Ruthless King (New Orleans Malones #4)

Chapter 42

42

J illy stared down at the laptop in shock.

It was sitting in what had become her favorite room of the house. The solarium. Although she still loved the library, it just depended on her mood. The solarium had large, floor-to-ceiling windows, bringing the outside in. There was a comfy sofa in here and an old coffee table. A brand new laptop, packets of sticky notes, and a shiny black credit card sat on the table.

There was a note as well.

Use the credit card for whatever you want or need.

It will make me happy.

Jilly grumbled. He just had to go and say it would make him happy, didn’t he?

Well, she guessed she could buy a few things. The thing that excited her the most, though, was the laptop.

And the sticky notes.

She clapped her hands in happiness and rushed out of the room. She had to thank him. It was the polite thing to do.

But after checking his office, their bedroom, the dining room, and living room, she realized she’d probably never find him without some help.

Rushing into the kitchen, she nearly crashed into Gerald.

“Oh my gosh, Gerald! I’m so sorry! Are you all right?”

“Never better. Can I help you, Miss Jilly?”

“I was looking for Regent. Do you know where he is?”

“He’s gone.”

“Gone?” She frowned. “I didn’t think he was leaving until later.” He’d told her that he wouldn’t be going out until after dinner.

“I believe something came up.”

“Right, uh-huh, sure.” It shouldn’t matter that he didn’t say goodbye. He didn’t need to check in with her all the time. She was his girlfriend, not his keeper.

But it kind of made her feel . . . forgotten.

“If it makes you feel better, I believe there was something urgent he had to attend to.”

“Of course. It’s all good. I’ve got to go get some work done.”

“Would you like me to bring you some coffee in an hour’s time?”

“Sheesh, you’re going to spoil me, Gerald! What will I do when I don’t have you?”

He tilted his head to the side. “I thought you were here to stay, miss.”

Right. Yes. She was.

She just wished she felt like she fit in here.

Give it time.

Everything will be all right.

Moving back into the solarium, she studied the credit card. Regent wanted her to use it. Maybe because he wanted her to have clothes that were more appropriate for this house, for her place as his girlfriend.

With a sigh, she sat and got to work. Both on her book and on remaking herself.

Jilly was walking up and down the hallway, trying to work through a plot hole in her book, when she heard the front door open.

Turning, she saw Regent walk in. Excitement hit her and she forgot about the problem with her book.

Racing toward him, she was vaguely aware of the three men behind him, but she didn’t really look at them.

She was focused on her man.

His eyes widened slightly, his only reaction to the whirlwind running toward him. She threw herself at him and he caught her, holding her against him. She placed a kiss on each of his cheeks, then his lips.

“You’re back.”

“I am.” He stared down at her as though he couldn’t understand her. “I’ve only been gone a few hours.”

Right.

And she was acting like a complete and utter lunatic.

He set her down and she tried to keep herself from blushing too hard.

“Damn, remind me to have words with Aston. I want to be greeted like that every time I return home.”

She looked over at the other men. One was Victor, who seemed as calm and unconcerned as ever. Jardin smiled at her. The third man had to be Maxim, Regent’s youngest brother. He had that casual elegance. That air of confidence that bordered on arrogance but wasn’t obnoxious.

Also, he had the same thick, dark hair as Regent.

Maxim grinned at her, his dark blue eyes dancing. He had a slimmer build than his brothers yet it was obvious he worked out. His hair was slicked back, his stance relaxed.

“Hi, I’m Jilly.”

“I should hope so.” He held out his hand. “I’m Maxim.”

To her shock, Regent pushed his brother’s hand away before she could grab it.

“No touching.”

Maxim’s eyebrows rose. “Seriously? I’m your brother.”

“No.” Regent swept her up against him, walking with her further into the house.

“Um, well, hi.” She tried to turn back and wave at Maxim, but Regent wasn’t having any of it.

“I’ll meet you in the study,” he fired back as he walked with her to the back of the house where the solarium was.

“Is that . . . did I do the wrong thing?” she asked in a rush.

He stared down at her. “The wrong thing? No, you did nothing wrong. Maxim shouldn’t touch you.”

