“You can’t be so reckless, Natalia There are serious consequences with what you’re messing with here and I’d hate for your mistakes to rain down on the broader family if anyone else got wind of this little meeting, you hear me? You’ve got a tender heart, but helping the guy out once was enough. Leave what’s in the past, in the past or we’ll be forced to punish you again.”
A shudder made me curl up into myself at the mention of punishment. My family was old school. Last time I’d disobeyed their order by sneaking food and water to Liam, the big bosses made me clean up after a hellish party at the main house. They brought me in from my twenty-four-seven under guard watch at my apartment, and they made me clean the place with a toothbrush. I hadn’t slept for over twenty-four hours. Even then, I’d been on probation. My guard lifted less than three weeks ago and here we were again, back at it. I mentally cursed Liam Smith and my damn soft heart.
Carlos’s hand dropped from my shoulder and our eyes locked, his filled with a meaningful look.
“I’ll be more careful next time. I promise.”
“No more meeting that bastard.”
“No.”
The words nearly stuck in my throat as I glanced down at the carpet so he wouldn’t read the lie in my expression. My lips still faintly pulsed with the memory of Liam’s mouth. I could only wonder what I smelled like beneath the sweaty stink of being caught out red-handed. Luckily, my brother didn’t find out. He chucked me under the chin, pinned me with a serious, no-nonsense expression, and turned to head toward the door.
“If you do it again, Natalia…I won’t be able to save you from the consequences, and I’ll be the first one to squeal. I’m warning you.”
He didn’t look back at me. Merely threw open my apartment door, walked through it, and slammed it shut so hard that my walls vibrated. I was pretty sure my neighbors would be pleased with that exit. My lower lip trembled as I fought for calm. Carlos would enjoy the idea that he’d gotten me all riled up, and I wasn’t about ready to make him happy, even if he couldn’t see the results of his warning. I stifled a groan and picked up my phone. Nothing major seemed to be damaged, a couple kinks in the case as far as I could see and when I texted Jill about my familial incident she seemed to get the message without a hitch.
With deliberate, shaking fingers, I sent one other message before I moved to change my electronic passcode over to purely fingerprint recognition.
Did you get home okay?
Chapter 10 - Natalia
By the time I showed up at the main house, everyone was already clustered together, muttering their guesses, ready for the grand reveal—of what, no one knew yet—that was the point. Anticipation spiked in the air, making me edgy. The atmosphere practically vibrated with the mingling energies of this much testosterone with whispers, even some loud yells around the place. Everyone was in full party mode. Which wasn’t unusual for us. Any excuse to party would do.
Someone thrust a cold beer still dripping ice from the case in my hand, and I nodded in thanks before walking toward the entrance and setting the unopened can on the nearest empty picnic table. I’d never been a big drinker. I knew someone else would pick up my slack. With a long breath that whooshed out of my lungs tickling my side bang, I pushed open the front door to the main house looking to see if any of my brothers and their girlfriends were around.
Our father…well, he had a long story. The head man of the group had trashed my place earlier this evening and was sipping a rum and coke on one of the barstools at the bar. A gaggle of girls surrounded him, as per the usual. The Bad Boy Bitches, I’d taken to calling them in my head. The other girls around here called them sloppy roadkill. Easy to hunt, easy to eat, plentiful enough in numbers to hit more on the next road trip. Carlos was addicted to them. They fueled his ego when he needed a confidence boost, especially after what had been gradually happening to my father over the last couple of months.
Someone made a loud whistle, and everyone came to attention. Small snatches of conversation abruptly stopped in their tracks and I saddled up to Paulo, my youngest brother, with a sympathetic smile. He raised his soda in my direction. A silent salute when he’d no doubt heard about my antics earlier with Liam and thought I was doing a good job of taking the heat off of him. He’d come out as gay recently and Carlos was still struggling with the notion.
