Beaten and Bruised

Maddox Jones

         Nothing goes right for anyone when I don't get what I want. This silly little girl thinks I can't have her just because of Logan. Bad news for her is if I want her, I'll have her. I won't out of respect for my right hand man, but she needs to understand that she has to stay in her place. She looked tempting in that red dress. Perfect almost. I would never let her know that though. 
           The day went by quickly and it was almost time for my business meeting. I was hoping that Riley would be a distraction while I make more deals. I may have been getting greedy, but I had to take down the enemy and build onto my empire. I hadn't heard anything else on Elijah, but I knew he was waiting in the shadows to strike back. After the stunt he pulled at the club, my men went and took care of business. Retaliation at its best. 
"Hey, Boss. You ready to go?" Logan pops his head into my office. 
"As ready as I'll ever be" I say grabbing my things and making my way to the door. I notice Riley has changed into a flowery dress. It actually looked nice on her. I prefer women in red, but she pulled the flower look off. 
"I'll be in the car" Logan says and takes Riley by the hand. 
I follow behind them, but give them space. I watch as Logan smiles down at the girl beside him. I didn't understand what made a man so happy about a woman. They complain all the time. Being single was great. I could do whatever I wanted with whoever I wanted. I didn't have to be confined to one option. Thinking about my freedom had me thinking about the beautiful brunette from this morning. I should call her. 
       I get in the SUV and pull out my phone. I go through emails and texts to try and distract me from the two lovebirds next me. Riley was sandwiched between Logan and I. I could feel her trying to hold her leg away from mine. She really hated the thought of my existence. I don't know why it bothered me, but it did. Does she think that I am that horrible of a person? Who am I kidding? I am that horrible. 
      The ride home was longer than normal, but we finally make it. I get out of the car and make my way back up to the penthouse to get ready. I needed to look powerful tonight. I needed to look like someone who makes things happen for people. I start to shed my clothes and hop into the shower. I did most of my thinking there. Most people do. I place my swollen knuckles under the hot running water. Beating up criminals will do that to you. As I watched the faint colored blood run down the drain, I was hit with memories of my abuse. I remembered sitting out in the rain and watching the blood from my busted skull wash away. My donor was drunk that night. I just happened to be in the way. He beat me so badly I couldn't even cry. After that he threw me out in the rain. Imagine being eight years old and thinking every burden in life was yours to carry. I always felt like it was my fault he was hurting me. Luckily, I grew smarter and stronger. 
    I stop thinking about my past and turn the water off. I need a good suit for tonight and I had the perfect one in mind. Armani. I chose a black shirt and black tie. I wanted to intimidate the people around me tonight. Surely, Logan was getting Riley prepped for tonight. As long as she can keep her smart mouth in line things should go as planned. 
I hear a knock on the door and open it to see Riley. I am lost for words, but I couldn't let her know that. Logan was also standing right next to her. 
"Can we just get this over with?" Riley complains. 
"I have the car ready to go when you are, boss" Logan says. 
"Lets go" I say and motion for them to follow behind me. 
     It was dark out, meaning the predators were out prowling the city. I say predators, but in reality everyone knows I am the top of the chain. We get in the car and once again, Riley is between Logan and I. We fit better that way. She was smaller than both of us, but that red dress she was wearing tonight complimented her every curve. She might have been small compared to us, but she filled out every inch of that dress just where it needed to be filled in. Its too bad she gives me a headache. Girls who talk back aren't really my thing.
"What am I suppose to, Maddox?" I'm broken from my twisted thoughts about my best friends girl.
"I just need you to look good hanging off my arm. You are the distraction. If anything goes wrong Logan will be on stand by" I give her the assignment without giving her all the details. 
"Why me? Couldn't you have used one of your hookers?" Riley spouts off. She's feisty today. I liked when I could get her flustered.
"Because they know all my acquaintances. They have never seen you" I give her a smirk and Logan shoots me a glare. 
"Fine. What else do I need to do?" she asks.