“He was only going to shake my hand.” That wasn’t what she’d been talking about anyway.

She’d meant the way she’d greeted him. It obviously hadn’t been what he’d expected.

“I don’t seem to be able to stand the idea of any man touching you.”

“Careful, your possessiveness is showing.”

“It wasn’t showing before?” he queried. “I will have to improve my game.”

“If you improve your game anymore, I might die,” she muttered thinking about the shower that morning.

He smiled and it was such a beautiful sight that she sighed.

“You’re so beautiful,” she told him.

“That’s my line, sweet girl. And you’re the beautiful one. Have you been using your laptop?”

She let out a squeal and jumped against him again. This time, he lifted her up into the air so she could wrap her legs and arms around him.

Maybe he just needed some training in . . . well, in how to live with Jilly.

Hmm. That was it. She had to train her king.

“Thank you so much! I went looking for you earlier to say thank you, but you’d left. Without saying goodbye.”

Regent frowned slightly. “Were you upset about that?”

Well, she had been. But it seemed silly now.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does if it upsets you, baby. I’ll try not to leave without saying goodbye again. But it’s not always possible. Sometimes I have to leave abruptly.”

“Is everything all right?”

He sighed, looking tired as he sat with her on his lap. “I’m not sure and that bothers me. There seems to be more fires than ever to put out and I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“I don’t understand anything you just said.”

“Good.”

Good? How could that be good? Shouldn’t she know what was going on with him so she could support him as necessary?

“How is that good? Don’t you want my help?” she asked.

“I want you to be as worry-free as possible. You’ve already had enough stress in your life. It’s time to let me shoulder everything and for you to live worry-free.”

That sounded so nice.

But also so wrong.

How could she be happy and worry-free when he was weighed down by the weight of the world?

“I know I can come across as . . . flighty or perhaps absent-minded. I’m often stuck in my own brain, thinking about other things. But that doesn’t mean I can’t handle what’s going on. I should be here for you to sound off, to help you.”

“You want to help me?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You can help me best by staying safe and doing as I say.”

“That wasn’t exactly what I meant,” she grumbled.

He brushed her hair back. “No, but it’s what I need. You know that what I do isn’t on the right side of the law.”

She bit her lip. “I know. It’s not like I didn’t grow up in that world. I’m not ignorant.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that you were. But what you are is innocent. However, if I tell you what is going on, you become an accessory. You could be questioned, used against me. You could be harmed. Do you know what would happen if you were harmed, sweet baby?”

“Um. I’m guessing you might be upset.”

“I wouldn’t just be upset. I’d kill every bastard who touched you, who hurt you, who even looked at you funny. Do you get that?”

She . . . she hadn’t understood that before. Hadn’t seen the depth with which he would do what was needed to keep her safe.

But now she was starting to see it.

“I think I do now.”

“You must be kept safe, baby. Otherwise, the rest of this . . . everything . . . it’s pointless.”

Regent walked back into the study.

He hadn’t wanted to leave his girl. But he had to speak to his brothers before they left.

Why did he feel like he’d missed something? That he could have done something differently?

Jilly had seemed happy when he’d left her. She’d gone back to her book, telling him she thought she’d solved a plot hole.

He wasn’t exactly sure what she was talking about, but he was glad she was happy.

Maxim had helped himself to his Scotch in true Maxim fashion. While Victor looked like he was contemplating ripping their youngest brother’s limbs off and beating him with them. And Jardin was ignoring them both while checking something on his phone.

So. Everything was normal here.

“It’s only four in the afternoon,” he said to Maxim.

“Anytime is a good time for hundred-year-old Scotch,” Maxim replied as Regent sat behind his desk. “Besides, Victor is driving me home.”

“No, I’m not,” Victor grumbled.

“You’d let me drive after drinking?” Maxim asked.

“You can walk,” Victor snapped.

“We need to talk about what the fuck is going on,” Regent said impatiently.

“Or we could talk about Jilly,” Maxim suggested. “She seems so sweet. And cute.”

Regent leaned forward, hitting Maxim with the full force of his gaze. “You shouldn’t be noticing how cute she is.”

Maxim just smiled.

He’d always been the hardest to control. The most outrageous of all his brothers.

