Lion's Den Ch. 02

"Oh fuck, we know that is bullshit. The way your pussy was creaming all over my cock, you may not love me, but you sure as hell want me."

"Leo let me be," were her last words to him before exiting.

***********

"Laney, what the fuck? We spoke. We had agreement. I told you those boys are dangerous, do you have a death wish because I don't. No good can come from this."

"I know. I tried. I was resolved to letting it be, but Pauley was still in my head and I thought if I just hung out with him for a day then he would be out of my system. It seemed harmless."

"Laney there is no such thing as harmless fun with guys like that and I am so sorry I even agreed to drinks that day. I went looking for you and ended up taking a tumble with Leo, again. You know what the bastard said to me after? He said I will belong to him. Who says shit like that? Crazy, possessive, stalker men that's who," Max answered her own question.

Laney felt like a total shit, but she just wanted to have a New York fling and Pauley seem like an ok guy, never mind the danger. It wasn't like she was trying to be his girl or anything. Max wasn't trying to be Leo's girl either, but unlike Pauley, Leo was tripping out. What did Max do to that man? Max was not into relationships she loved her books and learning. Perhaps she released all her pent up sexual heat on Leo, and that fractured his mind. Even Pauley had told her he had never seen his cousin so sprung over a chick. Poor bastard, Laney thought sadly.

"I figured Leo wouldn't mind if I just wanted to shag, he's a Manhattan playboy after all. His craziness caught me by surprise, and when guys get like that can be unpredictable, and put a real kink in your life." Max threw her hands over her eyes. "Laney, I know guys like that, have all my life, my father is a guy like that."

Laney's eyes popped open. She had known Papa La Costa for four years, and she had never seen him as threatening or dangerous. He was always full of smiles, even when admonishing Max.

"I am going to tell you something about my family that I have never told a soul. Red what I am about to tell you has to stay in this room."

Laney nodded her head in agreement.

"Before I was born my mother was on a Peace Corp mission in Colombia. The village she was stationed in was near to a poppy field. Most of the villagers worked in the field, and factory processing heroin. My mother got sick of the villagers not having fresh drinking water, because the owner of the field had diverted a nearby river to irrigate his crop. She went into the factory and found my father, he was the owner. She got all up in his face and threatened to burn his fields down. He felt like he was about to kill her on the spot, when she looked up at him with a broad smile and said please. That smile saved my mother's life that day, but it also started them down a journey that almost destroyed all of us. My father began courting my mother by being extra kind to the villagers to win her favor. He rebuilt the school, built a clinic, put the workers on shift hours instead of working them to the bone. He began to change because of her. It took him some time but eventually he wore her down. One date turned into another, which turned into a night of passion which turned into me.

When my mother found out she was pregnant. She lied to my father. She told him she was leaving Colombia and going on another mission. He lost it. He told her she belonged to him and no man could ever have her even if he had to kill her himself. He kept her under armed guards all day. One day he had an emergency in Bogota and had to go taking all her guards except one. The villagers drugged his dinner and smuggled her out of the country. When my father got back and discovered my mother was gone, he killed the guard.

He returned living and working conditions to the way they were before my mother came. My father used all his political connections to find my mother. All the while, my father had been acting erratic over losing my mother, his enemies were watching and waiting to pounce. My mother sent a letter to my father to tell him she was safe and all was well, but she was never coming back to him. One of my father's enemies bribed the mailman so he could read the letter first. He traced my mother postmark to Jersey City, NJ and sent some men after her. He knew that if he could present my father with my mother's corpse he would destroy him. My mother was in Jersey City with a friend. She could not go back to Atlanta pregnant, her father would have killed her himself.

On her way to the market one afternoon, she was snatched by some goons. However, when they saw she was pregnant they thought better of killing her, and decided holding us for ransom would be better. They sent pictures to my father in Bogota, and tried to force his hand, but my father had some friends in New York, so he called them and asked them to find us and kill the kidnappers while he would settle things on his end. It took them five hours to locate and save us. However, they were not to let us go, when they received a call from my father that all was clear they put us on a freighter to Cartagena. My mother seriously wanted to kill my father at that point. He felt the same, because my mother not only left him, but she never told him about me. In his eyes we belonged to him. He kept her under heavy guards and never left the house.

When she was six months pregnant the stress caused her to collapse. We almost died. He really loved my mother and realized that she was not cut out for this life. It was then he decided to go legit. He began to clear up whatever debt was out there, blood and financial. He got a visa and came to America with my mom, a month before I was born. Although he had made all these changes in his life, his past is like a specter in our family, as a result he trained me to defend myself in hand to hand combat, guns, knives, and survival training. Do you understand now why I feel the way I do? Aside from the dangerous stuff they might be great guys, but I don't ever want to be in a relationship where these skills are an asset, or someone's love for me makes them vulnerable. Plus you know I am not into that lovey dovey crap."