“Good as fuck to see you all here, given that this shindig was a little last minute,” Marco Rolando, our accepted leader, took the floor in the center of the room and all eyes were on him… including mine. He clapped his large, tattoo-covered hands together and rubbed them in anticipation. “As you all know we’ve had a hole to fill here in the family after one of our senior men was hit by a stray bullet and I’m here to tell you I’ve handpicked our final candidate from our Las Vegas crew. Show some fucking respect for Jared Halston.”
The newcomer parted the double doors that led away from the kitchen leaving a hush to fall over the room. Jared was shorter than our leader, but that didn’t mean he lacked presence. Every inch of his body seemed to be covered in colorful Asian-inspired tattoos, and one eyebrow had a spiral going all the way through it. He also happened to be missing that eye. There was huge knotted lump of scar tissue over where a bright blue eye should have been, and the lack of it made him a man not to be screwed with in the slightest.
He cracked his knuckles, and the room echoed with the sound.
“Thank you for welcoming me into the fold for the next couple of months. I’ll do my best to be diligent, fair, and kick some ass when needed without restraint. Some of the ideas I’m looking at implementing involve a good bit of digging when it comes to a possible finding middle ground with Liam’s men. I don’t trust those burly, big fuckers. The more information we can get on them, the better. We need to know exactly what we’re dealing with before we make any promises that put us in hot water.” Cheers of approval sounded out from the crowd, and he made a hand signal for them to quiet down. “If anyone wants a word with me, I’ll be in that corner.” He pointed over to where we were standing at the bar and a small warning signal blared loudly in my inner ear.
That couldn’t be a coincidence. My life wasn’t that cut and dry.
There were more whistles, hoots, and general mayhem as Jared wound his way through the crowd to my family with a big grin that should have been charming, but mostly looked sinister given the context of his arrival. I didn’t want him anywhere near me. Purely another male ego to get in the way.
“Excuse me, can I butt in here?” Jared put a hand on my brother’s arm and I held my breath wondering what the hell he wanted with him.
His good eye met Carlos before sliding to me. Goosebumps broke out all over my body and I automatically tensed beneath his scrutiny.
“You’re the sister, aren’t you? Natalia?” Jared’s voice flowed over me in dominant, conspiring tone which I’m sure worked for other women. “Can I have a word with you for a second?”
He beckoned me forward with one finger and all my brother’s swiveled to look at my response. Of course I was going to go, what other choice was there? Still, every step took sheer willpower. By the time I was casually leaning against the bar he’d gotten a shot from someone and was busy tossing it back.
“How can I help you?” I figured polite was the best route to take while the rest of me bristled with the casual calling of my name as though he knew me well. “I’m Natalia.”
He smirked at me. We were oddly close to eye level and I kept getting flashbacks to the way Liam had towered over me making me feel dainty and feminine in all the right ways. Jared just made me feel slightly queasy. I met his one-eyed gaze with what I hoped was casual interest wondering what exactly he wanted from me.
“A little birdie told me you’ve been sniffing around Liam’s people, Natalia. Is that true?”
Damn it! Carlos said he’d keep his mouth shut and I was blindsided by a wash of anger that tightened my jaw.
“It’s true.” The words came out between
clenched teeth, causing Jared to leer at me. I hated that look on his face, and that secretive glint in his good eye.
“Fraternizing with the enemy is unacceptable, Natalia. I’ve also heard this isn’t your first infraction with the guy, am I right?”
Why did I feel as if I was being disciplined or scolded? Reminding myself I was mostly innocent, I stood my ground, and squared my shoulders. He had the answer to his question. He was playing games with me.
“Yes, you’re right.”
I gave him the answer he was looking for studying his face for his reaction. The only change I noticed was a subtle hitch of his eyebrow.
“Because you disobeyed the rules, it’s my job to dole out the punishment for your actions, and I think you need to make amends, don’t you?”
When I didn’t say a word, I swear to God he winked at me. Creepy asshole. My scowl didn’t do anything in dampening his spirits. He rapped on the bar for another shot and knocked it back before making eye contact with me again. Although I wasn’t sure if it could be called eye contact when he had one eye.
