Page 88 of Maverick

Everything around me seemed to go muffled, the roar of the rally receding. Lexi had a baby? Pain lanced through my chest, fierce and undeniable. So she moved on, started a family. My head spun. Of course she had. She deserved that. But an odd jealousy coiled in my gut. I can’t believe no one told me.

I forced a calm tone. “She’s… married? That quick?”

He shrugged. “A year’s not that quick. Nova says the kid’s about three months old. She’s doin’ well, fancy house, that sort of thing.”

Three months old. I did the math in my head. A year ago, we parted ways… She was pregnant then, or soon after. My mind leapt to the night we had together, the primal, undeniable pull. I’d gone in raw, no protection. I didn’t even know if the girl was on the pill. A virgin, she probably hadn’t been. Fuck.Could that baby be mine?The timeline certainly fit. But she never told me. No one told me. Fuck. My vision blurred with rage and hurt.

I cut my gaze to where Nova had vanished, wishing I could corner her for details. Chigger kept rattling on, oblivious.

“Yeah, man, she’s out there living the high life with that stiff in his monkey suit. Remember him. Mark, I think. From that fancy law firm.” He belched, adding, “Nova’s got baby fever from seein’ Lexi’s kid, I bet. She’s got all the pics and has to show me. She’s all ‘ooh, so cute!’ Then she’s riding my hog without a helmet, if you get my drift.

“Shit, well, I guess that’s how it goes. Baby fever,” I responded, but rage bubbled up, a dark swirl of betrayal. A baby. My baby, maybe. They all just… let me wander for a year, clueless. My hands shook. “You’re telling me Lexi just had a baby, right around now, and you never said a damn word?”

Chigger, drunk as a skunk, blinked. “Uh, man, I didn’t think it was your business. She’s married. The baby’s that stiff’s, right? She probably conceived it after she left the clubhouse. That’s how it lines up, yeah? Did want you to think bad of her, getting right in another man’s bed.”

I clenched my jaw so tight it hurt. “I’m not an idiot, Chigger. The timeline means the baby could be mine.”

He frowned. “You sayin’ you got her pregnant? Shit, you told me you didn’t want updates. And she’s publicly claiming it’s the suit’s kid, I think. So maybe not yours.”

My eyes scanned the crowd, spotting Nova returning, expression tense as if she sensed the confrontation. My gaze locked on her. She paled. She knew. She fucking knew.

“Nova,” I growled as she approached, ignoring Chigger’s drunken slur. “Tell me the truth. That baby… is it mine?”

Her eyes widened, color draining from her face. She clutched her phone. “I… Maverick, this isn’t the time or place.”

I snatched her wrist, not too roughly, but firmly. “Show me. Chigger said you got pictures. Why did no one tell me?” My voice trembled with raw pain.

She whimpered. “Because you said you didn’t want details, and Lexi didn’t want…”

“Show me,” I insisted.

Nova hesitated, then she tried to step back, pressing her phone to her chest. “Don’t do this here.”

But I was done being polite. I yanked the phone from her grip, ignoring her protests. Swiping through her messages, I found a chain with Lexi’s name. My heart hammered as I scrolled. Mentions of the baby’s birth, how sweet he was, pictures of a tiny infant wrapped in a soft blanket. I stopped breathing. One photo loaded, a baby with dark hair, greenish eyes.

Fuck.

Chapter 45

My breath caught in my throat. He looked so much like me. Something in the shape of his face or the faint scowl on his brow.Or maybe I was imagining it.But it struck me like a sledgehammer.That’s my kid.I dropped Nova’s phone, chest heaving.

She stooped to pick it up, tears in her eyes. “Maverick, wait…”

But I couldn’t listen. My entire world just flipped.A son, or a daughter? A baby, anyway.My baby. And Lexi married some asshole lawyer for the mob, passing the child off as his?Rage roared in my veins.

I stormed away, pushing past the crowd. Nova called after me, stumbling with Chigger in tow. I heard Chigger slur something like, “Shit, Mav, calm down!” But I couldn’t stay calm.

I reached my bike, fingers trembling as I yanked on my helmet.I had to go to Texas, find her, find that Mark asshole.Confront them. The idea terrified and infuriated me.How could she not tell me?

Ophelia suddenly stepped into my path, eyes glinting, lips parted. “Maverick,” she purred, “I was wondering if you need some where to park tonight.”

“Get lost,” I snapped, my voice rough.

She drew back, offended, but I couldn’t care. My life had just imploded.I had a child I never met.That overshadowed any fleeting attraction to a coldhearted woman.

She scoffed, stepping aside. I threw my leg over the Harley, jamming the key in the ignition. The engine roared, echoing my rage.Fuck the rally, fuck the Road Monsters’ orders.This was personal. I had to see Lexi, face her, demand answers.

Nova’s voice rose behind me. “Maverick, wait! You can’t just…”

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