“How do I know she’s not already dead?” Artemis asked, his eyes flying to all three faces in the room.
Leyton moved, laying his phone on the desk in front of Courtney, alongside hers. She reached forward, punched a button. After two rings, a gruff male voice answered with a grunt.
“Put her on the phone,” Courtney commanded. “Her grandfather would like to speak to her.”
Artemis leaned forward, but Leyton growled, forcing the man back into his seat.
“Grandpa? Please help me. Please, Grandpa,” Angelica cried. “I want to come home. I don’t want to be here anymore. Please.”
“Angel? Are you—?” Artemis choked on his words. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you, honey?”
“I…uh… Grandpa? Please do what they want. Give ’em the land. Give ’em whatever the hell they want. I don’t wanna go to prison.”
“I will, Angel. You’ll be home soon. Very soon.”
A sob resounded through the phone, and Courtney disconnected the call.
“Now, shall we?” Pushing the paper toward Artemis, she once again leaned back in the chair, her eyes darting down to her phone as though that would allow her to see Max. As it was, she was ready to bolt, run out of the house, and get to the hospital. Swallowing hard, she remembered she still had business to conclude. “It’s cut-and-dry. The land belongs to Max. You sign on the dotted line, and one week from today, Angelica will be returned to you in one piece.”
“One week?”
“One week,” she confirmed, frustration consuming her. “The deal goes through, she’s back with you. You pull any bullshit—”
“Did you hurt her?” Artemis growled.
Courtney’s face heated from her anger. Leaning forward, she glared at the old man. “Mr. Winslow, your granddaughter shot Max. Twice. Once in the chest, once in the head. He’s clinging to life, and you ask whether or not we hurt her? What do you think?”
“If you laid one finger on—”
Courtney slammed her hand down on the desk, causing the phone to rattle and Ashlynn and Artemis to jump. “You’re not in a position to offer threats, Mr. Winslow. Her gunshot wound was tended to. If you do what needs to be done, she’s not gonna die, she’s not gonna lose her leg. But if you don’t sign that goddamn paper, all bets are off. I’ll kill her myself!”
Leyton leaned forward, handing Artemis a pen. She watched as he scrawled his name on each of the pages, initialed where required. A few minutes later, Sal escorted him out of the room.
Courtney exhaled sharply as she pushed to her feet, snatching her phone from the desk.
“It’s done, Max,” she told him. “I’m on my way to you right now.”
“Court?” he whispered softly.
“Yes?” she asked, her heart threatening to climb out of her throat.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she cried, unable to hold back the sob. “I’ll be right there.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Awake … finally. Not that it changes anything. Yet.
The sound of Courtney’s voice as she easily handled Artemis made Max’s chest swell with pride. The woman never ceased to amaze him.
He’d woken a few minutes ago to Dane’s ugly mug staring back at him, a wide grin splitting the other man’s face when Max cleared his throat, trying to get his attention. Before he knew what was happening, the nurse was called in, and things got hectic for a few minutes as they explained to him what had happened, where he was, all the things they’d done to him.
Blah, blah, blah.
He hadn’t heard a word they’d said as his brain fizzed from all the information, but he’d pretended to pay attention. They’d told him more than he cared to hear, but not what he wanted to know.
By the time he had croaked out his first words, he’d been anxious for answers.
“Where’s Courtney?” he’d managed to force past his dry throat.
“Meetin’ with Artemis,” Dane had told him abruptly. “I’ll get her on the phone right now.”
Dane had already been dialing the phone, putting it on speaker, and setting it on the table that hovered over Max’s lap.
The instant he had heard her voice, he’d felt light-headed.
According to the chatty nurse, he’d been in a coma for nineteen days, and Dane had told him that Leyton and Courtney were manning the fort, making sure things were taken care of until he came home. Not if, he noted. According to Dane, Courtney spent her nights at his side and her days running his business like a champ.
