Kobo Indecent Arrangment Part I

by Stephanie Julian

  Chapter Four

  “Hey, Bethy. Is everything okay? What’s going on? You sounded really upset on the phone.”

  As Mary Alice slipped into the chair opposite her best friend, she noticed Bethann’s red-rimmed eyes and her pale complexion.

  “No. Everything’s really not okay. Oh, my god, Mally. It’s bad.”

  Reaching across the table, Mary Alice took hold of Bethann’s hand and squeezed. “What’s going on?”

  Bethann had called Mary Alice this morning and asked her to meet at their favorite coffee shop for lunch. Since Bethann’s voice had trembled when she’d spoken, Mary Alice had agreed immediately, even though she’d woken with a headache, a result of tossing and turning most of the night.

  After she’d nearly taken off Adam’s head when he’d dared to ask her what was wrong, Adam and Tristan had practically tiptoed past her office and she’d figured it would do her good to get away from her desk for an hour or so.

  Now, she wondered if she was going to be in a worse mood when she left. Bethann didn’t tend to be dramatic so something was definitely wrong.

  “I don’t even know where to start.” Bethann shook her head, looking ready to cry again.

  “Just spit it out, Bethy. Is someone hurt?”

  “No, no. It’s nothing like that. God, it’s just…”

  “What?”

  “It’s Danny.”

  “Did something happen to him? Come on, Bethy. I need a little more to work with.”

  Bethan’s face crumbled. “He screwed up. Big time.”

  “How? Is he in jail?”

  Bethann shook her head, tears at the corners of her eyes. “No, but he’s in trouble. Bad trouble.” She took a deep breath, as if she couldn’t get enough air to say the words. “He wanted to make some extra money for the wedding, and a friend took him to a game. Only it wasn’t just any game. It was some underground thing run by one of the city’s crime families.”

  Mary Alice’s lungs turned to stone for several seconds. “Who ran the game?”

  “He said he’s in debt to the Antonoffs. I’ve never heard of them but Danny’s terrified. Some guys stopped us on our way to our car last night. I thought they were going to hurt us.” The tears broke through and started to fall. “Danny wants to call off the wedding until he can pay them back. But…”

  “But what?”

  “It’s a lot of money.”

  The pit in Mary Alice’s stomach grew. “How much? I’ve got—”

  “It won’t be enough.” Bethann kept shaking her head. “He owes them close to $50,000.”

  Oh shit.

  Bethann picked up a napkin to wipe at her eyes. “I don’t know how we’re going to pay it. And if we don’t… I don’t know what they’re going to do to him. I don’t know what to do. Neither of our parents have that kind of money. No bank will give us a loan. I’m so scared.”

  Bethann drew in a shaky breath as Mary Alice’s mind started to work through the problem. Which was why Bethann had come to her. She knew Mary Alice would be able to think of something. She always did.

  Even if it was possibly the stupidest idea in the world.

  And it really was.

  Reaching across the table, Mary Alice took Bethann’s hand. “All right, listen. I may know someone who might be able to help.”

  Bethann hitched in a breath. “What? Seriously? Oh my god, are you serious?”

  “Yeah, I am.” She was also crazy for thinking of going to him. Considering she’d just turned him down for a date last night.

  Bethann shook her head, staring at Mary Alice like she’d just smacked her upside the head with a happy stick. “Who?”

  “No one you know. And you can’t tell anyone about this. You have to promise. Not even Danny. If I can fix this, no one can know I had any part in this.”

  As Bethann promised to keep her mouth shut on pain of death, Mary Alice was already trying to figure out how she was going to ask Max for the favor she needed.

  She didn’t have a clue.

  When she and Bethann split after lunch, Bethann still teary eyed but at least not bawling, Mary Alice took the long way back to the office.

  The heat and humidity closed around her and she was sweaty and overheated by the time she walked through the door. But she’d managed to work through the conversation she needed to have with a certain former Russian gang member.

