I opened my eyes and studied the man for the first time. He was in custodian garb, his skin pale and sweaty, and what little hair he had behind his receding hairline was unkempt with a very distinctive odor.
I wrinkled my nose. “Let go of me. You know who I am, and you know how possessive a man like Maverick can be.”
He laughed, the sound bitter and angry. “Don’t flatter yourself, girl. The man is as possessive of you as he is with his car. He can always replace you with another pussy.” His eyes moved down my body. “One who’s not so skinny.”
My upper lip curled in disgust and I tried to twist away.
He tightened his grip, and I stilled instantly. Fuck, he was going to bruise my wrists, no doubt about it.
“But there is a price on the head of Daniel Hayes’s child. Apparently, your old man left this world with a lot of debt and a lot of angry people. How would it look if they didn’t take it out on his kid? And you must know where he kept his money, no?”
“Let go of me. I don’t know anything, you sick son of a bitch!”
I screamed, but the man covered my mouth with one meaty hand.
Something salty hit my tongue.
How gross.
I opened my mouth and bit down.
He yanked his hand away, cursing at me.
“You stupid bitch. You bit me! You’re going to pay for that.”
He raised his hand, and I closed my eyes, preparing for the slap.
It never came.
A grunt, and the man was off me.
I opened my eyes to find Maverick’s wide back in front of me.
He was breathing hard, and I didn’t have to see his face to know he was angry.
He turned back, his eyes assessing me. They hardened on my wrists where the man had grabbed me, then moved to my face.
His expression turned almost deadly.
I was suddenly glad to have never been on the receiving end of that look.
As much as the brothers had said they wanted to hurt me or scare me, I knew now they’d been holding back.
He turned back to the man. “Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing on my property?”
The man scrambled back across the floor, his legs pushed out in front of him.
Maverick moved forward and stepped on the man’s ankle. He let out a bloodcurdling scream, which drew the attention of the guards who had been patrolling the hallways.
They ran in and came to a stop, their eyes wide in surprise when they noticed Maverick standing there, an avenging angel.
“How the fuck did this piece of shit get in?” he asked one of the guards.
The man in the middle knelt. “I’m sorry, boss. That was our mistake.”
“Yes, it most certainly is,” Maverick agreed with a sort of calm entering his voice.
This calm scared me more than it would have, had he been yelling. I edged back, stopping when my body hit the wall with a thud.
