Twice the Malone

by Roberts, Laylah

  His eyebrow rose. “What would you like me to say? What was last night? Were you hoping that by fucking me I would somehow give your boss what he wanted?”

  What?

  “No! I didn’t even know you owned that land. Neither did Richard. How could I have thought that sleeping with you would help him? Not that I would do that anyway.”

  “You work for that slime bag, who knows what you know. Or what you’ve done for him.” He sneered at her, looking down at her like she was shit on his shoe. She felt her insides shrivel.

  She’d known that this wasn’t some love story. Hell, she’d slept with two men at once. That sort of stuff wasn’t normal. Or likely healthy. But she thought he might at least give her the courtesy of thinking her innocent until proven guilty.

  “I didn’t know who you were. And if I had, I wouldn’t have slept with you.”

  “You really think I’m going to believe you have morals when you work for him?” He sneered at Richard who was back in the car.

  “Richard isn’t a bad guy.” Although she wasn’t so sure of that anymore. She still thought she should defend him since he was her boss.

  “He can take his underhanded tactics and crappy offer and stick them up his ass,” Maddox replied. “If he’s such a good guy, then how come he was having to resort to threats and blackmail to get the owners of the land to agree to sell it to him?”

  “He . . . he wouldn’t do that. He offered them all a fair price.”

  “A fair price?” Maddox scoffed. “I paid ten times what he was offering them and what I paid was a fair price. He was trying to cheat them. He’s immoral and a criminal.” He stepped toward her.

  “That’s not true.”

  “I can’t believe you’re defending his practices. You know that makes you no better than him. And it sickens me that I slept with you. I know Beau left you his number. Lose it.”

  A horn blasted and she glanced over to see Richard glaring at her.

  “You’re wrong, about all of this. About me,” she said quietly.

  “Go back to the city, Scarlett. And forget all about this place and my brother. Because you don’t belong here or with us.”

  Barely able to breathe, her vision blurred by tears she managed to make her way back to the car without breaking down.

  “Can you believe that asshole? He’s going to pay for this. Nobody takes what I want, nobody!” Richard seethed.

  She turned the car around carefully, deliberately keeping her gaze away from Maddox as Richard continued to rail. Then she drove down the driveway.

  Don’t break down. Don’t let Richard see.

  She blocked out most of his speech. He was spouting off things against Maddox, threats that she knew were unfounded.

  Or were they?

  “Richard,” she interrupted.

  “You need to book tickets home immediately,” he said, tapping away on his phone. “I’ve got things to organize. I need to find out everything I can about Maddox Malone. Do you have anything to tell me?”

  “What? No. I met him last night. Briefly. That’s it.” She wasn’t going to let Richard use her as a weapon against Maddox, no matter how much of a jerk the other man might be.

  “Richard, he said you threatened those people to get them to sign over the land. Is that true?”

  “What? How can you even ask me that? Why would I need to threaten anyone? Yeah, I wanted that block of land. But there’s other land I can buy.”

  That was true . . . but . . .

  “Scarlett, I can’t believe you’d listen to a dumbass cowboy over me. We’ve known each other a long time now. Have I ever done anything to make you doubt me?” His hand landed on her thigh.

  Only instead of sending shivers of delight through her, it made her feel ill.

  “No, you haven’t.”

  “So, I expect your loyalty on this, understand?” His hand tightened on her thigh. Almost to the point of pain.

  “Of course.” She forced herself to smile. “You’re the boss.”

  “I knew your loyalty was to me. You’re always there for me.”

  For some reason, that knot in her stomach didn’t disappear.

  His phone rang. He answered it quickly. “The deal fell through.”

  She couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation.

  “Yeah, well, I thought this was a sure thing, but Maddox Malone bought it out from under us . . . yeah . . . all of the land, yep . . . you do that, Rodney. Fuck. Right.”

  He ended the call. She bit her tongue against asking who that was.

  “Let’s get out of this shithole place.”

  9

  Beau whistled as he got ready.

  He’d already showered, put on some cologne, and filled his wallet with condoms. He’d managed to fit a dozen in there.

  Would that be enough?

  Hmm, maybe he should take it easy on the poor girl tonight. She was probably a bit sore. Actually, he’d kind of hoped to hear from her. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent most of the day checking his phone to see if a girl contacted him.

  “Bro, what’s wrong with you?” Butch snapped as Beau walked through their communal living area in the bunkhouse. “You’re so fucking happy it’s sickening.”

  “Going to see my Snow again.”

  “Why’re you getting caught up on a girl you spent one night with?” Tanner asked. “She must have been damn good in bed.”

  Beau shot him a look. “This isn’t about the sex.”

  Both of his brothers stared at him. Yeah, he got it. It had never been about anything but sex for him.

  “You mean, you’re serious about her?” Tanner asked.

  “You?” Butch added.

  “Scarlett’s different. She’s sweet and strong and she’s the one.”

  “The one? You serious?” Butch gaped at him. “You’ve known her five minutes.”

  He sat to put his boots on. “She’s it.”

  “Didn’t Maddox spend last night with her as well?” Tanner asked.

  “He likes her too.”

