Beautifully Brutal (Southern Boy Mafia #1) (18 page)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Be careful what you wish for.

Max leaned back in his chair, studying Leyton. Now that he was fully apprised of the situation with one of his distributors, he relaxed somewhat. He still had more questions, but he couldn’t seem to concentrate due to the fog that had overcome him in recent days.

“How is she?” Max questioned, referring to Courtney. It’d been ten days since he’d seen her last. Although he’d been the one to send her on her way, Max still thought about her every minute of every day, wondering what she was doing, who she was with … whether or not she was thinking about him. Hell, he’d give anything just to see her, touch her, hold her…

It was official. Courtney Kogan was solely responsible for ruining him.

Leyton’s gaze darted to the desk. “Good. She doesn’t leave her house much. Just to go to work or visit her folks.”

“No new assignments?”

“No,” Leyton confirmed. “At least not anything that’ll send her off the grid.”

Max wasn’t sure why he was happy to hear that, but he was.

“What about Angelica?” he asked.

“She’s stayin’ put for now. I had a chat with her, told her to back off.”

Max smirked. “And she listened?”

“Doubtful,” Leyton replied with a grin. “But, I laid it out for her, told her to chill with the nonsense. However, she’s still workin’ on a way to move up the wedding, and she’s hell-bent on the sixteenth.”

“Of course she is,” Max told him. “That’s the day Trace and Marissa are gettin’ hitched. She doesn’t want me there.”

“But you’re still goin’?” Leyton inquired.

He nodded. Nothing short of a bullet would keep him away. He didn’t give a fuck what his father said; this was Max’s life, and he fully intended to live it the way he wanted to.

“I don’t know what it is with that woman, but I think she’s up to somethin’,” Leyton relayed.

“Who?” Surely Leyton wasn’t talking about Courtney.

“Angelica. I know that the marriage arrangement was her idea because she pissed off Alvarez and she convinced her grandfather to put it in motion, but she’s on edge. I think she’s worried you’ll back out, concerned that you don’t need Winslow as much as they need you.”

Max agreed. However, Max and Leyton had already put some things in motion that would require the land deal to go through. The blowback, should things not go smoothly, could be painful. “I’m at odds right now. Let’s work on a backup plan, though. We can’t backtrack now. It’ll show weakness. But she’s right to be worried.”

Leyton nodded.

The door to Max’s office opened slowly.

“Sir?” Sal called when he stuck his head inside.

Looking past Leyton toward the door, Max lifted an eyebrow in question.

“Courtney’s here to see you.”

Max frowned, his eyes darting to the doorway behind Sal.

“They just let her through the main gate.”

“She say what she wanted?” he asked, getting to his feet at the same time Leyton did.

“No. Just that it was important.”

Fuck.

When he glanced over to Leyton, the man simply shrugged.

It’d been a little over a week since the last time he’d seen or talked to her, and after what he’d said to her, Max hadn’t expected her to want to have anything to do with him. That had been the plan, pushing her away, shielding her from the crazy that was Angelica until Max could figure out what needed to be done.

“Send her in,” Max told Sal, reaching for the decanter and pouring himself a drink. It was too early in the morning, but if he was expected to come face-to-face with the woman who haunted his dreams and every waking moment, he had to do something.

“I’ll work on a backup plan,” Leyton told him before leaving him alone.

A few minutes later, as Max stood at the windows overlooking the back of his house, he heard the door open. He didn’t turn to face her immediately, steeling himself for seeing her again.

“Max?”

He closed his eyes at the sound of her voice, his gut churning from the pain that had overtaken his world since he’d sent her away from him.

A minute passed, maybe two, before Courtney spoke up again; this time she sounded closer.

“I know you don’t want to see me, but…”

Max turned around, his eyes raking over her from head to toe as he tried to catch his breath.

There before him was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail; she had absolutely no makeup on her beautiful face. The black tank top she wore showed off her toned arms, and the baggy black BDUs did little to disguise her sexy body. The black combat boots and the Ruger 9mm holstered on her side made his fucking dick come to life.

He’d seen the woman in everything from an evening gown to absolutely nothing, and he was pretty damn sure he’d never seen her as fucking hot as she was right that moment, looking like a complete badass.

Forcing his gaze away from her, he strolled back to his desk. “What can I do for you, Courtney?”

“I need your help,” she told him.

His eyes lifted to meet hers. “With?”

She took a few steps closer, and he noticed her throat work as she swallowed hard. She was nervous, that was clear. “We’ve got a case. A little girl.”

Max waited for her to continue.

“Looks like the father kidnapped her.”

“And how do you think I can help?” he questioned curiously.

“Mother lives in San Antonio, father in Laredo…”

Their eyes locked together as she trailed off, and Max knew what she was asking of him. He had plenty of contacts, including some of his own men down there who could very well find what she was looking for within the hour. But he wasn’t willing to give in to her quite so easily. After all, he was a businessman. He didn’t do favors; he didn’t extend his services for free. If she wanted something from him, he wanted something in return.

