Page 18 of Wickedly Played (Checkmate #1)

Chapter Sixteen

MAX

Lorcan McGuire’s men search me before allowing me entrance to the social club they are taking residence in. If I had a sense of humor, the club would be completely stereotypical for a mafia don to be in, with its smoky room; scotch permeates like incense.

The goons take my gun from my belt and grab my knife from my pant leg. I would laugh at them for thinking that would stop me from killing everyone in this room with my bare hands. However, I can read the room.

“Mr. Fitzpatrick,” Lorcan greets me. The Irishman looks a lot older than I would have expected, but I’m guessing a life in crime isn’t the fountain of youth.

“Yeah,” I reply. One of his men points toward a chair, but I shake my head. “I’m not staying that long to sit.”

Serena’s father smirks. “If you were any other man, I would have put a bullet in your head for not following directions.”

Shrugging, I look around the paintings inside. “I’m not one of your men.”

Unless you count the fact that I’m your contracted hired gun.

“What can I do for you? I’m very busy,” he retorts like he’s bored.

“I’m assuming you know that your daughter is being stalked.” Even though Lorcan is going to pretend he doesn’t care about his daughter, I know he’s been keeping tabs on her. I managed to hack into Serena’s computer system and discovered several tracking devices inside.

He nods. “Of course, I do. She’s my daughter.”

One of the men snorts. “Serena has always meant something to us. She’s the one who has turned her back on the family.”

“Yeah, after getting a divorce from that asshole,” another one spits out.

“That’s another story,” I reply mirthlessly. “What do you know about the stalker?”

Lorcan raises an eyebrow. “I probably know as much as you do. We’ve been tracking him and have been working with another sector in the area.”

“Who?” I demand. From what I have gathered through my research, the McGuires don’t play well with others in their sandboxes.

I’m going to have to call Franky later and see who else Lorcan is working with.

He lifts one of his shoulders. “That is a need-to-know tidbit.”

“Serena’s in danger,” I remind him.

“You think I don’t know what my daughter has been doing?

You think I don’t know that my daughter has turned her back on this family?

You can fuck all the way off, Fitzpatrick.

I have eyes all over the city watching my daughter.

Damn, I have eyes watching all of my daughters’ movements.

Don’t insult me again, or you will have a third eye in the middle of your scalp,” Lorcan grunts out.

“Go ahead,” I challenge.

He chuffs. “Get the fuck out of here,” he demands. “Don’t think I don’t have eyes on my daughter. Don’t fucking hurt her or get her killed.”

My head flies back. “You done?”

He stands behind the table. He looks imposing in his Tom Ford suit, with murder in his eyes. “If anything happens to my little girl, I will murder everyone you love. Just remember that my payrolled people go a lot deeper pockets than yours.”

My shoulders roll back as I consider taking every single one of these men down. “You know you’ve been paying me as a gun, right?” I drop the ball.

The Don’s eyes widen. “Shamus!”

I’ve been keeping my eye on the man to his left. Shamus is a coldhearted bastard, just like his boss. The middle-aged asshole smirks at me and then looks at his boss. “Yeah. He’s telling the truth.”

Lorcan reaches behind himself to grab his gun. He has it pointed at my head. “What is your fucking angle?”

The three of us are standing around the table, and the only difference between me and them is the fact that I don’t need a weapon to kill them. “You’ve been using my services for a few hits. You didn’t know about that?” I’m baiting him, but I don’t care.

Lorcan forms a punch and hits his right-hand man in the face, crunching the bone. “You didn’t think to tell me that Serena’s new bodyguard is our gun? Have you rat mother fuckers done any research?”

“Lorcan,” I call out, “you figure out what’s going on in your family.” I’m about to walk out the door when I turn to look at Shamus. “I’ll expect my money from the two hits last night before I leave.”

Shamus yells out for someone to drop a duffel bag full of cash for me. I grab it just as I hear the gunshot pierce through the air. I don’t have to look to know that Shamus got killed.

“I’ll be in touch,” I throw over my shoulder.

His goons hand me my stuff they took, and then I stroll out of the club. Once I’m in the Escalade, I pull the recording device I had stashed in the clip of my gun. I’m glad I have this so that I can listen to it later.

Despite the illusion Loran is providing of being a caring and doting father, the man is a savage.

A flood of excitement flows through me at the thought of seeing her at Checkmate tonight. Serena’s a natural at exerting her dominance, and her clients fall for her every chance they get.

