Chapter 54 The Problem

Chapter 54 The Problem
Max

Aellorah had only just drifted off when my phone buzzed in my trousers on the floor. I slipped it from my pocket, careful not to jostle the mattress.

“Yeah?”

“Max, we’ve got a problem.” Jax’s voice was tight—too tight—and my pulse spiked instantly.

“What kind of problem?” I pushed upright, glancing at Aellorah. She lay curled beneath the sheets, breathing slow and even, untouched by the storm gathering on the other end of the line.

“They ran us off the road.”

My stomach dropped. “What?!” I wedged the phone between my shoulder and ear and yanked on my boxers with shaking hands.

“Yeah. We followed them upstate like you asked. Everything was fine until it wasn’t. I think they realized we were tailing them. James threw his car into reverse, and my car—”

“Forget the car,” I cut in, already reaching for my trousers. The car didn’t matter. Insurance could handle that. “Are you both okay?”

“Shaken, but unharmed,” he said, breathless in a way that made my skin crawl.

“And James?”

“They didn’t stick around,” he said. “Killian is fine. Just… rattled.”

I exhaled, but the relief was thin, fragile. “Send me your location. I’ll come get you.”

“Can’t Hayden—”

“No.” My voice came out sharper than intended. “I’m coming. Just send it.”

I hung up and finished dressing in seconds, adrenaline making my fingers clumsy. Aellorah shifted as I leaned over her.

“Baby,” I whispered against her cheek.

“Mmm?” She blinked up at me, barely awake.

“I have to step out for a few minutes. I’ll be back soon.”

“M’kay…” She smiled faintly when I kissed her forehead, then slipped right back into sleep, blissfully unaware of the chaos her father had unleashed.

“Right back,” I murmured, though the words felt like a promise I wasn’t sure I could keep. Not with the way things were escalating.

I grabbed my wallet and phone, then crossed the suite in long strides. At the elevator, I paused. Just one more look.

She lay sprawled across the bed, peaceful, soft, untouched by the violence simmering around her family name. And I hated—truly hated—that her father had dragged us into this. That he’d gone after my people. That he might not stop there.

A cold thought slid down my spine. If he was willing to run Jax and Killian off the road… what else was he willing to do?

I forced myself into the elevator, jaw clenched. As the doors slid shut, I dialed Jax again.

“I’m on my way,” I said. “Stay where you are. And keep your eyes open. If her father sent someone after you, he might not be done.”

Jax exhaled shakily. “Yeah. We figured.”

The elevator hummed downward, each floor feeling like a countdown. I stared at my reflection in the mirrored wall—tension carved into every line of my face.

This wasn’t just a warning. This was a message. And I needed to make damn sure he never got close enough to send another one.

Aellorah

I woke to silence. Not the soft, steady kind that came with Max’s breathing beside me, but a hollow stillness that made me blink into the dim room. I reached across the bed instinctively, fingers brushing only cool sheets.

My brows knitted in confusion. “Max…?”

No answer.

I pushed myself upright, hair tumbling over my bare shoulders as I scanned the suite. His shoes were gone. His jacket too. The bathroom door stood open and dark.

A flicker of unease stirred in my chest. He wouldn’t just leave without telling me. Not unless something was wrong.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, the carpet cool beneath my feet as I stood. The room felt wrong—too empty, too quiet. My pulse picked up.

“Max?” I called again, louder this time, as if he might somehow be in the next room. Still nothing.

I spotted his phone charger unplugged, the cord dangling uselessly. That did it. A knot tightened in my stomach, sharp and insistent. Where had he gone? I grabbed my own phone from the nightstand and dialed him. It rang once. Twice. Three times.

“Come on,” I whispered, pacing toward the window. My father’s face flashed unbidden in my mind—his cold stare at the gala, the tension in Max’s jaw afterward, the way the air had felt charged with something dangerous.

What if this had to do with that? What if my father had—

The call connected. “Max?” I breathed, relief and fear tangling in my voice.

His voice came through, low and strained. “Hey. I’m here.”

“Where did you go? I woke up, and you were just… gone.” I pressed her free hand to my forehead, trying to steady her breathing. “Is everything okay?”

A beat of silence. Too long. Too heavy.

“I’m almost at the site,” he said finally.

“The site?” My heart lurched. “Max, what happened?”

“Jax and Killian were run off the road.” His voice was tight, controlled, but I could hear the anger simmering beneath it. “They’re okay. Shaken, but okay.”

My breath caught in my throat. “Run off the—Max, by who?”

Another pause. Deep down, I already knew the answer.

“Aellorah… I think your father realized they were following him.”

I pressed my hand over my mouth, eyes stinging. “Oh, my god.”

“I’m going to get them now,” he continued, the sound of wind rushing faintly in the background. “I didn’t want to wake you until I knew more.”

“But you left without—Max, what if he—”

“I’m fine,” he said quickly, but I could hear the tension in every word. “I just need to get to them. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

I sank onto the edge of the bed, my pulse thundering in my ears. “Please be careful.”

“I will.” His voice softened, just a fraction. “Stay in the suite. Lock the door. I’ll call you the moment I have them.”

I swallowed hard. “Okay.”

“I mean it, Aellorah.”

“I said okay,” I repeated in a whisper.

He exhaled, the sound rough. “I’m pulling up now. I have to go.”

“Max—”

“I’ll call you soon.”

The line went dead.

"I love you... I whispered into the phone, even though he wasn't on the line to hear it. I lowered the phone slowly, staring at the dark screen as dread pooled in my stomach like a lead weight. My father had crossed a line—one I knew he was capable of crossing, and still, I hadn’t been prepared.

And Max was driving straight into the wreckage my family left in their wake.