Beautifully Brutal (Southern Boy Mafia #1) (14 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Crazy is as crazy does.

Leyton Matheson moved with purpose along the outer wall of the club, keeping an eye on things as was his position tonight. Now that Max was safely locked away in his penthouse and Leyton had handed Angelica off to Dane to ensure she made it home safely, he could breathe a little easier. At least for a little while.

Making his way up the stairs, he forced his way through the people lingering over every inch of real estate they had to offer. After doing a quick check on the VIP room, Leyton slipped down the back stairs before returning to the floor once more. He spotted a couple arguing in a corner, so he made his way over. It only took a minute to calm them both, threatening to throw them out on their asses if they caused a scene, and then he was once again keeping to the perimeter, scanning the room for other issues.

“Sir, we have a problem.”

So apparently breathing easier wasn’t on his list of things to do tonight.

Rolling his eyes because he had a good idea what that problem was, Leyton moved toward the exit doors that his boss had slipped through ten minutes earlier.

Yep, just as he’d thought.

“Angelica,” Leyton greeted when he approached the two guards being berated by the uptight woman who’d recently become a fixture in Max’s world. He glanced over at Felix and Darius, a silent question in his eyes as he tried to figure out what had happened to Dane, but they both shrugged.

“Where is he?” she yelled, her anger contorting her usually pretty features.

Max was right, the woman was vicious. And annoying.

“He’s in a meeting,” Leyton told her, keeping his voice low.

“He is
not
in a meeting!” she screamed. “I demand that you take me to him right now.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but that’s not possible.”

Angelica slammed her hands onto her narrow hips, glaring up at Leyton as though she were trying to figure out how to kill him. Maybe she was, he didn’t know. From what he’d seen of her, the woman didn’t understand business, nor did she understand just what this arrangement between her and Max truly meant or how it worked.

Leyton had sensed from the beginning that Angelica expected some sort of mafia fairy tale. He’d wanted to tell her a million times that those didn’t actually exist. This world… There was nothing sweet and romantic about it, and one day, if she was around long enough, she would figure that out for herself.

“He’s not answering my calls, so I want you to get him on the phone,” she growled, her lips pursed, her eyes narrowing.

“Again, not possible,” Leyton informed her coolly.

“He’s
my
fiancé, and I demand to be taken to him.”

Lord, have mercy. If only the woman would grow up. Leyton had known the minute Max told him about the
business arrangement
that would allow him to acquire a vast amount of land down along the Mexican border—some prime real estate that would assist in making their lives that much easier—that things weren’t going to go as smoothly as they would’ve hoped.

And the spoiled little political princess was the one who thought the mafia meant expensive clothes, nice restaurants, and protection from the bad guys… Seriously. And here he’d thought they
were
the bad guys.

Yes, she was the reason Leyton wanted to pull out his gun and…

“Damn it. I suggest you remember your place,” she snapped. “You’re Max’s fucking errand boy, which means you’re now
my
errand boy. Go. Fetch. Max. Now!”

Fetch him? Seriously?

Okay, so he could deal with quite a bit of shit. Having grown up in Max’s world, as his closest friend and now his protector, his right-hand man, the most reliable person in his world, Leyton had seen some crazy shit, done some crazier shit. But this…

This fucking woman took the cake.

Pressing the button on his microphone, Leyton instructed the bouncer at the door to call Ms. Winslow’s car around to the back entrance. Taking her by the arm, he turned her toward the rear of the building, keeping to the outer walls to avoid all the people.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she exclaimed at the top of her lungs. “Let go! You’re hurting me.”

He wondered if she was being so loud because of the music or if she thought the shrill sound of her voice actually made people listen. He hoped it wasn’t the latter, because … the crazy bitch was delusional.

Once they made it through to the corridor leading to the private exit that they used for celebrities and other VIPs, Leyton released her arm.

“I’m tellin’ my grandfather about this!” she screamed as Leyton pushed open the door.

Oh, Lord.

Leyton rolled his eyes. “Very well, ma’am.”

“He’ll have you fired! He’ll have all of you fired!”

Leyton nodded. He’d dealt with Angelica for longer than he cared to.

She turned to face him once again, staring up at him with anger flashing in her blue eyes. “Why is she here?”

“Who?” he asked, pretending not to know who she was referring to.

“That … whore. Why is she here? Why is he talking to her?”