“When did she disappear?” he inquired.

“Friday night when the father picked her up for his weekend visit. She should’ve been back Sunday evening. They never came back.”

He let his eyes trail over her for a moment, then it hit him. “And what?” he asked, nodding to her choice of clothing. “You’re gonna go find her?”

Courtney’s head cocked to the side as she glared at him. “It’s my job, Max. That’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”

Shit.

He had known from the day he’d met her that she was in the security business. As sexist as it sounded, he much preferred her on the glorified babysitting jobs that her father and brothers preferred to send her on. Never had he really considered the other jobs she dealt with. In all the time they’d known one another, she’d disappeared on a few occasions, but she hadn’t shared the details with him, and truthfully, he’d convinced himself that she’d been… Hell, he’d never given it much thought, refusing to think that she’d put herself in danger at someone else’s expense.

Then again, her father had assigned her to him, which, above all else, was likely the most dangerous assignment she’d ever been on.

His gut twisted at the thought of Courtney heading down to Mexico in search of that little girl. He understood her reasons for doing it—no one wanted to see something bad happen to a child, not even him, but…

No, Max didn’t like the idea of her being the one sent on that quest.

“Max?”

He met her iridescent gaze once again.

“It wasn’t easy to come here,” she said, her voice soft. “I know how much you hate me, and I know you never wanted to see me again, but I… I need your help. This little girl needs your help.”

Setting the empty tumbler down, Max propped his ass against the front of the desk, crossed his ankles, and stared at her. “And you want a favor?”

Courtney’s chin tilted upward, her back going ramrod straight. “Yes. I’m askin’ for a favor. But not for me. For the little girl.”

Max smirked. “The little girl doesn’t need me, Court,” he told her harshly. “You do. I’m sure your brothers and their friends are off and running, ready to find her on their own. They don’t need me, either.
You
do.”

He could see that she wanted to argue, but he respected the hell out of her right then for managing not to say what was clearly on her mind.

“You know what? Forget it,” she said through gritted teeth. “I don’t need your fuckin’ help. I don’t know why the hell I bothered to ask.”

Courtney pivoted on her heel, but before she could make it to the door, Max was on her. He grabbed her arm, spun her back to face him, and slammed his mouth down on hers. Without waiting for her permission, he thrust his tongue past her lips. She appeared stunned, but only for a second, and the instant she regained her senses, Max knew because she was kissing him back, her arms ringing his neck, her fingernails digging into the back of his head as she moaned into his mouth.

Just as it had always been between them … intense, hot, electric.

Backing her against the wall, he dominated the kiss, never giving her an ounce of control as he inhaled her.

Fuck.

It was impossible for him to resist her. No matter how imperative it was that he stay away from her, he just couldn’t fucking do it.

“Max,” she said against his mouth, her teeth nipping his lower lip. “We can’t…”

Oh, but they could. If he really wanted to, he could so easily fuck her against the goddamn door, make her scream out his name as she came.

But he didn’t.

How he managed to find that sliver of control, that tiny ounce that still remained, he didn’t know, but he did. Forcing himself to release her, he jerked away.

“Consider it handled,” he told her roughly as he maneuvered to his desk, adjusting himself, doing his damnedest to ignore the throbbing of his dick.

“Max,” she said softly.

“I said consider it handled!” he yelled. “Now go. Leyton will call you when it’s done.”

He heard her sigh. The sound that followed—the click of the door opening and closing—had him inhaling deeply, his chest aching more with every breath he took.

Damn her.

How the fuck had he gotten to this point?

It was a question he didn’t really want an answer to.

Because, no matter what, it didn’t fucking matter.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Well. Nice to see you, too.

Courtney was pacing the floor of her living room as she waited for a phone call. At that point, she didn’t give a shit who called, but she needed the damn phone to ring before she had to head out and meet Z. She’d thought for sure that Max would come through for her … for little Fiona Suarez.

A pounding on her front door had her jumping, her heart slamming against her ribs.

“Open the damn door, Courtney!”

In a rush, Courtney threw open the door, coming face-to-face with RT.

He didn’t ask to be invited in, merely pushed his way past her, his hand sliding through his blond hair.

“What the hell did you do?” He confronted her directly, his crystal-blue eyes ablaze with fury as he abruptly came to a stop less than a foot away.

“Good to see you, too,” she said snidely, closing the door behind him, never turning her back on him.

“Answer the goddamn question, Courtney.”

“I would,” she snapped, “if I knew what the fuck you were talkin’ about.” She hated that her voice didn’t come out as strong as she’d anticipated.

“They found her. The little girl.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at him. “That’s good, right? She’s okay?”

“She’s fine, not a scratch.”

“So why’re you yellin’ at me?” she questioned, her voice rising.

“You went to him,” RT scolded. “You fucking went to
him
for help.”

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to hide anything from RT, she turned away, heading for the kitchen. She didn’t make it far before he had his hand on her arm. For the second time in one day, she was manhandled by a man, and it was starting to piss her off.

