Chapter 8 #2
“Do you ever stop being bossy? Why would you care who I talk with?” She leans her hip against the car and folds her arms over her chest.
A position that only enhances my view of the generous swell of her breasts as her arms push them up. I check the weather stripping on the window. It’ll be an easy task.
“I’m not bossy.” I pull out my phone and send a direct text for what I’ll need to get the door open. The fastest way would be to break the window, but the car is old enough that a slim Jim will do the trick fast and easy.
“Whatever,” she mutters and rolls to press her ass against the car and pulls out her phone.
“I’ll have the door open in a few minutes.” I lean my hip against the door. “Now, tell me why you’re leaving the party so soon.”
She looks up from her phone, her eyebrows raising.
“Why?”
“Because I asked.”
“No.” She sighs. “You didn’t ask. You ordered.”
I grit my teeth, remembering I promised Nicolette to curb my asshole tendencies with Maxine. At least while Nicolette was still in town.
“Why did you leave the party so soon?” I make sure to temper my voice, posing the demand as a question.
“I’m tired.” She lies.
I lean into her, noticing the thin line of eyeliner has been wiped away beneath her left eye. A smudge of it still remains in the corner. The woman was obviously upset when she left.
“Were any of my men inappropriate?” I’ll have their teeth if they so much as spoke out of turn to her.
“No.” Her brows pull together. “No one spoke to me. Like I said, I’m tired. I had a long day, and I have an early shift tomorrow and I still need to find my brothers.”
“What do you mean, find them?” My own men lost track of them twelve hours ago, but surely they’ve been in contact with their sister. Especially with the heat they’ve put on her.
“I mean, I need to get a hold of them. By tomorrow.” She adds the time frame with a mocking voice, a direct attack on me. “Or you know…or else.”
“You really know nothing about what they’re up to?” It shouldn’t be surprising. Nicolette, if pressed, wouldn’t be able to answer any questions about my business.
In my case, it’s to keep her safe from the darkness of my line of work. To keep her clean of the dirt I wade through to make a place in this world. For Maxine, her brothers don’t care about keeping her safe.
If they did, they wouldn’t have left that fucking Glock laying around her apartment. They wouldn’t be dealing in the arms business with the Armenians. And they sure as fuck wouldn’t be leaving her high and dry knowing I’m looking for answers and have her at my disposal.
No, they don’t give a fuck about her safety. But it’s obvious she will do whatever she can to protect them.
“I’m not stupid. I know they’re not doing anything legal. I know they steal and get into trouble instead of getting jobs. I know that, but I don’t think they’re anything for you to be worried about.”
It’s the first time she’s made any real sense since I’ve met her.
“That may have been true before, but this time they’ve stepped into something they’re not going to be able to simply walk away from,” I explain.
“I will deal with it.”
“What I’m telling you is that you’re out of your league here, too. You can’t help them. Not with the people they’re working with.”
“And who is that?” She pushes, lifting her chin.
I’m not an idiot, either. If I tell her who, she’ll be on their doorstep tomorrow demanding answers about her brothers. And the last thing I need is her getting anywhere near the Armenians.
“People you can’t win against.”
“But you can?” She huffs.
I slide forward until the toe of my shoe presses lightly against the tips of her ballet flats.
“Yes, Maxine. I can. You stay away from it. I will find your brothers.”
“No.” She snaps immediately. “I saw how mad you got when you saw that gun. I don’t want you near them.”
“I’m not going to hurt them. I’m going to get them away from those that will and get them to back off. They’re way out of their element here.”
She chews on the inside of her lower lip, indecision warring in her eyes.
“They’re not bad guys.”
“I didn’t say they were.” But I’m damn sure they are.
“If I could just talk with them—”
“Let me find them, then you can.”
“I can probably—”
I press two fingers against her full lips—those full, fuckable, kissable lips—to stop her.
“No. You stay out of this now. I will handle it.”
Fire ignites, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve given her a direction again, or if because she’s relieved she doesn’t have to carry the weight.
“You’ll scare them off.” She says against my fingers.
“Not your concern. You stay out of it. You go home tonight, gets some damn sleep. You’re exhausted. And then tomorrow, you go to work and don’t worry about them.”
One of my cars pulls up behind Maxine’s car, and the passenger window rolls down.
“Stay right here.” I order, though she can’t go anywhere, anyway. But just once, I’d like to see her obey an order, even if it’s because she really has no other alternatives.
Through the passenger window, I grab the items I requested.
“Wait for me downstairs.”
“You got it.” Dmitri nods and pulls away.
“Of course you have one of those things just laying around,” Maxine remarks, taking in the slim Jim I’m holding.
“Hold this. Careful, it’s hot on the bottom.” I hand her the takeout container.
“What is it?”
“Your dinner.” I slip the slim Jim between the glass and the weather stripping with ease, lowering it.
“You didn’t need to do that.” She pops open the top of the container and smiles. “It smells delicious, though.”
“It should. I have the best chefs in the world working in my kitchens.” Maneuvering the metal shaft down until I feel the control rod, I quickly hook the rod and tug upward. The lock pops immediately.
“You did it.” She presses into my shoulder, looking through the window.
“It helps that your car has no real lock security.” Sliding the slim Jim back out of the door, I open it for her. “Now, go home, eat, then sleep.”
She frowns up at me. “Thank you.”
I’m not sure what to say so I nod. It’s the first time since I’ve met her she’s not throwing an insult at me. No need to mess it up.
“Go on.” I nod toward the open door.
She slides into her seat, placing the takeout container on the floor of the passenger side. Without hesitation, I grab the seat belt and pull it over her torso, locking it in place.
“I can do that,” she mutters.
“Now you don’t have to.” I rest on hand on the top of her seat and the other on the top of the steering wheel, bringing us nearly nose to nose. “What are you going to do when you get home?”
She stares at me. There’s a speck of brown in her otherwise green eyes. It would be easy to miss with her glasses on, but this close, staring so intently into her eyes, I can see her so clearly.
“You’re being bossy again.”
“You’re being difficult again.” With the tip of my middle finger, I push her glasses up. “Go home. Eat your dinner and get some sleep. If you don’t do those things, I’ll be displeased.”
Her throat works as she swallows and for a moment, I think she’s going to soften into me.
“You’re a real ass, you know that. If you’re displeased.” She scoffs. “And what happens when your majesty is displeased?”
The little rose blush kissing her cheeks gives me more information than I’m sure she’s willing to part with knowingly. But lucky for me, her body doesn’t have the same barriers up as her mind.
I lean closer, breathing along her cheek until I get to her ear.
“When one of my men displeases me, I remove a finger…sometimes a toe. Once I had a tongue cut out. But when naughty girls displease me, they feel the weight of my belt across their bare ass.”
Her indrawn breath tells me everything I need to know, and probably more than she wants to divulge.
It’s enough for now. I straighten up and tap a fist lightly on the roof of the car.
“Good night, Maxine.”