There is a bigger part of me that wishes she would submit to me. I would love to see her on her knees before me. Her eyes look up at me as I tell her the filthy things I want her to do to me. I adjust my dick in my pants as I drive over to the club.

I’m still reeling from my conversation with Lorcan by the time I get to the club.

“Code red!”

“What the fuck?” I utter the words.

“It is Serena!”

I chase after the guards as they run toward a hallway to see what they're discussing. I see a man flushed against Serena as she’s pressed against the wall.

I don’t think before I act. I have his body slammed against the wall he had trapped her against. My arm is against his neck while his nose crunches. The man lets out a scream from the force, but I don’t let him go.

Serena’s eyes are bugged out of her face as she watches everything happen. I fight the urge to twist the man’s neck for touching her. He must pay for what he did. He doesn’t deserve to live after that.

“Did you touch her?” I growl into his ear.

The man shakes his head. “No! She…”

He passes out before I can say anything more. When the woman arrives, I let the man fall to the ground in a heap. With my eyes trained on Serena, I’m mentally sending a notice to everyone in here. Don’t fuck with my girl.

When did she become mine?

Bundling her in my arms, I fireman hold her on the way out of the club. Fuck her stuff, we can get it later. I know she has her phone with her, and what is essential. She lays her head against my neck and breathes in my scent.

“You’re okay, baby,” I whisper in her ear. After sitting her in the car, I yell at Joey. “Get her shit and get your ass back to the house.”

Serena is staring blankly out the window, tears flowing unchecked down her face.

She doesn’t say anything until we are pulling into her driveway.

After everything I have learned about the woman since being here, she has never been rendered speechless.

I'm not sure if I prefer it or her snappy comebacks.

The woman doesn’t even recognize how much I crave her. How much I want her. How much I need her for my survival.

Her father can say he’s looking out for her all he wants. He wasn’t there tonight when she needed him. It was me.

I’m helping her out of the car when we pull into the driveway. She lets me hold her close until we leave the garage.

“Max?” Her voice is small.

“Yes, sweetness?”

“Why are you being so nice?”

I can’t tell her about what I saw today. I also can’t tell her what I learned today. I feel like it is an invasion of privacy, but I had to know more. Serena has such a hard shell; it is hard to know what she needs.

“I’m always nice,” I chuckle in her ear.

“No. You are hot and cold, Max.”

She opens the door for us just as Joey is pulling in behind us. “Go ahead and get ready for bed. I’ll see you in the morning,” I tell her with a kiss on the cheek.

“I don’t know if I like the sweet version of you or the asshole one better,” she mutters.

She makes it up a couple of stairs before flying down them to jump into my arms. “Thank you for being there for me,” she whispers.

Damn. She really is sweet.

“No problem. I’ll see you in the morning,” I say again.

Once Joey makes it into the house, I have him against the wall. “Where were you?”

He stutters. “I’m sorry! I got distracted!”

“From what?” I’m demanding.

He shakes me off. “My ex was there!”

“What the fuck, Bishop,” I mutter. “You had one job and that was to protect Serena.”

He takes a deep breath before opening the door. “I really hope you two get your shit together,” he throws over his shoulder.

“What does that mean?” I demand.

With one sly grin, he shakes his head. “You both like each other, but neither of you has the balls to tell the other. You'd better say it first. I saw the way people were looking at her.”

“When did you get insightful?” I mumble. “Did you forget I’m just her bodyguard?”

“Bodyguard, maybe. But there is something else there.” He shrugs. “I’ve lost my woman because I couldn’t tell her how I felt.” He’s out the door, yelling back at me. “For what it is worth, she was looking for you the whole time.”

“Fuck off, Bishop,” I mutter under my breath.

I’m surprised to see Serena standing on the staircase watching the whole interaction. Her eyes are full of unshed tears. “See, I knew you would become an asshole soon. I guess I didn’t have to wait too long. Did I?”

“Serena!” I yell after her. I’m climbing up the stairs to get to her room just as the door slams shut and the lock engages.

“Take tomorrow off!” Her voice is tight with rage, and the constant state of confusion I've put her in.

“Fuck,” I whisper. I lean my head against her door, hoping she will open it.

How come every time I’m about to solidify anything with this woman, I fuck it up by talking? Maybe I should tape my mouth shut, and then we can be okay.

“Doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” she yells through the door.

Did I just say that out loud?