Chapter 16

Mason

Smackingaround the professor has done little to calm the hectic feeling inside me that settled in my chest the moment I opened that door.

The sight of another man touching Charlotte like that…I want to rip something apart. Tear it to pieces and then light it on fire.

No one gets to touch her like that. Not even me. I don’t mean playful hair pulling or a good romp doggy style. That fucking asshole meant to hurt and humiliate her.

Of course, I paid that back in spades. And if Burke steps a toe out of line, I’ll burn that motherfucker to the ground.

But now I have to deal with my errant woman, and I am not happy.

I’d called her wife in there. I’d meant it to further worry Burke. Men understand this universal rule…you do not mess with a woman who’s been fully claimed by another. The strange part was that the word had tasted good on my tongue. Right.

I reach the parking lot and yank open the limo door to find Charlotte sitting quietly to one side, her hands folded, her gaze on her lap.

To see her quiet actually soothes some of my ruffled feathers, but not all of them. She’s not so hurt that she’s hysterical. Then again, she was exceptionally calm that first night in the conference room. Doesn’t she have any sense for her own safety? “What were you thinking?” I snarl, slamming the door behind me. “He could have really hurt you.”

Her head tilts up, her eyes, shining with tears, meet mine. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I didn’t think.”

“No. You didn’t.”

“I just wanted to fix one problem without adding more worries to your already full plate. I’m so sorry…”

She’s talking about me? If she’d argued, I could have stayed mad. But her apology cuts me to shreds and I’m pulling her into my lap, my arms wrapping tight around her. “I won’t even go into the fact that our entire ruse could be jeopardized. What if someone looking for you saw you on that campus and made the connection?”

She stiffens in my arms, her breath catching. “I didn’t see anyone other than one female student who I don’t know.”

“Still. It was dangerous.” I hold her tighter, my bruised knuckles aching as I twist my fists into her dress.

“It’s time for me to go, isn’t it?”

My arms turn to steel around her. She’s getting antsy to run again. “No. It’s time for you to let me take care of this.”

“It’s too much. I’ve asked too much. I can’t ask you to do that.”

Reaching for her chin, I tilt up her face to mine, claiming her mouth in a fierce kiss. After what she just went through, I should be tender. But my blood is still pumping, and the worry is still beating through my veins. I let her mouth go, giving her a long stare so that she understands. “Charlotte, I am big enough and strong enough to hold up your world. Just let me.”

She melts into me then, her body pressing close to mine, her mouth so soft and yielding that I could devour her. God, this woman feels so good.

She threads her fingers into my hair, her full lips opening. I kiss her over and over, wishing that I could go home with her. Just spend the afternoon washing all her hurts away and hold her until she fell asleep in my arms.

What is this woman doing to me?

But I had a meeting with my family that had started a half hour ago, and they were going to be pissed. I’d been about to go to the conference room when I’d seen Jackson’s text that Charlotte had requested to go to the campus.

By the time I read it though, they were already en route. I’d left without a word to anyone, rushing to follow her.

Which meant I was now very late. Kincaids were not known for patience.

As if the situation wasn’t already tense enough. Which is why I hold Charlotte until we reach the apartment and then I see her into the elevator myself.

It’s only when the doors close, that I put my war face back on.

My knuckles are red and bloody from where I’ve pummeled Burke’s face, but I don’t mind the pain.

If anything, it puts me in the right state of mind.

This is a battle, and I’m going to need my fight. I get out at Kincaid Enterprises and make my way up the elevator and into the conference room. The doors have barely opened, and I can already feel the change of energy.

Everyone is tense and or pissed. Join the club.

Roman and Luke stand when I enter. Jake always keeps his seat and today is no exception. He might be my employee, but as my uncle, he doesn’t bow.

Leo stands off to one side, his glare strong enough to shred me. I stop, our eyes locking.

“You look like fucking shit,” Jake calls from his seat.

“I feel great,” I respond back. Snark isn’t usually my style, but it suits my mood today.

Roman shakes his head. “Why are your hands bleeding?”

Everyone stills at that…even Leo. “It’s unrelated.” For them, it is.

Luke’s eyes narrow, as he assesses me with a long glare. “Can you really afford to fight with anyone else?”

He’s not wrong. But if I tell them I was kicking Charlotte’s professor’s ass, they are going to get the wrong idea. Actually, they’ll get the right idea. Charlotte matters to me when she shouldn’t. I told them I’d sacrifice her for their benefit and yet here I am, righting every wrong in her life.

Which sounds an awful lot like a man who has fallen, and we’ve got a pact. It was business and family first, sex second, and love never.