“Ma’am, I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” Leyton took a step forward, opening the door to the limo when it pulled up. He took a step back and allowed her the opportunity to climb into the car. Of course, she didn’t take it, as was his luck.

“You tell Max that I won’t stand for this. If he thinks he’s powerful, he hasn’t seen nothin’ yet. That… That bitch. She better stay away from him.”

Again, Leyton nodded.

Angelica leaned in closer, her voice lowering somewhat. “I will
not
allow her to interfere with me and Max. She will not interfere, do you understand me?”

Leyton didn’t so much as blink.

“Either you make sure she goes away or I will.”

Leyton sighed, casting his gaze into the limo, encouraging her to get in. When she did, before she had a chance to yell at him any more, he closed the door and slapped the roof of the car, sending it on its way.

He started toward the door of the club, but it flew open, and Dane stumbled out, blood running down the side of his face.

A lot of fucking blood.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Leyton asked, trying to get a better look at the long gash that ran down the side of Dane’s face from his forehead to his jaw.

Holy fuck.

“She’s … fuckin’… insane.” Dane’s knees gave out as he tried to take another step.

Leyton grabbed the big man with one hand, hitting the button on his mic with the other. “I need some assistance at the back entrance. Now!”

Helping Dane to the ground, Leyton squatted near him, turning the man’s head to the side and inspecting the skin that was ripped wide open. Was that … bone?

Son of a bitch.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Leyton asked Dane again, this time anger boiling in his gut.

“Angelica… She fucking … cut me.”

Goddamn it.

Leyton glanced down the alley, but the limo was long gone.

Either you make sure she goes away or I will.

The crazy bitch’s words echoed in his head, the clear threat that she’d made against Courtney.

Shit.

As much of a bitch as he thought Angelica Winslow was, Leyton hadn’t quite expected this. He knew that she was as vicious as Max believed her to be, but truthfully, he’d thought it to be more of an act. She came from a world of political power and wealth. In all of her sheltered, overindulged life, she’d probably never heard the word no.

But this… She’d sliced Dane wide fucking open.

“Boss?” Anthony and Rock rushed outside, coming to an abrupt halt when they saw Dane on the ground.

“Get him back inside and call the doc. Get him fixed up.”

“Yes, sir,” Rock replied, reaching down and practically lifting Dane on his own.

While they helped Dane into the club, Leyton paced.

Fucking shit.

Clearly Angelica was more lethal than he’d given her credit for.

Which meant he did have to relay the threat to Max.

Regardless of whether Angelica intended to follow through, Leyton would not have that one hanging over his head.

He just didn’t intend to tell the boss about it tonight. At least not until Max and Courtney had finished … whatever it was they were doing.

■«»■«»■«»■

Angelica’s hands were shaking, her chest vibrating from the hatred that filled her. She’d been so fucking pissed at being dismissed she’d lost it, and that asshole Dane had gotten the chance to see her true nature. When he’d attempted to pull her toward the back door after she’d informed him she wouldn’t be leaving, she’d been pushed to her limit. It had only taken a second to retrieve the blade from her purse, and when he’d ushered her closer to the exit, she’d turned the tables on him, slashing back at him, not even caring what part of him she hit.

He’d screamed like a little girl when the serrated blade had made contact with his face, and she’d dragged the damn thing down, trying to do as much damage as possible.

She hoped he fucking died, the little prick.

These people truly had no idea who the fuck they were dealing with, and she hated the sweet, innocent act she was forced to play while in their company.

Once the limo started down the road, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and pressed the number for the one man who would do whatever she wanted.

“Honey, are you all right? It’s late,” Artemis Winslow asked when he answered the phone.

“She’s a problem, Grandpa.”

“Who?” he inquired, sounding more awake than he had a second ago.

“That …
whore
of Max’s. I want her out of the picture.”

“What brought this on, Angel?” he questioned, using the name he’d called her since she was a child growing up in his house after her parents were tragically killed in a freak ice storm that had sent their car off the road and careening over a cliff. Angelica had been three at the time, and she didn’t remember a thing about them.

“I went to the club to talk to him about moving up the wedding date tonight and—”

“Why would you want to move it up?” Artemis interrupted, the sleep completely gone from his voice. “We’ve got the venue set, and the wedding planner is working with that date in mind.”

“It doesn’t matter. I want her out of the picture.”

Silence ensued, and Angelica forced herself to calm down.