“The way I see it, there’s only one way to wrap up this mishap into a nice little bow.”
I cocked my head, obviously listening, as inside me every molecule and cell rebelled and repelled from whatever suggestion came from his lips. Still, I raised my eyebrows, at least acting interested. Since I knew he’d only tell me anyway, men like him liked to hear themselves talk, I knew that well enough because I came from a family of them.
“Over the past few months, in light of the mishaps with your father we’ve been easy on your family, willing to look past what’s fucking owed to us fair and square.” He waited for a beat to make sure I get the gist of his meaning. “Yeah, no more.”
“What does that mean, exactly?”
He laughed turning to face me while my brother’s remained quiet at my back. They were oh so helpful tonight. Every one of them would hear about it later from me, they could be sure of that, not that it mattered much to them.
“The way I see it, you owe us back dues, and you’re hanging out with a guy who could bankroll five years of our hard work with one month’s salary. He won’t miss anything you happen to take from him, will he? Everyone benefits. You steal a damn priceless artifact or two from the billionaire, and he gets to keep seeing your pretty mug…at least until he’s no use to us anymore and you’ve cleared up all your family’s debt. Sounds like more than a fair fucking deal to me.”
I must have balked at him, every bit of blood in my body going cold at the idea. A few sputtered words were all I could rig together in terms of an argument. I was too bowled over to think straight. My reaction seemed to be exactly along the lines of what Jared wanted though because he merely saluted me with another shot, fully knowing what kind of hopeless position he’d put me in tonight. I couldn’t say no—all my defiance left me. Maybe I could make another deal? My brain scrambled with plans as my brother’s behind me started dissecting the plan, already putting me to work to rob Liam.
“What, girl?” Jared took a step too close to me so that we were nearly nose to nose and I tried my best not to breathe too deep. “Cat burglary is in your blood. You’re not gonna fucking act like you’re too good for it, are you?”
“What if I set up a payment plan from my bank account. A direct deposit of my wages from the daycare for as long as it takes to clear the debt. Would that work just as well?”
Jared’s eye narrowed and one side of his mouth tipped up in a smirk.
“Carlos knew you’d do something like that, so I already have his permission, as head of your household, to dole out my fucking plan the way I fucking see it spinning out, Natalia. Any argument from you or ideas other than the plan…well…you won’t like to see what happens to your little rich boy bastard. Am I making myself fucking clear or do you have another question, little girl?”
He muttered under his breath a few choice words about my moral character as my thoughts and stomach flipped from the tight grip of twisting fear and something close to blinding rage.
“We understand each other perfectly fine, Jared.” The words nearly burned my throat coming out. I was still able to say them, so points for me.
“Good. Your brothers can do the liaising when I have a better idea of how to proceed. For now, scout out the place, and find us a good bit of booty, okay? Nothing too cheap. We want the good stuff, got it?”
When I nodded wordlessly, his hand extended toward me, and I flinched back.
“Oh, that’s how it is between us?”
My lips thinned and I didn’t give him any other impression.
“I’d take all that useless fucking anger and direct it in the right fucking place, girl. Your brother seemed happy about the offer when I made it to him. But that was after he spilled all your little fucking secrets that he found in your fucking diary. Blame him for snooping, not me for doing the only sensible thing, okay?”
There was no need to mention there was no diary. Jared liked the impression he took from me, without any word from me. I guessed that our conversation was over then, and when he turned his back I knew what a dismissal felt like—this was clearly one. Well, if they wanted to use me, at least I got something out of the deal.
“Oh, sweetie?” I swallowed down the taste of bile and looked at Jared again. “Don’t think of telling your little friend about our plans, okay? I can easily make your life much harder with my new post here. With a flick of my fingers I could fucking excommunicate you all from our inner circle, or worse. Best case scenario, Spain is fucking gorgeous this time of year, isn’t it?”
With the threat ringing in my ears, he turned his back on me. A cold fury settled in a hard lump in my stomach. Not as if punching him in the face would make a dent, I’d only get in more trouble. As I pushed through the crowded room to get some fresh air, without a word to any of my brothers, I pulled out my phone and texted Liam.
