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“Do you . . . do you all hurt people?”
Maxim grew even tenser. Victor straightened and stared down at her. But it was Regent who her gaze went to.
“You’re family now,” Regent told her.
“Right,” she whispered.
“Family first. Everyone else second.”
“That’s your motto, huh?” she asked. Did that mean they harmed people who weren’t family?
“That and don’t fuck with the Malones.” Victor’s lips twitched.
“Baby, we don’t have to do this now.” Maxim claimed her hand in his.
“No, I want to do this now. Do you hurt people?” she repeated.
“Only those that deserve it,” Regent said quietly. “My father used to rule using fear and threats. He would extort people for money and send his men out to shake people down for protection money. His crew ran the streets of New Orleans with knuckle dusters and guns.”
She gulped.
“I don’t run my city the same way. We have as many legal businesses as we do illegal. That isn’t to say that we’ll ever be completely legit. We’re not. But all of Maxim’s clubs are free and clear. We don’t do any business there. If anyone is found dealing drugs, they’re out. They’re banned. Anything else, they’re gone.”
“Right,” she whispered.
“Maxim isn’t involved in any of this beyond being part of the family and having our backs. Just like we have his back.”
“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t jump in feet first if you needed me to have your back. Like I will with Leeds. Not only because his shit is killing people or because he might have sent men to beat on me, but because he’s close to Aston.”
“He’s never done anything to me,” she protested.
“That doesn’t mean you’re safe from him, baby.”
“But I think I am. He can’t touch me at work. There are people in and out all day. And that means I have a chance of finding something.”
“No.”
The other two nodded again in agreement.
Regent leaned forward, tilting his head. “You’ve said a few things that make it sound like you’re not close with your family.”
“Uh, no. You could say that. They’re a bunch of liars and assholes.” Why was he bringing her family up?
“My girl doesn’t swear much. So when she does, it has more meaning,” Maxim told them. “Why are you asking questions about her family?”
“I was worried about her reaction to learning about what we do,” Regent murmured. “A lot of people would be understandably upset.”
And she wasn’t. Yeah, she could see how that would confuse him.
“Do you ever hurt women and children?” she asked.
“Definitely not,” Regent replied in a cold voice.
“Regent,” Maxim warned. “Watch your tone. She’s not asking that as an insult.”
She wasn’t. And she was glad that Maxim understood that. Still, she was trembling slightly as she went to ask the next question. She was certain she knew the answer and didn’t really want to ask.
Actually, maybe she should wait until it was just the two of them to ask specifics. Regent didn’t seem like a man she wanted to piss off.
Regent sighed. “I apologize, sweetheart. I messed up. I know you didn’t ask that because you’ve jumped to the worst conclusion about me. It’s just . . . we have a sister.”
“Lottie,” she whispered.
“And I have spent my life looking after her. Protecting her. When she was younger, she was kidnapped. Terrorised. And she is . . . she needed protecting.”
She nodded, eyes wide.
Lord, she wished she had had a fraction of what Regent had given Lottie.
“I would never do that to a woman or child. Ever. We are involved in criminal things, yes. We are not saints. But we never get involved in the skin trade. We do not own strip clubs or brothels. We do not shake hard-working people down for protection money. And we try our best to keep the streets clean from hard-core drugs. If anyone wants to deal in this city, they are supposed to come through me. So I can ensure that shit isn’t getting sold to kids. And that it’s not mixed with other shit.”
“Right. And Dayton bypassed you.”
“Yes, but the main reason I want to stop him is because he doesn’t seem to care that he sold a bad batch of that shit. In fact, he has his men giving away free samples of it and it’s killing people.”
She nodded. She thought she understood where he was coming from.
“My father isn’t a good man,” she blurted out. “He works for another bad man. And this man . . . he sends my dad and my brothers out to collect payments. And when those payments are short or not ready . . . well, I don’t think I have to tell you what they do.”
“Fucking hell. My baby.” Maxim drew her in close, kissing the top of her head.
“It’s all right.”
But they all knew she was lying. It wasn’t all right. It was crap. And her family were jerks.
