From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 273

Chapter 273: Stories We Never Ask For

Wolf’s words hit Abby harder than she expected. Maybe it was because of the situation she was in, locked away, uncertain, scared, that her mind kept spiraling. With nothing to do but sit and think, the questions began to pile up.

Who was Max, really? she asked herself.

Wasn’t he just someone like her? Someone who had lost his parents and spent his lonely days playing video games to escape the world? That’s what she had believed for so long.

But if she still thought that was the only version of Max... then maybe she’d been fooling herself.

She’d seen things, things most people would never believe. She’d seen how others looked at him. How school delinquents, hardened and feared, would show up and bow their heads like he was some kind of god. Like he wasn’t just respected, but worshipped.

And then there was the fighting. She’d seen him move, seen him handle himself in ways that made it clear: this wasn’t something new. Max fought like someone who had been doing it his entire life.

The fact that he even knew someone like the man who called himself "Wolf"... that alone raised a dozen more questions.

There’s something strange about all of this, Abby thought. There are so many things surrounding Max that don’t make sense.

She’d always been afraid to ask him, afraid that by prying too deep, she might push him away. That if she forced the truth out, she’d lose the version of him she felt safe around.

But now, sitting here alone with nothing but her thoughts and a stranger to talk to, she realized something else.

Maybe I should ask. Maybe I have to.

I just wonder where he is right now...

Being stuck in the container, with only Wolf nearby, wasn’t ideal. But if anyone knew more about Max, if anyone could help her piece together who he really was, it had to be him.

So maybe... just maybe, she should try. Try to learn more. Try to understand. Try to find out who Max truly was beneath all the mystery.

"So... what about you?" Abby asked quietly, her voice soft but curious. "Why are you here? I know you said it’s because of Max, but... are you like them? Or are you... just a high school student?"

Wolf raised an eyebrow at the sudden burst of questions. With a small chuckle, he moved to sit down instead of remaining on his feet. The exhaustion was starting to creep in, but from the look of things, none of the Rejected Corps members were going to come storming in anytime soon.

"That’s a lot of questions, you know..." he said, leaning back slightly as he made himself more comfortable.

"But your guess isn’t too far off," he added with a grin. "I’m kind of like those guys who brought you here. If you didn’t already know, they’re part of a gang."

Abby’s eyes widened slightly at the word gang. It was something she’d only ever heard in movies or seen in TV shows. Rough, dangerous people who did reckless things for power or money. The idea that she was now surrounded by gang members felt surreal.

"And as for me," Wolf continued, "I run my own little gang. Nothing too flashy. I just help Max out from time to time when he needs it."

He smiled as he said it, warm, casual, as if talking about something as harmless as helping a friend move furniture. That smile didn’t fit the image Abby had in her head. He wasn’t cold or threatening. In fact, he had been nothing but kind to her since they met.

Still, it only raised more questions.

If Max was working with people like this... if he was part of a gang too... then it confirmed what she had feared for a while now: he was involved in something dangerous.

She couldn’t ask directly about Max, not without it seeming obvious, but maybe if she asked about Wolf, she’d understand more.

"So..." she began, "how did you even get into this kind of life in the first place? What happened to you?"

Wolf tilted his head slightly, considering her for a moment before answering.

"Everyone’s story’s a little different," he said. "So just because I give you my answer, doesn’t mean it’s everyone’s answer."

Wolf could tell why Abby had asked the question. It wasn’t just curiosity, it was her way of trying to understand Max, by first understanding him.

Maybe... Max didn’t choose this life either, she thought. Maybe, just like Wolf, it was a life forced onto him. A life built from survival.

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