Page 29 of Wickedly Played (Checkmate #1)

Chapter Twenty-Six

MAX

My eyes have been fixed on the ladies’ bathroom door since the woman who has me tied up in knots left to go inside. Stella has been relatively quiet as we wait for Serena to come back. I keep feeling the weight of her staring at me for whatever reason.

“What?” I snap.

The pretty woman holds her hand up at me. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You’ve been looking over at me and then back at your phone. What is going on?” Knowing that Stella knew I slept with Serena wasn’t a big deal. The biggest concern is what will happen if my brother finds out.

My attributes to the family consisted of the amount of blood I shed.

My value to the family was only in bullets and how many times I could get away with murder.

The military training helped my skills, of course.

Adam hated that I received special treatment from our family because of this.

I didn’t give a fuck. He should have tried harder to do better.

He brought in more money because of the security firm- meaning he had legit money coming in.

The money I have coming in isn’t legitimate and couldn’t be traced back through taxes.

Adam has always been the one who has tried to fuck with me somehow.

I know he’s going to have something to say about Serena.

“I’m just curious what your game is with Serena,” she openly admits. “I mean… where do you see this relationship going?”

My eyebrows pinch together out of annoyance.

“I didn’t realize she had to run things through you first. Don’t you have a boyfriend?

” I understand their friends. I also know that they have a fairly deep emotional connection.

Maybe a lot deeper than I could fathom. However, that doesn’t mean I want to talk about where this relationship is going to anyone other than Serena.

Stella puts her phone down to give me her full attention. “I get that you don’t understand us. That’s fine. What you need to understand is that Serena needs this. She needs to be the Domme in the relationship.”

I’m getting pissed. “I appreciate you looking out for her, but what we do isn’t really your fucking business.”

She’s about to respond when I see someone pounding on the bathroom door. Just when the person starts to wiggle the knob, a man comes storming out of the bathroom.

The same bathroom that is holding Serena.

“Fuck!” I mutter to myself as I run through the restaurant to get to the door. I see Serena is passed out on the floor, and Stella is already pushing me aside. “Do you have her? I will be right back.”

I don’t wait for Stella to respond to me. Instead, I run after the shadowed figure who is tearing through the kitchen until he gets to the service entryway. My hand reaches up, and I smash the figure’s face into the hard door.

“Who are you?” I demand.

I hear the sputtering of the man pressed against the door. “You are a rat bastard. Haven’t you taken enough from me?”

Taking one of my hands off of his back, I place my forearm into the crook of his neck. “Who are you?”

He chuckles. “I’m not surprised you wouldn’t know who I am. You fucked up my life beyond recognition. You take from me. All you do is take from me.”

I rip him around to face me. “Who the fuck are you?”

His face breaks out into a splitting smile. “Aw, poor Max. So quick to fuck up everyone else’s life. I’m not surprised. Fucking bastard.”

“Do I need to call the police?”

I turn to the voice. I place more weight on the asshole in front of me. I have done enough damage to him and I can tell he won’t give me any more information. “Stay away from Serena,” I growl.

Reaching around his body, I pull out his wallet to fetch his ID card. Taking a step back to fish out my phone, the man sucks in a deep breath.

“Brennan Outsinger from Montana. What the fuck are you doing in Michigan?”

Brennan’s chuckle is sickening. “I completed my mission.”

I snap a picture of the ID and put it back in the wallet. “Leave Serena alone. Do you understand me?”

He plucks his wallet from me, yanks open the door, and throws one more thing at me. “Just try not to have this one killed like your last girlfriend.” I grab his hair, throwing him out into the street, with my foot going into his chest.

“Max!”

The scream is enough to allow Outsinger to slink away.

Bastard.

My body tenses when I hear the intense scream of a woman behind me. I make a mental note to find Outsinger after I get Serena home and figure out what happened to her. I need to find out how much I’m going to make him hurt.

You know what?

On second thought, I pull my piece from the back of my pants and aim my Glock to the back of his head. Within one shot, he drops to ground in a satisfying pile. I don’t have time to solve his riddle. He fucked with my girl.