“I’m not sure what you want me to do, honey,” her grandfather finally said.

“I want her eliminated. Nothing and no one will come between me and Max. Do you understand me? She’s not part of the plan. I need this to play out the way we discussed.”

“I understand what you’re sayin’, Ang—”

“No. You don’t understand. I’m set to marry him and that … fucking whore… She’s a threat. She’s a threat to Max; she’s a threat to me; she’s a threat to the entire plan. This wedding
must
take place. Neither of us can afford for it not to.” Angelica had no intention of going into the reasons why. The fact of the matter was, she needed to marry Max, and they couldn’t wait. The longer they waited, the harder it would be to…

“Angel, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Grandpa. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Ending the call, Angelica tossed the phone onto the seat, wrapping her arms around her waist in an attempt to hold herself together. She was quickly losing control, and that was the last thing that needed to happen. She had to keep pushing forward. She had to marry Max, and she couldn’t let anyone get in her way. It was the only way to keep from dying at the hands of…

Shit.

If Max only knew what she’d done, what she was capable of doing…

Damn it.

If Marcus Alvarez found her, realized she’d run, ignoring the cartel’s orders … she was as good as dead. Although he was merely a distributor, a low man on the totem pole, Angelica knew he was powerful enough to take her out. The only way she could fix this, to keep from being tortured and murdered for her betrayal, was to marry Max, to use him as a safe haven. Marcus wouldn’t want to endure Max’s wrath. No one wanted to endure that.

By marrying Max, she would be safe. In turn, she’d be able to feed some more information back to Marcus, and maybe he’d forget she ever existed.

Then again, until it was all said and done, Marcus should’ve been the least of her worries.

Hell, if Max ever found out what she’d done, that she’d already betrayed him in an attempt to establish her own reputation as someone formidable, he’d probably kill her himself. This was her only bargaining chip.

Max could protect her, she knew that much.

Which was why Angelica had to eliminate the one woman who had the power to destroy it all.

Chapter Seventeen

His timing… Quite frankly, it sucked.

While Max moved across the room, Courtney was torn between keeping an eye on him and admiring the beautiful space she was in. His penthouse was … well, it was immaculately decorated, similar to Max’s house. Only this felt much more like home, as though she’d been in his thoughts when he’d talked to the designer. She couldn’t help but believe that was true, considering there were priceless pictures of Marilyn Monroe on the wall. She didn’t think he was much of a fan, but he knew she was.

Glancing over her shoulder, she peered out into the night. The view was amazing as well. She could’ve easily spent hours sitting there, staring out at downtown Dallas. Especially at night.

Yes, it would be quite easy to get comfortable there.

But that wasn’t an option.

“I should go,” Courtney said, watching as Max took a seat on the sofa.

“Sit. Down,” he insisted.

“But I—”

“Just fucking sit down, Courtney,” he growled.

Courtney moved to the opposite sofa, lowering herself as she kept a watchful eye on Max.

“Now just sit there.”

She didn’t understand what he wanted, but she could feel the heat of his gaze. He didn’t move as he watched her, the intensity nearly enough to make her squirm.

God, she’d missed him so damn much. Her chest ached from the lingering pain of knowing he was going to marry another woman, that their time together was officially over. Then again, he’d informed her of that when he’d come to her house the last time. He’d told her things were going to change. She couldn’t help but wonder whether she would’ve made a different choice if she had only known what he’d really meant.

Her gaze drifted to the pictures. Had his future wife been there? Had she seen those pictures? Did she know about Courtney?

Not that any of it mattered now.

“How’d your assignment go?” Max questioned, interrupting the silence that had become nearly unbearable and causing Courtney to turn her attention back to him.

“What assignment?” she countered.

“The rich brat in California. That’s where you were, right? Keeping tabs on daddy’s little girl. Making sure she didn’t do anything stupid.”

Courtney hated that Max knew so much about her. He shouldn’t have access to that sort of information, but somehow, Max always knew. During all the time they were together, she’d learned so little about his life, but he seemed to have every intimate detail of hers.

“But she did do something stupid, didn’t she?” Max asked, drawing Courtney’s attention back to his face.

She didn’t respond.

“Or was that you, Courtney? Did you set that up? Get her behind the wheel and tip off the cops so they’d take her into custody? Freeing you from the bullshit babysitting job your daddy sent you on?”

