From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 58

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Chapter 58: Max Is Dead

Max kept his eyes glued to the directions on his phone. Honestly, he still had no idea where he was even going. The streets and neighborhoods all looked the same to him, completely unfamiliar, like a maze with no exit.

The only good news was that enough time had passed since his fight and injury. If anyone had been looking for him, they’d probably given up by now. After all, there was still school tomorrow. And with how strict the government was about attendance, punishing parents with fines if their kids didn’t show up, it wasn’t easy to miss a day without a solid excuse.

Sure, some kids managed a day or two off here and there, but for a huge group like that? Not exactly easy to explain away. Which meant the streets were relatively safe for him, for now.

As Max walked, he moved his shoulder slightly, testing it, and immediately regretted it. He could feel the tight pull of the stitches holding his skin together.

’With this young body, it shouldn’t take more than a day and a half to heal up,’ Max thought grimly. ’But even if the wound closes up fast, everything else... the soreness, the stiffness...’

He gritted his teeth, feeling the dull ache running through his muscles. It was clear as day.

’I can’t go back to school tomorrow. No way. I probably shouldn’t step back in there for a few days, not until I come up with a real plan.’

Max figured he could skip a few days of school by faking a cold. Even if the other students knew the real reason behind it, it would still buy him the time he desperately needed. Right now, in the state he was in, there was no way he could take them on.

And tomorrow? Yeah, tomorrow his body would hurt even worse than it did now.

Besides, even if the school tried to hit him with a fine for skipping, it wasn’t like it mattered, he could easily afford it.

’With the principal in my back pocket now, he wouldn’t report it anyway,’ Max thought. ’Still, today taught me something important.’

’Dipter and his little crew... they’re way more ruthless than I first imagined. I can’t treat them like a bunch of dumb kids anymore. I have to treat them like what they really are, an actual criminal group.’

And if they were a real gang... Max had to think like he was fighting real criminals too.

’If I were still in the underworld, stuck in this situation... how would I get rid of a group like theirs?’

Lost deep in his thoughts, Max almost missed the sound, quick footsteps coming up fast behind him.

His heart slammed into his ribs.

’Crap, did they really not give up after all this time? I’m not even sure I can lift my leg to fight right now...’

He spun around sharply, ready to throw hands, or worse, but stopped when he saw who it was.

The figure skidded to a halt, throwing both hands up in surrender.

They both froze, caught off guard by the vicious, cold look flashing across Max’s face.

"Max! It’s me, it’s Abby," she said quickly, her voice trembling a little. "Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you or anything. I just... I just wanted to walk with you. Maybe talk for a bit too."

Max wanted to say no. He wanted to tell her to leave him alone, to stay far, far away.

But honestly? He didn’t even have the energy for that anymore. So instead, without a word, he just turned around and kept moving.

Abby hesitated for only a second before hurrying to walk by his side, matching his pace.

"Besides," she said, trying to sound cheerful, "with me here, I don’t think they’ll dare to do anything. If they come at us, I’ll scream so loud it’ll wake the whole neighborhood!"

At her words, Max couldn’t help but let out a faint, half-hearted smile. It barely reached his lips.

She had no idea.

She had no idea that, although she wasn’t the direct cause, she was part of the reason Max had been forced to suffer in silence.

That they wouldn’t do anything to her, that was exactly why Max had taken the beating. Why he’d endured everything without fighting back. So nothing ever happened to her.