Mastered by Malone (Haven Texas Book 6) Read online

  She didn’t even know if he liked her cooking. But at least the other boys seemed to. They’d certainly given her enough praise and they ate every meal like it was their last. Unfortunately, they all insisted that she eat with them.

  That first night she’d cooked for them, she’d decided to eat at the kitchen table. Not that she had much appetite. She’d just settled down with a plate of food in front of her when Tanner and Butch had stormed into the kitchen.

  Fear had held her paralyzed. Even as she’d tried to tell herself they wouldn’t hurt her she still couldn’t help her reaction. But they didn’t seem to notice or, if they did, they ignored it. Tanner came straight to her and pulled her up into his arms.

  Tanner had carried her into the living room, set her on the couch, and Butch had put her plate of food on her lap. Apparently, they’d just expected her to sit there with them, eating in front of the television, which had been blasting with re-runs of the Dukes of Hazard.

  But no more. She might not have the right to tell them to take their messy boots off at the door or to stop yelling at each other every time they spoke. But she wasn’t sitting through it anymore. Tonight, she was sitting at the dining room table. And if one of them dared try to pick her up and carry her to where they thought she should be then she was fully prepared to stab him with her knife.

  Okay, she wouldn’t do that. But she was going to make a fuss. And the offender wouldn’t be getting any more of her desserts, that was for sure. Tonight, she’d carried all the food out to the dining room table. She’d put out all the cutlery, plates, and napkins. She’d wished there were some flowers she could pick, But, then, she figured they wouldn’t really appreciate flowers anyway.

  She could hear them coming. Tramping their way through the house.

  She heard them yelling something when they got to the kitchen.

  “Mia? Mia! Where are you?”

  She popped her head out of the dining room. “Here!”

  Raid moved towards her, as usual, leading the pack when it came to food. “Where’s dinner? I’m starved.”

  “You’re always starving,” Maddox said. “Better watch out you’re going to end up with flabby gut and a double chin. “

  “Not with the way I work out.” Raid winked at her as he strode past her. She figured she didn’t want to ask about what sort of workout he was talking about.

  “Oh, yeah?” Tanner asked, coming in next. “When was the last time you got any sort of workout?”

  “Last weekend, moron,” Raid replied as he started to fill his plate. When he had a mound of food piled high, he walked towards the door. As the passed her, he looked down and smiled. “Good you found a use for the dining table, sweetheart. But we’re happy to come to the kitchen to get our food. No need to go to any extra effort.”

  And then he disappeared into the television room. Along with the rest of them.

  Okay, so Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?

  “I’m busy, what do you want?” Alec demanded as he picked up the phone in his office.

  “Hello, nice to talk to you too, cousin,” Jardin replied. “I’m doing well, thanks for asking.”

  “What part of ‘I’m busy’ didn’t you understand?” Alex growled. He knew he shouldn’t have picked up the damn phone.

  “We’re all busy,” Jardin said patiently. “I’m calling to check up on our house guest.”

  His gut tightened. “What about her?”

  “Is she doing okay? How’s it going with your wild pack of brothers?”

  “Why are you asking me?”

  There was a moment of silence. “Because I left her with you. You’re supposed to be taking care of her.”

  “No. The deal was I would keep her alive. She’s alive.”

  Truth was, Alec was avoiding having anything to do with Mia directly. He kept tabs on her, of course. He couldn’t have her wandering off the ranch and getting herself killed. It would make his life easier, sure, but they owed her cousin a favor. And that was the only reason he cared about her. How the fuck was he supposed to know how she was doing?

  “That’s it? That’s all you have to say about her?”

  “You want to know more, then why don’t you come here and see for yourself?”

  Jardin sighed. “I can’t. Stuck in the middle of something. Mike’s been calling me for updates about her. He wants to make sure she’s doing okay.”

  “Well, why don’t you talk to her yourself?”

  “Because I thought I’d call you and ask. I thought you were keeping an eye on her.”

  “Not her babysitter. Talk to her yourself or come here.” Alec hung up. But there was a little kernel of guilt that had started to grow.

  Fuck.

  Mia sat down at the dining table again to eat. Alone.

  Three nights of this and no change. She sighed. But after a moment of staring at a plate of pot roast she had no interest in eating, she suddenly became aware of the silence. She glanced up to find them all standing there staring at her.

  She glanced up. “Yes?”

  “You planning on eating in here alone again, darlin’?” Tanner asked.

  “Yes. And don’t even think about trying to move me anywhere, Tanner Malone, I am not in the mood.”

  “Learned that after the other night when you smacked me around with your fork.”

  “I did not smack you around.” She blushed; a bit ashamed of her behavior. They were turning her into a crazy person.

  “Wasn’t anything you didn’t deserve,” Raid muttered around a mouthful of food.

  “Why you want to eat in here so much?” Maddox asked.

  “Because it’s civilized and normal. It’s what a family should do. And I’m tired of watching you make a mess in the living room while you fight over food and insult each other at the top of your lungs.”

  “Well, sorry we offend you,” West said, surprising her. What was he even doing here? Mostly, he ate with Alec in his office. “Didn’t realize you were the manners police.”

