Page 79 of Unorthodox
I hold my breath, afraid to turn and see Dante’s face.
“You knew this was coming, didn’t you?” Max asks him quietly.
I don’t hear anything from my back for a long moment until Dante finally says, his voice cracking, “Yes.”
My stomach flips with that single word.
Max still doesn’t move. Not for a long moment. Then he just nods, almost as if to himself. He steps around me, and I turn to follow his movements.
Dante is still sitting slumped against the tree, but as Max approaches him, the guard stands to his feet.
He looks into his boss’s eyes after a fleeting glance at me.
“Max,” I say quietly, my heart still pounding overtime in my chest. “What are you—”
“Stop talking, Addison.” Max doesn’t look away from Dante as he says the words.
I bite my lip, holding my breath.
“I didn’t want it to be this way, you know.”
I glance at Dante and see him swallow, watch him clamp his lips together as he finally looks up, meeting Max’s gaze.
“I know,” he whispers. “I’m sorry.”
Max stares at him a long moment. Then he reaches into his pocket and I tense, waiting to see what he’s got in his hand when he pulls it out.
But I feel a small measure of relief that he didn’t go for the gun on his hip.
Instead, he’s holding three playing cards.
Two are black, no color differentiating the king of spades from the seven of diamonds. The bottom card is an ace of hearts, and that’s white and red, like a regular card, from a different deck.
Max fans the three out, holding them out to Dante. “Pick one,” he says, his voice gruff.
I look between the two men, as I stand to the side of them both, and I see Dante’s jaw is clenched, his nostrils flared, as if he’s trying to calm himself. Drawing deep breaths in and out through his nose.
My chest seems to cave in on itself, even though I have no idea what the significance of these cards are.
With trembling fingers, Dante reaches for the ace. He pulls it from the three cards, holds it tightly in his hand, pressing it to his chest, his eyes on Max’s.
Max pockets the other two cards, then steps closer to Dante.
Shocking me, he wraps his arms around his guard, pulling him close.
Dante starts to cry. It’s quiet, almost contained, but I see him shaking in Max’s arms. His own are down by his sides, the playing card clenched tight in one fist.
Tears start to prick behind my own eyes, my mind spinning as I try to understand what’s happening. Seeing Dante break down, and seeing Max hold him…I rub my thumb over my sternum, and I can’t look away.
But after a moment, Max pulls back, gripping Dante’s shoulders. “Loyalty worth dying for. That’s all I wanted.”
Dante closes his eyes tight, and Max drops his hands from his shoulders, walks behind him.
I see Dante tense, gripping that playing card in his shaking hand as if it’s his lifeline. “Addison. I’m so sorry.” He swallows, and I feel my heart plummet. He doesn’t look at me. He keeps his eyes closed, then says, “Sir, tell him…” he trails off, his voice rough. He takes a shaky breath in. “Tell him it gets better,” he manages to finish.
Max’s arms are crossed, head bowed as he stands behind his guard, and with Dante’s words, he seems to be having some sort of internal struggle with himself. His jaw is clenched, and I want to say something. I want to scream at him to not do whatever it is he’s about to do.
But before I can think, Max opens his eyes and draws his gun.