Spinning to face him, Courtney shoved RT. Hard. “Don’t do that,” she snarled.

RT yanked his hand back. “Sorry,” he barked. “But you haven’t answered me, Courtney. Damn it. Why’d you ask
him
for a favor?”

Feeling the anger rush to her face, she stared back at the man she took her orders from. “Because she was the only thing that mattered. That little girl needed to come home. I’ll call in a million favors, RT, if it means savin’ some little girl’s life. You, of all people, should know that.”

And just like that, she felt herself falling apart. A sob erupted from her chest, and tears formed in her eyes.

The next thing Courtney knew, she was in RT’s arms, the dam had officially broken, and she was sobbing uncontrollably. Everything in her life was so fucked up. So confusing and she didn’t even know where her loyalties were anymore. She hadn’t even questioned going to Max, hadn’t given it a second thought. She knew he had associates down there,
knew
if anyone could get to that little girl before it was too late, it would be him.

Sure, she recognized that Sniper 1 would’ve found her, they would’ve eventually brought her home safe and sound—at least she’d like to believe that was the case—but Max had an unlimited amount of resources. His connections were finite. There were people so loyal to him they’d lay down their lives, and she’d known when he issued the order to bring the girl home safely, that was exactly what would happen.

“Shh. Court. I’m sorry,” RT crooned, his muscled arms banded around her, his chin resting on her head. “She’s safe. You did good.”

“Then why are you pissed at me?” she questioned, holding back a sob and forcing him away from her.

Another knock sounded on her door, and she didn’t even have a chance to answer before Z was strolling in, his dark eyes scanning the room, taking in the scene before him.

“You okay?” Z asked her instantly, his gaze bouncing between her and RT.

“Fine,” she said, shoving a stray hair out of her eyes as she turned away from them. The last thing she needed was for them to see her cry. She never cried.

“What the fuck, man?” Z questioned. “She saved the girl, and you come give her shit?”

“She fucking went to the Adorites.”

Silence descended, and Courtney hesitated before turning back, not wanting to see the anger on Z’s face as well.

“Since when do we give a shit how the job gets done?” Z probed, surprising her when she glanced back to see that he was facing off with RT. “She did what any of us would’ve done had we been in her shoes. She used the resources available to her.”

“The fucking Adorites, Z,” RT growled. “Their favors don’t come free.”

Z glanced down at her, his hard features softening. “What does he want in return?”

Courtney shook her head. “Nothin’.” Unfortunately, he didn’t want a damn thing from her, and she had no idea why that bothered her so much.

“Why the tears, little one?” Z’s tone was soothing as he closed the gap between them and pulled her into his arms. The man was a giant at six foot six inches, and she felt dwarfed by him, but she welcomed his strength for a brief moment. “You want me to kick this guy’s ass?”

Courtney laughed, as Z probably wanted her to.

The situation was tense, but it wasn’t necessarily because RT had stormed into her house and yelled at her. That was settled. But what lingered, the electricity that sparked in the air between the two men… That was potent.

She knew that there was something transpiring between RT and Z, something that would eventually come to a head, and she doubted it would result in a fight, but she knew that it would end in a physical confrontation. Likely a horizontal one.

Squeezing Z briefly, she pulled away. “I’m good. It’s just been an emotional day. That’s all.”

“Someone else’s ass I need to kick?” Z asked seriously. “Whisper his name and consider it handled.”

Consider it handled.

Those words reverberated in her head, but it was Max’s voice she heard saying them. He’d come through for her, as she’d known he would. Relief swamped her, and she planted her ass on the arm of the couch, her legs suddenly too weak to hold her up.

“I wish you hadn’t gone to him,” RT said, his voice softer, less angry.

“Me, too,” she told him truthfully. “But the only thing that mattered was her. I knew he’d be able to get the job done.”

“I refuse to be in debt to the fucking mafia,” RT told her, his voice rising once again. “Next time you feel the need to go to him, don’t. We can handle our own shit, Courtney. No matter what bullshit he’s fed you, he’s not a good guy. He’s not a fucking hero.”

Courtney didn’t bother to argue because RT was right. Max wasn’t a hero, but in the same sense… No, he wasn’t a hero.

“You need anything before we go?” Z asked, obviously desperate to put distance between himself and RT.

Courtney shook her head. She needed to fall into bed, to close her eyes and fight the memories of the day, forget what it had felt like when Max had claimed her mouth, his familiar touch combing over her body, the heat and the power she’d felt radiating from him…

She needed to forget him, period.

“I’m good. But…” Courtney looked at Z. “Thanks for comin’ over.” She turned her gaze to RT. “As for you … you’re welcome.”

The corners of RT’s lips curved slightly, but he didn’t allow the smile to form. “Next time…”

“I got it,” she retorted. “Now get the hell out.”

Z laughed as he and RT headed out, closing her front door behind them.

As she stared at the space the two men had just vacated, Courtney took a deep breath, swallowing the emotion that choked her.

It was the only thing she could do because she damn sure wasn’t about to fall apart again.

Once was more than enough.