  “I’m not. It’s just . . . ” Okay, she’d started this, time to finish it.

  “Manners?” Tanner looked around at all his brothers “We have manners. Don’t we always say thank you for cooking?”

  “Never. You’ve never once said thank you. You traipse through the house with your dirty boots on, you don’t take your hats off, and you make a pigsty of the living room every night when you eat.”

  All right. She hadn’t meant to say that.

  “You’re exaggerating,” Maddox told her. “We’re not that bad.”

  She pointed a finger at him. “You bit Beau’s hand this morning when he tried to reach for the last biscuit.”

  “Yeah, and I think it’s infected. Where the hell has your mouth been?” Beau turned to him.

  She knew she needed to take back control or they’d start to argue and not listen to a word she said. “I just think we need a few house rules is all.”

  “This ain’t your house,” West pointed out. “You don’t get to make any rules. You’re just the cook.”

  She sucked in a breath. Pain stabbed at her. He wasn’t saying anything she didn’t know. She’d forgotten her place. They’d lulled her into thinking she was a part of them. But she wasn’t. She didn’t belong here. Or anywhere.

  She pulled away from the table. “You’re right. Excuse me.” She knew it was cowardly to flee but she also didn’t want to burst into tears in front of them all. To her surprise, Jaret grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him.

  “Apologize,” he insisted, glaring at West.

  Oh, shit. She hadn’t meant to start an argument. Why hadn’t she just left things alone? Was it so bad that they got their muddy footprints everywhere and liked to yell at each other constantly?

  “What?” West snapped.

  “Apologize. She’s not just the fucking cook. She’s a friend. Apologize now.”

  The rest of them had all stilled, looking back and forth between West and Jaret.

&nbs
p; She pressed a hand against Jaret’s chest. “It’s okay. I’m going to go lie down now. I have a headache.”

  She moved out of the dining room without looking at anyone. She was such a fool. She’d overstepped her bounds. She was there to hide and cook and clean. Nothing more. This wasn’t her family.

  She walked up the stairs, feeling a little numb as she got ready for bed. She left the bathroom light on before climbing into bed. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. No way would she be able to get to sleep as tense as she was. Not that she slept much anyway. And when she did manage to get off, she was usually woken by nightmares.

  She closed her eyes. She had sedatives, but she was too scared to take them. Even here, where she felt safer than she had in a long time. She couldn’t be completely out of it if something happened.

  Then again, that could be a mercy if the thing that was about to happen was her getting a bullet in her brain. An image of Angel flashed through her mind.

  Okay, thinking about that wasn’t going to help her get to sleep.

  Her aunt’s face flashed in front of her then. Angry and twisted. Fuck. Fuck. She rolled over. Tried to reach for some calm deep inside her as she took in another deep breath. She felt kind of stupid, but she whispered good night to different parts of her body, imagining them growing heavier.

  Nighty-night foot.

  Yep, total idiot.

  But gradually, her body grew heavy and she slipped off to sleep.

  The nightmare gripped her by the throat, stealing her breath. She sat up, her heart racing. Fighting for each breath. Her pulse raced. Her whole body shook.

  She glanced around frantically, staring into the shadows of the room. Searching for something. Anything.

  No one was there.

  No one had come to kill her. She was on her own. She curled her legs up to her chest, rested her forehead on her knees and concentrated on calming her breathing.

  I’m safe. No one is here. I’m safe.

  As her heart rate dropped and her breathing came easier, she uncurled herself, and climbed slowly out of bed. She whipped off her T-shirt, which was damp with sweat. She threw it into the bathroom to wash tomorrow. Then she pulled on another one. She grabbed the lamp, turning it on. Soon after she’d arrived, she’d found an extension cord in the storage room and claimed it so she could have the lamp in wardrobe with her.

  She walked to the wardrobe, opening the door and setting the lamp down at one end. She’d also found some spare blankets and a pillow, which she’d used to set up a second bed. She climbed in and closed the doors of the wardrobe behind her, wrapping herself up in the blankets.

  She knew it was weird. She didn’t get why this made her feel safer. It certainly wasn’t that comfortable. The floor was hard. The wardrobe wasn’t going to give her any protection against a bullet. But when she slept in here, the nightmares stayed away.

  So she snuggled down, trying to tell herself that one day this would all be over. She’d be better.

  One day.

  The next night, she left all the food in the kitchen. No one said anything to her as they grabbed some food. She wasn’t in the mood to eat. But as she headed towards the smaller living room, she came to a sudden stop as she heard noise coming from the dining room.

  With no small sense of amazement, she stepped inside. They were all in there except for Alec and West. And they were loud. They were talking over one another. And they were snatching from each other’s plates. But not one of them wore a pair of boots. Or a hat. And they were eating in the dining room.

  Jaret turned to her. “About time you got here.” He pointed at the head of the table where there was an empty plate and cutlery. “Sit. Eat.”