In other words, a giant headache.

“We need to talk about what is going on,” he said. “Someone shot at our men last night. We’re fucking lucky no one died. And having to shift product quickly from one warehouse to another because someone leaked the location is not acceptable!”

“At least Basilien found the people behind the theft of our supplies by the border,” Victor said with a scowl. “They were taken care of, but it doesn’t seem like that was related to what’s happening here.”

“Whoever has been paying people to attack the street pushers has to have some inside knowledge of our operation,” Maxim guessed.

Victor grunted. “Since we’re in control of ninety percent of the drug trade in the city, it doesn’t take any knowledge to find guys pushing our stuff.”

That was true.

Most of the guys out there selling drugs were pushing their stuff.

“What about the call to the cops regarding the warehouse location?” Maxim asked. “Someone had to have inside knowledge.”

“You think we have another traitor?” he asked.

Maxim shrugged. “Who knew the warehouse location?”

“Too many people.” Regent looked at Victor.

“I’ll make a list,” Victor said in a dark voice.

“It has to be Patrick,” Regent said.

“There’s no evidence he’s even in the city,” Victor said.

Right. But Regent couldn’t shake the feeling that he was.

“And he hasn’t been spotted at Kimmy’s apartment or the club,” Victor added. “When you spoke to her that night at Sexy Sin, she said she hadn’t seen him.”

That didn’t mean she was telling the truth.

Patrick was clever. Regent always knew he would come back.

There was always going to be a showdown.

It was just a matter of when and where.

“I want that club destroyed.”

“What?” Victor looked over at him in shock. Very little shocked his brother.

“I want it destroyed. Burned to the ground. I don’t care how you do it. Gas leak. Explosion. Faulty wiring. Whatever. I want it done.”

“Why?” Jardin asked. “Do you think Santé is doing something behind your back? Do you think he’s helping Patrick?”

“I don’t have any evidence of that. He seems on the up-and-up.”

“Then why?” Maxim asked.

“Do I need to explain? Just arrange it,” he said to Victor.

Maxim wasn’t really involved in the family business. He took care of their legitimate nightclubs.

But Regent trusted him to keep quiet.

Just like he trusted Victor to see that this was done.

“I’ll look into it,” Victor said.

“Good.”

“We should talk about the blackmail note,” Victor said.

Regent nodded. “We need someone to make the drop on Sunday morning. They need to look small, like Jilly.”

Victor frowned.

“You know that Basilien has a girl. She’s similar in size to Jilly,” Maxim said.

“I can’t use Basilien’s girl,” Regent said, surprised Maxim would suggest it.

“You don’t know this girl,” Maxim said. “She’s got a black belt in karate. Goes to the shooting range with him every weekend, and she can outshoot him. Linny can take care of herself. She’d volunteer to do this.”

Regent didn’t feel right about it. Putting a woman in danger . . . especially one with a link to his family, didn’t feel right.

“Check with Basilien,” he told Victor. “Make it clear that she doesn’t have to if either of them is unsure. But we will pay her well.”

Victor nodded.

“What do you plan on doing?” Jardin asked.

“Putting a tracker in the bag and hiding it in the money. We’ll also have men around, watching. Whoever is doing this has to be an amateur. Ten thousand dollars isn’t worth the risk. But whoever they are, they need to be stopped.”

His brothers nodded.

“We’re in,” Jardin said. “There will be cameras in the park. I’ll see if Angel can get into them.” Angel was their new tech guy. Regent preferred to use Jardin for family things, but Angel had some interesting skills.

“Good. Victor, you and I will be in a car close by.”

“And where will Jilly be?” Maxim asked.

“Here. Where it’s safe. Is there anything else?” he asked. It had been a long day and there was still more to do.

“I’ve found Lowell.”

Everyone stared at Jardin. Regent leaned forward. “Where is he?”

“Savannah, Georgia. Living with a woman and pulling the same con from all appearances. Oh, and he’s now going by the name of Brad Duncan.”

“Rubbish name,” Maxim muttered.

“Asshole,” Victor added.

“What do you want to do?” Jardin asked.

“Bring him to me.”

Victor nodded. “Consider it done.”