Some Kind of Wonderful Read online

  Cobus sighed, then popped open the next email. He licked his lips and leaned back in his leather chair. C.C. was maturing nicely. At night she wore the short shorts, the sexy tops that showed off her abundant breasts, and when not bartending or waitressing she wore classy, conservative attire, making her look like the woman he knew she really was inside. The guy he hired did his job well. He went into that town, took some new pictures, watched her a little, and sometimes even sent video so that Benet could hear her adorable laugh. Jesus, he was getting a hard-on just thinking about her.

  Classy, sexy, a lady in public, and he would surely maker her a dirty, naughty thing in the bedroom. He was aroused just thinking about what he would like to do to her. How he would have trained her if he had gotten a chance to straighten out his son. The man hadn’t been right since returning from the last mission he had been on. He was violent, controlling, and abusive. Cobus could have helped his son manipulate the naive young woman, especially considering that her cousin was shacked up with an abusive criminal. C.C. could have died that night. Instead she killed that man in self-defense. She had natural protective instincts. A loyalty to those who showed her compassion, and guidance.

  Cobus knew women, and he knew how to keep a pet. His interest in C.C. grew very quickly. In a way that made her become his obsession. He needed to continue to gain her trust and then begin to pull her into his world. He looked at the screen, zoomed in on her breasts and that smile. So sweet, so sexy, and petite, which would make forcing whatever he wanted on her an easy task. He took a deep breath and exhaled. His son hadn’t been the same since that night. He was on a spiral path of destruction, and soon enough he would lose his mind entirely and probably end up in a gunfight with law enforcement as he hallucinated about being in some foreign land with enemies holding him hostage.

  Cobus tapped a finger to his chin. He would love to see C.C. in person. Maybe call her and tell her that she didn’t need to send the final five thousand dollars. He knew that once he received that check, their ties to one another were over. His next move would be to seduce her. He couldn’t wait much longer. It had only been a month since he called her to check on her. Maybe he needed to plan a little visit to Texas. Make up something about business or visiting friends? Something, and then set aside some time to start making his move. He smiled to himself. She would fall for his charms, his seasoned attitude, and money. He would work his magic, and in time, C.C. would be all his.

  The thunder rumbled in the distance. A storm was making its way through the area. The last several days had been pretty crappy. C.C. leaned against the bar and was playing with the straw in her water with lemon.

  “C.C., what do I add to that Loopy Lou drink again?” Ade asked her.

  “It’s Lucy Loo,” C.C. replied and then chuckled. She started telling him how to make it, and he nodded as two women stood by the bar smiling and flirting with Ade. It didn’t seem to faze him at all. She walked back over to the table of three guys and a woman to see if they needed another round. Another loud bolt of lightning struck and then the rumbling of thunder.

  Birdie and Freddie arrived at Harper’s along with their friends Seager, Law, Caldron, and Zinc. They wanted to discuss a potential job on a security detail for some big money men involved with the government. They would have to head out to Austin overnight to the event, and they were told it was great pay.

  As soon as they walked into the place they could tell it was pretty crowded, considering the bad weather the last several days. Tomorrow was going to be the worst. Freddie spotted C.C. immediately. She was wearing skintight jeans that hung low against her hips along with a midriff tank top that was tight against her abundant breasts and showed off her tight abs and tiny waist. Her long blonde hair was pulled up high on her head in some fancy style, and she looked incredible. His heart raced, his cock hardened in his jeans, and holy shit, their friends noticed her, too. “Let’s sit wherever that waitress is working. Damn, she is hot,” Law said, and they headed toward the middle.

  C.C. spotted them, stopped short, looked a bit intimidated, but then smiled wide. “Hi, Freddie, Birdie, looking for a table?” she asked.

  “God damn man, you know her?” Seager asked, and Freddie nodded.

  “We are,” Birdie told her, and she pointed to a high top with eight seats. Plenty of room for men as big as them. When she walked over with coasters and placed them down, Birdie caressed her arm. “How are you doing tonight, sweetie?” he asked and her face went flush. But she recovered as she tossed down the coasters.

  “I’m doing well. How about all y’all?” she asked and then looked at their buddies.

  “These are some friends of ours. Seager, Law, Caldron, and Zinc.”

  “Nice to meet you. What would you like to drink?” she asked, and their four friends looked her over. Freddie could tell they were interested in her. They started to flirt as she took their orders, then Seager went and leaned close to her.

  “What do you have to munch on around here?” Seager asked, his lips close to her shoulder.

  “Seager,” Birdie snapped at him, but C.C. chuckled.

