Max gave a pained frown as her voice broke emotionally. ‘The attack on Josh set off alarm bells in my head.’ He nodded. ‘Especially when he told us he had recognized the voice of his attacker. I just came to the wrong conclusion, that’s all.’ He grimaced. ‘Maybe I can be forgiven for that. Peter Meridew was in the room when Josh kissed you on Saturday evening, and he also seemed to be around a lot whenever you were in the piano bar. But then so was John,’ he acknowledged hardly.
January still looked totally dazed. ‘But if—if John, felt that he had some sort of—of claim on me, why didn’t he attack you, too?’
Max gave a rueful smile. ‘Good question. I’ve been wondering that myself.’ He grimaced. ‘Maybe he just didn’t think I was going to be around long enough to be a problem. Whereas Josh and Peter Meridew…’ He broke off pointedly.
January shook her head. ‘Why did he attack those other women?’
‘Because it seems that, at one time or another, he felt they had scorned or rejected him. Who really knows the workings of a disturbed mind?’ he rasped harshly.
January swallowed hard. ‘Maybe the same thing would have happened to me if I had ever been less than friendly towards him.’ She shuddered just at the thought of it.
Max’s hand tightened about hers. ‘You mustn’t think that way, January,’ he told her forcefully. ‘John has been arrested. He’s no longer a danger to anyone—thank goodness. He completely lost it when he came in to work this evening and discovered you were no longer going to be working here, instantly knew who was responsible. The police caught him in the act of attacking Peter Meridew. I don’t know if you heard him just now—’ Max grimaced ‘—but he’s already said enough for the police to charge him with all the attacks,’ he explained softly, all the time watching January concernedly.
She swallowed hard. ‘Do you think it was John that followed me home last night?’
‘Ah. No.’ Max grimaced self-consciously. ‘I checked on that earlier. It was actually a police car. Apparently, they had thought they were following at a safe distance, but my constant warnings had obviously put you on a bigger state of alertness than we thought. I’m sorry for alarming you in that way, January,’ he added as she looked more pale than ever.
This must all have come as such a shock to her. After all, he had had several hours to come to terms with the idea himself, and he still found the whole thing highly disturbing. January had known John a lot longer than he had, had obviously liked the man. Only to find out he wasn’t at all what she had thought he was.
Perhaps he would be able to persuade her that he wasn’t what she had thought he was either…?
One thing Max knew for certain, whatever his plans might have been before tonight, he no longer intended going back to America.
He couldn’t bear the thought of going anywhere if January wouldn’t go with him!
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JANUARY felt ill, had never felt so sick in her life. John. Nice, friendly, invisible John. Who ever would have thought of it?
Max had thought of it!
Okay, so he had initially suspected the wrong man, but he had ultimately been perfectly correct in warning her to take care. And all she had done was to give him a hard time over what she had considered his interference!
God, all those times she had talked with John, shared a joke or two with him, accepted his offer to walk her out to her car—!
She repressed a shudder, looked frowningly at Max. ‘I owe you an apology—’ She broke off as Max stood up abruptly, frowning up at him now.
‘I don’t want your apology, January,’ he rasped, blue gaze blazing, hands clenched at his sides. ‘Neither do I want your gratitude,’ he added harshly.
She flinched at the force of his emotions. But was it so surprising that Max was angry with her? He had tried to help her, and she had blocked or mocked him at every turn.
She sighed. ‘I appreciate you’re angry—’
‘Too right I’m angry!’ he shot back forcefully. ‘I should have looked after you better. Should have checked and double-checked on my suspicions, not just told the police about them—before deciding to run away!’ he bit out self-disgustedly. ‘Well, I’m not running any more, January,’ he told her forcefully. ‘I’m not going anywhere. Do I make myself clear?’ He stood over her gloweringly.
January blinked a little dazedly at this sudden attack. She had meant he had a right to be angry with her, not himself. ‘I don’t understand.’ She shook her head in puzzlement.
Max came down on his haunches beside her, his gaze intent on her face. ‘I’m not going to America or anywhere else, January. In fact, in future I’m going to stick to you like glue,’ he added grimly.
‘But—but now that John has—now that he’s been arrested, I’m not in any danger.’ She still felt nauseous at how friendly she had been with a man who attacked seemingly at random. Although she was sure that someone would eventually make sense of John’s obsession…
‘You may not be,’ Max bit out forcefully. ‘But I certainly am.’ He took both her hands in both of his, his gaze intense on the paleness of her face now. ‘January, I intend giving Jude notice that I will no longer be available to work for him.’
She frowned. ‘Because of those things I said to you?’ she groaned self-reproachfully. ‘But I didn’t mean them. I was only—’
‘No, not because of anything you said to me,’ Max assured her firmly. ‘I intended telling him all this anyway when I got back to America.’
She blinked. ‘You did?’