Page 25 of Ruthless Redemption

Houston

Izzy was staring up at him with enough venom in her gaze to strike him dead at any moment. He wasn’t handling this new development particularly well and he knew it.

But mafia machinations were not his strong suit. Give him a gun and a long range target and he was your man. This cloak and dagger bullshit was better suited to other people.

The idea that Izzy was now in charge of nearly a billion dollars of mob money made him more than a little uneasy. It struck fear deep in his heart. Evil did far worse for far less in his experience and this kind of money…

Fuck. They all needed to take this more serious.

“I don’t need someone to tell me what to do, Houston. My days of taking orders from anyone are over.”

He shrugged and said, “Then take it as a strong suggestion that you don’t want to refuse.”

Izzy sucked in a sharp breath.

Houston wanted to smile and remind her she didn’t always hate it when he told her what to do, but knew it wasn’t the right time.

Under most circumstances Izzy didn’t like taking orders. Even when she’d been a runaway bride with nothing to her name but a torn wedding dress and a tiny purse stuffed with some cash. Having millions of dollars to control was just going to make that tendency in her worse.

It was enough to make him want to kiss her speechless AND spank her ass. He suspected there was always going to be that special something about her sass that made him crazy.

A lesser man might walk out the front door of this hotel and never look back. He wasnotthat man.

Together they were both crazy and toxic, an unusual but perfect blend.

What he should have done, however, was never bring her here. They should have disappeared together days ago.

His only goal in coming home had been to get his bearings and figure out what he wanted to do with his life. Which as far as he was concerned meant just about anything but re-join his father’s club.

That plan had blown up in his face and here they were about to take on two high level mobsters that wanted to take out the woman he loved over fucking money.

Houston’s body stiffened.

Loved.

The word had slipped so stealthily into his mind he’d almost missed it. Something as fool hardy as love had never been part of his plan.

“You are a piece of work, you know that?” Izzy hissed at him, her face still twisted in annoyance.

“I do. But that’s not the point. Although there is something I need to know right now, Isabella Mazzeo, and I want the Goddamned truth.”

“You can stop demanding things from me anytime. I’m not ever going to respond to that kind of bullshit.”

He ignored her pithy words and continued. “If you don’t want to marry me to protect yourself, then who should it be? Is there someone else here you have a relationship with?”

He heard JD sigh and a few other murmured words he couldn’t quite make out from some of the other guys a little farther back.

“Don’t be an asshole, Houston. She doesn’t deserve it.” Axel had stepped forward and was within arms length of him and Izzy now. “There’s nothing going on between me and your girl. Never was.”

“But you want there to be, right?”

“Everyone out,” JD ordered. When no one immediately moved, he roared, “Right fucking now.”

That got them moving and the guys filed out the door in quick fashion, leaving only Izzy, him, Axel and JD. Oh and the weird little financial guy who’d retreated to another room to make some phone calls and file some sort of paperwork.

“You two need to hash this out tonight. Whatever this is,” JD waved between the three of them. “You don’t want it to fester. Trust me.”

“There is nothing to hash out,” Izzy insisted, although her voice shook a little and that made JD’s eyes narrow.

---