"It's simple, sweetheart. Stand there and look pretty" I become irritated. Why can't she understand simple instruction. 
We pull up to the club and Logan gets out to open my door. I get out and motion for him to come closer. He leans in.
"I need you to understand that whatever I do tonight is within reason" I say to him before he helps Riley out.
"I understand, but you know how I feel about her" he says. Almost pleading with me. 
I give him a nod and he helps Riley out. She steps out and her black heels hit the ground. I hold my arm out and she wraps hers through mine. Riley wasn't trashy like all the other broads I messed around with. She held herself in a different way. She carried herself with confidence even though I knew she was shaking in fear on the inside. She had just thrown herself into this lifestyle. She didn't know what to expect. 
"Are you ready?" I ask. 
Riley looks up at me with her emerald green eyes.
"Ready" she says. 
We walk in and make our way to the VIP table. The sweaty bodies from the dance floor part like the red sea as they see me coming. Riley is clutching my hand as I lead her to our destination. It felt weird holding someone's hand. The table is covered with champagne bottles on ice and Martinis ready to go. My clients are patiently waiting for me as we approach. I could tell they were undressing Riley with their eyes. Perverts they were, but I wouldn't put her in harms way.
"There he is. The big bad wolf of Los Angeles" Gabriel shouts. I roll my eyes and allow Riley to sit first. 
"And who is this beautiful woman with you tonight?" Carl smiles. 
"You don't need to know her name. This is a business meeting last time I checked, Carl" I flash a sarcastic smile and Carl sits in defeat. He knew who was in charge. 
"Alright, Maddox. What business are you looking into?" Gabriel asks as if he doesn't already know. 
"I have product to ship and the deal at the club, well you know how that went. I need another abandoned warehouse. This product has a high demand and we have to get it out and..." I'm cut off by Carl.
"How is that our problem?" He asks. 
I stand up and Carl stands to try and get on my level. I lean in close and grab the back of his neck and pull him closer. 
"Unless you want a bigger problem, you better understand that you work for me" He pulls his head away and sits back down. I look over at Riley and I can see the fear behind her eyes. I place my hand on her thigh and I feel her body start to release the tension. 
"Now as I was saying. I want you guys to gain something from this. If you can deliver on the warehouse and get the product shipped, I will give you a cut" I say in confidence. 
"I think we can swing that" Gabriel says. He shakes my hand letting me know that he wants the deal. 
"Alright boys, lets party. We can't let this booze go to waste!" I hold up a martini glass and wink in Carl's direction. He was not enthused with me, but he learned his lesson. I hand Riley a glass and she takes it from my hand. Maybe a drink will help her relax.
     I was right about the drink. Riley had already drank a bottle of champagne herself and a few mixed cocktails the guys had bought her. 
"I'm going to go dance and get away from you for a minute!" She shouts in my ear. Her mutual hatred was still shining through, but I still had some business to take care of. Carl feeling loose follows Riley to the dance floor. Now that I was alone with Gabriel, I could get what I needed from him. 
"So, Gabriel, what do you know about Elijah's turf?" I ask.
"That is why I brought Carl. He thinks I don't know he's rat" he says.
"Oh, so you brought a rat into a business meeting?" I ask. 
"You know I'm loyal to you. Maddox. Carl is a piece of shit. He hasn't spoke much about Elijah's plans, but he did say Elijah has been scaring some of your clients. He's trying to take your territory first. it sounds to me like he is stooping low because he knows he can't take you out. Carl thinks I'm on their side but its only so I can get you information" 
"I knew you would come through with something, Gabriel. You always do", you sly son of a bitch" I laugh at him and then my attention is directed to dance floor. I see Carl putting his grubby little hands all over Riley. She's telling him to stop and he doesn't. I know my next move is in honor of Logan. I told him I would protect her. I get up and make my way down to Riley. I can feel my blood boiling. It rising to the surface and when I reach Carl I turn him around. 