Laney sat riveted. In all the years she has known Max, she had never heard this part of her history before and could understand why. But then it made a lot of things click about Max's personality and her confidence. Hell I would be that confident too if I knew I could kill you is a split second.

**************

Max sat in her office staring out over Manhattan, it had been one week since her last run in with Leo, and still he had not made his move. Perhaps he had taken her points to heart and decided to back off. Even as Max thought this she knew better. Leo was not the type to give up. Wow, she thought, I have one more week here. Then it is off to France to relax. She had not told her father about Leo because she wasn't sure how things were going to play out and did not want to alarm him. She knew her dad still had connections in the underworld, but she really did not want it to come to bloodshed over her dumb choices.

There was a knock on her door cutting into her thoughts. It was McCleary. She had been doing amazing at staying out of his way or being alone with him, but he was still had his leers. She rolled her eyes, "Can I help you?"

That stuck up bitch is rolling her eyes at me.

"I just stopped by to tell you that your evaluations due by next Wednesday. If you can get them in before then that would be awesome. Also, remember you are meeting the Russian clients at JFK on Wednesday. Their flight lands at 9am, a car will pick you up at your home. Also you are required to be at the reception dinner thing for them on Thursday. All the documents are in order just waiting to be signed." Grudgingly he had to admit to himself, she was awesome at her job.

"Okay, thank you." Max checked her watch to see how close she was to departing. Fifteen minutes, just enough time to do at least one eval., then it is off to BAM to take in a show with Laney.

***********

After the show the girls strolled arm in arm along Flatbush Ave. There was a Caribbean restaurant Max wanted to try. As they were crossing the avenue, a car slowed down and the window rolled down, stopping the girls in their dead tracks. It was Leo. He stared at them with a scowl on his face. Max just shrugged her shoulders and moved along with Laney. She was determined not to even give Leo the time of day. The girls walked into a bodega to throw him off their real intention. They strolled along the aisle picking up useless items to buy some time. When they got to the counter they could see the car was still across the street.

Max turned to Laney. "What do you want to do?"

"Well, I am hungry and I suspect that he does not want to hurt us, he just wants you, so let's just go to the restaurant."

"All righty then. Let's make the best of this night. If he wants to stalk that is on him."

********

The girls sat down in the restaurant determined to have a great time and it was not hard. The food was delicious and spicy, which made Max long for Colombia. She went there every spring break since she was seven. The restaurant's atmosphere was lively. There was a live calypso singer and people dancing. Max and Laney got invited to dance by some handsome Trinidadian guys and were more than eager to. They ended up staying out later than they intended. They left the restaurant at 2am, laughing and tipsy from the rum and Cokes they were enjoying. When they exited the restaurant they ran right into Leo, who was giving Max a hateful glare having seen her gyrate and dance with that guy all night. He would have busted in the place and yanked her out, if he did not believe that she would have gotten him arrested right there. Plus, he got to see her genuinely laugh; she looked so sexy and free. Max looked past him and continued down the street toward the subway. At that point Leo had had enough, he yanked her hand spinning him to face him.

"Damn it Max, I have given you space and time. This shit ends now. Get in the car. You too Laney."

"We are not going anywhere with you Leo and you are right. This shit ends now. I do not want you, so get the fuck over it." She turned to leave when she heard someone calling to her.

"Ms. La Costa, you left your credit card."

Oh shit! He had heard her last name. There was no way to recover from this. She looked at him and walked to get her card. Max felt doomed, after weeks of keeping her identity secret, it was all falling apart.

It all clicked for Leo at the same time. He got her full name, Max La Costa and from what Pauley had told him they were living in the Upper East Side. He could put his boy, C.J., on this and in no time he would know all he needed to know about Little Miss La Costa. He hopped in his car and sped off, what was one more night of freedom going to hurt.

Laney and Max looked at each other as if their whole worlds had fallen apart. It dawned on Max that she had to formulate a plan. She just had to look at this as life or death. She hailed a cab and told Laney the plan.

**************

When they got to the apartment they packed an overnight bag and toiletries. Max grabbed some cash that they kept in the safe. She was glad Rick was on duty, because he could pass a message onto all the other doormen for her. Under no circumstance were they to acknowledge the girls lived there. Rick knew for certain something was up and called Señor La Costa as soon as the girls exited.

Max wrote her parents a coded postcard and dropped in the post. She and Laney then took a train to Montclair, NJ where her father kept a safe house. Laney at this point stopped being surprised at the things Max revealed. They got to the house and went to bed although neither could sleep.