  “There’s a small menu right there, sugar. You check it out and let me know if I can put an order in for ya,” she said and then as she walked by she glanced at Birdie.

  Seager leaned forward. “She is gorgeous, man. A friend of yours?” Seager asked.

  “She’s off limits, Seager,” Birdie told him.

  “You telling me you’re interested in her? You alone or your brothers, too?”

  Birdie didn’t respond.

  “Holy shit. No fucking way, man,” Law said to them.

  “Cool it. Obvious they have feelings for her, otherwise they wouldn’t be going into their protective mode. Check out the menu, then we’ll order and talk business,” Caldron said and Zinc chuckled.

  A few minutes later C.C. returned with their drinks. They ordered some food, and then Caldron began to inform them about the job and what it entailed.

  “It’s really not that bad of a gig. An overnight. Work all day and evening then only until three a.m. Catch some sleep then head back home in the afternoon when you wake up.”

  They discussed the particulars and then started talking about other potential jobs as C.C. came over with another round of beers and to clear the empty plates of wings and fries.

  “There’s a friend of ours who knows this company, Royal Palms Enterprises. He does security for some of the investors. Sometimes there all day or a weekend-long detail. Easy, but they want men to be armed,” Law added.

  “Yeah, we did one a few weeks back for one of the clubs in Dallas. This company has multiple investors, and they all have their own places,” Zinc added.

  “We’re scheduled to do a job for some huge club in South Carolina in a few weeks. They need a few dozen extra security people for this release party. Some famous people will be there and some idiots. This guy Conseco hooked our buddies up a few months back, and now our buddies say this guy needs more bodies,” Seager told them.

  Just then C.C. nearly knocked over the beer in front of Law, but she was able to grab it. Freddie placed his hand on her waist against her skin, and she jerked back to look at him. “I’m sorry. Jeesh, I think I tripped.” She slid her hands along her waist, and Freddie pulled her closer.

  Holy shit, he wasn’t expecting the surge of attraction or desire, just from holding her like this, with his hand on her skin. She was a tiny thing, but Jesus, what a body. “You okay?”

  She nodded and swallowed hard. “I’m fine, Freddie,” she said with her hand on the table as if steadying herself.

  He stared down into her eyes. “You’ve been working a lot. Maybe overdoing it a bit.”

  He stroked her skin, and she tightened up but didn’t look away. “You need some recoup time. When are you off?” he asked and used his thumb to stroke her skin. Her lips parted and she stared at him like she couldn’t think. Hell, he could think. Of one thing, stripping her naked and exploring every sexy,
cute inch of her.

  “Tomorrow night is my last night working, then I’m off Sunday and Monday, unless the café or Finnigan’s need some help.”

  “You work too hard,” Birdie told her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

  C.C. glanced up at him. “I’m okay, really. How about another round?” She reached for the empty beer bottles.

  “Sure thing, sweetheart,” Freddie said to her and then he released his hold, and the second she was walking away he could feel the loss and didn’t stop watching her until Caldron cleared his throat.

  “She likes you guys. Are we cramping your style?” he asked and winked.

  Freddie shook his head and chuckled, then let out a long sigh. “She’s a bit too young,” Freddie said.

  “Fuck that. She isn’t jail bait. She’s got to be in her twenties. I say go for it before some young whippersnappers come along and steal her,” Caldron teased. Freddie threw his napkin at Caldron and they laughed. When C.C. came back over a few minutes later, she avoided eye contact with him and Birdie completely.

  C.C. was tired despite getting home a little earlier than usual. She lay in bed right now thinking about things she shouldn’t be thinking about. Birdie and Freddie were very attentive last night, and before long she was talking to them and their friends. The fact that they were discussing jobs associated with Royal Palm Enterprises bothered her. Cobus Conseco was a partner in that organization. Although he held a small share in it, it helped to advance his dance hall and bar and make it the largest, hottest spot in South Carolina. The other partners owned more shares and she really didn’t know the details, but Cobus had a lot of money and connections. She was glad she had sent off that other check to him. She had five thousand more to go, and then she would be done ever having to speak with him or anyone associated with her past again. She wanted to put the craziness behind her, her cousin, and Aiden. She thought about Birdie, Freddie, Conan, and Axel. Jesus, she was really reaching if she thought they wanted more than just sex from her. Why would they even consider a woman like her? One ten-plus years younger than them. She didn’t even want to be in a relationship with a man. She had trust issues, still had flashbacks of both the night she was nearly gang raped and then, of course, the night she fought to save her cousin and Aiden from Dylan, and killing a man. She supposed things could have been worse. She could have been gang raped, would have never made it out of the bedroom to even go see her cousin and Aiden, and then Dylan would have killed them both.

