Bennett (Bourbon & Blood #1) Read Online Free Page B

you say about your mother! ”
    “ All of a sudden you ’ re the devoted husband? How long has it been since you even saw her? ” Clayton demanded. “ You ’ ve left Mia to rot in that house, wasting her life and her youth taking care of the woman you broke! ”
    Samuel lunged at him then, grasping Clayton ’ s shirt collar. They were face to face, the older man breathing hard and Clayton with his fists clenched.
    Quentin stepped between them. “ Do not do this here. I ’ m not any happier with him than you are, Clay, but this kind of scene would be the last thing Mia … or Mama, would want! ”
    “ Talk to me that way again, boy, ” Samuel warned. “ Old as I am, I can still teach you a lesson. ”
    “ Any day,” In spite of Clayton's deceptively calm facial expression, there was an edge to his voice that let no doubt he would relish the opportunity. “ Any time. ”
    Samuel shoved him away and turned toward the door.
    Standing there, watching him walk away, Quentin turned to Clayton, “ Did that really just happen? You, Mr. Always Cool, started a fucking screaming match with the old man in public? ”
    Clayton nodded. “ Yep. I wish I ’ d hit him. ”
    “ You ’ d kill him. And while I don ’ t have much use for him, ” Quentin added, “ None of us want that. But since you put it all out there in the open, his financial woes and all, what the hell do we do now? ”
    “ We go to work on Monday like always. Now let ’ s go see our baby sister and figure out what the hell happened, then I ’ ll head over to the house. Someone needs to stay with Mama tonight because it sure as hell won ’ t be the philandering asshole she ’ s married to. ”
    *~*~*
    “ What the hell were you thinking? ”
    The voice on the phone was low and angry. The defensive response was automatic. “ We needed her out of the way. Now she is. ”
    “ Out of the way does not equate attempted murder! Do I have to do everything my own damn self? Invite her out for a drink, be nice! Make friends! My lord, how did I raise someone so dumb? There were ways to get her out of that house that didn ’ t involve trying to kill her. ”
    The speaker’s shrill voice prompted a wince. Nervously picking at her manicured nails, she snapped back, “ Well, it ’ s done now. And we might not get another opportunity, so you better find it and find it fast. ”
    “ On the contrary, even though you pulled an idiotic stunt, you did manage to do one thing right … There is no bigger distraction for Mia Darcy than Bennett Hayes. If her focus is on him, you could let off a stick of dynamite beside her and she wouldn ’ t even notice! ”
    Her jaw dropped. “ So, you ’ re pissed at me for the accident even though it created just the kind of distraction you needed? That makes perfect fucking sense! ”
    Her mother ’ s words, when she replied, were so clearly being uttered between clenched teeth that picturing her disapproving expression was easy. “ Listen to me … No more going off script. No more winging it. When I give you an order, you will follow it. Right now, your job is to make Bennett Hayes believe that girl is in danger. As long as he does, he ’ ll never leave her alone. That boy has a white knight complex if ever I ’ ve seen one. And, as for Mia … well, who can resist a handsome man who wants to play the hero? Especially one that’s forbidden. If people get hurt, then the police get involved. Neither one of us can afford that. Understood? ”
    The mention of police brought home just how disastrously wrong things could have gone. She was not cut out for prison. “ Yes. I understand. Scare her. But don ’ t hurt her. Send her running into his waiting arms. Right? ”
    “ That about does it … and if you fuck this up, even though you are my only remaining child, I will hang you out to dry. You hear me? ”
    She smiled bitterly. Having never been her mother ’ s favored child, she knew all too well how fleeting the woman