"I thought I warned you, Carl. You did this to yourself" I drag him by his jacket to the back of the club and the door to the ally way opens. I throw him down and Gabriel is right behind me. I give him my jacket and roll up my sleeves. 
"I tried to warn you, Carl. You just wouldn't listen" I throw punch after punch and watch as the blood is flowing from his face. With every hit I could feel my boiling anger starting to simmer down below. 
"Maddox, stop!" I hear Riley yell from behind me. 
"It's not the time, Riley" I wave my hand behind me. 
I take a few more swings before my arm is caught and pulled back. She cannot be serious. I turn around and those same emerald green eyes turn my red world upside down. 
I can see the fear she felt. I was used to having people look at me in fear, but this was different. I felt bad for the fear I could see in her face. 
"Riley, huh? Has a nice ring to it" I hear from the worthless man on the ground. I turn back to look at Riley.
"Go inside and find Logan" I demand. 
"No, I'm not leaving" she coldly says. 
"Call Logan" I demand of Gabriel. He gives me a nod. 
When Logan finally shows up he pulls Riley away. She begs to stay for some reason. It only clouds my mind. When she is finally gone I pull my gun and shoot the worthless piece of shit in the head. I didn't like to play around when it came to my targets. It was shoot them in the head or nothing. I didn't get where I am, by wounding people. That only gives room for retaliation. 
"Clean this up. I'll send some other men to help you" I instruct Gabriel. He knew what to do. This wasn't his first time witnessing a kill. He hands me my suit jacket and I leave him with the corpse. 
I make my way back to the front of the club to meet Logan in the SUV. People move out of my way as I roll down my sleeves. I had a few blood spots on my face. I guess I got a little to carried away. The rush was amazing though. I liked the feeling I got when killing someone. it only made me feel more powerful than I already was. 
I reach the SUV and the door wings open. Logan hops out and I take a seat next to Riley. I knew she was angry with me. I didn't care. Nobody disrespects my crew. I didn't care if she liked it or not, she was part of us now. Part of me. The car ride was silent. Nobody spoke a word. I figured Logan was going to ask me what happened, but he would do it when his girl wasn't around. I get out of the car first and hurry up to my penthouse. The less I had to say to Riley the better. 
I make my way to the bedroom to undress. I needed to wash away my sins. I throw my clothes in the hamper and start to make my way to the shower. As I take my first step in I hear the doorbell. I try to wrap myself up in a towel as best as I can. This isn't exactly a situation you want to be in. I grab my gun on my side table and make my way to answer the door.
"What!?" I yell as I yank open the door. There she was. That bratty, stubborn girl I had just looked after hours ago. 
"What now, Riley?" I say as I tie up my towel enough that it won't fall off. 
"I...umm.." she stutters her words. This is the first time she has ever been speechless because of me. It was kind of funny, really. She must have liked what she saw.
"Spit it out" I say. I try to keep my expression as cold as I could. 
"I just wanted to say thank you for having my back today..." she finally gets the words to fall from those full lips. 
"You came all the way here to thank me for doing my job?" I ask. I take this as my opportunity to play with her emotions a little bit.
"I guess so" She rolls her eyes and starts to turn on her heels.
"Or did you just miss me?" I tease. I see her posture change and she comes charging back at me. 
"You know what? I didn't have to come and say thank you. I thought you might would like some gratitude being the boss and all" she shakes her finger in my face. I grab her arm and pull her close. 
"You're welcome, Riley. Is that what you wanted to hear?" I whisper into her ear. I can feel her body tense up and I know its driving her crazy. She pulls away from and makes her way back down the hallway. 
"Goodnight, Riley" I playfully tease as she flips me off. 
I close the door and make my way back to the shower. I couldn't stop thinking about how Riley approached me. She is the only woman who does not bow down to me. It honestly drives me crazy. I don't like anyone disobeying me. She always argues with me. I don't know how Logan puts up with that. I try to fight the stubborn thoughts of her as I finish my shower. I went straight to bed to try and get a jump on tomorrow. I tossed and turned, but the thoughts of Riley clouded my dreams.