  She sat. “So,” she asked when there was a lull in the yelling. She had to admit she was getting used to the way they roared every word. At least it was lively, unlike dinner at her aunt and uncle’s place which had been somber enough that someone could be forgiven for thinking they lived in a funeral parlor. “What’s your favorite dessert?”

  They all looked at each other. “You bake?” Maddox whispered.

  She blinked, surprised by the reaction. “Well, yes. I figured tomorrow night I’d make dessert. What would you like?”

  They all yelled out their favorite treats, none of which were the same, of course. She held up her hand with a laugh. “All right, one a night. Tomorrow night we’ll start with lemon meringue pie.” Which had been the one Jaret had called out.

  He winked at her. “You’ve done it now, babe. They’ll never want to let you go.”

  She found herself wishing that were true. Even if the two oldest Malones didn’t like her, this was the closest she’d had to a home in years.

  And wasn’t that just sad.

  4

  “What are you doing?”

  Mia let out a screech and dropped the tray of brownies she’d been transferring from the oven to the counter. The tray landed on the floor, thankfully, missing her toes and the brownies flew everywhere.

  Shit. Shit.

  She turned to stare at Alec, her heart racing, her breath coming in pants. She tried to calm herself, but she could feel herself trembling. Nausea bubbled.

  Calm.

  “Fuck. Mia, you okay?”

  Suddenly, he was looming over her and it did nothing for the panic swirling through her stomach. She took a step back, flinching.

  Immediately, he froze, and a look of awareness crossed his face.

  “Baby, easy. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  It was the gentlest he’d ever been with her. And she could feel herself starting to calm as he simply stood there. Not moving, not threatening, no hint of cold disdain on his face.

  “Easy, now. Just breathe with me. In, then hold for two then out for two. That’s it. Good girl. That’s a good girl, Mia.”

  Oh, God, those words. They sent a wave of warmth through her blood.

  “S-sorry,” she said. “You just g-gave me a fright.”

  His gaze narrowed and he opened his mouth to say something, so she slipped to her knees to avoid the questions looming. She didn’t want to talk about the panic attacks that had plagued her since she’d come across the dead bodies of her coworkers. The fact that not a night went by where she didn’t wake up shaking and sweating from a nightmare.

  She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in months. And couldn’t see that changing anytime soon.

  But even worse than all that would be talking to Alec Malone about it. What was he even doing up? He’d managed to avoid her for nearly two weeks now, why couldn’t he have kept doing that?

  She started gathering up pieces of brownie and placing them on the tray. Well, that batch was ruined.

  She felt him kneel across from her but ignored him.

  “Mia.”

  She hoped he didn’t see the way her hands were trembling.

  “Mia, look at me.”

  His voice was still gentle. How long was he going to kneel there staring at her? Couldn’t he see she was busy?

  “Mia. Eyes on me. Now.”

  The command in his voice was impossible for her to ignore. She raised her eyes to his.

  “Should have known that would work,” he muttered.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” He stared into her eyes. “Mia, what are you doing?”

  “Cleaning up the brownie,” she replied. She dropped her gaze back to the mess.

  “Mia. Eyes.”

  Damn it. Why couldn’t he let her hide? She opened her eyes, stared into his brown orbs, and wished she’d just hidden in her closet tonight instead of coming down here to bake.

  “Why are you making brownies at two in the morning?”

  Fuck. Shit.

  “Because they’re West’s favorite.”

  He blinked at her answer, looking more than a little surprised. “And why are you making West’s favorite?”

  The rough note to his voice made her flinch.

  He sighed. “Damn it, wi
ll you stop looking at me like I’m going to hurt you?”

  “I didn’t . . . that wasn’t . . . ” she took a deep breath, “I’m not scared of you.”

  “Then why did you flinch away from me?”

  “I’m not sure.” And she couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. “I just . . . I guess you intimidate me a little. I’m making it because it’s his turn. I’ve made all of your other brothers their favorite desserts and it’s West’s turn. Even though he can be a jerk.”

  He didn’t say anything to that. Just stood and held out his hand.

  “I have to clean this up.”

  “No, you need to get to bed. It’s two a.m. You’re pale and tired.”

  “I can’t just leave this mess here.” She gave him an appalled look.

  “You can’t?” Did his lips just twitch? Was he laughing at her? “I’ll clean it up, little worrier. Come on. Up you get.”

  “I’ll help you,” she said, surprising herself. She should be taking the out and getting the hell away from him. He was far too much for her. Too scary, too handsome, too dominant. And yet she couldn’t help but stare at his hand and wonder what it would feel like to have him touch her. To have him run that hand down her body, over her stomach to squeeze her breast.

  “No.”

  “No?” What was he saying no to? Oh, shit, she really should be paying more attention.

  “No, you’re not helping me. You’re going to bed as I just said. Now get. Before I decide to tuck you in myself.” There was a dark note of promise in his voice.

  Oh, yeah, that really wouldn’t be a good idea. She grabbed hold of his hand without thinking and a shot of electricity ran through her, making her gasp.

  As he pulled her up, she stumbled and fell into him. She rested against his chest, staring up at him, her heart pounding and for a crazy moment she thought he was going to kiss her. Then he quickly stepped back, letting go of her.