by Mia Dymond
As they waved to the last car driving away, Maverick came up behind Lexi and put his arms around her.
Nuzzling her ear, he whispered, “Stay with me tonight.”
“I thought you had to work tomorrow.”
“At 7:00 a.m. You can sleep in.”
Lexi turned around and put her arms around his neck. “Well, in that case … yes, I’ll stay.”
Maverick scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the house before she had a chance to change her mind, locking the door behind him.
***
“We have a problem.”
“That’s not what I want to hear.”
It wasn’t what he wanted to say either. “The target remains uncooperative. She is involved with the fireman who coaches a Little League softball team.”
“What is so special about this team?”
“The players are also female?”
“How involved is she with the fireman?”
“Very involved. I’ve seen them together on and off the field.”
The pause on the line was not a good sign. “We must have her cooperation. What do you intend to do about it?”
He came up with the plan as he spoke. “The messenger has turned up the heat but she still won’t budge. We have no choice but to squeeze her.”
“And if that plan fails?”
He didn’t even want to consider failure but the way things were going, he needed a back-up. “I don’t want to bring attention to us, but the only other choice we have is to take her out of the equation.”
“Agreed, but only as a last resort.”
“Of course.”
“Do you think the messenger will have a problem with that?”
“Whether he does or not, he will do whatever we tell him to do.”
“I hope you are correct. This will be our biggest deal so far. Don’t screw it up.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Monday morning, Lexi lay in her own bed, wishing Maverick was there with her. Saturday night she had fallen asleep in his arms and slept like the dead until he woke her up at 2:00 a.m. by playing with her breasts and kissing her senseless. They’d made love again. And had fallen asleep again. Until his blasted alarm clock woke them up at 6:00 a.m. He’d told her he needed one for the road, so they made love in the shower. Multi-tasking, she assumed.
She’d gone home, blissfully sore, and napped on the couch for a few hours. She watched television until her eyes crossed. Then spent a few hours weeding her flower bed. The hours dragged without him.
Unable to lie there any longer, she threw back her covers and got in the shower. She quickly dressed then grabbed a steaming cup of coffee on her way out the door. Thank God for automatic coffee makers with timers and disposable cups with lids.
By the time she pulled into her parking space in front of her office and killed the engine, she began to feel somewhat normal. At least she had plenty to do to keep her busy. And since Maverick wasn’t on call today, they’d have tonight together.
She stuck her key into the lock, puzzled when the door popped open under the slight pressure. With the key still inserted, she pushed the door further open. Her mouth fell open at the sight before her.
Pictures had been taken off the walls, slashed, the frames broken and scattered on the floor. The sofa and two side chairs had been slashed, the stuffing pulled out. Plants were pulled out of their pots, dirt on the floor. The phone cord was yanked out of the wall and the drawers were pulled out of the receptionist’s desk and dumped upside down on the floor.
Careful not to touch anything, she slowly made her way across the mess and stopped at her office door. She was afraid to look inside but knew she had to. She pulled her blouse out from her skirt and used the bottom to wrap around the doorknob, gave it a turn and pushed. More destruction.
Her chair had somehow been spared. But her desk drawers were dumped out. The filing cabinet’s lock was broken and those drawers had also been pulled out and dumped on the floor. Even her trash can had been emptied.
Lexi felt sick to her stomach as she pulled out her cell and called Maverick.
“Hey, sweetheart. Are you already at the office?”
“Yes, I didn’t sleep well so I got up early.”
“What’s wrong?”
She tried to keep her voice from shaking. “Someone trashed my office.”
“Are you okay? They’re gone, right?”
“Yes, I’m fine and I’m the only one here.”
“I’m on my way. Have you called Casey?”
“No, I called you first.”
“I’ll call him, Baby. Sit tight. I’m not far.”
“Okay. Please hurry.”
Lexi loved her office. She’d carefully considered each purchase before she had bought it, hoping for just the right look. It had been her sanctuary and now she felt violated.
She heard sirens in the distance. And then footsteps near the front door.
“Lexi, it’s me.”
Maverick’s voice was a soothing balm on her frayed nerves and once he found her, he immediately pulled her into his arms. She felt safe again.
Casey and his crew descended upon them, taking pictures and dusting for prints. While his men continued their work, Casey approached them.
He laid a hand on her shoulder. “Lexi, are you okay?”
“Yes. They were long gone when I got here.” Thank God.
“Maybe. You should have stayed outside and called me right away. Believe me, you don’t want to walk in on that.”
“I know. I was just so shocked.”
He looked around at the chaos. “Is anything missing?”
“No. They just made a huge mess. It’ll take days to clean this up.”
“Someone was really pissed. Have you made anyone angry recently?”
Lexi thought about it for a moment. She could think of only one person who was angry with her. But would he have done this?
