Breaking the Cycle (17 page)

Stopping at the clasp of her bra, he set it free with a flick of his fingers.

She stiffened beneath his touch. He looked up into the panic of her wide eyes. “Max, I can’t. I’m so sorry.”

Max cradled her face in his hands again. “Chloe, it’s all right. Really, it is. I understand.”

He could see the tears brim her eyes. “But I wouldn’t…”

“It doesn’t matter to me. You matter to me. And if you’re still too scared to sleep with anyone, I’m excited we got this far.”

She slipped off his lap and buried herself in the couch again, crossing her arm over herself defensively to keep her bra in place. “But you leave tomorrow. For Las Vegas. All those women.”

“No. Jack, Rico, Mark, and Dan. None of which I find remotely attractive.” Max caressed her hair. “You’re the only woman I want.”

She let go a hopeless laugh. “A woman who can’t have sex with you?”

“Guess so.”

She stood, still wrapping a protective arm around herself. She picked up her plate. “I’m tired. I’m going to go to bed.” She fled into the kitchen.

Max exhaled slowly as he ran a hand through his hair. For what was supposed to be an incredible moment, it had gone disastrously wrong.

The next morning, Max and Chloe walked silently hand in hand down the concourse of the airport. He half expected to drive himself after the blow-up the night before. He had to admit he had been overjoyed to find her waiting at the door for him. Even if the time with her was quiet, he needed more of it. More than the air he breathed.

She waited patiently for him to check in for his flight. When they reached the gates, they found Mark, Dan, and Jack waiting for them.

“I wish you were coming with us, Chloe girl,” Mark sighed.

“No more than I do,” Max grumbled.

“Chloe is going to keep everything rolling smoothly at Hard Drive, right Chloe?” Jack patted her gently on the shoulder.

“Of course, sir,” she answered quietly.

“Now, if we could just find Rico.”

“He’s right there,” Dan pointed through the crowd. “And he’s not alone.”

Together, they all turned to find Rico. Clinging on the fighter’s arm was a platinum blonde dressed scantily in a tight-fitting, low cut dress. A carry on dangled from her free arm. A ticket was clenched firmly in her hand.

Max spun at Jack. “Phoebe can come, but Chloe can’t?”

Jack looked dumbfounded. “She told me she was visiting her parents in Texas. I thought I would do Chloe a favor. I know what a pain Phoebe is to her. I never thought she would coerce her way to Vegas.”

Max looked at Chloe. He could see the worry in her eyes. They reminded him of her words the night before. “Chloe, there’s nothing to be concerned about. I love you. I’ll see you in a few days.”

Chloe stared at Phoebe for several long moments. Then, she pulled free from Max. “See you when you get home.”

Max balled his fists at his side, frustrated, as he watched her weave her way to the exit.

»»•««

The crowd overhead shook the arena. Max used all his strength to support Rico as they hobbled through the catacombs. It was slow going. Every few steps brought a hiss of pain from Rico.

He sighed as the door of the locker room came into view. “Seriously, Rico. Why didn’t you go with the paramedics? You jacked up your knee. I’m guessing it’s your ACL.”

“Paramedics give me the creeps.” Rico gasped in pain, his face contorting in agony. “Besides, I have the best trainer in the MMA and a doctor to boot.”

“And both of us told you to get in the ambulance, if you remember.”

“Let me clean up, and we can go to the hospital.”

Max helped Rico onto the trainer’s table then stretched his cramped shoulders. He quickly examined his friend’s leg. It was destroyed. Rico’s knee was the size of a softball. Max shook his head. It looked exactly like his did in college. “Now what?”

“Help me shower,” Rico answered. “I’m full of sweat and my opponent’s blood.”

“In my clothes?”

The click of high heels indicated that they weren’t alone. “You can get undressed, Max. I won’t mind,” Phoebe cooed.

Max glared at her. Phoebe had spent the past couple days in Vegas trying to seduce him. She showed absolutely no interest in her boyfriend. She would brush her fingers against him when she was close, finding any excuse under the sun to touch him. She showed up at his hotel room every night, in only a bathrobe, with some flimsy plea for help. He wasn’t about to let her inside, but called the front desk from his cell phone to have her escorted away. They knew his voice well.

“I’ll shower with my clothes on. Thanks though, Phoebe,” he snarled.

