Chapter 17 - The Raid

Something was seriously wrong with Emma. Somehow she had gone from acting like a clingy jealous girlfriend to a hormone infused harlot in one night. Had she actually flirted with him? Danced seductively in his arms? Not to mention all the crazy and inappropriate thoughts about him flying through her head. Why did he have to be so damn attractive? Ugh.

Whichever way she looked at it, there was no escaping it now.

She wanted him and she wanted him bad.

What on Earth was she doing? And now she was going home with him? Guilt wracked through her for what must have been the hundredth time that day. Suddenly she felt very nauseous.

She reached over to turn off the video that was playing in the cab in a huff. It was distracting her morose thoughts.

“You okay?” Max asked in concern.

“Um, yeah. I just get a bit dizzy in taxis sometimes.” It wasn’t necessarily a lie, but a half truth. That did happen to her on occasion, but not in that particular moment.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He quickly shifted in his seat next to her, opening the window halfway and turning the AC vent towards her direction. “Here, lean forward a bit,” he said moving his arm behind her and securing her in place. “Hopefully you won’t move around as much this way,” he said kissing her forehead.

He was too perfect sometimes. She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Thank you, Max.”

“Anytime, sweetheart,” he whispered back.

“Okay, I really was trying not to say anything, but that was just adorable. I’m so proud of you, Maxi,” Mia chirped up in her seat next to him.

“I’m dying to know up here,” Leo said, turning around from the passenger seat in front.

Oh right, they had an audience. One where all her stupid rules were quickly breaking one by one in front of.

Max shrugged. “It’s nothing,” he said quietly.

That was the second time he had dismissed something between them. She should be happy about that. Instead, it stung like a bitch. Why did it feel like she was being tossed to the side?

Luckily, the cab arrived to the hotel and she quickly got out to the much needed fresh air. For some reason, Max hadn’t let go of her hand and hit the sidewalk just as quickly as she did.

They all walked into the lobby, Leo and Mia whispering conspiratorially behind them. Emma hoped they weren’t talking about them.

“What are you guys gossiping about back there?” Max turned around to ask.

Mia immediately flushed. “Oh, well we…” She stopped to look at Leo and they were both suddenly smiling at each other like a couple of young teenagers. They seemed to be having some silent conversation just by looking at one another, until finally Leo nodded at her, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Tell them,” he encouraged.

“Leo…no, you tell them. He’s your brother. I already went through this with my sister,” she responded.

“Um, guys? What is going on?” Max said alarmed.

“Okay, fine. Mia is pregnant,” Leo blurted. “I’m so proud! I did it!”

“Ahem, we both did it. Last I recall I was there too,” Mia giggled. “We started trying a few months ago,” she explained, her eyes getting slightly teary.

“Actually, I’ve been trying since I met her,” Leo beamed while Mia swatted him in the shoulder. He smiled and tucked her underneath him, kissing her forehead.

“Holy shit, guys. That’s amazing.” Max went to give them both a huge bear hug and even lifted them a bit above the ground.

“Careful with Mia. We got a baby Durant cooking in the oven there,” Leo laughed covering Mia’s stomach protectively.

“Oh my gosh, congratulations! That’s awesome news,” Emma piped in. She went to hug Mia carefully first and then Leo afterwards. “How far along are you?”

“Just under 12 weeks. I’m not even showing yet,” Mia said rubbing her stomach. “We were waiting until after three months to tell everybody officially, but we figured we might as well tell you in person. I told my sister earlier today. I think that’s why she was kind of all over the place tonight.”

“Ha! I knew something was going on. Well, you can’t really blame her being that she’s the older sister,” Max pointed out.

Leo chuckled. “Yeah, well you also have a lot of ground to cover in that department, Max.”

“Hey, I never said I wasn’t working on it,” Max responded winking towards Emma.

Was he serious? She blushed a deep red and pushed him away. “Get out of here, tough guy.”

“Fine, we’ll talk about it later,” he said smiling.

“Max, I hate to interrupt, but we need to check on something at the front desk and Mia needs to rest. We probably won’t see you tomorrow - we have an early flight to catch,” Leo said.

“Okay, it was great seeing you guys,” Max responded easily. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a freaking uncle. Keep me updated and I’ll see you soon, alright?” They gave each other a brotherly hug and then turned towards Mia.

“Emma, hope to see you again, too,” Leo said, surprising her by giving her a big bear hug. “Keep putting him in his place,” he said motioning towards Max.

