Page 10 of Charity's Torment

He chuckled to something I obviously didn’t understand.

“Okay. Meet me there?” I needed Max for backup.

“Yeah.”

He hung up, and I hopped in my car, turned up the music, and raced over to the golf greens. Max was standing next to his black Cadillac when I parked. He pushed off and opened my door for me. If there was one person I could count on for backup, it was Max. He always had my back.

“You look… comfortable. How was your date?” He moistened his lips and stuck his hands halfway in his pockets.

I glared at him, then snarled. “I tried to look as unattractive as I could. He’s a fucking hippy, Max. I wanted to stab my ears when he started talking about his Zen garden.”

He chuckled. “That sounds brutal.” He put his hand on my back, “You could wear a trash bag and still look gorgeous, by the way.”

I twirled around and studied him. “Max, you’ve never paid me a compliment since we have known each other… did your flavor of the week skip out?” As much as I loved hearing those words slip from his delicious lips, it was strange. He was a mystery flavor I couldn’t figure out. Even though I noticed the way he looked at me, his words and actions never matched. It caused more than confusion to course through my veins.

“Let’s go find Luca.”

Why was he being cagey and evasive?

“Forget I said anything,” he added.

He spun me around, marched me toward the golf carts, and forced me to take a seat. I corrected my pistol as he raced around, and we dashed off to find them.

We toured the entire green in awkward silence until we came upon Luca and Nico along with their security detail at the eighteenth hole. I was hot and irritated, and it took entirely too long to locate them.

Luca stood ready to tap the ball into the pocket. “Luca!” I yelled.

His light tap became a whack. His ball flew way past its mark, causing Luca to lash out and throw his club across the grass. I grinned with delight.

“That wasn’t wise,” Nico whispered in my ear from behind me. “That hole was going to break our tie.” He settled his hands on my hips and gently squeezed.

I bit my lip, attempting to contain my laughter. That detail just made it so much sweeter. “I thought you had court?” I inquired while waiting for Luca to complete his slew of Italian expletives.

“Date got bumped back. Speaking of… how was your date this morning?”

“My mother is doing this deliberately to torture. I’m sure of it.”

“Well, if that is what it takes to get you in these short shorts, then maybe I should encourage her to continue playing Matchmaker.”

I shifted and faced him. “What is—”

“—Charity. What thefuckwas that?”

I lost all sense of playfulness when Luca used my name that way. Ice ran through my veins and threatened to take over my lungs. Nico released his hold on my hips and stepped back out of the line of fire.

“A minor lapse in judgment?” I grimaced and added a lopsided shrug.

“I’ll say,” Max mumbled.

I glared at him and then flicked my gaze back to Luca.

“What is so important you couldn’t wait one fucking minute?” His gloved hand gripped the club he had thrown, and I heard the leather cry under the strain.

“Think someone is going behind your back.”

This stopped him from stalking toward me. “What do you mean?”

“Are you still keeping tabs on my brother?” I was betting he was. It would help me locate him faster.

---