Max wanted to see her. He wanted her to tell him everything that had happened in her own words. It was all he could think about.
“Should I call anyone else while we wait for her?” Dane asked after he disconnected the call with Courtney.
“No,” Max rasped. “I’ll let Courtney make that decision.”
“Yes, sir. Do you need anything?”
“Yes,” Max said, peering up at Dane. “I need you to shut up.”
Dane grinned again and relief filled his chest. He felt like he’d been run over by a train, perhaps two trains. But he was alive, and that was the only thing that mattered.
He glanced around the room, taking it all in. On the whiteboard on the wall was the nurse’s name, a phone number, and a jumble of other shit he could hardly read from that distance, but then he saw it…
Max, if you wake up and I’m not here, I want you to know I love you. ~Courtney
For the first time in his adult life, he thought he just might break down and sob. She loved him.
“Sir? You okay?” Dane questioned.
Max nodded, not trusting his voice not to give him away as he continued to stare at her handwriting.
He must’ve dozed off, because the next thing he knew, Courtney was at his side, her cool fingers brushing over his cheek, her warm lips pressing against his.
“Max.”
He forced his heavy eyelids open, smiling as he looked at her for the first time in what felt like a lifetime.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Courtney smiled as a tear slipped down her cheek, lingering on her jaw for a moment before dropping to the blankets. “I love you, too.”
He wanted to reach up and touch her, but he was too weak, too tired. He settled on gazing at her, memorizing her every feature.
Neither of them said anything as they stared back at one another for long minutes, until Max could no longer keep his eyes open. When he finally gave in to sleep, as he drifted off into nothingness, he heard Courtney’s voice.
“I’m not leavin’ your side again. I’ll be here until you’re ready to go home, Max.”
He only hoped she intended to go with him, because he knew there was no way he could do this without her.
He didn’t want to.
Chapter Forty-Three
Home … right where he wanted to be.
Three weeks later
“It’s about damn time you’re up and movin’ around. Lazy bastard.”
Max rotated at the sound of his brother’s voice, grinning. “Me? You’re the one sittin’ on your ass.”
“Damn right I am,” Aidan retorted with a gruff laugh. “My legs gave out waitin’ on your old ass.”
Max chuckled, the move making his chest hurt.
His wince of pain didn’t stop Aidan from coming over and hugging him as though he were made of glass and would shatter at any moment.
Max had been out of the hospital for less than twenty-four hours, had just spent the first night in his own bed after nearly an entire month flat on his back in the damn hospital. Hell, if his mother had anything to say about it, he’d still be in there, enduring the wicked wrath of that physical therapist, but luckily, Courtney had taken charge, ensuring Max was taken care of in every way. And now he was home, feeling significantly stronger, yet still working on his stamina.
“You need a haircut,” Max told his younger brother as he ventured into the kitchen.
“Why? You wanna b
orrow some?”
Max laughed. His head had been shaved for the surgery when the bullet had grazed his skull. Luckily, it’d been minor, as minor as head shots could be, anyway. As for the slug he’d taken to the chest … that one had been a different story. The bullet had missed his heart, but it had punctured his lung. Had it not been for Leyton’s quick thinking that night, Max likely would’ve died.
But what most of them didn’t know, before the bullets had hit him, Max had already had a reason to live. Courtney. As far as he was concerned, leaving her had never been an option. And according to her, he’d taken his own sweet time coming back to her in order to relay that information.
“Mornin’, sir,” Walter greeted as soon as Max stepped into the overly bright room.
“Mornin’,” he replied.
Aidan maneuvered onto a barstool while Max eased into a chair, both of them watching as Walter moved efficiently around the kitchen, preparing food.
“Is Miss Kogan joinin’ you?” Walter questioned.
“She’s in the shower,” Max told him.
“And you’re down here?” Aidan snorted. “Damn. I think that head tap might’ve done more damage than they thought.”
