Maxie covered her head with her pillow to try and mute the obnoxious pounding in her head. The cocktail party arranged for a small gathering of Crimson advertisers went much later than anticipated and as usual she seemed to be the only one actually working the party. God only knew where Lulu went when she should have been helping. It was a hell of a way to spend her Friday night but Maxie told herself that she would reward all her hard work by sleeping late on Saturday morning. She deserved it after all and eventually it would all payoff when Kate promoted her. The pounding echoed through her head again and Maxie got an uneasy feeling. Lifting her head from under the pillow and propping her upper body on her elbows she listened for the sound again. She pushed her blonde locks out of her eyes while she waited the short spell before she heard the sound yet again. Now it was obvious the sound wasn't in her head.
"Damn," she muttered.
Reaching for her short peach colored silk robe she quickly shot her arms through the sleeves, crossed her bedroom quickly and jerked open the door. She looked down the hall at Lulu's closed bedroom door and irritation pursed her lips.
"Am I the only one that knows how to do anything around here?" she yelled at the still hallway just before turning back to the front door. "I'm coming." Just before turning the knob, she tugged the belt to her robe more securely around her middle. It could be anybody on the other side of the door but most importantly it could be Lulu's brother Lucky and she definitely didn't need any awkward moments with him to get her weekend started with a bang.
Her mouth dropped. It certainly wasn't Lucky at the door. Nervously, Maxie wrapped her hand around her neck in almost a protective gesture as she closed her mouth and swallowed hard.
"Mr. Zacharra," Maxie greeted.
Anthony Zacharra pushed the controller for his motorized wheelchair forward so that he entered the apartment. Two large bodyguards flanked him on either side. Maxie's first instinct was to slam the door and pretend like she never opened it but the men were in the room before she could even blink.
"Miss Jones, so nice to see you this morning," Anthony Zacharra's sing-song tone always seemed to hold an undertone of menace no matter what the actual words were and it never failed to make Maxie feel uneasy.
Looking at the three men, she tried to think of the fastest way to get them out of the apartment.
"This is a surprise," Maxie began. "What can I do for you?"
Anthony Zacharra noticed the slight shake in the girl's hand at her neck. She was scared of him which was the kind of reaction he expected from the people he encountered. He was a man of power and influence and people respected that. They feared it and this girl was no exception. His eyes scaled down to her lean and shapely bare legs extending from the hem of her short robe and he felt a glimmer of a response from his own body. She was young and flawlessly beautiful which pretty much summed up his only requirements from a companion.
"I'm looking for my son, Johnny," Anthony replied. "Go get him."
Maxie tilted her chin in an instant reaction of defiance. "I'm not Johnny's keeper."
Anthony's lips parted in a surprised reaction. This girl had spunk. He knew she was scared of him but yet she refused to acknowledge it. That took guts that he couldn't help but admire.
"My son does live with you doesn't he?" he drawled out his words with the sure knowledge that there was only one way to answer the question truthfully but Maxie surprised him yet again.
"No. He lives with Lulu and I don't care where either one of them are. I haven't seen either one of them." She felt stifled by his closeness so she turned and crossed the room to stand next to the fireplace. No fire was lit but she stared into the grate as if it's warmth was her lifeline.
Anthony rolled his wheelchair half the distance between them and tilted his head to study her. Her shoulders were stiff and rigid under the delicate fabric and while she tried to maintain a casual appearance she was just short of succeeding.
"I suggest you go and check Lulu's room before I start to get upset," he suggested.
She turned back to face him. Maxie knew that Johnny was doing his best to separate his life from this man and from her own dealings with him, she couldn't blame Johnny for the attempt. Anthony Zacharra was a ruthless killer at the best of times.
"They aren't here." A hint of defiance colored her words.
A chuckle that held absolutely no humor reverberated through the air. "How do you know if you just said you haven't seen them? No go check or I will do it myself." He leaned forward and propped his elbows on the arms of his chair. His voice curled around them in low toned intimacy. "Do you want me to make myself at home here, Miss Jones?"
The door opened behind them and Johnny started to toss his keys on the coffee table but the figure of his father in the living room halted him in his tracks. His eyes first travelled over Maxie and her semi-dressed state and then moved to see his father's eyes fixed on her. Irritation and something else that he couldn't define exploded through him. His father was old enough to be Maxie's father, probably old enough to be her grandfather and there was something not right in the way he was looking at Maxie. Johnny followed his first instinct and went to stand next to hi roommate. His body partially hid her from his father's view.