Leo has scented my weakness though and he’s stalking toward me, chest puffed. “Tell us anyway. We’ve been waiting for this story for forty-five minutes.”

“Let’s just get down to it,” I say, moving to my chair.

They all watch me, and I know they all know. I’m not myself…and every single one of them is worried I’m slipping. Making the sort of mistakes that might detonate the business. Get one of us killed.

“This is business,” Leo sneers. “See, I think that you’re losing your grip and that what this operation needs is a change of leadership.”

I push back out of my chair. “Now see, yesterday, when you showed up uninvited at my apartment, I told you the truth. You are the one who is thinking like a child and not considering the family or the business.”

“And you’re thinking with your fucking cock,” Leo fires back. “Is she soft and warm, big brother? I bet her mouth looks so good wrapped around your dick. Those lips always were fucking amazing.”

I’m over the table in a hot second, vaulting the four-foot-wide surface and tackling Leo because Charlotte’s mouth should never be on his mind.

I take him to the ground, both of rolling as I plant my fist in his face. He gets me good with a solid rib shot.

“Stop,” Luke barks, both of us ignoring him as Leo swings hard, catching my jaw and sending my head snapping back. My face is going to hurt for days.

But I barely feel it now, going back in for more…

It’s Luke who hauls me off, Roman jumping on Leo to keep him from the counterattack.

Jake is puffing on his cigar. “I guess you boys didn’t learn from your father after all. Never let a woman get involved.”

I shake off Luke, running a hand through my hair. The Italian mob offed my dad because of the giant debt he’d collected.

But a few people knew the whole story. He’d been fucking the Italian mafia’s queen, Maria Carcetti, and when Toni Carcetti, her husband, had figured it out, he’d hired a hit on my father. We all knew pussy clouded judgment.

And everyone in this room already knew that mine was impaired.

I knew it too.

Leo shakes off Roman and charges toward me, only stopping when his finger is in my face. “This isn’t over, Mason. You’re not taking the ship down like he did. I won’t let it happen.”

He shoves me and then charges for the elevators.

“Then stay and fight,” I snarl back. “And stop stomping off like a bitch.”

He spins, charging at me and I drop my stance, getting ready, but Luke knocks him off kilter so that he crashes into the wall.

Roman stands in front of me. “Leo, you can’t just declare yourself leader. It doesn’t work like that.”

Luke stands next to Roman. “We decide together. That’s how it’s always been.”

“Fucking fine,” Leo snarls. “You don’t want me to be in charge. At least remove him…” He jabs his finger at me. “He’s losing his touch.”

Jake draws another puff from his cigar. “If you’re asking for a vote, we’ll vote.”

“I am,” Leo retorts. “And I need everyone to see the truth. Mason is going soft, and it will get us all killed.”

“You are going off the deep end and that is the biggest danger we’ve got,” I say, adding in my own two cents before the voting happens.

The room is silent as Leo and I lock gazes, neither looking away. We’ve both aired our grievances, there is no taking them back.

“All those in favor of removing Mason.”

I pull my shoulders straighter. They want to take me out? We’ve been a unit this whole time because it insulates us from the mistakes my father made. That’s the real reason we vote. No taking on larger amounts of debt to woo some woman. No making decisions with our egos.

But if they think they’re taking the business I built away from me, they’re sorely mistaken.

In that moment, I realize just how much Charlotte has distracted me because I did not anticipate this happening this quickly. And I always anticipate every move in the business sector. It wasn’t that the signs weren’t there. I’ve just been so focused on her…

Leo jabs his hand in the air. “Aye.”

No one else speaks.

Slowly, Leo’s lip curls as he stares from Kincaid to Kincaid. “Fine. That’s the way you fuckers want it. That’s the way you have it. But I’m not done here.” With a snarl, he turns on heels and stalks to the elevator, jabbing the button and disappearing.

The breath slowly releases from my lungs. I’ve still got a chance to make this all right. I can beat the Italians, neutralize the Dukes, have our revenge on Toni Carcetti and Giovani Vendetti, and get the tunnel made to grow our business even bigger. It’s a long list, with one more addition. Keep Charlotte safe.

“Well that sucked,” Luke rumbles, looking at me. “You’d better keep it together Mason. Don’t get us killed over a woman.”

Charlotte. My chest tightens because I know, if it gets too hot…I’m going to have to let her go.

I don’t mean today. I’ll make certain she’s safe. But she will have to go…this isn’t permanent. It’s part of our deal and falling in love isn’t an option for me. Not ever.

She’s messing with my life and my family in ways I promised I would never let happen.