CHAPTER TWO #2
“I really wouldn’t make that comment in front of her, Mr Carter. You wouldn’t be the first person to say it, and trust me, it will end up with some sort of bet. Every male who has tried to bet against her, has lost. And cried.”
“But they weren’t me,” he states, and I inwardly groan at the challenge in his eyes.
“Mr Carter?” Hayden asks, staring at me.
“He said he prefers to be addressed like that,” I answer, wondering if I got it wrong.
Hayden glares at her dad. “Seriously? Mr Carter?”
“It makes me sound all formal and shit.”
Hayden shakes her head, her gaze turning back to me. “Call him dickhead. Anything else will inflate his ego.”
“Where is your cousin?” he demands. “I need to meet her.”
Oh God, she wanted her bat after meeting Maddox. She may straight up stab Max if they meet.
I clear my throat. “If it’s okay with you, I will introduce you later. There’s something I need to talk with my cousin about.”
He opens his mouth to reply but Hayden gets there first. “Unless you don’t want a pulled pork bap before they go. I mean, her cousins have been here an hour.”
His eyes go round. “Woman, why didn’t you tell me that to begin with instead of letting me stand around and indulge in idle gossip?”
He storms off toward the back, and Charlotte speaks up. “I didn’t think the food had been opened yet?”
“It hasn’t, but clearly Summer needs to talk to her cousins without that lunatic interrupting.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I’ll see you guys in a bit.”
I leave them and go find my cousin. I don’t take in the beauty of the area or the twinkling lights. Instead, I go straight up to Malia, needing to get this out before I combust. “Hey, sorry to interrupt, but can I borrow my cousin for a moment?” I ask Amelia.
“You aren’t interrupting,” she assures me.
“You okay?” Malia asks, getting to her feet from the deck chair she’s occupying.
“We need to talk,” I tell her, and grab her hand, pulling her away from the noise to the side of a building where the only light is coming from the building inside.
“Okay, what is so urgent that you need to get my new boots dirty?” she asks, her brows dipping down. “Did something happen?”
I grab the drink from her hand and down it quickly. Then go over everything my boss asked of me, leaving nothing out. When she goes quiet, I realise we aren’t alone and Makayla has joined us.
“I’m not going to do it,” I assure them. “I didn’t even tell her I live there.”
“It’s not that,” Malia explains, keeping her voice low. “If you don’t do it, someone else will, and we have skeletons in our closest that we don’t need getting out.”
“Fuck!”
“Maybe we should just sell,” Makayla whispers. “It’s better than the alternative.”
I snap my gaze in her direction, wondering what it is that is so bad they would sooner sell the land than have it get out.
“We’ve put so much of our money into this,” Malia reminds her. “I’m not letting some suit in heels take it from us. We deserve to settle down and finally have a home. No more of this moving around shit.”
“Is everything okay?” a feminine voice asks, startling the three of us.
We all spin toward the sound, finding Paisley and her older brother Jaxon standing near the edge of the building.
“Yes,” I lie, my gaze darting to Jaxon.
How much did they hear?
Will they try to find the skeletons that have Makayla so scared?
I should have waited until we got home to talk about it.
“Are you sure? We didn’t mean to eavesdrop but we couldn’t help but overhear. You can talk to us. Maybe we can help,” she offers, then nudges her brother in the stomach. “Can’t we, Jaxon.”
“Depends,” he replies honestly. “It’s not unknown that someone not too long ago tried to buy our land and did things to try and make it happen. We can help, but we can’t go through that again.”
“I’m sure Andrew Black isn’t the one trying to secure their land,” Paisley scoffs.
The blood rushes from my face. “Any chance he’s a relation of Katherine Black?”
Jaxon becomes alert, his entire body tensing as he stares at Malia. “That’s who is trying to get your land?”
She shrugs. “We’ve had a few people try, but Summer was the one who was asked to compile information on us and the land.”
From the look he sends me, I should run. “You work for the Blacks?” he growls.
I hold my hands up, unsure of what is happening.
“I was a personal assistant to an investor of the company Katherine runs, but something happened not too long ago and I got moved to her section and became her assistant. If you are asking me if I’m loyal to her, the answer is no.
If I’m being honest, I can’t stand her. If I could quit, I would. ”
“You talking about your job?” Freya asks, joining the huddle.
She clearly hasn’t picked up on the tension, so she continues.
“She hates it there. Her boss is a bitch. I keep telling her to leave but she doesn’t listen to me, so instead we come up with ways to get away with her murder.
” She glances around the area. “Why are you hiding back here?”
Jaxon relaxes somewhat before turning to Malia. “I have a friend who can wipe out anything from your past that needs erasing. You just have to be honest with him about what it is and he will keep your secrets. You don’t want to mess around with this family.”
“What is going on?” Freya whispers, standing closer to me.
“I’ll fill you in later,” I promise.
“No, you can’t. Because they will go after her,” Jaxon warns. “What I say next needs to stay between us.”
“Okay,” Malia replies, straightening. “Freya, can you go make sure the others don’t interrupt us?”
Shakily, she nods. “Of course.”
When she leaves, Malia turns to Jaxon. “Talk. I have sisters I need to protect who have already been through too much in their lifetime. If this family is as dangerous as I think you’re implying, I need to know what I’m dealing with.”
