Page 270 of The Maxwell Brothers

I frowned. "You said I should play my part. I did."

"Fair enough. I forgot howextrathorough you can be. So, what did you think about the contract?"

"It's solid. And they seem like decent people.”

“I agree,” Sam said as we climbed in Luke’s car.

"You know, I’d like to see you actually face a real hardass once. Come on, I'll buy you both a beer. I saw a bar on the way here. I think it’s the only one in town."

My thoughts went to Malcolm as Luke drove down the street. He’d certainly been a pain in all our asses.

As I looked around, I saw how tiny this town really was. I wasn't exactly sure what my brother planned on building here. The population was small, only five thousand people.

The local bar came into view after the next turn. The parking lot was pretty full, but we nabbed a spot way in the back.

I straightened my cuff links as I stepped out of the car, deciding that this was as good a time as any to bring up Malcolm.

"Speaking of assholes, I received some troublesome news about Malcolm."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked. Sam frowned.

"I found out that Malcolm lawyered up with an asshole."

Luke stared at me. "You think he wants to come after us because of the stunt we pulled with the Halsey Group?"

"Ipulled," I emphasized.

"Don't take all the credit, brother," Luke said, but there wasn't much humor in his voice.

"Wait, what?” Sam asked. “What stunt? They fired him, didn’t they?”

I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I had a long chat with them and convinced them to do it.”

“You mean you blackmailed them?”

“Of course not. Iconvincedthem.”

“Did you have a personality switch while I was gone?” Sam asked in a bewildered tone. “Whatever happened to taking the high road? You only lectured us on it a million times as kids.”

“HehurtReese,” I said through gritted teeth. “And he got Tyler benched. He deserved what he got.”

“You’ve got a vengeful side. I’m so proud of you,” Sam said. “Why was he still working with the Halsey Group? He and Reese were going to open the spa together, right?”

“Yeah, but he was acting as an employee of the Halsey Group. They were supposed to invest in the spa too. Reese was adamant they go into it fifty-fifty. He didn’t have any capital for investing, so he acted through the group. Technically, Reese would have gone into business with the Halsey Group,” I explained as we stepped inside.

"Let's get a booth. The bar is full," Luke said.

"It is." It seemed like the entire population of five thousand was crammed into the place.

We sat down by the window. The waiter immediately came up to us, and we ordered two beers, soda for Luke, because he was driving, and their ribs entree, one for each of us. He returned with the beers and water almost immediately.

"So let me get this straight. You think he's going to come after you?" Luke asked.

"I don't know. I've got him under surveillance."

"You sound like a mafia boss when you say that. What do you mean by that? You've got someone watching him? Wait, do I even want to know?"

"Chill, Luke. My assistant knows someone who knows someone in the office of the lawyer he’s hired. I’ve got some feelers out, that’s all."