  “He does?” Butch looked amazed. “Didn’t think he’d be interested in another woman again after that bitch. He’s been so cold and intense since she they broke up.”

  “Last night he smiled. Several times.”

  Tanner whistled.

  “And Scarlett wasn’t even scared off by his bossiness.”

  Tanner whistled. “Brave girl.”

  “Where’s Maddox then?” Butch asked. “Shouldn’t he be going with you?”

  It was a good question. Beau grabbed his phone and found his brother’s contact. He hadn’t seen him since this morning. Asshole had left halfway through morning chores.

  “What?” Maddox snarled through the phone. From the background noise, it sounded like he was already at the bar.

  “You getting a head start already, brother?” Beau said cheerfully. “Couldn’t wait to see our girl again, huh?”

  “There is no ‘our girl,’ ” Maddox replied sourly.

  “What do you mean? Because she’s not there yet? It’s early still.” Although he did wonder why he hadn’t heard from her . . . nerves filled him.

  “Because she used us.”

  “What are you talking about?” Beau asked, that knot in his stomach growing bigger.

  The background noise quietened. Maddox must have gone out of the main part. “She works for Stanson.”

  “Stanson? The guy who attempted to blackmail Darren and the others into selling that piece of land?” It’s what had consumed Maddox these last several of months. Darren was an old friend and Maddox hadn’t been impressed to learn this asshole, Stanson was putting pressure on him and his friends to sell a piece of land they owned jointly at a tenth of its market price. Beau didn’t get why the guy had such a hard-on for the land. Sure, it was pretty and would be good ranching land. But it wasn’t worth the time he’d put into pressuring all those people to sell it.

  “Snow works for Stanson?” That
seemed one hell of a coincidence. “She didn’t say anything.”

  “Of course she didn’t say anything,” Maddox snapped. “Why would she when he obviously sent her to that bar to get information from me.”

  Beau shook his head and moved back to his bedroom. He sat on his bed. “Are you trying to say he sent Scarlett to spy on you?”

  Scarlett, not Snow.

  Because if she had done what Maddox had accused her of . . .

  “But why? Did he know you were trying to stop him?”

  “I wasn’t trying. I did stop him.”

  “How?”

  “I bought the land.”

  Beau sucked in a breath. “All of it? Or just Darren’s share?”

  “All of it. They all agreed to sell to me. Just settled it all this morning.”

  “Shit.” That land was worth at least three million dollars. He’d bought it? “What? Why?”

  “Seemed the easiest way to keep it out of Stanson’s hands. I’ve been looking into him. He’s shady as fuck. I wasn’t letting him have that land and he was offering them peanuts. They would have sold to him because of the pressure he was putting on them.”

  When had Maddox become the underdog’s hero? Beau shook his head.

  “You can’t think that Scarlett—”

  “Don’t be naïve, Beau. That can’t be a coincidence. She went into that bar to get me into bed.”

  “Did he know you bought the land?”

  “Well, no, he couldn’t have. There wouldn’t have been much point in coming out here if he did. But maybe someone let slip that I was trying to get them all to agree to sell to me. Maybe they told him that I made them an offer. She used us, Beau. And she’s gone. I checked. They left the hotel. She’s not coming here. The fact that I told her what he’s like and she didn’t even flinch tells me everything. I told her to leave and forget us.”

  “You told her what? You had no right!” He jumped off the bed.

  “I had every right.”

  “I might let you take control in the bedroom, Maddox, because I know that’s what you need. But you are not the boss of me. I have the right to make my own decisions. You didn’t have any right to tell her to forget about me.”

  “You can’t want her now!”

  “I’d like to hear her side of it.” Because things didn’t feel right. Had Stanson found out that Maddox was working against him?

  “Face it, Beau. You like to see the best in people. She’d spin you some bullshit and you’d fall for it. I was just saving you from getting hurt.”

  Too angry to reply, he ended the call. Then in a fit of rage, he turned and threw his phone against the wall.

  Fuck. Shit.

  He stomped on it for good measure. Childish, maybe. And he didn’t really feel any better.

  Chest heaving, he sat on the bed and rested his head in his hands. Maddox had no right to pull that overbearing shit on him.

  But . . . she’d left. She’d ignored Maddox’s warning about her boss.

  She hadn’t texted or called.

  Fuck. Fuck. He hated to admit it, but maybe Maddox was right.

  But damn. It hurt.

  “Want to go fuck things up?” Tanner asked from the doorway, looking from him to the smashed phone. He’d obviously heard enough to deduce what had happened.

  “Hell, yes. Let’s make the vein on Alec’s forehead bulge.”

  “That’s the attitude, brother. Don’t worry, plenty more chicks out there.”

  And he’d make sure that he didn’t foolishly fall for any of them.

  10

  Scarlett stared at her phone for the umpteenth time.

  It had taken her three days to work up the courage to text him. She stared down at the message she’d sent. Should she have put something else? Something more personal?

  Scarlett: Beau, it’s Scarlett. I just wanted to say I didn’t know you guys had anything to do with my boss that night. And I’m sorry things ended the way they did.