He cast a sideways glance at his duffle bag sitting on the bench. He couldn’t wait to call Chloe. They talked every night, but her voice was so weak and wounded. He should have told Jack to shove it. Tomorrow though, he would see her again.

And he wasn’t going to wait any more. In the middle of the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, among all the crowds of travelers, he would drop to one knee and ask her to be his wife. And pray she would say yes. Every piece was ready. The ring was tucked safely in his duffle next to his phone.

“Come on. Let’s get you washed up, so we can get you to the hospital.” Max helped Rico to his good leg and supported him as they stumbled into the shower, leaving Phoebe in the locker room to wait for them.

Showering fully clothed was one of the most uncomfortable things Max had ever done. He clung to Rico with all his strength as his friend slipped from his grip. Rico hissed several times from the extreme pain. Admittedly, the whole awkward experience had them both chuckling. Soon, the sweat and caked-on blood was streaming down Rico’s skin, across the pale blue, tile floor, and down the drain.

When the two men hobbled out of the shower area, they found themselves alone. Max breathed a sigh of relief. The very last thing he wanted to do was drive to the hospital soaked to the bone. However, if Phoebe had been still waiting for them, he would have done it without thinking twice.

Max carefully wrapped an elastic wrap the best he could around Rico’s leg then helped him get out of his shorts and into a pair of athletic pants and a T-shirt. He held on as Rico lowered himself to the bench. Max exhaled slowly then turned and crossed the locker room to his bag. He stopped short as he stared at it, puzzled. It was unzipped. Did he leave it open? In the chaos around Rico’s leg, he couldn’t remember. He looked inside. Something didn’t seem right. Things weren’t in the right place.

He ruffled through his things, silently taking an account of his belongings. Then, he heard Rico’s voice from behind him. “Max, the pain.”

“I’m on it,” Max acknowledged. He scooped up his phone and sent a text to Mark. Then he grabbed some clothes from his duffle and peeled his wet clothes from his body. He dressed in his dry clothes, zipped his bag closed, and threw it over his shoulder before striding back to Rico and helping him up.

Mark stepped into the room. “Ready now? You stubborn ass.”

“No arguments there,” Rico muttered.

Mark wrapped an arm around Rico’s waist to help Max support him. The three men shuffled from the locker room toward the dock door.

»»•««

Chloe paced the living room anxiously. She stopped to stare at the time on the DVR. Ten o’clock. No call. The fight should have been over by now. She started pacing again.

She knew she shouldn’t worry. Max was in Las Vegas on Hard Drive business. He was there to help Rico get one step closer to winning a belt. She also knew that he had Mark, Dan, and Rico to hang around with.

But Chloe just couldn’t shake the thought that the man she loved was in the City of Sin. He was there with countless, beautiful women willing to go to bed with him. That included Phoebe, who Chloe was positive had gone on the trip specifically to do just that. She couldn’t push the idea of Max with another woman out of her mind. And every moment he didn’t call made it worse.

Finally, after another hour of wearing the carpet thin, she picked up her cell and dialed. She listened to it ring over and over. Right before it went to voicemail, it was answered.

“Hello?” a soft, feminine voice spoke.

Chloe couldn’t swallow past the lump in her throat. Her blood turned to ice. “Sorry, Phoebe,” she choked out. “I thought I called Max.”

“You did.”

“Why are you answering his phone?”

Phoebe’s laughter was light. “It’s been quite a long night, Chloe. He was such a mess. All hot and sweaty. He’s in the shower now. Don’t worry. I’m taking such good care of him. Do you want me to have him call you?”

Chloe felt the world fall out from under her. “No. Thanks.” She hung up the phone and set it on the coffee table. Max and Phoebe. Together. In bed. She had known he couldn’t be without intimacy. Why did he have to lie to her? Especially after she had fallen in love with him?

She glanced around the room as her tears blinded her. Pieces of him were everywhere. There was a baseball hat sitting on the back of the chair. His favorite magazine rested on the coffee table. His sandals sat beside the door. The house even smelled like him. She couldn’t stay here anymore. She grabbed her keys, tugged on her shoes, and ran out the door, slamming it behind her.

She wandered down the streets aimlessly as she sobbed. She had known from the beginning that she couldn’t be with the great Max Thomas. She should have just listened to herself. How could she have been so stupid?

She didn’t know how long she walked. Her legs started to ache. Her body shook. Her mind wouldn’t stop. Home right now wasn’t an option. There was too many reminders of Max.

