Page 108 of Kiss Marry Kill
“Please don’t turn the light on. I’d rather suffer in the dark.” His voice was vaguely slurred.
I frowned and pulled my hand away from the wall switch. “Everything okay?”
“No.”
I moved toward him, taking care not to trip over Grumpy. I reached Maxwell and in the dim lighting could see him sprawled in the armchair, a bottle of tequila in his lap. He wasn’t a big drinker, and he definitely wasn’t someone who drowned his sorrows with booze. Yet there he sat, cradling a bottle of Jose Cuervo. “Wanna tell me about it?”
“Not par-tic-lar-ilar-ily.”
“Come on, Max,” I coaxed. “Talk to me.”
He didn’t speak.
I knelt in front of him. “Since when do you drink straight tequila?”
“Since right now.”
I rubbed his leg, and his muscles stiffened beneath my hand. “Are you mad at me?”
“Pfft. You’re the one who’s mad at me.”
I frowned. “Who says I’m mad at you?”
“Me.”
“I ain’t mad at you.”
“Tell it to your lawyer.”
I gave a confused laugh. “Max, please tell me what’s going on.”
“What is the point of being in this little town?” he mumbled. “I can’t be happy. It’s not allowed.”
I hesitated. “But you were happy earlier. What changed?”
“Life,” he slurred. “Life screwed me over as usual.”
I didn’t speak; I just stayed where I was, watching him. Self-pity was not his thing. Not usually. My eyes were adjusted to the poor light now. A bunch of different emotions kept flitting over his face. Anger. Regret. Sadness. More anger.
“Did your deal fall through?” I asked quietly.
“It was hijacked.”
I frowned. “Meaning what?”
“Meaning Him We Shall Not Speak Of screwed me over.” He sat up, scowling. “And he’s just gonna keep doing it, Royce. He’s just going to keep messing with me, and messing with me, until I give up and run back to LA.”
My stomach clenched at that. “No. You’re not going anywhere.”
“Well, I’m never going to get back in business if he has his way.”
I frowned. “Just to be clear, are we talking about River?”
“Yes,” he snapped. “Fucking River Martin. Ihatehim so much.”
His anger was unsettling. He was always so controlled, this fury radiating off him made me uneasy. “What did he do?”
“He ruined everything.”