  Maybe she should have told him how much that night meant. But no, her pride wouldn’t allow that. And considering he hadn’t answered, her instinct was obviously right. She didn’t need to make more of a fool of herself.

  Maddox’s words still stung. They were like needles digging their way under her skin and settling in deep.

  She took a breath in, let it out slowly. Since coming back to Chicago, she’d felt out of sorts. Like her world had been tilted on its axis and she didn’t know right from wrong anymore. She stared down at the salad she’d brought for lunch with indifference. She didn’t seem to have much interest in anything anymore.

  Her phone buzzed with a text, and her heart skipped a beat. She dropped it clumsily then snatched it back up, cursing the crack that had appeared in her screen protector.

  When she saw the text was from Margo, disappointment settled inside her.

  Margo: This weekend. You and me. Night out.

  All she’d told Margo was that the cowboys had snuck out without saying goodbye. For some reason, she didn’t want to tell her about her boss.

  Maybe because you’re worried Maddox is right, and he’s shady as fuck?

  “Scarlett! There you are! What are you doing in here?” Richard demanded.

  “Um, eating my lunch.” Or not eating her lunch more accurately.

  “We don’t have time for that. We need to get across town now. Come on, won’t hurt you to skip a meal.”

  Ouch. How had she not noticed what a complete asshole he was? It was like her mind had been awakened after a night with the Malone twins. The rose-colored glasses were off, and it painted Richard in a whole different light.

  Maybe it was time to look for a new job.

  * * *

  “I can’t believe it’s taken you a week to get another phone,” Tanner griped at Beau as they walked out of the shop.

  “Alec has been riding my ass since the other night. And it’s not like I could drive myself with this.” He tapped at the cast on his foot with a crutch, nearly upending himself.

  “Still can’t believe you broke your foot.” Tanner shook his head.

  “I didn’t break it. I just cracked a small bone in it.”

  “Same thing, asshole.”

  He hadn’t been thinking properly that night. The night he realized Snow was gone. That she’d betrayed them. He’d gotten shitfaced with Tanner. Then he’d kicked a wall. Yep. That’s how he broke his foot. Not his brightest moment. He was starting to think that Alec was right.

  Maybe it was time to grow up.

  He was an uncle now. He didn’t want Seb growing up to be like him. A complete idiot.

  “Do you think all of the messages I’ve missed will come through?”

  “Dunno, depends on how long the carrier keeps them for,” Tanner replied. “Sad to miss all those texts from hot girls, huh?

  Yeah. That wasn’t it at all.

  There was only one girl he wanted to hear from. Fuck, he wondered if she was all right.

  He couldn’t help it. Even though Maddox was certain she’d been using them, Beau had his doubts. She’d been so unsure of herself, so sweet and self-conscious. If that was all an act, then it was a good one.

  Maybe he should find her. Perhaps he could go to the city and just check on her. Maddox would kill him, but he didn’t have to know. Things just weren’t adding up for Beau.

  Of course, he’d have to wait for this cast to come off. This is what he got for being a damn hot head.

  * * *

  Scarlett felt like she was going to vomit.

  “Come on, Scar. You haven’t been in a few weeks this will be good for you.” Margo prodded her into the building where their weekly Pilates session was held. She hadn’t been for a month. Because she’d been in a dark place, she hadn’t felt like doing anything. Not since she’d come back from that disastrous business trip.

  Margo had laid a guilt trip on her yesterday, saying she’d barely seen her. So, she’d given in and said she’d come today.

&nbs
p; Now she was regretting it. Lately, she’d barely been able to hold down her food. She’d lost weight. She’d hopped on the scales last night. Ten pounds in just over four weeks. That never happened.

  “Sorry, I’m feeling a bit off.”

  “You’re always feeling off lately. Those cowboy assholes didn’t give you an STD, did they?”

  Scar looked around the room in embarrassment as people gaped back at her. Margo didn’t have a quiet or off button. She just blurted out what she thought, which could be funny or embarrassing, depending on the context.

  “No, they did not,” she said firmly, wanting this conversation to be over with. Yikes.

  Although they had left her with something worse. Longing. Regret. Self-doubt. And worry. Worry that they were right about Richard, and she was working for someone with questionable tactics and practices.

  She really needed to start looking for a new job.

  The instructor came in then and started the class. The first five minutes went fine. She was able to ignore her queasiness. But as she came out from one pose then went to stand, the world around her started to sway. Sweat broke out across her skin as nausea bubbled in her stomach.

  Then everything went black.

  * * *

  “Here, let me help you.”

  She groaned as Margo grabbed her arm, swinging it over her shoulders. Margo was five feet nothing and a strong wind would knock her over.

  “I told you, I’m fine. The blood just rushed from my head when I stood up too fast.”

  “Dude, you went down like a sack of potatoes. Boom!”

  “Thanks for the visual.”

  “Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything embarrassing while you were out.”

  “Oh my God, I wasn’t even worried about that before.”

  “But you didn’t, so you don’t have to worry,” Margo told her as she helped her out of the elevator onto her floor. They moved to her apartment door slowly.

  She loved this apartment. It had plenty of cafés and shops close by and was only a twenty-minute ride on the train to work.