“I will,” she laughed. “It was great meeting you. Congrats again. You’re going to have beautiful babies,” she said turning to give Mia a hug.

“Thank you, Emma. I’m so happy we got to meet you. We’ll do this again, okay?” Mia told her.

Emma nodded but wasn’t so sure about that statement. Did Max really want this with her? What about Roy? She had barely spoken to him during the last week and when she did he had sounded weird on the phone. She didn’t even know what to think anymore.

“Ready?” Max’s smooth voice cut through her thoughts. Again she nodded, even though she felt anything but. How was she supposed to be alone with him without jumping his bones?

“Yo, Max!” Leo called as they walked towards the elevator. “Make the family proud!”

Max cursed. “Asshole,” he muttered under his breath and then shook his head. “You don’t want to know,” he laughed looking at Emma.

“I’m kind of curious now,” she said nervously.

They reached their floor and started walking down the hallway. “I said something similar to him once, when he was traveling with Mia…” he trailed off.

“Oh.” They were about to reach their room, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Max noticed she had stopped walking and took a few steps back towards her. “What is it?” he asked cautiously.

“I just...I don’t know if...if this is such a good idea,” she said looking at the floor.

“What do you mean?”

She took a deep breath. “Me spending the night...with you.”

He sighed and took a step towards her. “Emma...nothing has changed. If that’s what you’re worried about.”

She looked up into his deep hazel eyes, questioning his response. How could he say that? Everything had changed. The way she felt towards him, the way she wanted him, wanted to be with him.

“Look, it’ll be like the other nights you stayed over. Whatever you want to do. We can watch a movie this time if you want and then we’ll just go to sleep.”

Just like the other nights? He made it sound like nothing had happened. One of them had resulted in them spooning the next morning and inexplicably taking a shower together a few hours later and the other one with him undressing her. At that rate, who’s to say what would happen next? And worse, why did he keep making it seem like none of it was a big deal? She was panting just thinking about being in the same room together. Alone.

“I promise I’ll behave,” he said cupping her cheek. He leaned against her forehead and inhaled. He must have felt her breath hitch and her heart speed into overdrive. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kiss you. Although I really, really want to,” he whispered hoarsely.

He backed away from her and gave her the sexiest grin she had ever seen. He then gave her a little nudge forward and playfully slapped her butt. “Now stop being a chicken and let’s get this party of two started,” he said in a completely normal voice.

By the time he opened the door to their room and it closed behind them, her head was spinning out of control.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, heading towards the mini bar.

“Um...fine?”

“You’re not dizzy anymore?”

Oh that. Yes, she had never felt more dizzy in her entire life, but for entirely different reasons. “Yeah, a little bit actually,” she said, going to sit down on the couch.

He rummaged through the fridge. “Here, you should have some water,” he said throwing her a bottle. “Actually, some Ginger Ale, too. What about some chocolate? That should help, I think. Or was it salt? Do you fancy some crisps?”

“Wow you just sounded extra British there,” she said giggling.

“Sorry, ma'am. Would you like some chips?” he said trying to fake an American accent. Before she could answer, he had tossed a can of Pringles on the table along with some pretzels.

“You know each of these things cost like ten bucks each, right? I think I’ll just have the water.”

“Nonsense. When was the last time you raided a mini bar?”

“That would be never. It’s a total rip off.”

“That’s half the point. Sometimes you just have to indulge a little. Oh wait, this will definitely change your mind,” he said throwing her a Snickers bar.

She grinned as she inspected the package. “Okay, fine,” she said tearing the plastic and taking a big bite.

“God, you’re so sexy when you do that,” Max blurted out.

She grabbed a cushion from the couch and threw it towards his head. He ducked in time and instead hit a lamp behind him. Luckily, it didn’t break.

“Better luck next time, sweetheart,” he said and continued on inspecting the mini bar area.

“Max, I think we have enough stuff here to feed a small village. What else could you possibly find back there?”

He shrugged and with a wicked grin, tossed a packet in her lap while he went to sit down next to her.

She instantly spit out the water she had been drinking when she realized they were condoms. “Are you crazy? Put those back!” she yelled throwing them back at him as if it were a disease, instead of something that protects you from them.

Max was laughing so hard he had actually rolled over and was holding on to his stomach. “Oh my god, I wish I could have recorded that,” he said in between his laughter.

