Rapture & Ruin by Julia Sykes

Chapter 22

Allie

My phone chimed with a text just before Max knocked on my door: It’s me.

I jolted to my feet from where I’d been curled up on my couch, consumed with worry for him. He’d been gone for more than an hour, and terrible, bloody scenes had played through my mind.

I rushed to the door and flung it open, revealing Max’s familiar, shadowy form. I threw myself at him, exhaling a soft sob of relief as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and hugged him close. I pressed my face against his chest and breathed in his salt-kissed leather scent, listening to the heavy beat of his heart beneath my ear.

Max was safe. He was here. And he was holding me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.

I lifted my face to his, tipping my head back to invite his fierce kiss. I wanted him to consume me. I wanted to wrap myself up in him and feel that he was okay.

But he didn’t bend down to claim my offered kiss. Instead, every line of his massive body went taut, and he released me from his iron embrace. I clung on to him, refusing to allow him to put distance between us.

My heart sank as he pulled away. I clutched him tighter.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice small. My chest tightened with the early symptoms of rejection. I forced down a breath and refused to acknowledge them.

His strong hands wrapped around my shoulders, and for a moment, my heart leapt. But instead of pulling me close, he pried me away from his hard body, holding me at arm’s length.

“We’re done,” he announced, his voice flat and cold.

“What?” I asked on a little puff of air.

I shook my head. Something must’ve happened with his family to make him say such an awful thing. I’d welcomed him into my heart. I’d let him touch me in ways no other man had. His soul called to mine.

I wouldn’t let him go.

“Tell me what happened,” I pleaded. “Something’s wrong.”

His jaw firmed, and his head tipped back, obscuring his features with that awful, skull-like shadow. “Yes,” he agreed, his tone clipped. “Everything about this is wrong. We can’t be together.”

I clutched at him, struggling to pull him closer. He held me fast, stubbornly maintaining the wall of air between our bodies. It might as well have been constructed of solid concrete.

“What did they say to you?” I demanded, defiant anger sparking on his behalf. His awful family wouldn’t break us up. Had they done something to him? Had they hurt him?

My hands roved over his torso, searching for injuries. His muscles flexed beneath my touch, and he released a low, warning growl.

My fingers curled into his shirt, holding on tight. I wouldn’t let him slip away.

“They reminded me of who I really am, Bambi.”

The nickname was suddenly cold and cruel, and I flinched as though he’d slapped me.

I pressed on, desperation gnawing at my insides. “I know who you are,” I insisted hotly. “I don’t know what they said to you, but you’re not a monster, Max.”

“Yes, I am!” he thundered. “You’re a naïve little girl, and you just want to stay ignorant. You don’t know the first thing about me.”

“That’s bullshit,” I seethed, my eyes burning. “You’re just being cruel to push me away for some reason. It won’t work. They did something to hurt you. Talk to me,” I begged.

He went utterly still. “You think I’m not a monster? My family killed your mother. I knew, and I didn’t tell you because I wanted you.”

“What?” The word was breathless, as though he’d punched me in the chest.

“For once in your goddamn life, listen to me, Bambi. I’ll speak slowly so you understand.” He sneered, and something withered inside me. “You’ve never wanted to hear this, but your father is corrupt. When he brought down the indictments against my family, they punished him for it. They murdered your mom, and he covered it up to make it look like an accident.”

Something was crumbling inside my chest. I shook my head weakly. “My mother died in a fire.”

“You think it’s your fault that she died because you didn’t run back into that fire to save her. But there was nothing you could’ve done. She was already dead,” he replied, cold as ice. “Your father started the fire to cover up her murder. He didn’t want anyone asking uncomfortable questions. There was the election to think about.” The words dripped from his sensual lips like poison. “And then, his Russian friends killed my mom in retribution.”

Before I could even begin to process the awful things he was saying, he landed the final blow. “You’re lucky my family reminded me who I really am. I would’ve fucked you. The blood of your mother’s murderers runs in my veins, and I would’ve taken everything you offered me without saying a word about it. I am a monster, Allie.” His voice rasped on my name.

Tears fell down my cheeks in hot streams, and I reeled back from him. His hands tightened on my shoulders, clasping me to him reflexively.

I couldn’t take this. I’d shared my deepest pain, my worst vulnerability with him, and he was using it to shred me. I’d been able to handle it when he’d spoken his insane lies about my father’s involvement with the Bratva, but this was too much. He’d located my most painful secret—that I felt responsible for my mother’s death—and he was punching it with words that were more brutal than his fists could ever be.

“I trusted you!” I shoved his chest, recoiling from him. “Let me go,” I choked out, my demand hitching on a sob.

He tugged me closer, and his beautiful face twisted into something desperate and hungry. “Allie…”

“You’re right.” My voice shook with tears. “You are a monster, Max.” I wrenched myself free from his grip.

He let me go, and I stumbled back, throwing a hand against the wall in my foyer to catch myself.

He reached out as though to steady me.

“Don’t touch me!” I shrieked.

His hand clenched to a fist and slowly dropped to his side. His dark eyes burned, twin white flames flickering over the bottomless black expanses.

“We’re done.” His voice was heavy with absolute truth. He turned sharply on his heel and stalked away.

He didn’t demand that I lock my door before he left. He didn’t promise to protect me from anyone who might be lurking in the shadows.

He abandoned me.

Something at the center of my chest shattered into a thousand sharp slivers. They pierced my lungs, robbing my breath and lancing me with unendurable pain.

I had put my heart in Max Ferrara’s hands, and he had crushed it.

Thank you for reading RAPTURE & RUIN! I hope you loved this first installment in Max and Allie’s tumultuous romance. Their story continues in TORMENT & TEMPTATION!

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