But I can’t. My shoes feel like they’re cemented to the ground. Not from fear, but from the unexplainable need to protect him. The guy in front of me rotates his upper body, and I square my shoulders, reaching out to grip his, as Pedro flies in front of me tackling him to the ground. Within seconds he’s straddling the guy and waling on his face.

I whip my head around to ensure that Max is fine; he looks possessed. Landon appears next, and I see him punch the guy that has been holding Max’s arms. Blood now pours from both his nose and his mouth. My eyes don’t know where to focus as punches and threats are exchanged.

“Get her out of here!” Max yells, shoving me toward Landon. Landon nods and grabs my waist, lifting me over his shoulder before I can object. He carries me a few feet back before depositing me on my feet.

“Landon, someone’s going to get hurt!” I yell, trying to shove my way around him.

“What in the hell?” Kendall shrieks. I turn as she grabs my face with both hands and looks me up and down, but I repeatedly tell her that I’m fine.

“What happened?” she asks, her eyes following mine, though I’m sure hers find Jameson as mine lock on Max. I watch as his fist repeatedly connects with the guy that originally grabbed me. The guy’s face is bleeding and already starting to swell, yet Max isn’t slowing down.

“Landon does someone need to stop him?” Abby asks.

“Let’s go. Cops are probably going to show up,” Landon says, grabbing one of Jameson’s arms. Jameson straightens himself out, and they both walk to Max. Each of them grab an arm and pull him back. Pedro gives a final blow to a guy, and then he too goes to help them pull Max away, but it’s like he’s on autopilot.

“Max!” I yell, stepping closer now that no one is there to restrain me. “You’re going to kill him, stop!” I yell as he lands another punch on the guy’s face. I grab his arm that Jameson already works to restrain and can feel the tension in his entire body.

His eyes snap to mine; they’re cold, dark pools I don’t recognize, and I shake my head. “Stop. Please stop.” Unexpected tears burn in the back of my eyes as his begin to register recognition. He drops the hold that he has on the guy’s shirt. My hand falls from his arm as I turn to make my way to the front door. I need to get out of here.

“Ace!” Max’s voice calls out, and I feel the unfamiliar urge to stop and wait for him. Logically I know he just saved me—from what I’m not sure. I won’t allow my mind to go down that dark rabbit hole, but I know he protected me. The whole situation is just too overwhelming to process right now.

I hear the others calling to both Max and me as I weave through the crowd, focused on the front door. As I get halfway through the living room an unfamiliar guy wraps his arm around my waist and begins dancing against my side, pressing his pelvis into my hip and delivering a friendly smile. I push away and shoot him an icy glare. He backs away, apologizing.

The interaction slows me down enough so Max catches up with me, and I feel his hand on my lower back, following me through the remainder of the house.

I take a few gulps of the evening air. It’s cool against my sweat-dampened skin. Max’s hand grips my elbow and directs me forward as a few people pass to join the party.

He guides me over to a bench sitting under a large tree, and my body falls against the wooden planks. My head tilts back so I can take in the large expanse of the dark sky as I hastily pull my hair from my sweaty neck and shoulders into a knot.

“Ace, I know you’re pissed—”

“I’m not pissed, Max! I’m freaking overwhelmed and a little freaked out at the moment!” I didn’t intend to yell and feel a bit surprised when my voice comes out so loud. “What in the hell was that? You went nuts!” I run a hand over my face in exhaustion. “Are you okay?” I ask, focusing my eyes on his abdomen as the visions of Max being hit flash through my mind.

“I’m fine,” Max says automatically, shaking his head. His voice rises to match mine. “Ace that guy was going to …” He stops, his eyes squeeze shut, and his head shakes as he throws both of his hands in the air. Sighing, he looks down at his shirt. It’s covered in blood spatters. He peels it off in one fell swoop and uses the inside to wipe his face and arms.

“Ace, that guy and his friends were going to hurt you.” His voice is quieter as I turn away from him. “Fuck.” His chest heaves with a deep breath as he sits beside me and props his elbows on his knees, keeping his eyes focused on the yard as though he’s expecting someone to come.

“You always want to think everyone is nice and good, and it’s great to be all Anne Frank about humanity, but you have to have a little bit of self-preservation and realize that there are some seriously fucked-up people. It took Jameson and me forever to get to you. Then when his friends jumped me and I realized it was a team operation, I knew shit could’ve gotten really bad. People attack in teams like that for fucked-up reasons.” His eyes dance across my face watching his words resonate with me.

“You scared the shit out of me, Ace. I couldn’t figure out why you weren’t punching him! I know Caulder taught you girls that shit!” Max stands up again and throws his shirt in a bush. “And what in the hell were you thinking getting in the middle of things? Are you crazy?” His voice rises as he glares at me.

“Max you looked like you were going to kill that guy,” I admit barely above a whisper.

“Ace, I grew up with my brothers and me beating the shit out of each other. I knew he wasn’t going to die. If I’m lucky, I broke a couple of ribs and his fucking nose.”

I don’t bother expressing how ridiculous I find this. “We need to get out of here. If the cops come, they’ll arrest you.” He shakes his head and looks back to the house, and I can feel his desire to go back inside as he rakes a hand through his short hair.

“That’s the last thing I’m worried about right now.”

“Well, it’s pretty much at the top of my list, so let’s go. Kendall’s car is over there.” I grab Max’s hand and find it to be sticky with blood. I almost drop it from the disgust bubbling in my stomach, but when I look up to see Max looking at my hand wrapped around his, I stop. His eyes slowly reach mine and the calmness begins to return to his features.

“I have my Jeep,” he says, nodding to the street as he fishes his keys from his pocket. Red and blue lights light up the night sky, and I tighten my grip on Max’s hand, pushing him through the shrubs to the neighbor’s yard.

“Where are you parked?” He doesn’t bother answering, tugging me toward the street.

“Here, call Jameson. Tell him to get everyone out of there, and to take Pedro too.” I nod and take his phone.

Max pulls open the passenger door as Jameson’s phone begins ringing. I watch Max jog around the front of his Jeep while I breathe his familiar scent—the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and musky. I take a deep, cleansing breath that the fresh air outside couldn’t offer me as Jameson answers.

“Dude, where in the hell are you guys? Please tell me Ace is with you. Kendall is freaking the fuck out, man!”

“It’s me,” I assure him. “We’re heading home now. Is everyone okay? Is Pedro with you?” I hear Jameson assure everyone that we’re alright before responding to me.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re good,” he says, letting out a deep breath as I hear Kendall firing off questions about what had happened, and where we are, and if I’m really okay.

“We’ll see you at home. Tell her everything’s fine and to calm down.” Before the barrage of questions can continue, I press end and set his phone down in the cup holder.

I feel Max’s eyes on me and try to fight the impulse to look at him. I successfully avoid meeting his gaze for about two minutes.

“Are you okay?”

I shake my head and let my head fall back against the seat. “I froze, Max. I completely froze.” I take a deep breath and look over to him as he glances between me and the road. “This summer has been such a confusing clusterfuck of emotions and events. I just hope that tonight was the pinnacle of this crazy summer, because that has got to be one of the top five worst parties I’ve ever been to. And that’s pretty impressive because last year Kendall entered the top five after she got so wasted she used my purse to empty her stomach.” I nod to myself, recalling the horrible memory. “But I knew how to fix it; I knew how to make it better. Tonight, I didn’t know what to do when he grabbed me.”