Stella is running out into the alleyway with tears tracking down her face. “What is going on?”

“She’s not waking up!”

My body works on autopilot. I feel my legs carrying me into the bathroom, leaning next to Serena, and my hands are roving her body to check for apparent wounds. “Serena? Baby, please wake up!” I beg. “Sweetness, come on!”

Stella is leaning against the bathroom wall, looking as if her life is coming to an end. I’m shocked to see how much these girls truly care for each other. “Mistress, please. I need you.”

I need her, too. I need her like air.

I make a quick call over to one of the doctors that we have used in the past. Dr. Murray is a discreet practitioner who won’t spread any bull shit. What’s more, she will come to Serena’s house to get her checked out. After giving her the address, I lean over Serena’s body to kiss her forehead.

Her eyelashes start to flicker and then squeeze shut to block the sun. “Sweetness, hey, you’re safe.”

“Mistress, come back to me, please.”

“What happened?” Serena croaks.

“It looks like you were drugged and then you passed out,” I relay.

She shivers, sitting up on the floor. “I’m cold. Can we go home?”

She’s holding herself as if she’s trying to protect herself from me. “Baby, what is going through your head?”

“Maybe that she got assaulted in the fucking bathroom?” Stella snaps. “What did you expect from her? That she would be okay? God, men are so fucking dumb.”

“Stella!” Serena barks. “Max, can you help me get up?”

Reaching out to grab her, I adjust her body so I’m carrying her like I would a bride.

Fuck. Images of her in white are swarming my mind.

I need to come clean. I need to tell her everything that I have learned about her before she finds out.

It is only a matter of time before she realizes her father has hired me as a gunman.

Placing her in the car, I have Stella getting into the back seat, too, to hold onto Serena’s head. Serena’s moaning and groaning about her head hurting, and my chest shatters at the thought of not being able to keep her safe.

“Fuck,” I mutter to myself. I speed down the road to get back to Serena’s. I’m hoping that whatever drug is in her system will be flushed soon. “I’m so sorry,” I mumble to myself. I can’t admit I’ve failed another woman.

How could I imagine a relationship with this woman? How could I imagine this would go, trying to be with her when she doesn’t know everything about me?

The problem? She will run as soon as she finds out my secret. She will bolt when she finds out how fucked I am.

I couldn’t imagine seeing the light in her eye die when she looks at me.

“What is your plan?” Stella’s melodic voice asks.

“Taking her home,” I hedge.

“Duh.”

“Then what are you asking?”

She takes a deep breath, and I can see her hand brushing over Serena’s face. “Look, I know you don’t understand us. I love her. I think a part of me has always loved her. Serena has a lot of trust issues in relationships. She thinks she doesn’t deserve to be happy.”

“Serena deserves whatever she wants. Whatever she wants, I will get it for her,” I solemnly promise.

“What if what she wants is a real relationship? Are you going to be able to give that to her?”

Blinking, I turn into the driveway to see Dr. Murray’s car already there.

“We’ll talk about this later,” I pointedly say to Stella.

She huffs in the back seat with Serena’s head lolling on her lap. I have a perverse wish that it was my lap her head was in. What the actual fuck is wrong with me?

I hop out of the car to pick up Serena and bring her inside. I’m so focused on her that I didn’t think about securing the home right now. With her head tucked against my chest, I lightly kiss her forehead. “Don’t worry, sweetness.”

After settling Serena on the couch, I leave Dr. Murray to check her over. “Well, look who’s awake?” Dr. Murray whistles. “How are you doing, Serena? I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

Serena’s eyes well up with something I haven’t seen before. Is she afraid? If so, what is she afraid of?

“Baby,” I murmur. “Do you know Dr. Murray?”

She nods. “How did you find me?”

Dr. Murray straightens her back and pushes her hair over her shoulders. “Max is the one who reached out to me. I didn’t know you still lived in the Metro Detroit area.”

My girl nods, turning her head to look at me. “You know, don’t you?”

Fuck me.