6. Madden

6

Madden

" N o flirting, Cin," I growl as Tessa disappears into the guest bedroom with her two children. The little boy looks like he's ready to drop where he stands and the baby hasn't stirred.

My sister's kids would be screaming the place down by now after having their routines interrupted in such a frightening way.

Cin throws a peeved look in my direction before picking up Harry's wet coat and shoes and placing them in the boot room.

"I wasn't flirting."

"Yes, you were." He just can't help himself - flirting is coded into his DNA.

Kade reappears, rubbing his eyes. His face is gray with exhaustion after driving through the night.

"I gotta catch some sleep, but first, you need to know what you're dealing with."

A pot of coffee sits between us. The sky lightens outside, but the sun is nowhere in sight. Rain lashes down while a howling wind buffets the house.

The storm has worsened in the last hour. With this much water streaming down the mountain, the nearby creek must be a fucking torrent by now. We're safe here, but the track back to the main road will be in poor condition by the time Kade leaves.

"When I got to the rest stop, an asshole had her pinned in the women's bathroom. I knocked him out and got her out of there. The cops arrived just as we were leaving."

"Are you certain it's Mashkov?" I ask. Mashkov isn't the only criminal faction out there. The Irish aren't fans of Alberto either. And then there are the Albanians with their delusions of power.

"Not 100%, no, but Tessa says one of the goons at her place mentioned Sergei, so unless there's another criminally inclined Sergei, it has to be Mashkov."

"Why are they going after her now if she and her father have been estranged all these years?" Cin asks.

"That's the million-dollar question. Tessa lives under a different surname. Has done since she moved back to the States. Alberto keeps an eye on her, but they've had no contact since she was 16. Someone would have needed to dig really deep to find her, and already know where to look."

Something's not adding up here. I think Kade is right and the Valentinos have a leak.

"Who's the guy who sold her out?" For once, Cin looks serious, no trace of the grin he usually sports. Which is worrying. When Cin gets serious, it means he's invested. I'm not sure him being invested in Tessa is a good idea.

For one thing, she's a hot mess with two small kids. And for another, she's our client. Not that her being our client is a barrier, especially. As plenty of actresses, celebs, and pop stars will attest.

"Enzo Ferrero, the father of her kids."

Cin's mouth falls open. "So you're saying the man who fathered those adorable kids sold her out, knowing there was a high likelihood she and the kids would be hurt or possibly killed?"

Kade nods and then pours a healthy slug of bourbon into his coffee. I hesitate for a few seconds and then follow suit. It's barely dawn, but the way this day is panning out, I need a fucking drink.

"If I'm lucky enough to meet that cunt, he's a dead man," Cin snarls.

Kade's eyes snap up and I inwardly sigh. Yeah, he's already obsessed. Cin is so laid back he's almost horizontal. He rarely loses his shit about anything or anyone. And certainly not a woman.

"Get in line," Kade replies, his face grim. "Alberto has put a bounty on his head. The plan is to take him alive, to find out what he knows, but if he dies in the process..." He shrugs and downs his coffee."

My mind chews over what we know. Tessa's boyfriend sold her out, likely because he's in debt to the Russians. Mashkov probably wants her because she's Alberto's daughter and it gives him leverage.

"The biggest issue we have here is who leaked her identity," I say. Kade nods.

"Yep, and that's what I'm trying to figure out. I already know someone is working against us. Shit's been going sideways for months now. Nothing big so far, but it's escalating."

"Power grab?"

"Yeah. I have an idea who might be behind it, but I have no proof, so until I do, I'm keeping it to myself. Right now, the focus is on keeping Tessa and her children safe. Nobody knows she's here apart from me, so you shouldn't have any visitors."

I wave my arm dismissively. "This place is a fucking fortress. We can withstand any attack, even a nuclear strike." I'm not exaggerating.

There's a concrete bunker below the house stocked with two years' worth of supplies. I built it before I added the house on top. If the Middle East tinderbox explodes and World War 3 comes to our shores, we will be safe here.

Kade rolls his eyes. He thinks my survivalist mindset is ridiculous, but as I've told him a million times, it's better to be prepared than sorry.

"OK, good. So you're fine with looking after her and the kids until we can get to the bottom of what's going on?"

"It's not ideal," I tell him. "We were supposed to be providing a protection detail for Jewel Silver next week while she attends the Oscars and various after-parties."

He snorts with amusement. "So sorry I've nixed your red carpet moment."

"I'm not." Cin's still pissed after she blew up his phone with angry messages when he refused to fuck her again after she got all possessive. "She's a fucking psycho bitch. Her fans have no clue how deranged that woman is."

I ignore him. He's entitled to his petulant outburst, but truthfully, he brought it on himself. The fucker never listens to me when I tell him not to fuck the clients. He's a sucker for a pretty face and a nice pair of tits. And they can't help falling for his many charms, not least his big dick.

"Sounds like your usual type, bro," Kade teases. He knows his brother too well, having spent all of their teenage years dealing with tearful, hormonally challenged, and vengeful girls who thought they were in a relationship with Cin.

"There's nothing else on the books for a month. We planned a vacation after the Oscars, so unless this turns into a long-term thing, we're good."

"OK, well, I need to catch some sleep before I head back, even if a vacation does sound amazing. Got a spare bed?"

Cin frowns. A flicker of guilt flashes across his face. So fast that one blink and I would have missed it. Even after all these years, Cin still feels guilty that Kade became a made man, so his younger brother could enjoy the safety and freedom neither of them knew growing up with a meth-addict mother.

"Take the bedroom at the back, where Jake usually sleeps. I put Tessa and her children in Serena's and Richard's room. I figure the boy would want to sleep with her, and the bed's larger in there."

"Great, I get the Peppa Pig room. That won't give me nightmares at all ."

Cin snorts with laughter while I try to maintain my usual stoic expression. Unfortunately, a smirk breaks free, causing Kade to glare at me. I swallow my amusement down, aware that now is not the time for joking around. Not with Russian scum after the woman we're protecting.

"What time are you heading back? The storm should have run out of steam by noon." Just as I say the words, an exceptionally powerful gust of wind hits the side of the house, and the entire mountain shakes. Jesus. This feels more like a hurricane than a fucking regular storm.

"Probably early this afternoon, after I've slept, showered, and eaten."

I grunt. "OK, fine. I'll head out and check the track down the mountain is clear once the storm eases up. The creek might have burst its banks, but you should still be fine getting over the bridge."

He nods and we all go our separate ways.