Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Roman

“I’m coming to pick you up,” Mason says by way of introduction when I pick up the phone.

“For?”

“We’ve got to go to Kincaid Enterprises tonight.”

I take a moment to consider. “You think it’s a good idea to leave Maddie alone?”

“If we’re going to move the tunnel project forward, we need to look over all the documentation that’s in Luke’s office.”

I let out a long sigh. “That makes sense. You’re right. It’s just…wouldn’t you rather wait until morning?”

“No. Not really. I’d rather be there alone when we can search without answering to anyone.”

He’s got a point. Not that employees will be rude, but they will wonder why I’m hunting all through Luke’s office when he’s out. It will stir a whole lot of questions. “You don’t need to come Mason.”

“Why don’t you want me to come? Are you meeting up with Leo?” His tone is demanding, accusatory.

“No. But I am trying to complete the job you gave me, while leaving you to do yours.” I look at the pile of shit on my desk, the stuff I planned on working on tonight. I understand why Maddie won’t sell. How am I going to convince her? And if I can’t, is there another way?

Because the idea of taking her house is a job I hate more with each passing hour. The feel of Maddie’s skin under my hands as I took off her clothes and slipped on the pajamas, still lingers at the front of my thoughts.

She’s softer than silk, her curves are fucking killer… And then there was the smell of her arousal.

It still lingers in my nose from when I helped her pull on those little shorts. Bent down, not only could I smell her, but if I’d just tipped forward…

“Right,” Mason lets out a long breath of air into the phone. “Look. If we search tonight, first thing tomorrow morning, we can start calling inspectors, city officials. But I think we need to know the vague outlines first.”

“Fine. Come get me.” I pull the phone away from my ear, glaring at the phone. “And for the record, I was never meeting up with Leo tonight, though I still think I should be with him trying to get Luke back.”

“We’re soldiers,” he grunts. “We do the job we’re told.”

I stand from my desk, my hand clenching into a fist, my knuckles turning white.

I’ve always followed Mason. He’s been like my father when my own detonated. But right now, today, this… “The job has never been this dangerous or this fucking shitty.” My knuckles rap on the desk. “I’ve got to ask. Is it worth it?”

I sit back down, scrubbing a hand down my face, but I’m not done. “I know the Italians started this war when they killed Dad. But he was fucking a boss’s wife. Are we going to lose Luke avenging Dad? Hurt Maddie?”

“What about Mom? She suffered too.”

My teeth grind together. Mason is wrong. That doesn’t belong at the Italians’ door. “Their marriage was shit. She was home with three boys while he was off fucking and fighting his way through Las Vegas.”

“You’re right, Roman,” Mason agrees. “Dad should have been protecting her. Instead, he abandoned her to a pile of shit. She deserved better.”

Anger boils up inside me. “Maybe. But she turned around and shoved that pile of shit right on me.”

Mason is silent. “What was it like at the end?”

“She barely fed herself, didn’t shower, didn’t do a thing but sit in the fucking dark and—” My teeth gnash together, cutting off my words. “She didn’t take care of me or Arabella. Did you know I walked our sister to school every day?”

“Roman,” Mason says, his voice tight. “I wish I’d been there.”

“You were away at school. Why would you have been home?” I stand, starting to pace the office. I’ve said too much. Maddie is stirring a storm inside me and I don’t know what to do with all these feelings I thought I’d buried deep.

“Yeah, but you were what? Ten? You needed real support.”

“I’m strong now,” I say, waving his words away. “Mom made me strong. I’ll say that.”

Mason pauses before he slowly speaks. “Is Maddie being there a problem? Should she come stay with me?”

“No.” The word flies from my mouth with far more aggression than I intended. As much as Maddie is pushing some buttons inside my head, we’re on some course together and I can’t steer away.

The very idea of her being under Mason’s protection makes me want to break things. “She stays here.”

“And you’re still going to make sure she sells?”

“Yeah,” I say, but my voice lacks conviction. “What’s the alternative? Abandoning the project?”

“Which I know you know can’t happen. We’re almost to the end of this game.”

I shake my head, staring at the wall. “The costs are fucking mounting.”

“Listen. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. We’ll go to Luke’s office and we can talk more in the car.”

“All right.” I hang up and spend the next five minutes standing in the middle of my office, considering all of Mason’s words.

Then, I make my way into my bedroom.

Maddie is on the far side of the bed, curled on her side. Only a sheet covers her body and I can see the clear outline of her frame, the generous curve of her hip, the river of blonde hair snaking over my pillow.

I could just climb into the bed, shape myself around her, wrap her in a cocoon of protection and forget the world.

I’ve got more money than I could spend in a lifetime. We’ve been fighting some war and it’s time to ask the question.… Is it worth it?

Mason didn’t want to hear it tonight, but I’m still asking it.

She sighs in her sleep, soft and high, the sweet note of it rippling over my skin. Fucking hell, what this woman does to me. She’s got me rock-hard with a single noise.

I turn away, scrubbing my face and head for the door.

I don’t use the elevator, I don’t want to wake her.

