Chapter 16

Max glanced at his cell phone, staring at the screen as he willed it to ring. It had been hours since he'd heard anything from Daniel and even though he knew his friend could take care of himself, he still couldn't help but feel a tinge of worry. Daniel was usually really good at checking in with him every hour, on the hour.

The fact that it had been three hours now made Max nervous.

So far, he'd been able to keep Daniel's mission secret from Nancy, but he honestly didn't know how much longer he would be able to keep it from her. Especially if things escalated, which he had a feeling they were about to, based on the lack of communication from Daniel.

Worst case scenario was that Daniel had been caught. Max knew with certainty that Wolfe wouldn't kill him, at least not until Daniel told him where he and Nancy were hiding. And knowing Daniel, he would never divulge that information, no matter how much Wolfe or Krieger tortured him. Daniel would never do anything to put Max in jeopardy—Max knew that for a fact. And while it was an admirable trait, Max couldn't help but feel frustrated that Daniel would put his own life on the line for his.

Max would be the first to say he didn't deserve it. Not with everything he'd done in his past. Surely, some form of retribution had to be coming his way. Max didn't want his friend to pay the price for him—Daniel meant to much to him, the brother he'd never had growing up.

Letting out an irritated sigh, Max ran his hands through his hair, staring out the window at the churning waters of the Gulf. The waves were crashing against the sandy shores, indicating that a storm was on the horizon. It was as if Mother Nature was telling him what was coming their way.

I have to get Nancy out of here. We can't risk staying here if Wolfe figures out where we're hiding. Daniel would never forgive me if I didn't do something to get to safety.

"Max?"

Max turned at the sound of Nancy's voice, seeing her standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Once again, he found himself mesmerized by her beauty, wanting nothing more than to sweep her into his arms and make love to her like he'd done on the beach with her the previous night.

"I thought you were sleeping," Max said softly, feeling some of his anxiety melting away at the sight of her.

"I saw the light on in here."

"Sorry. I didn't even think about it."

"It's okay." Nancy pulled her robe around her body and tied the sash around her waist. "Is something wrong?"

Max forced a smile as she sat down beside him on the sofa. "Everything's fine."

"Max…you're forgetting that reading people is my area of expertise. I know something is bothering you." Nancy frowned. "Is it Daniel?"

Tapping the phone against the palm of his hand, Max let out a sigh. "He hasn't checked in with me in three hours."

"Is that bad?"

"Definitely."

"How bad?"

Max reached over and squeezed her knee. "Just let me worry about it, Nancy. You have enough on your plate."

"How bad is it, Max?" Nancy asked, ignoring him.

"Bad. Daniel always checks in with me every hour, no matter what."

Nancy paled slightly, shivering underneath his touch. "Randy and Krieger?"

Max nodded. "Very likely."

"What are we doing here, then?" Nancy started to stand up, but Max pulled her back down onto the sofa. "Max, we have to go after him."

"I'm not putting you at risk, Nancy."

"I don't care about putting myself at risk."

"Yes, I am well aware of that," Max said, gritting his teeth. "It's one of the things that drives me crazy when it comes to you."

Nancy's eyes flashed angrily for just a moment, and Max prepared himself for the argument he knew was coming. "We can't let anything happen to Daniel."

"Daniel knows how to take care of himself."

Jerking away from his hand, Nancy stood up and glared down at him. "You don't know what Randy and Krieger are capable of!"

"Nancy…"

"Don't you even care about what happens to your friend?"

Max stood abruptly, his eyes blazing angrily, making Nancy take a startled step away from him. "Don't you dare question my concern or loyalty to Daniel! He is the closest person I have to a family!"

To her credit, Nancy didn't back down. "Then do something, Max! We need to go after him and help him!"

"I told you I wasn't going to do anything to put you at risk, Nancy, and I mean it!"

"If you're not willing to do anything, then I will," Nancy said coldly, turning away from him and walking back towards her bedroom.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm going after Daniel myself. It's me they want anyway. I'll offer myself up to them so we can get Daniel back."

Max felt as if someone poured ice cold water down his back. He had no doubt in his mind that Nancy was serious. If the prospect of Daniel being caught by Wolfe and Krieger scared him before, Nancy offering herself up terrified him. No way in hell was be about to let her sacrifice herself, especially not for his and Daniel's sake.

He didn't even think as he stormed into Nancy's room and grabbed her arm, jerking her towards him.

Nancy tried to pull away from him, determination burning bright in her big blue eyes. "Let go of me, Max."

"No."

"Let go of me!"

Max gripped her tighter, not caring if he was bruising her arm. "I'm not about to lose you, Nancy! Daniel and I have worked too hard to let you give yourself up so easily!"

"I have to do this, Max. I can't let anything happen to Daniel because of me!"

"Don't you get it, Nancy?" Max demanded, shaking her slightly. "That's exactly what they want you to do!"

"I don't care!"

"Well, I do!"

"Why, Max? Why the hell do you care what happens to me?"

"Because I—" Max stopped himself from finishing the rest of his statement. Because I may possibly be falling in love with you. And I know how wrong that is, considering I'm the reason you're even in this mess to begin with.

