Free Duplicity by Cecile Tellier Page A

already.”
    Maxx shook his head and gave Jerald a look that had the man wisely backing up. “We do not fucking give them so much as a dime. We also don’t discuss this in the middle of the bar. You know better. Next time you do that will be the last time you’re employed here, and you’ll be lucky to be able to walk out the door without being carried.” He knew that came across as brutal, but he also knew that his inner beast was not appreciating an underling telling him how to do things. Alphas didn’t appreciate ultimatums.
    “Yeah, I get it … I’m just worried.” Jerald didn’t wait for a response and instead walked back to the security office.
    Maxx hated the predicament he was in with Rick, but he refused to cower or pay the man off when he wouldn’t benefit in any way from a deal or partnership with the lowlife. As someone who was always in control out of necessity, he did not like the idea of someone attempting to take over his territory. The other side of him liked it even less and wanted to respond with haste and in the bloodiest of ways. Looking back at the bar, he noticed Zowie’s eyes on him before she returned to the customers. He didn’t have any doubts she had figured out he was the owner or someone in charge now, and that she was frightened if the expression on her face was to be believed. She had no idea how right she was to be scared, and even less of an idea of what he really was. The smell of fear had him fighting off the urge to change, and Maxx knew he was too close to the surface to hang out around her or other potential triggers for long.
    Walking back to his office, he spent the next few hours doing books and paperwork while he waited for the club to get busy. He had a bunch of side projects brewing. He hoped that eventually the club would be more of a hobby than full-time business, but he had to eliminate the threats to it first. While all of his businesses were legal, he would not hesitate to defend them in any way he had to.
    Looking at the pile of paper on his desk did nothing to improve his current state of mind. He had identified that there was some money leaking out somehow, and he was in the process of finding out where. Sometimes letting people think he was just the dumb muscle who happened upon good luck went to his benefit. If his enemies didn’t underestimate him he would have to work harder at finding them. He knew he was close though, as he had tracked the money that was going missing in small amounts and had tallied up the total thus far. Now he would go back and identify those working in the club and look for other identifying information and patterns. Stopping the leak had been simple. He did all the accounting himself, even closing now, and no longer paid a bookkeeper to do it There had been no reason to pay someone who was allowing his money to go missing every night. His blood pressure and the feeling of something banging around against his skin had eventually subsided despite the treachery he was investigating. Being away from the temptation of Zowie obviously made the difference in his ability to control not only his temper but also his inner self.
    A crash and loud scream erupted from the bar and had him immediately reaching for the pistol in his drawer. The scent of fear coming from many directions had his gut churning as much as the sounds alerted him to something going down. Storming out to the bar, Maxx was greeted with the sight of his new bartender held by the throat and pinned to the bar by one of Rick’s thugs. That accounted for the fear he smelled. It was coming off of her and the patrons in the bar who were in various stages of shock and panic. Zowie’s blonde hair was strewn around her head and her eyes were wide with fright as she gripped the man’s much larger wrists.
    The oaf was apparently squeezing her throat while making demands that she talk, which only went to show the intelligence the men Rick hired were armed with. The smell he exuded was