Instead, I take the stairs, using the time to consider what I’ll do if we find Luke. Or…if we never find him.

I stand in the parking garage, listening to the night as the traffic of Vegas whizzes by. We’re close enough to the strip that I can hear the people, the nightly party has begun. It makes me tired.

The Civic pulls into the garage and Jack gets out, signaling for me to drive. I’m glad I skipped the wine as I slide into the driver’s seat. “Thanks for driving. I’m two scotches in,” Mason shrugs.

“You’re not usually a mid-week drinker.”

“I miss my fucking wife,” Mason growls, not even bothering to disguise how much he loves Charlotte.

“Is that why you’re in such a rush to see this all done?” I back the car out, leaving Jack in the garage. I get that Mason’s whole world is Charlotte now. But I won’t hurt Maddie simply so my brother can leave Vegas.

“Don’t make it sound like that. I’m in a hurry to move the tunnel along to help Luke.”

That’s fair, and I feel like an ass for even saying it. “I’m sorry. I know you’re looking out for Luke. And I don’t blame you for missing your wife. What’s it like, loving someone like that?”

“Charlotte is my whole life. Our relationship is way more fulfilling than any deal I’ve ever closed.”

I shake my head. “But taking care of her, it doesn’t…weigh you down?”

Mason looks over at me. “No. The thing about the right relationship is it gives as much, if not more, than it takes.”

I consider those words as we make the short trip to Kincaid Enterprises. Silently, we take the elevator up to the penthouse and we make our way through the conference rooms to the offices.

Stupid fucking Luke. I told him not to go to Maddie’s house. If he’d listened…

I make my way into his office, the top of the desk an absolute mess. “How does he get anything done like this?”

Mason crosses to the shelf of liquor, pouring himself another drink. “You two are quite the pair. Never a thing out of place with you and with him…” Mason waves at the desk.

“We both know Aunt Gina raised me after Mom died. Luke and I shared a room. It was hell and it was great.”

Luke was a mess and Aunt Gina would come in and clean it up so that I didn’t have to live in his filth.

But it goes deeper than just being a mess. Luke struggles with numbers and letters. A fact he hides from everyone, even Mason. Is that why he nearly missed a deadline? I should have helped him more…

Mason takes a seat in the extra chair in the corner as I search through Luke’s piles. If you can call them that.

There’s no rhyme or reason to them. and after fifteen minutes I start systematizing. Papers from the building inspector, plans from the architect, random paperwork from the city.

Which is how I find a sheet that makes the blood freeze in my veins.

Maddie’s address is at the top and as I scan down the page, my eyes close for the briefest second.

There are several years worth of back taxes that are owed on the property and there is a lien from the city because of them.

I look at the dates and I know, as her grandmother got sick, she lost the ability to make the payments.

There have been several recent payments, an attempt to remove the lien but it’s not gone.

“Mason,” I draw in a shaky breath. “Do nonprofits have to pay taxes in the state of Nevada?”

“Depends,” Mason answers. “Why?”

I set down the paper. “What about someone who is legally blind?” Mason went to law school and now develops real estate. These are easy questions for him to answer.

“No. Someone who is blind should be exempt. Again. Why?”

I sit down in Luke’s chair, a heavy breath falling from my lips. “The city has a lien on Maddie’s property.”

Mason instantly understands the full weight of my words. One, we could take the property in a second because of that lien. We’d have the city foreclose and then snatch up the property in foreclosure. Mason has the connections to expedite the entire process. But two…the lien is unfair. Maddie has been a full-time resident of that property her entire life and should be exempt. The taxes should never have been owed in the first place.

“Fuck me,” Mason mutters and then takes another long swallow. “What do you want to do?”

I shake my head. “I’ll file for the extension for the permits tomorrow. That buys me time.” And then, I don’t know.

I’d be the worst sort of asshole if I took that place from her. I’m not even buying it from her, knowing she should be able to keep it.

“Let’s get Luke back first,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “With any luck, Leo will find him tonight.”

Mason gives me a long stare and I know he wants to push. He doesn’t.

Instead, Mason and I leave again, going back to my apartment, barely exchanging a word. I make my way up the stairs and into the kitchen. The couch is all made up, and I shrug off my shirt, my pants, stripping down into nothing but boxer briefs.

But instead of laying down, I make my way into the bedroom. Is it wrong to watch her sleep? I don’t know.

I reach the edge of the bed and stop. Maddie has shifted, she’s now flat on her back in the middle of the bed, one arm tossed above her head.

The tank top has ridden up, revealing the smooth expanse of her belly, her tits so plump and round, I want to bury my face in them.

Her eyes flutter open. “Roman?”

“It me,” I say, my voice hoarse. “I couldn’t sleep.”

She scoots over, lifting a hand to beckon me into the bed. “Come.”

I don’t hesitate, climbing in next to her, wrapping my arm around her back to settle her body against mine. Her face nuzzles into my shoulder, her leg settling over my thigh, tangling between both of mine, as her arm rests over my chest.

She feels so fucking good and all the noise in my head quiets into one single thought.

This night has only just begun.