"Because what?"

Max swallowed hard, ignoring the pleading look in Nancy's eyes. "Because I'm not about to lose you, Nancy."

Nancy shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, that's not good enough, Max. You can't stop me from doing this."

"And unfortunately for you, that's where you're wrong, Nancy." Pulling her close, Max unknotted the sash of her robe and pulled it away from her waist, leaving the robe open to reveal her pajama pants and t-shirt.

"What are you doing?" Nancy asked, fear creeping in her voice.

"What I have to in order to keep you from doing something stupid." Keeping his grip on her arm, he ushered her out of the bedroom and into the dining room. Pulling one of the tall high back chairs away from the breakfast bar, he brought it to the middle of the room.

Sensing what he was planning, Nancy tried pulling away from him. "Max, no. You don't have to do this. I won't do anything, I swear!"

"I wish I could believe you, Nancy. But you're just as stubborn as I am." He nodded at the chair. "Please, this is killing me to do this, but I have to do what I need to in order to keep you safe. Please, sit down, Nancy."

"Max…"

"We can do it like this, Nancy, or I can drug you and keep you locked up." Max shrugged helplessly. "I thought this would be a little more humane."

Nancy opened her mouth to argue with him, but closed it just as quickly. He only hoped she could see how much it pained him to do this to her, but she had to know it was for her own good. Resignation seemed to settle in her eyes as she slowly eased herself into the chair.

"I really am sorry about this, Nancy."

"Just get it done, Max."

Letting out a soft sigh, Max took her hands and put them behind her before looping the silk sash around them several times, bringing the other end down to wrap around her ankles, securing her to the chair. Standing back up, he was a little surprised to see she wasn't even trying to get free, almost as if she had no more fight in her. It was a complete one-eighty from the girl he'd met a few days ago.

"I want you to understand why I'm doing this, Nancy."

"You already told me, Max. You want to keep me safe." Nancy shrugged a shoulder. "You're right—I am stubborn. You have no reason to trust me when I said I wouldn't try anything. We both know that's not true."

"You're not mad at me?"

"Mad, no. Annoyed, yes."

"I can deal with annoyed. I'm used to people being annoyed with me." Walking back to the sofa, Max picked up his phone and pulled a chair in front of Nancy so he could sit down. "There's something I need to tell you, but I don't want you to get mad at me."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Don't you know when you word something like that, the first thing a person will do is get mad? That's like telling someone not to bleed when you shoot them."

"Fair enough."

"Just tell me what it is, Max." One side of Nancy's mouth quirked up in a smile. "Besides, you don't have to worry about me killing you, considering you have me tied to a chair at the moment."

Max winced, not sure if Nancy was joking or a little more annoyed with him than she was letting on. "When I told you that Daniel was going after Wolfe, it wasn't because he was following up on a lead."

"What do you mean?"

"I already deleted it because I didn't want you to find it, but Randy sent us a picture by email to your attention."

Nancy stiffened in the chair, her gazed leveled on his. "What did he send you, Max?"

"Since he had no idea where to find us, he decided to draw you out." Max took a deep breath, knowing she was going to be pissed. "He went to Chicago and grabbed your roommate."

"What?" Nancy asked in a strangled whisper.

"As soon as we realized that he'd done, I sent Daniel up to retrieve her."

"You should have told me, Max. How could you not tell me this?"

"Because I knew you would have rushed in without any regard to the consequences, Nancy. Because I wanted to protect you!"

"You had no right to keep this from me!"

"I promised you that I would keep you safe!" Max yelled. "If that means keeping some things from you, then you're damn right, I'm going to do it! And you know what else? If I had it to do all over again, I would have done the exact same thing!"

Nancy shook her head slowly. "Holly's going to die because of me…"

"We have no proof that she's dead, Nancy."

"You said you haven't heard from Daniel in three hours."

"That still doesn't mean that she's dead."

Nancy blinked rapidly, but a traitorous tear fell and trailed down her cheek. "Too many people are paying the price for me, Max."

"You can't think like that, Nancy."

"It's true."

Standing up, Max knelt down in front of Nancy, wiping away the tear with his thumb. "Nancy, you can't carry around this guilt. It will kill you."

Nancy didn't say anything for a few moments, her eyes focused on a spot on the floor. Max watched as a myriad of emotions crossed her face before it finally rested on something akin to resolution. It was a look that shook Max to his very core.

"Nancy…"

"We can't let Randy use Daniel to get to us, Max. We don't give him the chance."

"What are you thinking?" Max asked warily.

"We change the game up. We give Randy exactly what he wants."

Max grit his teeth as he realized what she was hinting at. "Nancy…"

"But we do it on our terms, Max. I'm tired of hiding and running away. It's not who I am and I know it's not who you are." Nancy nodded, her eyes glowing as she looked at Max. "I say it's time we beat Randy at his own game."

No excuses…I'm a horrible person.

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I won't even promise you when the next update will be since life has a way on interfering with my intentions. But I will update as soon as I can!

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