Suddenly she stopped. A familiar sensation grew in her pit of her stomach. Her eyes flew open in alarm as she turned back toward home. She looked around confused. She didn’t pay attention to where she was walking and had no idea where she was. The pain in her belly grew. She dropped to her knees as she started to heave. She stopped for just a few moments before she started again.

“Miss, are you all right?”

Chloe felt her body collapse onto the grass, unable to answer. There was activity around her but she couldn’t comprehend it. The agony was too much. She couldn’t stop vomiting. The blare of sirens echoed around her. She felt hands tug at her and a needle pierce her skin. She couldn’t tell them what was wrong. They lifted her up and laid her limp body on the gurney. She didn’t know where she was going. Max was no longer important. Ending this blinding pain was.

Max dumped the contents of his duffle bag on the hospital floor for the fifth time. He picked up each and every item carefully, shaking it, examining it. Once he was done, he set it back in the bag. The nurses gave him dirty looks as they passed his manic sorting.

“Max, you’re scaring me,” Mark informed him. “What are you looking for?”

Max sighed as he set the last item back in the duffle. “I bought Chloe an engagement ring. It was in my duffle when I left the hotel. Now, it’s gone.”

“Are you certain you put it in there?”

“Yes. Next to my phone. It’s stolen.” He ran his hands through his hair, exasperated. Then, he picked up his phone and dialed. He would figure out the ring later. Right now, he needed to hear Chloe’s voice.

He waited as the line rang. It went to voicemail. Max hung up and re-dialed the house landline. It rang and rang with no response. He hung up again then dialed Liz.

“Hey, Max,” she greeted.

“Liz, are you home?” Max begged, his voice laced with worry.

“No, I’m with Al. Why?”

“Is Chloe home?”

“Yes, Max. Why?”

“I called her cell phone and the landline. There’s no answer.”

There was a pause. “I’m on my way. I’ll call you, Max.”

Max dropped his phone in his bag and buried his face in his hands. His life was starting to unravel. And he was too far away to stop it. He sat back and watched each minute tick away slowly on the clock.

It took at least a half an hour to get from Al’s condo to home. Every minute felt like an hour. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He needed to know she was all right. He needed to hear her voice.

Finally, his phone rang. He fumbled for it, answering before it got to his ear. “Liz?”

“She’s not here, Max. Her car is here. Her purse and phone is here. But Chloe is gone.”

Fear clenched Max’s heart. “Where could she be?”

“Did she go with your family somewhere?”

Max exhaled. Of course. His family. “I’ll call them. Call you right back.”

Max hung up and dialed his parents’ house. It rang more times than usual. His dad picked up with a yawn and irritation in his voice. “Thomas residence.”

“Hey, Dad. Is there any chance Chloe is with you?”

“Max, it’s three in the morning. Why would Chloe be with us?”

Panic took hold of him again. “Is everyone home? Is there a chance Tami or Jenny are out? That she could be with them?”

“Everyone is here, Max. They’re sleeping. What’s going on?”

Max swallowed hard. “Chloe is missing. I’m in Las Vegas. I don’t know where she went.”

“I’ll head to Minneapolis and help her mom look for her.”

“Wait until morning, Dad. But yeah, I would appreciate you helping us look.”

“I’ll head out at sun up.”

“Thanks. See you soon.” Max ended his call then stood up and grabbed his bag.

Mark watched him before he spoke. “I’ll go home with you.”

“No. Someone needs to stay with Rico. Lord knows Phoebe doesn’t care about him. I’ll catch up with you when you all get back.”

“All right. Good luck, Max. Find her.”

“Thanks,” Max muttered. He pulled out the cell again to call Liz as he rushed for the door.

Max took the first cab he found to the airport as he called anyone he could think of. Someone had to know where Chloe was. Each time he hung up the phone, his heart clenched tighter. Without a car or her purse, she couldn’t have gone far. Did someone abduct her? Did she just go out for a walk? Had she been mugged or killed while she was walking? The love of his life was gone and he couldn’t be there to help her.

Max bought a ticket for the next flight to Minneapolis. The plane didn’t leave for two hours. The torture brought him to the edge. Tears filled his eyes. He felt helpless, and he hated it. He didn’t care what Jack said. He would never, ever leave Chloe behind again. If he found her in one piece.