Page 25 of Maverick

“Leo seems like a good kid,” I said.

“Yeah, considering what he’s been through. He’s actually Ellie’s sister’s boy, but she was murdered not long after he was born.”

“Oh my, the poor baby!” My gaze landed on the kid, and he didn’t seem to be traumatized, at least not outwardly. He was friendly and outgoing and he seemed incredibly happy.

“Yeah. He was too young to know what happened, but seeing as he’s not long started elementary school, Ellie might be able to give you pointers. Diesel talked about it enough that we were all on the journey with them as they chose a school.” He huffed out a laugh and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Thanks. Maybe that could be helpful.” I wasn’t sure if he was digging or genuinely trying to help, but it couldn’t hurt to make nice with Leo’s mother since he and Sophie seemed to get along well.

We watched in silence for a while and a shiver stole down my spine. I recognized it immediately. Fear. My gaze darted around the circle around the ride, scanning in search of a familiar face. There was no one around, at least not that I could see, but my tension was so high that when Maverick touched my shoulder, I practically jumped out of my skin.

“Don’t do that,” I said, and smacked his forearm.

“What’s going on?” Maverick’s brows dipped into a frown and he looked left and right, in search of what spooked me.

“Nothing,” I said a little too quickly. “I just felt like someone was watching me.”

Maverick’s lips pulled into a grin. “That’s the risk of being a beautiful woman.”

I wanted to roll my eyes at another obvious line, but it felt false. Maverick wasn’t a liar. He didn’t waste breath on words he didn’t mean, which was special to me. But after years of being told how lucky I was to have a man like Trent, it was still hard to believe. “Thank you, but I’m not sure that was it.”

He looked around as if he might see someone with a look of evil intent or some other indicator, and finding none, he shrugged it off. “Is someone giving you the creeps?”

“No.” I shook my head, noticing the kids had finished the ride and were running back towards us. “Just a feeling. Forget about it. I’m probably just being paranoid.”

I looked around once more just to be sure Trent wasn’t lurking in the shadows, watching me and waiting to follow us home. When I didn’t spot him, or other signs of danger, I pasted a smile on my face and greeted the kids with hugs.

It was just anxiety, a figment of my imagination. No real threat.

That was the lie I told myself until, slowly, I started to believe it.

Chapter 11

Maverick

Before this moment, I might have speculated that Ruby had secrets, that there was something going on in her life that she desperately wanted to keep me out of, and it would have been just that, speculation. But after a few hours spent at the carnival, I was more certain than ever that she was a woman with deep secrets.

It wasn’t just that she went out of her way to avoid telling me anything specific about her life or her past, it was now as clear as day in the way she constantly looked over her shoulder, in search of some invisible boogeyman. Someone was following her or after her, of that much I was certain. I was still fuzzy on the details like who it was and why, though.

Just a feeling, she said, as if that was a reasonable explanation for her acting like a woman on the run. The man in me was relieved that her skittishness had nothing to do with me and more to do with her circumstances, but I couldn’t deny the unease that wound through my body at the truth.

“I wanna go on the big ride,” Leo declared as if he was a three-foot tall kid who didn’t know real fear. “You do too, Sophie, right?”

Sophie’s eyes widened in shock, and she looked up at the colorful cages that twirled around and around, before her gaze turned to her mother. “No. No, I don’t.”

“Aww, man,” Leo declared. “I thought you would.”

Sophie looked uneasy, but nothing a kid like Leo would recognize. “I don’t wanna,” she said simply and leaned against my leg.

I didn’t know if Ruby was looking for an escape or if she was feeling sorry for a little boy with an adventurous spirit, but she knelt down and smiled at Leo. “I’ll do it with you as long as you promise not to laugh if I get scared.”

Wearing a solemn expression, he nodded once. “I promise. Mama said laughing at someone’s fear makes you a doody-head.”

She laughed. “Your mama is right. But you promise?” Ruby held up a pinky finger and Leo hooked his around it.

“I promise. Super-duper promise.”

“Okay,” she sighed. “That’s good enough for me.” She spared a glance for Sophie and smiled. “Stick close to Maverick, okay?”

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