"What are you doing here?" Johnny didn't bother to mask his displeasure at finding the older man in his apartment.
"We have business to discuss," Anthony informed him.
Maxie couldn't stop her hand from landing on Johnny's arm in a show of support and Johnny felt his muscles harden under her soft hand. Anger at being confronted with his family surged through him.
He clinched his jaw before answering, "I don't do your kind of business."
Anthony's own anger elevated to meet his son's. "You think because Sonny got you out of jail that this is over? This is far from over Johnny. You will come back to the family."
"No, I won't," Johnny bit out the three words.
"It's only a matter of time and this futile effort to impress your little girlfriend will only cause more trouble in the end," Anthony sounded reasonable with what Johnny considered an unreasonable conclusion.
"Leaving the family has nothing to do with Lulu," Johnny said tightly.
"Zacharras are cursed terrible taste in women," Anthony scoffed, "unless of course your woman has changed." The old man looked pointedly at Maxie standing watchfully behind Johnny.
Maxie opened her mouth to speak but Johnny turned his body to face her. Placing both hands on her shoulders he pleaded with her with his eyes to stay quiet.
"Who I love is none of your business." As far as Johnny was concerned the subject was closed.
"Who said anything about love? Choosing a woman is forming an alliance and you would do well to remember that. Instead of useless liability maybe you should consider another option," Anthony paused and stretched his head to one side to pointedly look behind Johnny, "before someone else beats you to it."
What was his father saying? Why did those words sound like some kind of threat to Maxie? He didn't know why every protective instinct inside him wanted to shield Maxie from his father's view.
"Leave Maxie alone." The words were quiet, intense and delivered with meaning.
"Time's running out, Johnny," Anthony turned his wheelchair toward the door. "You need to come home and you will. One way or another." Those final words were delivered as a parting shot as the mob king's bodyguards opened the door to clear the way for their boss to leave the small apartment.
The click of the door put an exclamation point on the silence in the apartment. It was several minutes before either Johnny or Maxie moved. The intensity in the room began to dissipate like a disappearing tide. Finally Johnny ran his hand down the silk sleeve covering her forearm. Maxie looked down at her feet.
"I'm sorry," Johnny whispered.
Maxie shrugged off his apology. "Why? It's not your fault that your daddy's a psycho. You can't chose your parents, right?"
A tremulous smile accompanied her words and she started to step around him but he stepped in her way.
"Did he hurt you?"
She looked deeply in his eyes and she could see how much it mattered to him that Anthony didn't hurt her. "No, he didn't touch me and I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me."
Johnny smiled at her, grateful for her reassurance. "It's just….I just don't want anyone to get hurt just for being around me. If you want me out of the apartment, I'd understand."
"No, I don't. I told you, I can take care of myself. Your dad was all talk and no action. After everything I've been through to this point in my life, it's going to take a lot more than that to rattle me. Don't worry about it, Johnny. Just pay your part of the rent on time and we have no problems, okay?"
"Don't fool yourself, Maxie. He's dangerous so don't…," he began.
"Don't what?"
"Just don't do anything crazy like taunt him. I'm going to tell him to stay the hell away from here but if he doesn't, just stay out of his way and don't try and protect me." He had to make Maxie understand how serious he was.
"I'll stay out of his way which is completely fine with me. I have enough complications in my life right now with Crimson and Spinelli and everything else," Maxie felt more than heard herself rambling. "but Johnny? Friends look out for each other. If you need me to help you get away from your dad free and clear, I'll help."
Johnny tried to hide his surprise as he searched her eyes for sincerity. "Friends? Is that what we are?"
She tried to stop the quickening of her pulse. Her body reacted to the silky tone of his voice. His handsome face was study of concern and when his features softened that way, he was almost irresistible. Almost. She wanted to be mature and responsible. Johnny was her friend. He was unavailable and just giving in to her attraction would only screw things up. Complications were not on her menu right now.
"What else would we be?" she smiled.
Johnny watched her crossed back toward her bedroom. Her hips swayed beneath the peach colored silk and he was mesmerized by the movement. She was the biggest temptation he ever faced and he knew it. The smart thing to do would be put some distance between them. He was in love with Lulu…..wasn't he????