“It’s not funny! Put it back before someone finds out!” she shrieked.

“Who? The condom police?”

“I don’t know, the people at the hotel! Usually they have sensors so they know when you’ve used something.”

“So you’re telling me you’re worried that the hotel management will think we had sex?” he chuckled. “I think they have better things to concern themselves with.”

“You never know, okay! Can you just please put them back?” she asked almost pleading.

Max went to grab the condoms, but before she could even begin to process what he was doing, he tore a foil off of the packet strip and then ripped it open with his teeth. He tossed it dramatically on the table, never dropping his gaze from her. “Looks like we just had sex. How was it, baby?” he said seductively.

She gasped, instantly turned on. It felt like fire had just shot directly into her most sensitive parts, and her entire face flushed.

“That good, huh? I knew I would rock your world,” he said tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“You jerk!” she said, getting off the couch and moving away from him.

He instantly got up and followed her. “What? Afraid it might be true?” he said, reaching for her.

“Don’t come near me,” she said backing away. She was already so turned on, and he hadn’t even touched her. If he did, she might just explode on contact.

“C’mon, Em. I was just trying to prove a point,” he said chuckling.

“Yeah, I got it. Loud and clear, chief,” she said still completely startled.

“You’re so easy sometimes. I couldn’t help it,” he said smiling from ear to ear.

“You’re easy,” she shot back. Nice one, Emma thought. You’re sounding just like a child.

“Is that so?” Before she knew what was happening, she was being lifted up and then was being pinned down against the bed. When she looked up at Max, his eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Let me tell you a little story, just so that we’re on the same page. First of all, and this is all hypothetically speaking, I wouldn’t use one of those silly things with you,” he said.

“What? Well why not?” she yelled.

“You’re on the pill and I’m clean...so there’s no point.”

“How do you know that? And so what, you never use protection?”

“I saw them in your bag the other day. And no, I said only with you I wouldn’t.”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Absolutely nothing. You know that. I just...I wouldn’t want anything in between us,” he said very seriously.

Suddenly the grip he had around her wrists seemed to tighten. She gulped and looked into his hooded eyes. “Why are we even discussing this?” she whispered.

“I told you...it’s hypothetical. But you should know, be prepared. In case you ever decide…” his voice trailed off as he looked deeply into her eyes. “God, baby, you’re so fucking beautiful. The things I would do to you if you were mine,” he said wistfully.

“Max, please…” she closed her eyes, not even close to knowing what to say or think.

Before she could respond, the room phone started ringing and pierced through her ears. Max looked at her worriedly and with a heavy sigh, pulled away and went to answer it. All of a sudden, she felt very cold.

“Yeah?” he answered. “Wait, what? Alex, slow down.”

Emma got up from the bed and turned to look at Max in awe. His face had turned pale white. What was going on? Why the hell was he calling?

“He’s coming here?” Max yelled into the phone, rubbing his forehead roughly.

Who was he talking about? Another phone started ringing just then. Max reached into his pocket, pulling out his cellphone. Nervously, he pushed the phone into her hand and motioned for her to answer.

Leo was on the caller ID. “Hello?” she said full of angst.

“Emma! Thank God. Listen to me carefully. Roy is in the lobby. He’s looking for you. We’re going to try to stall him, but you need to get Max out of that room straight away. Tell him to go to our room and use the stairs. The number is 1204. Got it? He should take his stuff with him too, just make it seem like you only got the room for the night. Okay? Emma you still there?”

“Y-yes,” she said swallowing hard. Instant panic coursed through her veins. She could hear Max still talking to Alex in the background, their conversation going in and out of her stream of consciousness.

“Don’t worry, Emma. You got this. Just stay calm and you’ll be fine. Just repeat the room number for me and I’ll let you go.”

“1204,” she said, trying to fight back the tears.

“Good, good. Hang in there Emma. We’ll be here if you need us, okay? Bye.”

“Oh god,” she said once the call disconnected. She felt herself starting to fall when strong arms wrapped around her waist.

“Emma, I’m so sorry,” Max whispered into her hair, his body shaking against hers.

Something inside her snapped into action. “Max, you need to go to Leo’s room. 1204. Pack your stuff and take the stairs. We have no time.”

“I don’t want to leave you. Come with me,” he pleaded. His hazel eyes had turned completely anguished.

