I nodded, getting comfy on his pillows so we were face to face. "Right. So, you're already caught up on the wedding plan now." Kody and I had explained it all over pizza.
“Yep, all up to speed and on board there. It’s a good plan, even if Arch is getting the best part in it.” He rolled his eyes, but his lazy smile told me he wasn’t totally serious.
My cheeks still heated anyway, though. “Okay, so,” I quickly changed the subject, “we’re working on the assumption that Scott was framed. At least a little bit. He knew that I was being stalked, but instead of being, you know, a decent human being and helping me stay sane, he used it to try and further his own agenda.”
“Ugh, I knew I hated that guy,” Steele muttered, wrinkling his nose.
I gave him a tight smile. “I know. Anyway, some of the stuff we found at Scott’s place had his fingerprints on it but lots didn’t, which suggests it was planted there. There was one pair of my panties, which proves he did touch my underwear drawer.”
Steele nodded, understanding. “But not that he took the rest and left the creepy stalker note. Got it. Sounds like your stalker was also watching Scott and saw an opportunity there.”
I sighed. “Yep. I mean, Scott was still a creep. He still tried to force himself on me that day; no one made him go off the rails like that. But… yeah, he definitely wasn’t the one stalking me. I doubt he even knew who was.”
Steele gave me a teasing smile as his fingers played with my hair. “Not to say I told you so, gorgeous, but what were you even thinking making friends with a random dude while you had a stalker on your ass?”
I cringed, rubbing my hands over my face. “I know, I know. Trust me, I’ve asked myself the same damn thing a hundred times. My only excuse is that after everything went down… after I found out you’d all been lying to me… I was just a bit broken. I wanted so badly to have a normal life with normal friends that I blocked out the warning signs.” I heaved a sigh, mentally kicking myself for being so stupid again. “At least Bree and Dallas are real friends. I shouldn’t need anyone else, right?”
“I get it,” he told me in a soft voice. “I understand where your head was at. Right now, though, you just need to be second-guessing everyone. Except Bree, because I can safely say that after two straight weeks of watching reality TV with her? She really just wants to make things up to you for Riot Night. She’s a good egg.”
I grinned at his approval of my friend. “Well, other than the Scott stuff, we don't know a whole lot more. Between visiting you and Bree in the hospital, it hasn't left us a lot of time to play Veronica Mars, you know?"
Steele groaned and wrinkled his nose. "Please don't compare yourself to Veronica. I really don't want to end up like Logan did."
I pouted, agreeing. "That was such bullshit. They were so in love too."
Steele's brows rose. "Speaking of..."
My heart beat double time. "Speaking of... what?"
He gave me a slow smile. "Hellcat, I've been wanting to get you alone since the moment I woke up in the hospital."
"But those nurses seemed to be everywhere all the time? Pretty sure the blonde just had the serious hots for you," I grumbled, but he was right. I'd also been wanting to get him alone, and if I was totally honest, I could have made it happen if I wasn't being such a wuss.
Steele's grin spread wider. "I actually think she had the hots for you, gorgeous. I don't blame her, either." He reached out a hand and stroked a gentle finger down the side of my face. "Hellcat, after I was shot—"
"I'm in love with you," I blurted out, cutting him off. Mainly because I had a pretty good feeling I knew what he was about to say.
His brows hitched, and his eyes lit with interest. "Sorry, what was that? I think I need to hear you repeat that."
I huffed at his sarcasm and squashed all my anxiety over voicing my feelings. He’d damn near died before I’d had the lady balls to tell him to his face, and I needed to rectify that. "You fucking heard me," I muttered. "I love you, Max Steele. I'm sorry it took me so long to make the words come out of my mouth, but when I thought you were dying, I just..." I trailed off with an awkward shrug.
He gave me a curious look. "I thought I heard you say something along those lines on the way to the hospital, but I wasn't sure if that was just panic talking. Was it?"
I frowned. "What? No. I'm not just saying this because you nearly died, Max. I'm saying it because I mean it. I've meant it for ages and just struggled to say it out loud because—"
"Because the last person you said it to died?" His words were quiet, but they struck a nerve as sure as a sharp blade. He was right. The last person I'd loved had died—brutally and just six feet away as I cowered in a closet and cried silently.
I jerked a nod, not trusting my voice.
Steele trailed the back of his fingertips over my cheek again, following the line of my neck down. "Hellcat, we know. We all know where your head is at, and we don't need you to push past these boundaries any faster than you feel comfortable doing. If it takes you ten years to feel at ease saying that you love me—or them—then so be it. Those words spoken out loud don't change what is in our hearts, right?"
My brow tightened, and that familiar feeling of panic swept through me, just like it had when I’d thought he was slipping away without ever hearing me reciprocate his feelings. "No. You don't get it. You nearly died, Max Steele. You nearly died because my stalker shot you, and I was still too hung up on my dead mommy to tell you I loved you. That's not okay; don't let me get away with that self-centered bullshit."
A small smile touched his lips, and his thumb brushed my lower lip. "Hellcat," he murmured. "They're just words. I know you love me."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, now you do 'cause I just said it." I drew a deep breath, my resolve firm. "I love you, Max Steele. Don't fucking die on me again, okay?"
His smile widened, and he hooked his fingers around the back of my head, pulling my face closer. "I probably can't promise ever, but I'll do my fucking best. Okay?" He sealed the deal with a tender kiss, one that made my toes curl and my heart race.
"Fine," I muttered when our lips parted ways. "I guess I'll take that."
I trailed my fingernails over his buzzed hair, then down his neck until finally resting my palm over his chest. Over his wicked scar from the bullet intended to take his life.
"At least we know something more about your stalker now," he commented, covering my hand with one of his own. His heart beat steadily under my fingers, and it was the most soothing rhythm in the entire world.
"What's that?" I asked, licking my lips and trying really damn hard not to let all my big emotions drown me. It wasn't often I let them all out of their cages, because I was shitty at handling them. But I wanted to get better... for him. For all of them.
Steele arched a brow, a playful smile pulling his lips. "He was wrong. He does miss, or I wouldn't still be here."
I never miss.
Motherfucker.
Regardless of his hubris, he was still going to pay dearly when we got our hands on his fucking crazy ass. I wanted revenge for every single crime. Luckily, I knew of the perfect soundproof torture room in the woods where we could make that happen... provided we could find him before his aim hit true. I had a sick feeling he wouldn’t miss again.