“There is one person who’s angry with me. Dimitri Santos.” She glanced at Maverick and winced at his reaction.
“I’ll talk to him. Do you think he would do this?”
“He could have been looking for a deed, but he wouldn’t have found it here. So, yes. I think it was him.”
Maverick frowned. “What deed?”
She took a deep breath and finally came clean. “I own the property that the ball field sits on.”
Casey pulled out his notebook and began to scribble. “Really?”
“My great aunt Flora originally owned the property and left it to me and Dimitri. She was dating Dimitri’s father at the time.”
“And that’s the property he’s been trying to get you to sell?”
She nodded.
“Is Santos in on the sale?”
“Most likely. He will probably make some sort of finder’s fee from the sale and I’m willing to bet he will buy into the property as an owner.”
Casey rubbed his chin. “What good would it do him to have the deed in hand if it’s in your name?”
“It’s in both our names, and it only requires one of our signatures for the sale. But the deed holder has the power and that’s me. I told him no sale.”
Maverick squeezed her hand. “Is the deed at your house?”
“No. It’s in a safe deposit box at the bank, along with some other important papers.” She looked at Casey. “Do you think he’ll break into my house?”
“He might, if he thinks he can find it there. It might be a good idea for you to stay somewhere else for a while. Or at least don’t go home alone.”
She nodded. “I’ll take it under consideration. But I really have a hard time believing that Dimitri would hurt me. I refuse to run and hide.”
Maverick tucked a finger under her chin and turned her face toward him. “Lexi, take Casey’s advice. You can stay with me.”
“I appreciate the offer. Maybe I will, but I have several showings today. I won’t be alone. I’ll call you later.” She gave him a quick kiss and one la
st squeeze to his hand, and then left the room.
Maverick was pissed. Seeing Lexi so shaken and upset twisted his gut. He watched out the window as she drove away and turned back to Casey.
“Do you think she’s in danger? If it is Santos, does he have the balls to do something like this?”
“I would have said no, until Lexi told us the whole story. Now, I’m not so sure.”
“Looks like your CSI guys are done here.” He nodded toward the door.
“Yeah. I’ll call a locksmith and give you a call when we have the results.”
Maverick shook Casey’s hand. “Thanks.”
“You bet. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Me? Never.”
“Yeah, right.”
Maverick climbed into his truck and drove through town, scoping out the properties that he knew Santos owned. He finally spotted the black sedan at the Sand Bucket Vacation Rentals. This confrontation was long overdue, and now that his team wasn’t around he wasn’t holding anything back. He’d do his best to try to keep from smashing the guy’s face in with his fist, but only because he didn’t want to embarrass Casey when he had to arrest him for assault.
He took the stairs three at a time, walked in the front door, and went straight back to the offices. He didn’t bother knocking, just opened the door of the conference room where four people sat at the table, Santos at the head.
“Gentlemen, please excuse us for a few moments.”
The three men obediently stood and left the room, closing the door behind them. Maverick kept his eyes on Santos. He clenched his fists, trying hard to keep himself under control.
“I was wondering how long you would wait before you came to see me. What can I do for you?”
Smug bastard. “You know why I’m here.”
Santos gestured to a chair on his right. “Please, have a seat.”
Maverick shook his head. “No need.”
“Suit yourself. Is this about Alexa?” He leaned back in his chair, looking totally relaxed.
“Stay away from her, Santos. She doesn’t want you.”
“I disagree. We have a lot in common and she’s a very sharp business woman. Together we can become a very powerful business couple. A force to be reckoned with.”
“So you think trashing her office will bring her over to your side?”
“What?” He sat forward in his chair, not so relaxed now.
“Did I stutter?”
“Someone trashed her office? Was she hurt?”
“Knock it off. We know it was you and we know exactly what you were looking for.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“No? Let me refresh your memory. Lexi holds the deed to the ball field, the same one you’d like to sell. When she refused your offer, you decided to find the deed on your own.”
“I did no such thing.”
“Of course not.”
“The only confession I intend to make is that I intend to get Lexi to be with me.”
Maverick took a deep breath and counted to ten in his mind. “Lexi is not Natalie. If anything happens to her, I’m coming for you.”
“Is that a threat?” Santos stood up.
Maverick leaned in, his face inches from the other man’s. “No Santos, it’s a promise.”
“Rest assured that as long as she cooperates, everyone will be happy.”
Maverick turned on one heel and headed out of the building, mulling that statement over all the way home. What the hell did Santos mean? It sounded like a threat to him. Maybe Casey would get a confession out of him, or at least get some evidence from Lexi’s office to tie Santos to the break-in.