The inflection of his voice never changed, not an ounce of emotion in his tone, but every word slammed into her. He knew her too well.

“That’s what it was. You were angry. Pissed that he’d given you another bullshit job. You shouldn’t have been there, Courtney. But your father sent you away. Making sure that you weren’t close enough to keep tabs on what was going on here.”

Courtney’s eyes widened as she processed his words. Max wasn’t just replaying the events of her life for the past couple of months. He was telling her something… That was the way he operated.

“
What?
” Was he saying…?

Max didn’t respond.

Courtney slammed her glass down on the table and launched to her feet.

Max followed suit.

They circled one another briefly.

“Did you…?” She came to stand directly in front of him, staring up into those mesmerizing liquid-gold eyes.

“Did I what?”

“Did you have me shipped off? Did
you
set that up?”

Max didn’t respond, and the fury ignited in her bloodstream. Before she knew what she was doing, her hand reared back, and she aimed for his face, but Max stopped her. He grabbed her wrist before her open palm made contact with his cheek. In the next breath, she was flush against him, her arms braced against his chest, his face so close she could smell the whiskey on his breath, see the golden flecks in his eyes.

Instead of letting him have the upper hand, she shifted, her knee coming up to take him out, aiming right for the family jewels.

He was faster than she was, moving at the last second, and then she was on her back on the sofa, Max’s big body hovering above her, his knee pressed between her legs, his hand encircling her wrists, holding her arms above her head as he stared down at her.

“Why?” she asked, fighting the anger and the hatred. Ignoring the desire that made it difficult to breathe.

“Why what? What is it that you want to know, Courtney?” he growled softly. “Why I showed my hand and called in a favor? Or why I’m gettin’ married? Which do you want to know more?”

Courtney swallowed hard, her eyes traveling over his face, taking in every inch of him, reliving every moment they’d ever spent together as it flashed through her mind. It’d always been like this… Their interactions were heated, passionate, and innately sexual underneath it all.

Beautifully brutal, that was how she’d come to think of this thing between them.

And now, as she stared up at him, she wanted him to kiss her. She wanted him to leave her alone. She wanted…

She simply
wanted
.

And she hated herself for it.

“Why would you do it? Why would you have me sent away?” she asked, trying to remember what they’d been talking about.

“Your father sent you away,” he responded smoothly.

“Why did you set it up?”

“Does it matter?”

Courtney squirmed, wanting to get closer, needing to get farther away. “Yes! It matters. Okay? It fucking matters.”

“
Why?
Why does it matter?”

Courtney’s lungs refused to fill with oxygen as she battled the anger, the hurt. The pain. Max had sent her away so that he could get engaged to another woman.

“You made him do it.” Her words came out strangled.

It wasn’t a question; she already knew.

Nothing. Max didn’t say anything in response, and the emotion that bubbled into her throat embarrassed her, made her tear her eyes off his as she stared toward the window overlooking the city. She wasn’t going to shed a single tear for him. She couldn’t. Not once since the night he’d walked out had she completely given in to the devastating realization that she would never be able to have the only man she’d ever loved. Never had she cried for him.

“Courtney.”

She didn’t look at him. She didn’t want him to see what she knew he’d see in her eyes.

“It’s a business arrangement.”

Courtney’s head snapped back, her eyes slamming into his as rage filled her. “A business arrangement? No, Max,” she ground out. “Marriage is
not
a business arrangement. A contract is a business arrangement. A handshake. Hell, access to a front-row parking spot is a business arrangement. Not. Fucking. Marriage.
Why?
Why would you do that? Why would you marry someone you don’t love?”

Max locked his gaze with hers, and the silence made her ears ring.

She was breathing hard, waiting for his answer, needing him to tell her. But she never would’ve expected what he said next.

“Because the woman I do love won’t marry me.”

Courtney’s mouth fell open as she glared up at him. She couldn’t believe he’d just said that. Couldn’t believe that he had waited until he was engaged to another fucking woman to tell her that he loved her.

“Get. Off. Of. Me,” she growled, pushing against him until he rose to his feet.

She sat up, holding her stomach for fear she might throw up, the pain and anger coalescing into a potent mixture of grief that closed off her airway, choking her.

Thankfully, Max retreated to another room, giving her a minute to regain her composure.

Not that she thought it was possible to put all the pieces of her shattered heart back together, but at least he’d had the decency to give her a moment to pretend.