Page 35 of Surrender: XXX Maxim
“She needsme.” I pull her closer, cradling her in my arms. “I’m not leaving her.”
“There is a room for you as well.” His tone falls flat, far more level than I’m used to. “You can share it with her.”
“Right now, all I need to do is keep her safe. Make herfeelsafe. No one else can do that. A fancy bed or a fancy fucking house, doesn’t change anything.” My voice rings out, harsher than I’ve ever heard it.
In the end, I don’t know how long it is before Maxim finally retreats. Minutes? Hours?
I force myself not to care, pouring my sole focus into my sister.
What I said to him was the truth. She needs me more than anyone else.Theydo.
And I’ve already failed them more than once.
* * *
I startle awaketo the sensation of my skull on fire. More specifically, like someone is trying to rip a chunk of my hair out. Panicked, my eyes fly open, my body hunched defensively—but my only assailant turns out to be the tiny blond curled on my lap. Still asleep, she moans, grasping for any part of me she can reach.
“You’re having a nightmare,” I murmur, shaking her awake. “Open your eyes, baby. It’s morning.”
Soft yellow light seeps in through the windows. As Ainsley rubs her eyes, I stand up.
“Don’t go!” She all but climbs onto me before I can go a single step.
“You’re okay. Hold on—” I bite back a sigh and lift her into my arms. Her smell hits me like a punch. The house is air-conditioned, but a ruthless humidity magnifies every ounce of sweat and grime.
“Where are your clothes?” I ask.
She shrugs, but I carry her up a modern-style staircase to the upper level of the house, recalling Maxim’s mention of a room. It doesn’t take me long to find the one meant for her and Daisy to share. Daisy’s still asleep in one of the beds, huddled beneath yellow sheets.
The whole room is decorated in shades of pink and yellow, somehow suiting them both. A large window overlooks a clearer view of turquoise water and a distant, white beach. Wherever we are, it’s breathtakingly gorgeous—like a goddamn living postcard.
Once I shake off my shock, I find Ainsley a fresh pair of clothes from a jumble of suitcases stacked in the corner of the room. Then I take her into an attached bathroom every bit as luxurious as the one downstairs. Oddly, this feels like falling back into yet another routine from our old life. Cleaning her up. Scolding her for not attending to her hygiene properly while gingerly showing her the correct way to.
“No one shows me like you,” she says as I drag a washcloth over her back. “Daisy’s always too tired. I wastrying. Honest.”
“I know.” I brush my fingers along her delicate cheek. “But you should have told me. I would have helped you. You know that.”
She shrugs, sending water sloshing over the rim of the tub. “You weren’t there.”
I freeze, still holding the cloth against her back. “I’m sorry.”
Maybe I’d assumed that Daisy would have been watching her more closely all this time. Or that one of the maids Maxim supplied would know how to coax a six-year-old who didn’t understand the concept of soap and body odor fully.
Assuming as much might have eased some of the guilt for staying away.
But not anymore.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper near her ear. “I’m not going anywhere ever again.”
“Really?” A small smile shapes her lips. “Promise?”
“Yes, baby…” I run my fingers through her damp, tangled hair and sigh. “I promise.”
After I dry her off, I help her dress in clean clothes and carry her downstairs. Someone else is already in the living room, peering from a section of windows that overlooks a different view of the outside.
“Hey, Frankie,” Mikie calls to me despite his face being practically pressed against the glass. “Have you fucking seen this? Holy shit! I know that guy is loaded as fuck, but damn!”
“What?” Alarm spurs me over to him, only for my mouth to drop open once I reach the window.
