She spoke against my lips. “Thank you…”
“That was all you.” I just lay there and enjoyed it, enjoyed this beautiful woman riding my dick.
“No…thank you for saving me.” She rested her forehead against mine, her eyes on my lips. “All you did was stand there and scare them away. I don’t think could have fought them off…not when I was that drunk. So if you weren’t there—”
“Shut up.” I didn’t want to hear her talk about that night and what could have happened. If someone took her and forced themselves inside her, I would have lost my mind. I would have tortured every guy before I killed them—and then killed their entire families for further punishment.
This was my woman. No one touched my woman unless she wanted to be touched.
She pulled back and looked at me, her eyes narrowed in annoyance at my cold words.
“I don’t want to talk about that night ever again. I will always be there to protect you, but do me a favor and don’t give me a reason to save you. Be smart, be safe.”
Her eyes dropped their hostility, and she rubbed her nose against mine. “I will.”
I sat in my office while Vanessa worked down the hall in her studio. She’d been there since we’d gotten back from her place about an hour ago.
The elevator beeped when someone tried to rise to the floor.
Only a few people had the code to get into the lot. One of them was Max. But no one had the new code to the elevator except me.
I walked into the living room and hit the button to see the person through the camera.
It was Max, standing there in a black leather jacket with a full beard, a bag hanging on his shoulder. “What?”
He glared into the camera. “Fuck you, Bones. Let me in.”
“Let’s meet somewhere, then.”
“Why?” he countered. “I’m here. And what we’re gonna talk about can’t be discussed in public.”
Which meant we were talking about Joe Pedretti. I hit the button and allowed him inside the elevator.
“Asshole…” He stepped inside and disappeared from the camera.
The elevator rose, and he walked into my living room less than two minutes later. He greeted me with a nod then stepped farther into the room. “Thanks for the warm welcome.”
“A heads-up would have been nice.”
“You got three whores up here again like last time?” He grinned, loving the angry look on my face.
I hoped Vanessa didn’t hear that, not that I should care how she would feel about it. “No.”
“So your off-limits woman is here.” He sat on the couch, his satchel still hanging over his shoulder.
I didn’t answer him, not wanting to confirm or deny it. I grabbed a bottle of scotch from the cabinet along with two glasses. I sat on the other couch and filled the glasses before I slid one toward him. “What’s up?”
Now that the liquor was poured and we were seated, Max turned serious. “Still going after Joe?”
“Fuck yes.”
“Have you really thought about it? I’m telling you, it’s not a good idea.”
“Even if I die in the attempt, I’m still doing it.” My mother risked her life to take care of me, and I wouldn’t be a man if I didn’t honor that. She’d spread her legs and let men assault her so I had a place to live and food in my stomach.
Max shook his head slightly. “I still think it’s stupid. I’m telling you this as a friend, not a business partner. You’re risking everything you’ve attained. She’s gone, man. You can’t bring her back.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
He sighed then rubbed the back of his neck. “You know I have your back forever…but I can’t be involved in this. I’m not risking my life for something that doesn’t make sense. It would be different if she were still alive—”
“I never asked for your help.”
“So you’re going to track him down and kill him all by yourself?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes.”
“He’s surrounded at all times.”
“I’ll figure out a way.”
“And if you don’t kill him and he comes after you, you’ll be hunted for the rest of your life. Do you understand that?”
“This is a blood war, Max. It continues until there’s no more blood.” I drowned myself in a sip of scotch, needing it to take the edge off.
“What about this Barsetti woman?”
“What about her?”
“Isn’t she worth sticking around for?”
I didn’t want to talk about her, especially when she could be listening down the hall. “Enough, Max. Nothing you say is going to change my mind. So just drop it. Give me the intel you have, and let’s move on.”
He stared at me, his brown eyes filled with disappointment.
I ignored his look, ignored his stress. We’d been friends for decades, had done business together for a long time. If I died, it would hit him hard. If I had kids, he would be their godfather. That was how tight we were.