Max grinned at Aidan, taking him in. His younger brother looked good. Not quite as pissed off as he usually was, although Max did notice the storm clouds brewing in Aidan’s eyes. Seemed those never disappeared completely.
Aidan wasn’t Max’s biological brother, and that was apparent in his appearance. While Max and the others had dark hair and olive skin, Aidan was blond, brown-eyed, and tan. Samuel and Genevieve had adopted Aidan when he was just a few weeks old. The story behind that had never been revealed to any of them, which Max figured was part of the reason for Aidan’s anger.
Ashlynn had been only a month old when Aidan had come into their lives, making the two of them practically twins if it weren’t for the fact they didn’t come from the same parents. But for all intents and purposes, Aidan was as much blood as anyone could be. At least as far as they were all concerned.
“Vic’s on his way over. So is Brent,” Aidan told him, referring to his other brothers.
Max nodded. He’d seen Victor and Brent and both of his sisters while he’d been in the hospital. They’d hovered over him like a bunch of fucking babysitters, making sure he did what he was supposed to do, when he was supposed to do it. All while he ordered them to leave him alone.
They never did listen. But that wasn’t unusual.
“Where’s Madison?” Max asked, referring to his baby sister.
“She’s with Ashlynn. They’re takin’ care of somethin’ for Courtney. Leyton’s with them.”
Max knew that meant they were handling business. From what he’d gathered from Courtney, Leyton had been stoic during the entire ordeal, making sure everything was managed effectively, all the meetings were kept, the clubs were maintained, the deals were completed. According to Leyton, Courtney had been the one keeping them all together. She’d run his world as though she’d been born into it.
He was still torn about that, not sure how he felt about Courtney knowing so much. When he’d regained some semblance of his strength, he’d looked to Leyton for reassurance. He knew Courtney was no longer on assignment, no longer working for Sniper 1 Security; however, she was still loyal to her family.
Something had happened, though, between her and her father, and Max had an idea what that was, but he’d yet to broach the subject with Courtney. He figured when she was ready to talk to him about it, she’d come to him.
Leyton had told him he had nothing to worry about. Courtney had been the one to go to Leyton, told him that she would be handling Max’s affairs until he was back on his feet. She’d never doubted that he would live, spent the first few days after he’d been shot in the hospital with him, never leaving his side.
Hell, she’d single-handedly brought Artemis to his knees, forcing his hand after they’d hidden Angelica away, letting her heal from the gunshot wound Leyton had inflicted on her after she’d shot Max. Had it been Max’s decision, Angelica would’ve been dead, but as it was, Courtney had ensured the woman’s life was forever altered.
Then again, when it came to Marcus Alvarez and Angelica’s involvement with him, Max had to wonder if she’d end up dead anyway. He hadn’t yet spoken with the man, needing to gain back more of his strength before he took that one on, but he fully intended to.
“Hey, Aidan. You’re here.”
Max heard Courtney’s voice before he saw her. He looked up to see her heading toward his brother, her smile widening when she looked over at Max. The love that shone in her eyes made him instantly stronger. She was the reason he was healing so fast. She gave him the strength to push forward even when the pain was vicious, threatening to suck the life right out of him. He’d kicked the pills, not willing to give in to a weakness. He’d seen what that shit did to people, and he wasn’t a fucking idiot.
“There she is.” Aidan grinned stupidly, hugging her back.
Courtney walked over, kissed Max quickly on the lips, and then worked her way to the refrigerator, chatting with Walter and helping him to get things together.
Max felt as though he were in a dream, watching as the woman he loved moved around his kitchen easily, interacting with his brother. She talked to Aidan and Walter, laughing and joking with them. And when Vic and Brent arrived, she talked to them, too, after hugging them both.
“She’s different now.”
Max jerked his head at the sound of Leyton’s voice. The chair scraped on the hardwood as Leyton took a seat beside him.