“No, Max. That’s not an option. You have to go. Please.” Somehow, she pulled out of his embrace and went for his suitcase, opening it up almost frantically. She went to the closet, pulling his shirts and jackets off the hangers and throwing it in. Soon, Max was at her side tossing in shoes and pants from the dresser. “Get your stuff from the bathroom, too.”

“Right,” he said sprinting across the room. A few seconds later, everything was packed up and he was hauling the suitcase towards the door.

He gave her one last look that was full of remorse. “Emma,” he breathed hard.

“Just, go. Please. I’ll handle him.”

The room phone started ringing again, and she turned to go answer it. Max grabbed her arm, quickly pulling her back towards him.

“Please be careful. Do whatever you need to do. Blame the whole thing on me if he finds out, okay? This isn’t your fault.”

She nodded even though he had it wrong. She knew it was her fault. The whole thing was her fault. He pressed a kiss against her temple, his lips soft and warm, and then he was gone, the door closing behind him with a light click.

She ran towards the phone, answering it on the fourth ring. “Hello?” she said shakily.

“Emma,” Roy’s voice boomed through the receiver.

“Roy?” she asked, trying to sound surprised. “What are you…”

“I’m downstairs. These assholes wouldn’t give me your room number. Which one is it? I’m coming up.”

“Um, it’s um. Hold on let me get it,” she said trying to buy some time.

“Not now, babe. I’m busy,” she heard him say away from the phone.

“What?” she asked confused.

“No, not you. There is this girl here who keeps trying to make small talk with me. Apparently she went to our school too,” he said seeming more amused than annoyed.

Oh my god. Mia. Was she crazy? “Oh. Nice to see you’re making friends.” She slapped her head as soon as the words came out. How stupid did that sound?

“The room number, Emma. Which is it?” he barked.

“1502.” As soon as she said it, the dial tone ensued. She sat there in almost a comatose state, trying to get some semblance of a story together. You can do this, Emma. Please, you have to do this, she thought.

It couldn’t have been even two minutes later when there was a knock on her door. She took a deep breath and went to answer it. She was about to put on the performance of a lifetime.

Roy stood there, filling almost the entire doorway with his usual arrogant self. She couldn’t help but think how different his poise was from its previous holder: aggressive, demanding, impatient. After giving her a distrustful look, he brushed past her and entered the room as if it were his own. Apparently, proper salutations were out of order. He gave the room a quick glance before turning to look at her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked coldly.

“I should ask you the same,” she bit back.

“I cut my trip short. You’ve been acting really distant lately, I thought we could talk. I show up at Alex’s place and surprise, surprise, you’re not there.”

“Well then you would’ve seen he brought a girl home. I wasn’t going to just stay there and listen to them all night.”

“So you decided to book the most expensive hotel you could find? How much are you paying for it? How can you even afford it?”

Shit. She really had no idea what the rate even was. $250 a night? “Don’t worry about it, Roy. I can take care of myself,” she decided to go with instead.

“Oh, really? Is that a new dress, too? Seems you’re going all out all of a sudden.”

This coming from a guy who in two years never seemed to notice what she was wearing. Now he decides to pick up on it? “Relax, it’s from H&M. I can assure you it didn’t break the bank.”

Okay, now was the time to turn this back around. He was asking too many damn questions. “What’s with the third degree, Roy? I thought you wanted to talk, not go on some crazy witch hunt.”

“You’re up to something and I want to know what it is,” he said, stepping up close to her. Suspicion was written all over his face.

“You’re one to talk, Roy. You haven’t given two shits about me since we landed in Madrid. I don’t know what you do...where you go? You’re never home! I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

“Fuck, Emma.” Her words seemed to make him step down from his high horse. He turned away from her and plopped down on the couch. Right when she was about to take a deep breath, he suddenly yelled out, causing her to jump in her place. “What the fuck?”

Looking down at the table, he yelled even louder. “What the fuck is this!?”

He stood up, grabbing the side of the coffee table and violently throwing it on its side. It banged against the wall in a deafening noise. He then barged towards her in full menace. She tried to take a step back, but he grabbed her arms and shook her hard. “Who are you fucking, Emma?”

“What? No one! You are insane!” she cried.

“Don’t fucking lie to me, you fucking bitch. I just saw the wrapper.”

All sensation drowned from her body as the realization hit. How did they miss that? “It’s not what you think,” she said, instantly realizing how much of a line that sounded like.

“Not what I think? There’s a fucking condom wrapper on the table, staring at me in the face. And you’re telling me it’s not what I think?”

