Page 18

“Where were you fighting?”

God, this woman and her incessant questions! Colton groaned. “Look, mom, I’ll handle it. I just need to get some sleep. It’s been a long forty-eight hours,” he said as he made his way around the island toward his mother. He took her by her arms and smiled down at her. “He’s a wily one, but nothing I can’t handle.”

His mother pursed her lips. She was seventy-three years old, and a looker still. He wondered why his mother never remarried, she was definitely a catch with her silver hair, green eyes, and curvaceous figure. Plus… well… she was rich. Maybe if she had someone in her life putting it to her, or at the very least, to spend time with her, she’d stop harassing him about giving her a grandchild.

“He excites you,” she said finally.

“Mom–”

Helena reached up, grabbing his bearded chin, and forced him to look down at her. “You listen to me, Colton. You end this now. I’ll not have this family’s reputation tarnished because you have a hard-on for this ruffian biker. Put a bullet in his head tonight.” She released his chin and shrugged his hand off her arms.

No matter how old he got, she always had a way of making him feel like he was twelve all over again. He sighed and scratched at his eyebrow. “Like I said, I’ll take care of it. Now, if I can get some sleep.” He gestured to the door.

She turned her nose up as she gathered her purse and cashmere trench coat. “I expect to be able to make that call to our client letting him know that the job was done by nine AM tomorrow.” With that, she turned and walked away, her metal heels clicking on Colton’s marble floor as she made her retreat. The elevator opened and she stepped on it, and when the doors closed, Colton released a sigh of relief.

“Fuck,” he grumbled, then shuffled off to his bedroom. “Well, at least she didn’t ask me about grandbabies,” he said to himself and chuckled as he stripped all his clothes and climbed into bed. No sooner than he closed his eyes, he fell asleep.

He woke up several hours later and showered. He spent some time tending to his wounds, changing bandages, and then he got dressed in black cargo pants, a turtleneck, and boots. He took his M24 sniper rifle as well as a Glock with a suppressor and his lock-picking kit. Before he left, he turned on his security system, then he stepped on the elevator. It was his private one as there was only one penthouse and he owned it. The elevator required the eye and handprint of the owner and anyone he allowed to open the doors. And a key code once inside to go up or down. He walked off the elevator and made his way toward his Camry, putting his gun in the trunk before climbing in behind the wheel. He drove off towards Zaire’s home.

When he got close, a half block away, he turned down the alley where he could see the back of the clubhouse. He parked the next building over, then killed the engine. It was four o’clock in the morning, most people were fast asleep in their beds, so he wasn’t expecting to have many issues. He looked over the blueprint of the building again, then at the adjacent buildings that he could access that would give him the advantage to take Zaire out in his apartment.

Normally, he’d like to take some time to scope this place out, but his mother had put him in a predicament. Still, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. He grabbed his gun case, then made his way to the building across the alley. His hands were already gloved and he pulled out his lock picking kit and got to work. The lock opened and he stepped inside, but paused before he took the stairs.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he asked himself. This just wasn’t his style. Hell, he didn’t even know if Zaire was home. Colton figured after the long drive that Zaire was most likely home, but this was too reckless. He knew when his mother said he wanted him to finish the job by the morning that she’d expected him to just snipe the dude from afar, but even that took some time to prepare. At least, that was what he told himself. Colton took a deep breath, then walked back to his car, and drove home. He’d just have to tell his mother he needed more time.

He pulled back into his parking spot and walked over to his elevator, did his security protocol, and when the doors opened, he stepped in. When he entered his home, he took off his clothes, climbed back into bed, and texted his mother.

I need more time, don’t call me.

Colton hit send, then closed his eyes to get the sleep he really needed. The sound of his doorbell buzzing woke him up and he grunted as he climbed out of bed. He slipped on his black satin robe and walked over to the elevator to see who it was. Damn it. His brother, Nathan, was standing with his hands in his pockets and looking straight ahead. Colton sighed and pressed his hand on the sensor and watched as the doors opened for his brother. He typed the code and the elevator began to rise. He walked away toward his kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. His penthouse had an open concept, which he’d felt was imperative for safety reasons alone. And it was aesthetically pleasing.

The doors opened and his brother stepped off. He had black hair with a bit of silver on the sides, a trimmed beard along a chiseled jawline, and green eyes like their mother. He was an inch taller than Colton at six-four, the same height their father had been, with an athletic build.

“Hello, Colt,” Nathan greeted in a smooth, deep voice as he walked over to the kitchen island and took a seat on one of the barstools.

“Nate,” Colton returned the greeting in a gruff voice. He was still a bit groggy, having been woken from his slumber. “Jesus, what time is it?”

Nathan smirked. “Two.”

Colton turned to look at his brother, he then nodded and returned to making the coffee. “Didn’t know it was that late.”

“Yeah, you were just sleeping the day away like a teenager,” Nate teased.

“Fuck, I was up at four am, then I came back home and went to sleep like I had some damn sense,” Colton said.

“Are those bruises and cuts the reason why you were up at four AM?”

“Yeah, unfinished business.”

“Well, if mom’s disappointed text I received this morning is any indicator, it’s still unfinished?” Nathan inquired, one eyebrow raised.

Colton sighed and turned around, leaning against the counter. “This one will just require some time and finesse. Mom’s been so used to our marks being unsuspecting targets that we’ve been able to kill with a sniper bullet. This one knows I’m coming. Knows what I look like.”

Nathan scoffed. “You fucked up that badly?” He shook his head. “Now I see why mom’s pissed. She wants me to take over.”

Colton’s eyes bulged and he took a step forward, leaning against the island. “He’s mine!”

Nathan sat back, hands up. “Hey, take it up with mom. She wants me to handle it. Thinks you’ve entangled yourself with this man too much already. She said you two fought and that he’d gotten some good moves in on you and now I see what she means. Maybe you just don’t have it in you anymore. You are getting up there in age.”