“How so?” he asked, his gaze returning to Courtney as she greeted Ashlynn and Madison.
“I can’t put my finger on it.”
“Good or bad?”
Leyton cocked his head to the side. “Is there anything good in our world?”
Yeah, Max thought to himself. Her. She was the good in his world.
“She’s a natural,” Leyton said. “And I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone as loyal to you as she is.”
That didn’t mean she wouldn’t turn on him, Max knew. They came from different worlds, and she’d been thrust into his, living it daily. He figured once she felt the sun on her face again, realized how dark it was with him, she’d bolt.
But as he watched her face light up again, he chose to ignore that fear.
“Come eat,” Courtney announced.
Getting to his feet was easier than it’d been for weeks, but the tightness was still there, a hint of pain stealing his breath. Not wanting to show weakness, Max masked his expression and headed to the dining room with the others.
Taking his seat at the head of the table, he watched his brothers and sisters, smiled at Courtney, and kept his eye on Leyton, making sure the man didn’t so much as wink at Ashlynn.
“So…” Victor said between bites. “Care to tell us what really went down?”
They’d all agreed not to share the details of the shooting until he was out of the hospital and Angelica was out of the picture. He knew his brothers would want revenge, and likely his sisters, too, but Max needed for that part of his life to be over. Getting Angelica out of the picture was a priority for moving on with his life.
Max nodded to Leyton.
Leyton cleared his throat, then relayed the details of the night of the shooting. Max still had a difficult time hearing it, knowing that his life had nearly been ended.
When that part of the story was concluded, Brent spoke up.
“While you were out of it, Samuel called a meeting.”
That got Max’s attention.
“He met with all of us,” Brent continued.
“Not me, he didn’t,” Ashlynn said harshly. “Why the fuck didn’t I know about this?”
Brent cast a quick glance at Victor as though they were trying to decide who would talk.
Victor was the one who spoke up. “Samuel wanted you on the outside. Said you were in too deep with Courtney.�
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“What the fuck?” Ashlynn reacted angrily, slamming her fork down on her plate.
“Let him speak,” Max said, his voice still not as strong as he’d wanted it to be.
“Samuel confided in us, did his level best to convince us that Courtney was the enemy.”
Max reached for her hand, needing to feel her touch.
“It was more of a vent session, really,” Madison added. “He rambled on and on about nonsense. Wanted us to corner her, try to get some information from her.”
“What information?” Courtney inquired.
“To be honest,” Brent said with a grin, “I don’t fuckin’ know. Like Mad said, he was ramblin’. Somethin’ about the past bein’ the past, live and let live, movin’ on. That sort of nonsense.”
Max glanced at Courtney. When she met his gaze, he knew that she knew.
She sighed heavily, then put down her fork and picked up her coffee. “There’s a story behind that one.”
All eyes turned to her, and Max squeezed her hand gently. It was her story to tell, although his brothers and sisters might think otherwise.
“I’ll tell you,” Courtney said, addressing them all. “But I’m warnin’ you, I don’t think you’ll like what you hear.”
Knowing she didn’t know the other side of that story—Samuel’s side—Max interrupted. “Can I?”
Courtney nodded at him, then glanced down at the table.
“Our paths didn’t cross just because of who we are and what we do. Courtney wasn’t sent here simply to dig into our organization. There was a deeper reason behind it, one that we could’ve never guessed.” Max went on to relay the story as his father had told it, in all its gory detail.
By the time he was finished, Ashlynn and Madison were teary-eyed while Brent and Victor looked as though they were ready to tear Samuel’s head off.
“My father was in love with Genny when he was younger,” Courtney relayed. “Of course, he could’ve never known what would happen to her when he went off to the military. Apparently, though, he’d never let it go. Unbeknownst to me, he wanted more detail, wanted to know specifically how Genny was doing.”
Beautifully Brutal (Southern Boy Mafia #1) Page 27