  Christ, was she serious about this? Did she really think asking Max—

  “Hey, Earth to Mary Alice. You in there?”

  Mary Alice’s head popped up as Tristan rapped his knuckles on her door. Her fingers froze over her phone before she curled them into her palm and let her fist rest on her desk.

  “I’m here. What do you need?”

  “Adam and I have an appointment so we’re leaving early, which means so can you.” He paused and his eyes narrowed. “Hey, is something wrong?”

  Hell, yes, there was something wrong. Her best friend’s fiancé went and fucked up his life and now she was going to fix it. Hopefully.

  “No, nothing’s wrong. Why?”

  “Because you’ve got that look on your face.”

  “What look?”

  “Hey, did you— Fuck, what’s wrong?”

  Adam walked through the door and up to her desk, frowning, gaze narrowed to a squint.

  Mary Alice rolled her eyes and pushed away from her desk. She wanted to bang her head against the desktop but knew that’d just freak out the guys even more.

  She should’ve known they’d figure out she had something on her mind. She just hadn’t realized how fast they’d be.

  “I don’t know.” Tristan shot Adam a quick look before staring down at her again. “She won’t talk.”

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared back at them. “Because there’s nothing to say. Nothing’s wrong.”

  Adam and Tristan exchanged a glance.

  “You were out last night, weren’t you?” Tristan’s head cocked to the side. “Did something happen?”

  “No, nothing happened. Why do you think something’s wrong? I’m sitting here working. How does that equate to something being wrong?”

  “Don’t ever play poker for high stakes.” Adam dropped into the chair opposite her desk, watching her like a hawk watched a mouse in the field. “No poker face at all.”

  She loved her bosses. She really did. But she was going to strangle them one day. And they’d never see her coming.

  Right now, though, she did have something to hide and it pissed her off that they’d been able to read her so easily. So it was their own fault she was about to torture them. Even if she was going to lie to them. Just a little.

  “Fine. You really want to know? I’ll tell you. My best friend is freaking out about her wedding and wants me to wear a bridesmaid’s dress that makes me look like a hooker in an eighties prom dress. My mom keeps wanting to set me up with some nice guy from church who looks like my Uncle Jim, bald head and all. I’m PMSing and jonesing for chocolate, which I don’t keep in the office because I will eat it if it’s here. And my bosses want to interrogate me. Where would you like to start?”

  She waited for them to run for the door. They were guys, after all. Usually if she mentioned PMS and weddings in the same conversation with any of her macho brothers, they left so fast, they left marks on the floor.

  Tristan and Adam exchanged a look, communicating without words. She’d seen Max and Jesse exchange that same look.

  Damn them. They didn’t leave, just continued to stare at her. But she refused to let them win this one.

  She lifted her eyebrows at them, determined not to crack.

  Finally, Tristan shook his head and sighed. “You’re not in trouble, are you? Not hurt?”

  And then they did this and she wanted to hug them.

  “No. No trouble. Not hurt. It’s not me, okay? I swear.”

  “And you’d tell us? If you needed anything?”

  “Yeah. I would.”

  E
xcept she couldn’t tell them about this. And they couldn’t help her.

  Adam shook his head and gave Tristan a disgusted look but he finally turned toward the door, Tristan on his heels.

  Before they left, Tristan turned one more time. “Mally, you know, whatever you need, you just have to ask.”

  Except when she knew they couldn’t help her and would be furious if they knew who she was going to ask for help.

  She nodded, biting her lower lip to fight back tears.

  When they finally left her office, she sighed in relief.

  But that hadn’t been the hardest part. She still needed to make a phone call.

  Which would have to wait until she got home.

  Giving her more time to stress.

  Goodie.

  * * * * *

  Max had almost managed to put Mary Alice out of his head by lunch the next day.