Max got up and climbed into bed with Laney.

"Red do you think I am overreacting?"

"I would in a normal situation, but I keep thinking about your parents' story and if your gut says he will try and grab you then I'm with you."

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to Texas until school starts."

"Nah we got one more week here, and then we are off to France. Darling, this is our last summer until we really become adults and this one is for the books. It has definitely been more eventful than I could have planned, but imagine us telling this to our daughters. Also, you know I can shoot too, so if it ever comes to that I have your back."

"Thanks, sis."

And they both drifted off to sleep.

***********

Laney woke up to the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen. She did not have time to explore the house last night, but that smell was drawing her to the right spot.

"Hey sugar, you slept well?"

"Surprisingly yes."

"Good, we have a lot of shopping to do to replace our clothes for France that we left in New York. Plus, I get to show you Montclair so you can get around when I am at work."

"You are going back to work in the city, are you nuts?"

"I am not nuts, but I just can't peace out on them my last week."

"Ok, but please be careful."

"I will mama."

********

Shopping was a blast. Laney loved Montclair. She found the pace there more to her liking. In the evening the girls placed calls to their parents; neither letting on there was any trouble. They were leaving for France on the late flight on Friday, so all they had to do was lay low for six days.

*********

Leo hovered over his boy C.J. as he researched and hacked data bases looking for the La Costas' address. Whoever this Max La Costa is, he is in a whole heap of trouble for Leo to be waking me up this hour of the morning. He got four listings for La Costas in the Upper East Side. Leo sent his crew out immediately. When they got to Max's building Rick understood why Max ran, but he couldn't figure out how she could have gotten mixed up with thugs like them. Rick turned them away, denying he knew who she was or ever seeing her. They seemed to accept his answer and left. Leo's crew called him back with news that they could not find her. Leo figured there had to be another way. So he sent them back to the neighboring buildings and hit the jackpot. The doorman across from Max's building sold her out and made a pretty penny doing so, not only telling them that she did live there, but that he saw her and her friend taking off a few hours ago.

Leo was irritated by the news he received. Something about this just did not feel right. He tasked C.J. with hacking all the transit video feed from the past few hours and run it through facial recognition software. He had to get out of C.J.'s basement, besides the musty spoiled food smell, he was beginning to truly feel like a crazy person. He could not decipher if he wanted her because she did not want him or if there was something really there between them? He had never felt the kinds of intense feelings he had when her was fucking her. He had never wanted to make love to a woman like he did her? He reasoned that he had to have her, but how if she did not want him? He knew who he had to talk to.

**********

Isabella Carbone could not sleep. Something was wrong with one of her children. Mother's instinct she told her husband, Carmine, who was none too glad she woke him up with her pacing. When she heard Leo's car pull up she knew she had been right. She opened the door silently and drew him into her arms. Leo's face looked drawn and dark and it concerned her more that she could say. She was just glad it was not a business issue. In their line of work, more often than not late night calls to the house like this spelt nothing but trouble.

"What's her name dear?"

Leo looked up in surprise, but then again his mother always seemed to be able to read her children. "Max La Costa."

"Tell me about Max La Costa."

Leo spilled to his mother all that he knew, which was barely anything, but more than that he told her how she made him feel; like how he could tear up the world looking for her. He also told her that she was adamant about not being with him, because of his business.

When he was done Isabella gave him the best advice she could, "It has to be her choice. Not everyone is cut out for this life and if she is telling you she does not want it, you cannot force it on her. What did you plan to do if you found her? Kidnap her? Son, we have always given you everything, taught you to take what you want, and not to let life make you her bitch, but you can't do that with love. She is one force to be reckoned with. I reconciled myself with who your dad was a long time ago and made it work for me, but it was my choice."

Leo sighed. Knowing his mother was right did not make it less painful. He had to let her go. He kissed his mother and went back to the club, but not before calling C.J. and stopping his search for Max.

*********

Isabella climbed back into bed with her husband.

"What did Leo want?"

"He fell for the La Costa girl, but she doesn't want him."

Carmine sat up. "Shit. Fuck. Are you sure it is her? What did he do? Did he threaten her?"

"Yeah, it's her. I saw a picture. He told her that she would be his and kinda stalked her a bit. And although he did not say, they had sex." Isabella was smiling, she liked Max's parents. They would make great in-laws.

"What's a bit Isabella? And stop, I can see your mind working."

"He scared her into running."

"Oh shit. I've gotta call her father. I gather Leo had no idea who she was or it would not have gone so far." This was not the kind of headache Carmine needed right now.

"I'm not so sure Carmine, he's smitten." she shook her head and snuggled down under her husband.