“It was a joke, they have them in the mini bar and I just…”

“A joke? You think this is a joke? Who is he? Tell me right fucking now, Emma!”

“I didn’t do anything! You’ll see that it’s not used, okay? It’s still in the packet for crying out loud. Check if you want!”

“You dirty little whore,” he spat at her. “You think you can lie yourself out of this? Make a fool out of me?”

He shoved her roughly away from him and proceeded to rummage through the entire room, checking all the drawers and banging everything in his way.

“Please, Roy. Stop doing this,” she pleaded, praying he wouldn’t find anything.

When he went for the garbage can, she knew all hope was over. Detectives always found all sorts of dirt on their so called trash runs. She almost considered fleeing the room right there and then. She backed away, slowly stepping towards the bathroom. If he made a move towards her, she could go in there and lock herself in. She thought she had seen a phone in there, but couldn’t remember. Hopefully, she could call the lobby and…

“That motherfucking cocksucker,” Roy grit through his teeth. She risked a glance in his direction, and saw that he was looking at a receipt in bloody murder. He grabbed the trashcan and through it against a mirror right next to her, the glass crashing in a million pieces and echoing violently across the room.

Emma covered her ears and crouched down, frozen in place. She didn’t dare look at him, but she could feel his icy stare burning through her body and hear his breath coming out in slow heaves.

“I’m gonna find him, Emma,” he said, his voice laced in venom and full of threat. “And when I do, I’m gonna fucking murder him. You tell your little rich boy that. This isn’t over.”

And then he barged out of the room, the door slamming widely behind him.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

She immediately stood up and went to lock and deadbolt the door, fear coursing through her as she turned around and pressed her back against it. Her head fell back with a thud, her palms stretched rigidly against the wood as if trying to stop an invader from barging in. Was that what he had become? An invader?

Breathing heavily and praying he wouldn’t return, she surveyed the wreckage in the room. Part of the wall was cracked where the door had swung into. How was it possible for one person to cause so much damage so quickly? She went to try to slide the coffee table back in place but after a few attempts realized it was too heavy. The broken mirror would be equally as difficult. There were tiny shards everywhere - all over the floor.

She sat down back on the bed, sitting in the fetal position and rocking herself slowly. How did this happen? It felt like a nightmare. Minutes ago she was laughing and rolling around playfully with Max and now she was just staring at a lone, broken room. Exactly how she felt inside.

She picked up the phone and dialed Leo’s room number. “Emma?” she immediately heard Max say on the other end. “Please tell me you’re okay.”

“Yes, I’m okay. He left. But...he knows Max. He knows about us, that I was here with you,” she said shaking her head.

“Sweetheart, it’s okay. I’ll fix this. I’ll fix everything.”

“He threatened you, Max. He thinks we slept together. He found the stupid wrapper,” she said closing her eyes.

“God. Emma, I’m so sorry. I’m such a fucking idiot. I should have never done that...dragged you into this,” he said regretfully.

“I’m...I’m scared Max,” she said, wanting to punch herself for being such a vulnerable girl.

“Em. Did he hurt you?” he suddenly asked very seriously.

“No. I mean he just...threw some stuff around and stormed off.”

“Jesus. Emma, are you sure you’re okay? You can come down to Leo’s room or I could go back there with you or switch to another room? We can go to another hotel if you want.”

“No, Max. That’s not a good idea. You should stay there. You need to be careful. I think it’s best if I just see you at the airport tomorrow.”

“Okay, if that’s what you want. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

She let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “Okay, I’ll try not to. I should go.”

She heard him curse, followed by silence. “Em?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really sorry. I can’t begin to explain how sorry I am. Please forgive me.”

She swallowed, feeling the knot in her throat thicken. “It’s okay, Max. Let’s just...we can talk about it later, okay?”

He sighed into the phone. “Call me if you need anything. Anything at all. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, goodnight Max.”

“Goodnight, sweetheart.”

She heard the click, followed by the dial tone. Somehow she couldn’t find it in her to hang up the phone, and just stayed like that motionless and staring into space. Sometime later the busy signal went off and she threw the phone on the floor. Her heart started beating heavily, and she recognized the onset of an upcoming panic attack. She immediately started taking deep breaths, just like Max had told her to, and was surprised to see it taper off. She got into the covers, party dress and all, and hit the lights, hoping she could wake up the next day from this horrible dream she had created for herself. It was all her fault.