  Having an emergency at one of the businesses helped. Pipes had burst in one of the buildings he and Jesse now owned. The travel agency occupying the first floor had had some damage, but Jesse knew to tell the owner they’d be sure to cover all expenses.

  Jesse had gone over to handle cleanup while Max handled the other emergency that’d come up after Jesse had left. They’d had trouble at one of the other clubs they owned last night. A fight, nothing major, but the cops had been called so he’d have to talk to the lawyers and make sure there’d be no legal problems.

  They’d been so damn careful these past few months. They’d made sure every building was up to code, made sure every license was paid, every T crossed and I dotted on every contract and legal document they signed.

  They’d paid off as many outstanding debts as they could without leaving themselves in a financial hole. Which shouldn’t be a problem because David had made sure they’d had enough capital to hold on to what they’d taken for at least two years. After that, the businesses they now owned should be making them enough money to keep them afloat.

  Hell, they should do more than keep them afloat. Max intended for them to make him and Jesse rich. They’d never have to serve another master again, not even one who’d been as good to them as David.

  And they’d do it legitimately. At least, as much as they could. Yeah, there might be a few things they’d have to skim a few corners on, but damn it, he didn’t want Jesse to have to watch their backs constantly.

  Two years, Max had estimated. Two years to put all the illegal shit behind them and give them the chance to make it without relying on muscle or weapons or drugs or games or sex.

  Maybe in two years, she’d—

  Max shook his head. Fuck that. He wasn’t going there.

  The phone rang and he didn’t bother to check the number because he knew the ringtone.

  “What’s up?”

  “I don’t think it was anything more than an accident,” Jesse said. “But we should probably take a look at the other buildings to make sure nothing’s been tampered with.”

  They owned five commercial properties in the city, a mix of businesses and apartments, in addition to the three clubs, two restaurants, and the small craft brewery the Oleksy brothers had gotten as the result of a gambling debt. The owner was a genius with hops. Not so great at cards. David Oleksy had kept the guy around because he made damn fine beer, and Max had gone a step farther and given the guy a share in the ownership.

  Not only would it keep the guy from going off on his own but it’d engender some goodwill.

  “Check with Reece at the brewery first. He said something to me last week about some mechanical problems. Could be nothing.”

  “Or it could be somebody fucking around with us.”

  Yeah. Or it could be that.

  “Let me know what you find out.”

  Jesse paused. “Everything else okay?”

  Max bit back a sarcastic comment that only would’ve made Jesse more concerned. “Yeah. I’ve just been buried in numbers all morning and you know how much I love that.”

  Another pause. “You wanna go out tonight?”

  If out meant pick up a woman and get laid, no, he really didn’t. “Probably not. I want to work on that downstairs bathroom tonight.”

  They’d finally finished the two bathrooms on the second floor of their house, and Max had discovered that ripping out tile was a really good way to work out his frustrations.

  Of course, Jesse knew that. “All right, I guess we can order in some pizza and tackle that.”

  “No. Go out. I don’t need a damn babysitter. I need a few hours of solitude.”

  Max wanted to cut his fucking tongue out. God damn it. Why the hell couldn’t he keep his goddamn mouth shut?

  “Jesse—”

  “Nah, you’re right. I get it. As long as— Never mind. I’ll go out.”

  Fuck. “Good.” Fuck. “That’s good. Just…I’ll see you at home.”

  “Yeah.”

  Jesse hung up.

  And Max was left to wonder how the fuck he was going to fix what was wrong between him and his best friend.

  * * * * *

  Jesse hung up and had to curb the urge to throw his phone across the room.

  “Everything okay?”

  Shit, he was scaring the natives.

  He pulled out a smile for the building manager, a thirty-year-old divorced blonde who’d made it pretty damn clear that if Jesse ever wanted to mess up her sheets, she’d be more than happy to oblige.

  “Yeah, everything’s fine.” Which was bullshit. “I’ll get a crew in to fix the damage, hopefully by the end of the week.”

  “Will you be overseeing the work yourself?”