Jaxon hesitates, observing Malia with conflict.
Paisley nudges him, and the tension in his shoulders drops as he begins, “They tried to burn down our factory. They burned down a house we were working in with us still inside, and they kidnapped and tortured two of us. One of them is the guy who can help you make secrets disappear. I won’t get into the heinous things Andrew has done, but I will warn you: what he will do to a man doesn’t compare to what he likes to do to a woman.
You need to stick together and watch your backs, no matter where you are.
They don’t play fair and will do anything to mess with the land until you want to sell. ”
My eyes widen. “Like turning off the water,” I whisper, gazing at Malia
Her jaw clenches. “Summer, compile useless information on the land and on us to hold them off,” she orders before turning to Jaxon.
“If your friend can help, I will take it. I have my sisters to protect, just like you have your family, and whilst you seem like the type of person who has your own hidden skeletons, I don’t play games.
So, to return the same courtesy you’ve given us tonight, I will warn you that if this is a trick, I have plenty of land to bury your body. ”
“It’s not a trick,” he assures her, crossing his arms over his chest. “If they get your land, it will be to develop on it and spy on us. We have a lot riding on this too. So does the wildlife.”
“I-I can’t go back there knowing this,” I whisper. “I knew she was evil, but this...”
Malia takes my hands in hers. “You said yourself, you haven’t told her you live there. You can be an inside source.”
My eyes bug out. “And when it comes out? Because it will. I haven't worked for her long, but taking her boardroom notes means redacting a lot of the threats she issues. Trust me.”
She watches me closely. “What really has you scared? You’ve never run from a fight before.”
“They can sue me if they find out. It’s in my contract to keep anything I hear or see inside that building to myself. Once she finds out, she can use that against me.”
“They have to prove you spoke about it,” Jaxon interrupts. “Don’t act differently whilst you are there. Don’t download anything to your personal computer and you should be fine.”
“Or you could quit,” Paisley adds.
Malia steps closer. “If you decide to do that, you can help get this business idea of ours upstarted. You are the shit with organising, and it’s not like you wouldn’t be helping anyway. This way, you’ll be getting paid.”
Makayla speaks to Paisley. “Organising and running someone’s day to day life soothes her. Personally, I think it’s because she’s chaotic in general. Our first night together, she had us doing stupid TikTok challenges.”
Heat runs up my neck. “Too much sharing, Makayla.”
“Wait, you all have M names?” Jaxon asks.
“They do. I don’t,” I reply.
His complexion pales. “Are you related to the Carters?”
Malia reels back. “Fuck no,” she replies, and his shoulders drop as a puff of air slips past his lips. “That food stealing fucker wouldn’t make it in our family.”
“They love their food,” I add when I see both take a step back from Malia.
He shoots Paisley a look. “I’m going to find Lily. I can’t deal with this,” he tells her, then turns to Malia. “I’ll slip you Liam’s number later.”
“What did I say?” Malia questions.
Paisley’s lips twitch. “Maddox’s dad and uncles all have M names. They are also food obsessed. Are you sure you aren’t related?”
“Positive. Do we look crazy to you?”
“Hey, someone has taken my pizza,” I hear someone roar. “Luke, did you touch my fucking pizza?”
I stare wide-eyed as Milly comes running over, a slice of pizza in her hand and tomato sauce all over her mouth. My lips twitch as Paisley arches her eyebrow at us.
“Milly,” Makayla scolds, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“What? He took our pizza,” she replies sweetly. “Now he knows what it’s like to starve.”
I laugh. “Sweetie, you had your own pizza plus sides.”
She shrugs. Malia groans. “Just please tell me you didn’t steal anyone’s wallet.”
Milly looks anywhere but at Malia, and I duck my head to hide my grin. The toe of her ballet shoes skim along the dirt. “Borrowing isn’t stealing. I just wanted to see the badge.”
“What badge?” Malia asks tightly.
Reluctantly, like she’s being held at gunpoint, she pulls out a wallet from her jacket and holds it up.
“That’s Beau’s,” Paisley reveals.
“Return it before he finds out,” Malia snaps, then turns to Paisley. “I’m so sorry. She can’t help herself. She never keeps anything she steals off friends. I promise.”
Paisley kneels down so she’s level with Milly. “Can you steal anyone’s wallet?”
Milly glances at Malia before answering. “Yes.”
Paisley looks up at Malia. “I know this isn’t ethical, but can she do it one more time? My brother owes me money and he won’t hand it over.”
Malia chuckles. “What do you say, Mill?”
“I say show me which one,” she whispers menacingly. “But I want five pounds.”
“If you can do it, I’ll give you half of whatever is in there,” Paisley promises.
“Yes!” Milly cheers.
Paisley stands, her gaze falling on Malia. “I know this won’t be easy, but forget about work and what is happening. Just come and enjoy the night.”
“Hell yes. I need the hot tub. Painting has killed my back,” Malia states, linking her arm through mine.
I would love to be able to brush aside what I know like she can, but there’s a very good chance we are tangled in a web of crime we won’t be able to get ourselves out of.
For them, however, I will pretend.
Because whilst what Jaxon said was scary, nothing comes close to what these women have gone through, and I only know a little of their story. I know there’s a lot they aren’t telling me.
Only time will tell how bad it is.