  The tears stung her eyes. She shivered from the memories. From the desperation as her throat closed up and she truly thought she would die by Dylan’s hands. She remembered the feel of the heavy gun, and the sound so loud as she shot him to save herself, Elsie, and Aiden. Her stomach hurt. The battle went on. When the police arrived, after she was released from the hospital and in the courtroom before the judge. Then came the continued medical care for Elsie. She could have died, been paralyzed. Jesus, she just wanted it all gone and in the past. Again, the men popped into her head. Birdie seemed the most talkative, yet they all struck up conversations with her. Birdie was the only one of them that had light hair, dirty blond, and scruff along his chin that seemed to be getting thicker. They all had some kind of facial hair. Axel’s being the thickest and dark brown, but he had long hair, too. At least to his shoulders. Conan and Freddie wore their brown hair more military-like, and even their beards were well-groomed and short. Their deep blues eyes were incredible, and it was funny how Axel was a close cousin and he had similar blue eyes, as well. She didn’t know why, but for some reason when they were around her, she felt protected. As she felt them watching her whenever they were around, it didn’t make her feel self-conscious, it made her hope that they liked what they saw. She gulped. She really needed to get her mind off of them. Nothing could come of it. She was in no position at all to even think of liking a man, never mind dating one. Those four men in particular were definitely experienced in every aspect. It made her feel immature and not woman enough. Her own insecurities were at it again, and rearing their ugly heads.

  She closed her eyes and cleared her head. The rain continued to come down outside. The forecast predicted tonight it would end and tomorrow would be beautiful and sunny. She couldn’t wait. She glanced at the clock. It was time to get up. Elsie’s physical therapy appointment in Central Valley was in a couple of hours. She got up, washed up, got dressed, and then walked into the kitchen.

  She noticed Aiden covered up something he was working on. His mom moved in the way. “Good morning. How was work last night?” Elsie asked her.

  C.C squinted at Aiden as she leaned to the left, and he giggled. He was up to something. “It was fine. Kind of busy.”

  “And the drive home in the rain? Was it terrible?”

  “Not too bad. I did feel that front right tire giving me a bit of a problem. I have to get it fixed this upcoming week. I’m going to schedule it when we come back from Central Valley.”

  “Okay, we can stop so that you can make the appointment. Oh, and some forms came in the mail to register Aiden for school in the fall. They need some documents and things.”

  “I have everything organized in the safe in the closet. I knew things were hectic when we first moved, and I didn’t want to take a chance of losing our important documents.”

  “Oh good. You really always think of everything.”

  “Not everything. We work together.”

  “Me too,” Aiden said and came around his mom to hug C.C. She caressed his hair and her cousin smiled. “Well, I’ll go get ready,” Elsie said and slowly walked out of the kitchen with her cane.

  “Did you eat already, big guy?” C.C. asked him.

  “Yup. Cereal. I did it myself,” he said, sounding so proud.

  “That’s awesome, and that’s why you are more than ready for kindergarten.”

  He suddenly looked sad.

  “Hey, what’s up?” she asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee then went to add fruit to a bowl to have as breakfast with some yogurt.

  “You and Mommy will be okay if I’m not here?”

  She smiled, and hoped she hid her tears. He was worried still. “We’ll be just fine. We want you to learn, and make friends, and we’ll be right there waiting for you after school each day.”

  “Momma said I might have to take a bus.”

  “Ahh, we can wait on that, unless you want to.”

  “If it’s what other kids do, then I should.”

  “No need to worry about it now. We’ve got time.”

  He smiled and then watched her have her coffee and eat her berries and yogurt. When she finished up, washed the dishes, and then turned to look at him, he smiled. “I’ll get ready, too.” He jumped down and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. C.C. smiled and did the same thing.

  They headed out a little later and made their way through the rain and to the physical therapy center in Central Valley. Aiden held on to his teddy bear, and they waiting in the waiting area until Elsie was finished. As she sat there C.C. heard her cell phone ringing as Aiden played with the toys he’d brought from home. She saw the caller I.D. and cringe, thinking she should ignore it, but couldn’t. It was Cobus, and he would worry if she didn’t answer. “Hello,” she said into the phone.

  “Hey, C.C. How are you, honey?”

  “I’m doing fine. What’s going on?”

  “Just checking in on you. How is everything going?”

  “The same, been super busy. I hope to have the rest of the money to you soon.”

  “Ohh, no need to worry. I’ve told you that a hundred times. I didn’t even expect you to pay it back to begin with. So how is Elsie doing?”