  Couldn’t mistake that blatant invitation…only it made him want to cringe.

  Jesus, he was fucked in the head.

  “Unfortunately, I’ve got a lot on my plate the next few weeks.” He smiled. “It was nice to see you again, Vickie. Maybe we can get a drink another time.”

  “Sure.” Her smile widened. “I’d like that.”

  Christ, you’re such a fucking liar.

  They’d never get that drink. He had absolutely no desire to see Vickie in any way other than business. He only had one woman on the brain and that wasn’t going to happen so…

  Jesse left so fast, he probably left skid marks.

  He had a million other things on his to-do list today. When they’d taken over some of David’s assets, he and Max had divided the work the way they divided everything—Max handled the mental stuff and Jesse handled the physical.

  It worked for them, played to their strengths. It’s why they made a great team.

  Usually. The last week or so…

  Fuck.

  Since he did have places he needed to go and things he needed to do, Jesse forced himself to shove all the shit relating to Max into the back of his brain so he could concentrate. He’d learned at an early age that if he didn’t compartmentalize shit, he’d spend most of his days staring at a wall.

  Seven hours later, Jesse pulled his truck into the garage attached to their building, noting the empty space next to his.

  Either Max was still at work or… He’d gone out without telling Jesse.

  He tried not to be pissed off about that. More than likely, Max was still at the office. It wasn’t unusual for him to eat dinner at his desk and not leave until seven or eight at night.

  But Jesse had the feeling Max was avoiding him. And that made Jesse’s chest ache like he’d taken a punch.

  He reached up to rub it away then shook his head and shoved out of the car. He’d told Max he was going out so, god damn it, he was going out.

  Even if that was the last thing in the world he wanted to do tonight.

  Fuck.

  Getting out of the car, he headed for the door leading into their home.

  Technically, Max owned the building. The world they lived in, men didn’t share a house. Jesse owned a condo a few blocks away. He never stayed there now but if anyone asked, that’s where he could be found.

  In truth, they
each had their own rooms in this building, a three-story former industrial building. They’d been rehabbing it for the past two years. Making it into the home they’d always wanted, figuring by the time they had it finished, he and Max would’ve gotten out.

  Well, they’d gotten out but Jesse wasn’t sure their lives would ever be safe.

  At least, not safe enough.

  Excuses, excuses.

  Maybe. Then again, who really knew?

  A decade ago, their lives had been in danger every time they stepped outside. Mickey had been in jail and David’s organization had been under attack. Hell, Jesse didn’t remember who’d been after them that time. He only knew, for midlevel members like Max, it’d been dangerous to go anywhere without someone to protect his back.

  That’d been Jesse’s job for as long as they’d known each other. Not that Max couldn’t take care of himself but, in their world, appearances were everything. Jesse made Max appear untouchable.

  Together, they had each other’s back. Life was still dangerous, and just because they were trying to go legitimate didn’t mean people weren’t still out to kill them. The threat may have lessened but it hadn’t gone away.

  When Max wasn’t where Jesse could cover his back, Jesse got twitchy.

  And pissed off.

  So when the doorbell rang, he reached for the gun holstered at his back.

  After checking the peephole, he released the gun as if it’d shocked him.

  Well, shit. Maybe he wouldn’t be going out tonight after all.

  Chapter Five

  Fucking pussy. Just leave already.

  Max shoved away from his desk with a grunt, checking the clock.

  He was hungry and he had a headache and he needed to go the fuck home and take a shower. And he needed to apologize to Jesse.

  He’d taken out his frustration on the one person he shouldn’t have and he had to make that right. But Jesse having a night out alone wasn’t a bad thing. And since Max had fucked up with Mary Alice…

  Yeah. Maybe he’d take a sledgehammer to a few tile walls before that shower. Work out some of this aggression.

  And try not to wonder where the fuck Jesse was. Or think about Mary Alice.

  Man, he’d fucked that up completely.