Experiment in Terror 06 Into the Hollow by Karina Halle Read Free Book Online

Dex hated it.
    Dex was on him in a second, the cat finally pouncing. He grabbed Maximus around his throat and lifted him up, throwing his back against the wall, causing the window panes to rattle. I heard my mom utter a cry from somewhere downstairs.
    “The only crazy person here,” Dex growled as he brought his face right up to Maximus’s, “is you, if you can’t see the bigger picture. Go on sucking the Palomino family dick if it makes you feel better. I’ll feel better knowing Perry is safe.”
    While Dex was spurting these things into Maximus’s reddening face, my eyes drifted down to the floor. The room spun around me as I clued in to what I was seeing. Dex was actually holding him up around his neck with one hand. Maximus’s toes were dangling several inches above the ground and considering the height and weight difference between David and Goliath, that feat was nearly impossible.
    “Uh, Dex,” I said softly.
    He pried his eyes off of Maximus and followed my gaze. A wave of shock rolled over him when he realized what he was doing. He let go and Maximus’s feet landed with a loud thump.
    “Oh, sorry,” he said, clearly flustered. He went over to the suitcase, pretending to be busy, but from the tense way he held his back, I could see he was bothered.
    Maximus was rubbing at his throat lightly, faint pink fingermarks running across it. He didn’t seem upset but he was watching Dex and thinking hard about something.
    “Where’s the rest of your stuff?” Dex asked and I told him to look under the bed, my eyes never leaving Maximus’s pensive face.
    “Not used to being beat up on, are you?” I asked him carefully, wanting to talk about it. But maybe I was just overreacting. Dex was on an adrenaline high and your body can do some pretty freaky stuff.
    Maximus slowly brought his face toward mine and smiled. “I don’t know, I reckon you did a pretty good job.” He tapped the spot on his face where I’d scratched him mid-sex, back when I was all demonic. He knew exactly what buttons to push with us and he was pushing the same ones again.
    If Dex wasn’t tense before, he was now. I was ready for him to flip around and go after Maximus again, but he didn’t bite. He just kept his mouth shut and picked up the first box. He turned around and I could see the temper swirling around in his eyes, the killer grip on the box’s edge. He gave Maximus a forced smile that looked completely menacing.
    “Please move,” he said, gesturing to the way he was blocking the door. “I’d like to get out of here before I break your nose.”
    “I’d like to see you do it,” Maximus answered, not moving.
    “Oh, come on,” I chided them. “You can measure penises after I move out.”
    “You don’t think I can do it?” Dex continued, ignoring me.
    “I know you can do it. I just want to see it.”
    “I’ve done it before.”
    “I want to see you do it…now,” Maximus replied. I didn’t like the squirrely way he sounded, like he was attempting to do Dex a favor or something.
    “Dex,” I said loudly. He and Maximus were locked in some internal showdown, brown eyes against green, short against tall, caveman against caveman.
    “Dex!”
    With great reluctance, he broke the staring contest and looked my way.
    “Please. Let’s go.”
    He nodded and readjusted his hold on the box.
    I glared at Maximus. “And you, please get out of the way. I, personally, have no problems with breaking your nose.”
    Maximus sighed and moved over, opening the door for us. Dex pushed past him and Maximus whispered in a voice so low, I could barely pick it out. “You watch yourself.”
    Dex didn’t even pay attention. I quickly scooped up a box of books and went after him.
    The minute I hit the top of the stairs, I could hear my mom on the phone, crying to my dad. I knew if we didn’t act fast, we’d be majorly hooped. For all I knew, he could be calling the cops and making up a whole bunch of shit to get Dex in trouble