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I felt the breath leaving my body. “What happened?”
My mind was whirling thinking that Martha finally killed Earl or that something happened to April and Reena.
He scowled. “Mad Max has been drinking pretty heavily and busted up the place two nights ago.”
“Is he okay?” I interrupted him. “Is Max hurt?”
Gabriel’s face hardened. “That’s not really the point that I am making here.”
Candice looked at me and her gaze spoke a thousand words.
“I think it is important to Sutton,” Candice said firmly.
He looked at her with scorn. “This isn’t any of your business.” He turned to me. “Does your secretary have to be here for this?”
I dug my nails into my hands. “First off, Candice is not my secretary. Second, she makes more in a month than you do in an entire year, so you may want to rethink how you talk to her. And third, what in the fuck happened to Max?”
He sat back stunned at my forceful tone. I had given him sass before, but I had never stood my ground so firmly. Gabriel had gone too far by dismissing Max and treating Candice so poorly.
My door slammed open, and I almost expected it to crack.
Mark stood in the doorway with barely suppressed anger. “Who let you in?”
Gabriel bristled. “I am a friend of Sutton’s. I promised my mother on her deathbed that I would look after her.”
Mark’s eyes flared. “So, when you were working her to the bone, that was looking after her? Or having her close the bar by herself in the middle of the night? How about allowing her to live in that dilapidated trailer? You are a real good Samaritan, aren’t you?”
Color suffused Gabriel’s cheeks,and he stood toe to toe with Mark. Gabriel was handsome in a rough kind of way, and his body was honed from hauling beer in and out of his bar. But there was no comparison when it came to Mark.
His chiseled jawline and steel gray eyes captured me. I knew what kind of body he was hiding under those tailored shirts, and shit if I didn’t get wet just smelling his cologne.
“What do you need?” Mark demanded.
Gabriel clutched his hat tightly. “Max busted up my bar. His drinking has been out of control and Sutton needs to do something about it.”
My mind was reeling. I needed to see Max, to find out why the old biker was behaving so out of character. I was just about to assure Gabriel that I would take care of things when Mark answered for me.
“Max is a grown ass man and so are you. How dare you bring those problems to Sutton? She doesn’t even live there anymore. Are you not man enough to take care of your own business affairs?”
If Candice’s eye got any bigger, they would pop right out of her head. She looked like she was enjoying this, but I failed to see the humor.
Gabriel took a swing at Mark. But he wasn’t fast enough and ended up stumbling when he missed. Mark had security right outside of my office, and in seconds, Gabriel was being escorted out of the building.
“He is not to be let in for any reason.” Mark was livid. “If I find out who let him in, they will be job hunting within the hour.”
Candice fled my office as if the hounds of hell were after her.
I knew that I should have been grateful that Mark was trying to protect me. But I wasn’t. I couldn’t remember a time when I had been so angry. How dare he try and fight my battles for me? I was handling things just fine before he barged in and took over.
I grabbed his arm and yanked him toward his office. I didn’t stop when Bethany tried to apologize to Mark, although I did notice that she had addressed him and not me. Once we were in the office, I slammed his door shut and whirled on him.
“Just who in the hell do you think you are?”
Mark’s huge presence didn’t deter me as I shoved my finger into his chest, “You have no right to butt into my personal business.”
His nostrils flared as his arm wrapped around my waist and yanked me to his body.
“You are my business.”