Maxwell

I was in the office with the local accountant for both the Davidson and Sanchez ranches. Since the town was small, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for them to use a lot of the same services. He was a squirmy, round man who had a hard time making eye contact with me. My attorney arrived just five minutes after I did. Having decided to stay in Houston instead of staying at the hotel I was at, he had a longer drive in. I couldn’t blame him. It was a small, outdated hotel with no amenities and, unfortunately, very thin walls.

“Thanks for coming here, Mitchell. This is the local accountant, James Gordon.”

Mitch just nodded, his opinion of the accountant was just as lousy as mine. “Please take a seat, gentlemen.” He waved to the two seats in front of his desk.

“No, thank you, we’ll stand.” I wanted him to feel intimidated by our size. Sitting would make him comfortable. His actions hurt the woman I loved, and that was unacceptable.

“So tell me, Mr. Gordon, what is this on the Davidson account?” Mitch handed him the statement for additional fees. It was not broken down by what the purpose of them was and it had grown ten times what it had been three years ago when this lowlife took the place of his father.

“It’s our fees. I have the right to charge what I please to my clients. I’m sure you do the same Mr…”

“Mason, Mitch Mason. I happen to be Maxwell’s cousin. And I don’t swindle my clients, so please don’t put me in the same category as yourself.” The disgust rolled off Mitch’s tongue.

“Those are bold accusations,” he stated, his face turning red in anger.

“So are your actions. I have here another group of charges listed as accounting service fees, for nearly double the other service fees that you eluded to. And what about all these withdrawals for investments? Where are all the documents showing the vested interest, and what investment company are you using to handle the monies?” Mitchell added. This guy was the best damn contracts attorney there was. He smelled a rat right away. There was no way that two properties with roughly the same processes and revenue could be in completely opposite situations. The Davidson Ranch should be flourishing like the Sanchez Ranch.

“First, I can’t help that they lose out in investments. The extra fee must be an error,” he denied culpability immediately.

“In that case, I would say three years of errors to be exact. At this point, you erroneously took two million dollars from your client. That doesn’t even include the million in supposed low-risk stock options. Interesting, don’t you think, Max?”

“I do. You knew Mr. Davidson wasn’t good with numbers and believed your legal bullshit. If this was a supposed error, you wouldn’t have put his home up for foreclosure and have his assets seized. That two million would have easily covered his debt and put him squarely in the black.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“No, it’s not, is it? You’ve had a partner in crime, haven’t you? We know about your mistress and her son that had been raised by a different man as his own. They don’t know it yet, but we do. Ricardo “Rico” Sanchez is your son. And I hate the bastard, too,” I hissed. That sneaky son of a bitch was harassing my woman.

“Whoa, did I just hear what I did?” Alex Sanchez said, walking into the room with Mr. Davidson trailing behind, both of their faces went from anger to shock at the revelation. It was an interesting little tidbit I learned after dropping off Maggie at home.

“I’m afraid it’s true,” I apologized. Nothing on Alex Sanchez was dirty. He was damn near perfect.

He shook his head at me, then smirked. “Don’t be afraid. I don’t like that shit head. It was only because he was family that I let him work for me.”

“Have you seen Maggie?” I asked, looking at her father.

“No, I haven’t.” He was still pissed about earlier, but his daughter was an adult and came to me. It wasn’t like I kidnapped her, even if the idea had played in my head several times last night.

Alex tilted his head and added, “I saw her before I came here. It was about an hour ago. I had to stop and pick up some things from the supply store. She’s at my ranch cooking the hands their meal.”

I growled. The woman was slick with her magic pussy, making me forget about her plans to go over there. I meant to tell her it was out of the question, but when she got out of the truck, her pussy wet the seat. Granted, I didn’t give her back her panties, but it was her fault for distracting me with her juices on the leather. My attitude hardened and I gave Alex a warning, “One, she’s done working for you. Two, if your cousin goes near her again, I will bury him.”

“Oh hell, are you the one she’s engaged to?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Wait. You are engaged to my daughter?”

“Yes, I told you I would. I was going to tell you after the meeting, but I didn’t care for these country cunts looking at her like she needed a God damn scarlet letter on her chest. She’s mine and I will protect her from everyone that does anything to hurt her.”

“No, that’s fine by me. It seems I didn’t do a very good job protecting her future.” That look of defeat on his face was one I’d never wished to have. He would be back on track with his life in no time if I had anything to say about it. I was about to tell him that, too, when Gordon coughed.

“Enough with the family bliss here. I want you all out of my office,” Gordon yelled. We all turned our heads towards him, but instead of leaving, we leaned over his desk.

“I want my money, you thief. I’ve already contacted the sheriff.” Mr. Davidson clenched his fists, pressing his knuckles hard onto the wooden desk.

“And I made a call to the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy about your financial practices. Enjoy prison. Have a good day,” Mitchell said.

I turned to my future father-in-law as we walked out onto the sidewalk. “I want you to know that the property is yours, even if we can’t acquire your stolen funds. I’m in love with your daughter and I don’t want her hurt at all.”

He stopped and with a determined gleam in his eyes, he promised, “I can pay you back over time.”

“No. You saved my life, and that deserves something special in my eyes. But…just let me hook you up with a good accountant and some bookkeeping software. There’s no way I can stand by and let you fall into another hole.”

“Thanks, son.”

“By the way, I will be marrying Maggie this week.”

“If that’s what she wants.” He tilted his head with a deadly glare with his hands on his belt.

I shrugged it off because I was secure in the truth that she was happy to marry me. “It is. We discussed it on the drive back. I need to go get Maggie.”

“Okay, hopefully, she’s almost done with the food. I’m starving,” Sanchez said. “Maxwell, you have no idea how lucky you are. You’ve gained the best cook in town.”

“An added bonus, now I’m going to have to snatch her up and run.”

“Yeah, at least let her finish our meal,” he replied, clutching his chest. Laughing, we parted ways and hopped in our rides. I was overly eager to see her. A few hours apart and I was so lonely. I had no idea how I was going to manage the minimum eight-hour days and forget the long ones. She’s going to have to bring me my lunch and dessert.

All four of us headed to the ranch. My cousin had my back any time and didn’t hesitate to invite himself along. As soon as we pulled into the long driveway, we knew trouble was here. Rico’s truck was parked on the side of the house so someone wouldn’t notice until they got to the driveway. I didn’t turn my truck off before jumping out of it. I barely put it in park when I heard the loud bang of a gunshot. I ran into the house, giving no fucks what I had ahead of me. All that mattered was getting Maggie to safety. The rest were right behind me. I saw a little woman holding the gun with smoke still coming out of the barrel. Alex grabbed her, took the gun, and held her close. “Mi amor, por qué?”

That is when I saw Maggie huddled in the corner of the room and Rico on the ground with a pool of blood growing around him. I stepped over that fucker, pulling my woman off the ground and into my arms. “I’m sorry, Mags. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”