prove it was Sarah is the DNA samples."

Ugh, this is so frustrating. "It sucks about the CCTV, but at least they have actual evidence to go on now. It could prove Sarah is the one doing this."

"That's what I'm hoping." He brings my hands to his mouth, and he kisses them. "Once this is all over, it'll go back to how it should be. Just you and me. No drama, no worries."

"I like the sound of that," I whisper.

"I wish we'd got together under happier circumstances," he says solemnly, tracing his thumb over my hand again.

I bury my head in his shoulder and sigh softly. "Me too. Though, if someone told me I could have you this way or not at all, I know which I'd choose." I mean it. Despite the hell we're going through with Sarah, I adore being with this man.

"Selfishly, I know which I'd choose too."

I smile into his shoulder at hearing him say this. I'm beyond happy that he also thinks that us being together is worth all the drama we've had to go through. And maybe in some way it's brought us even closer than if we dated under normal circumstances. All the bad things that have been happening to us have tested us to the limits at times, yet when it came down to flight or fight, we've chosen to fight. Against her and the sick games she's playing, and for us and our love for one another. My lips part as I realize in this moment that I have truly fallen for this beautiful man. I love him.