Page 38 of Absinthe Minded

“Have you spent time with Ella’s mother since you showed up here?”

Where the hell did that come from?“No.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be such a drama queen.”

“You’re far from a drama queen.” I thanked God I’d stopped things from getting any hotter. No matter how much I wanted to lick every inch of her luscious body, I had to earn her trust before any nakedness happened. “Put on sweats and one of those giant T-shirts. I’ll meet you in your room in ten minutes.”

“Sweats?”

“It’ll help me keep my hands to myself.” I sat and unlaced my boots.

Maggie stood there staring at me as if I’d taken off my pants instead of my socks.

This woman’s killing me. A grin tugged the corners of my mouth. “Sweats now.”

“Ten minutes.” She turned and headed down the hall.

I walked to my room and listened to the dozen or so voicemails Chantal had left over the previous twenty-four hours. For the most part, they all contained the same demands—money, money, and more money—but her latest text made my blood run cold.

A friend sent me this. Thought you preferred tall brunettes to chubby blondes. Does she know what you do for a living? She seems nice. It’d be a shame if something happened to her.

I clicked on the attachment. “Son of a bitch.”

Someone had taken a pic of me and Maggie at Enzo’s.

Chantal had gone from using Ella to blackmail me to threatening Maggie.This has to stop.

I knew people who could put an end to the situation, and to Chantal, permanently. One call to my father’s guys and I’d never have to worry about her again, but I couldn’t do that to Ella. As much as I’d grown to despise the woman, I couldn’t ignore the fact she was the mother of my child.

I walked into the garage and called the one person I could count on for advice that wouldn’t end in bloodshed—Leo.

“Bro, do you own a clock?” The grit in his voice told me I’d woken him.

“Chantal upped her game.” I checked to make sure Maggie hadn’t come into the kitchen and relayed the latest drama to my brother.

“You think she’s following you?” Leo sounded wide awake and as freaked out as I felt.

“No clue. She told me she was leaving town, but she could have someone else following me. Either way, I need to know where she is.”

“I’ll find out.” He paused and lowered his voice. “What are you going to tell Maggie?”

I imagined telling her the truth about Chantal, the threats, the family business, all of it. I had a good idea how she would react, and it made my blood run cold. What if she threw me out? I couldn’t handle it if she never spoke to me again. “Nothing. I can’t protect her if she tosses me out on my ass.”

Leo remained quiet.

“You there?”

“I’m thinking.” He sighed. “You two aren’t together twenty-four-seven. What happens when she goes out?”

My first thought was to cancel her side gig at the bar and order her to stay in the damned house, but that would go over as well as a pregnant nun at mass. “I’ll call in some favors. Get her some security.”

“If you meant what you said about going legit, let me make the calls. You need to keep your nose clean. Start the way you intend to fly, bro.”

And stop paying off dirty cops. I ran my hand down my face. “Thanks, Leo. Just make sure they’re invisible.”

“Will do.” He disconnected.

I had one more call to make, my attorney. I would have felt bad for bugging the guy so late, but my father compensated him well for the inconvenience. I’d miss this part of the business—the ability to get shit done.

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