Page 48 of Maverick

“I’ll be waiting for you. Be careful.” The words sounded final, but the call never ended, and my heart squeezed at the thoughtful gesture.

I spotted the sign for the gun range and store first and made the right past those buildings like he said. The Mustang turned too, and I squeezed the wheel so tight my nails dug into my palms as I drove to my destination. But then I looked up and there was Maverick, tall and broad with his red hair glowing like a devil’s halo around him. His arms were crossed, and he was surrounded by his friends, his brothers, a wall of protection in denim and leather.

The squeal of tires took my attention away from the intimidating group of men. The black Mustang slammed on the brakes and backed up so quickly the tires spun. The driver must have realized his—or her, because there was no guarantee it was Trent, I told myself—mistake, because they hauled ass right back out of the parking lot of the Steel Demons clubhouse.

I stared until the black car was out of sight, hoping for a glimpse of anyone, anything, but the windows were too dark to see anything other than what I thought was the brim of a ball cap. Two of Maverick’s club brothers tore off in hot pursuit of the vehicle, on their motorcycles. I shook my head and slammed my eyes shut, leaning into the delusion that it was someone else, maybe a jealous ex of Maverick’s, anyone but Trent.

Maybe it was just a road rager that I’d accidentally cut off.

“Mommy, that car is going too fast.” I heard the disapproval in Sophie’s voice, and it put a smile on my face, because she was my light. My life. My everything.

“I know, honey. I’m sure the police will give him a ticket.” I hoped so anyway, because then maybe Slate would be able to locate him, though with any luck one of the Steel Demons who were hot on his tail would get to him first. I unlocked the doors and lay against the headrest with a heavy sigh.

“You okay, Mommy?”

“Yeah, I’m okay, honey. Are you?”

“Yep! Where are we? Oh, there’s Mr. Maverick!”

She was getting too attached. It was time, no it was beyond time for us to leave Steel City.

A knock sounded on the passenger window, startling a yelp out of me even though I knew it was Maverick. His gaze met mine, he wore a gravely serious expression on his handsome face.

I stepped from the car, and he opened the back door, gathering Sophie in his arms, checking to make sure she was all right. Our gazes locked again over the car. “You okay?”

I nodded and shrugged at the same time. “Shaken up, but okay. Did you see anything?”

He shook his head and motioned for me to follow him inside, before he turned his attention to Sophie, which was incredibly sweet. Trent had never once been so attentive or worried about our daughter, and she soaked up Maverick’s attention.

It really is too bad we can’t stay? I shook off that errant thought and followed Maverick and Sophie, along with a dozen other men, inside the biker headquarters. I looked around and sighed. “The infamous clubhouse?”

He stopped and turned to me with a smile. “Yep. Welcome.”

“Leo!” Sophie spotted the boy across the room playing with a large, but lazy-looking bulldog. “Hi, Leo!” She waved and squirmed out of Maverick’s hold, eager to see her new friend.

“Women are so fickle,” he joked.

A reluctant laugh escaped as Sophie greeted Leo with a hug. A woman I assumed was Leo’s mother laughed as Sophie hugged the dog, and probably introduced herself.

“At first, I thought I was just being paranoid, you know? I mean, it’s a possibility, but it just felt all wrong, and then…” My words trailed off as I thought about what could have happened. “Sophie said that she liked you, and that’s what made me think to call you.”

“Glad one of you likes me.” His tone was full of humor and a hint of sarcasm.

“I think I’ve made it quite clear that I like you too, Maverick. Even if I shouldn’t.”

“You did the right thing, calling me. Whoever that was, they now know that they can’t fuck with you. That you have protection.”

“At least for the next few days.”

His stare burned the side of my face, and I avoided his gaze with the willpower of a monk.

“We need to talk about that,” he began, but Slate walked towards us with a serious expression on his face. “What’s up?” Maverick asked.

“I think I might have something. I want to confirm it first, but I wanted to give you the heads-up not to leave yet.” His gaze met mine and he flashed a small smile before he darted away again.

“That was fast.” Maybe that meant it wasn’t Trent, but if it wasn’t, it begged the question who was it?

“Slate is damn good at what he does. Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

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