Can we meet tomorrow?
Despite his silence earlier this time my phone vibrated in my palm as I went to put it away. A jolt of surprise stopped me in my tracks in the parking lot. Quick son of a bitch tonight.
Sure, but my schedule is packed. Keep you posted on a time.
Great. Another man I had to wait on in my life. I rolled my eyes without a way to suppress the smile that suffused a pleasant and welcome warmth beneath my skin. After being in Jared’s company for too long, the idea of being back with Liam was a welcome distraction. Even with my new orders.
I’ll be waiting.
There had to be a way out of this situation. I’d find it if I kept looking hard enough. I paused with my finger on the send button.
It’ll be good to see you again.
I hastily typed at the end of my message. Before I could think too hard, I sent the text off into the world and trudged the remaining few feet back to my Jeep. A hot bath, a book with a yummy time traveling Scottish Highlander, and a pint of ice cream were in my future.
Chapter 11 - Liam
There wasn’t a part of me that didn’t ache from rough use and judging by the wicked morning wood I’d been waking up with since I’d met Natalia for the first time, the pain was a nice distraction. My personal MMA trainer hadn’t disappointed this morning. Though he’d been a little surprised by the spry learning skills I’d exhibited due to my new quickly-developing skills. We hadn’t resumed our sessions for a while, and the guy had either been off his game or I was getting remarkably better.
I’d started MMA to get away from the boring weight machines. Now, as a more extreme athlete, I saw it as another way to protect myself. To make sure, even with a full-time guard, that I never got taken or roughed up again. All the protection I needed would be in the palm of my hand. I’d never be helpless again.
“When you’re fighting with thugs and criminals, you need to slow it the fuck down, kid. You want to give away our secrets for free or what?” Tanner gulped down half a bottle of some purple energy drink, and shoved a towel in my face. “You smell like
ass.”
“It’s called sweat, dumbass.”
The man had been watching on the sidelines while I sparred—and he hadn’t been the least bit helpful. He hadn’t even cheered me on, but he’d definitely jeered when I got my ass handed to me.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re a shitty bodyguard?” I arched an eyebrow and took a long sip from my water bottle.
“I can’t fucking defend you from a guy who you paid to kick your ass. That’s not in the job description.” Tanner cracked his knuckles with a wide grin. “Hit the showers and I’ll be waiting with your towel.”
When the big man leered at me, I nearly tossed my breakfast all over the locker room’s pristinely scrubbed tile floor.
“Just don’t whip me with it this time.” I glared at him to make sure he got the point, but the man’s face only got more joy filled.
Couldn't they have given me the easy bodyguard? Not the pain in the ass jokester who had nothing better to do than torment me every waking second using my newbie status against me. I rubbed my forehead with a sigh walking toward the showers.
“Yup, you’re stuck with me, bro! Get used to the arrangement!” He shouted making a loud whip crack noise. “Think of me like your dirty, bad influence guru…with style.”
That last part was debatable.
After I had hit the showers I had Tanner drive me back to the office—we weren’t in the Porsche—while I skimmed through my calendar for the day. Nothing Sandy knew I couldn’t handle, but my day was still packed. I’d gotten up at five this morning to get on a long distance call as my father’s replacement, and there was nothing to break up the monotony of meetings, budget numbers, and people pleasing—until I spotted a small window in between meetings. If I took the company helicopter, I could make it work.
My fingers flew as I told Sandy my plans via text and had her arrange everything. I told her I’d have more exact details in probably about an hour. Then I scrolled to my last text with Natalia. The little cursor blinked in the box for my message, taunting me. As much as I was wary of the woman, there were answers that I still felt needed to be explained—she was holding back something. As if she was being controlled by some outside force. Maybe another meeting and a smash over the head with my charm would loosen her lips, and I could get some more information for Kick3 Sports about her kin.
Two Cowboys Next Door Page 19