Meanwhile, he decided that Lexi needed some pampering after the morning she’d had so he dropped by the grocery store to stock up for dinner and made a quick trip to the liquor store for a bottle of wine that he quickly put in the fridge to chill. Then he palmed his cell phone. Time to break out the big guns.
Ten minutes later, Vanessa and Annessa stood in his living room, giving him the third degree.
“Let me get this straight,” Annessa said around a smirk. “You want us to seduce Lexi for you.”
“No!” He released a hard breath and mentally smacked himself upside the head. He knew this wouldn’t be easy. ‘I just want you to set the scene like you did for Travis.”
Vanessa grinned. “What’s her favorite color?”
He had absolutely no idea so he took a stab in the dark. “Blue.”
“That’s your favorite color,” Annessa drawled. “Lexi likes green.”
He frowned. “Does that really matter?”
“No.” Annessa shrugged. “We were just yanking your chain.”
“Will you help me or not?”
“Of course we will.” Vanessa sat down in front of his laptop and pushed buttons. “You watch this and we’ll do the rest.”
“Watch what?”
“YouTube. These videos will teach you how to give a massage.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I promise, you’ll score big with this.”
By the time Maverick finished several videos, candles burned all over the living room and the house smelled like sugar cookies.
“We left the bedroom up to you.” Annessa raised an eyebrow. “Can you handle it?”
He smirked and drew both women into one big bear hug. “I’ll be fine. Thank you both for bailing me out.”
“You’re welcome, Mav,” Annessa said as they stepped out of his embrace and headed for the door. “Just remember, don’t ever make us use it against you.”
He shook his head as he closed the door behind them and headed to the kitchen. Twins, gotta love them.
He had just finished cooking when the doorbell rang. Talk about perfect timing. He opened the door to a very defeated-looking Lexi.
“Come in, Baby,” he said as he closed the door behind her. “The rest of your day didn’t go any better?”
She shook her head no as she put her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. She released a deep sigh as he rested his chin on top of her head.
“I really should go to my office and start cleaning up,” she mumbled from the depths of his shirt.
“Nope. You’re not going anywhere.” He gave her a squeeze and set her back from him. “I made dinner, Vanessa made dessert, and tonight is all for you.”
He led her into the living room and waited while she glanced around the room. “Wow, you went to a lot of trouble. Thank you.” She gave him a quick kiss.
“Kick off your shoes. I grilled steaks and potatoes for dinner and the wine is chilled. After dinner, I’m treating you to a massage.”
She removed her shoes and then curled up on the sofa. “What did you do today?”
“I had a nice chat with Santos.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened. ““How did he get your number?”
“He didn’t call. I went to see him.” He watched closely for her reaction.
“Tell me.”
“It’s not as bad as you think. No punches were thrown.” He had held his temper in check. Barely.
He filled her in on the conversation.
“Did you leave anything out?”
“Nope. I told you word for word what was said.”
She pushed her hair back behind her ears. “I knew he wouldn’t admit to breaking in, but I’m shocked that he told you he wants me. Money is all he cares about. I’m breaking all ties with him. No more business deals.”
He let out the breath he didn’t know he held in. “I was hoping you would say that. I don’t like the way he threatened you.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re not afraid that I’ll fall for him again, are you? Is that what this is all about?” She waved her hands around the room at the flickering candles.
“No. I know you don’t want him. I trust you, Lexi. I was only trying to help you relax and end your day with positive vibes.”
“Well, in that case,�
�� she said just before she kissed him again, “let’s hurry and eat. I can’t wait for that massage.”
“I have another surprise for you.”
“What’s that?”
“While I’m relaxing you, everyone else is going to your office to clean it up for you.”
She blinked several times and then tears glistened her eyelashes. He wiped them away with his thumbs. “Please don’t cry. My heart can’t take it.”
“I don’t deserve you guys.”
“Sure you do. Now just relax and enjoy. Tomorrow’s a brand new day.”
***
“Time is up. Obviously he couldn’t get it done.”
“Don’t worry. I have everything under control.”
“The deed was obtained?”
“No, but tomorrow the land will be ours. With or without her blessing.”
“How will you manage that? Nothing has worked so far. I’m beginning to think I sent the wrong man.”
“No, sir. I will get it done. I guarantee you that.”
“What about our messenger?”
“He’s of no more use to us. I will dispose of him after he’s delivered what he promised.”
“Good. I will look forward to your next call.”
“You won’t be disappointed.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lexi sat in her office chair, head back, and twirling around while she attempted to wrap her head around the events of the last few days. On one hand, there was Maverick. Her opinion of his intentions toward her had definitely changed. For the better. What could she say? She was in love. Last night had really sealed the deal with his newfound skills. She smiled at the memory of that wicked massage, and what came after. She grabbed a piece of paper from her desk as she spun by and fanned herself. Maverick. Yum. Yum.
