Page 2 of Maverick

“You said you had some time off, right?” she pressed. Of course, she’d been fishing for that info the last time we exchanged texts. “Please, Lexi. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate.”

My thoughts raced. I did have the next week off. Eight whole days after today. I’d asked for it after a long string of grueling nights at the office. The plan was to relax, catch up on reading, and enjoy this conference. But perhaps I could see my mother, figure out what was going on, and then come right back. “I guess…maybe I can. Let me talk to my friend. We could drive out there.”

She let out a shaky sigh of relief. “Thank you, baby. I’m sorry to do this to you.”

I ended the call, and Nova hustled over. “Who was that? You look pale.”

I stuffed my phone in my bag, ignoring the trembling in my stomach. “That was my mom. She’s in California at a biker rally. Says she needs legal advice. Something about a man threatening her with a lawsuit. She wants me to come out there.”

Nova’s eyes widened. “A biker rally in California? And your mom wantsyou, a brand-new lawyer, to help her?”

“Yeah, can you believe it?” I forced a cutting smile. “But she sounded really worried, Nova. I can’t just blow her off.”

She raised her perfect brows. “Your mom’s that wandering free spirit, right? A real wild child? I remember you telling me she used to run with bikers.”

I bit my lip. “Yes. She’s always drifting around, partying, hooking up with random guys, living off who-knows-what. She’s gone byDirty Dianasince I was little. She’s…well, let’s just say it’s complicated.”

Nova took my arm, pulling me away from the crowd to a quieter corner. “What are you going to do? She said she’s in trouble?”

I fiddled with my glasses, pushing them up my nose. “She wants me there, but I have no idea what kind of trouble this is. She’s been threatened before. She’s gotten mixed up with guys who want money, who do drugs, you name it.”

Nova nodded, crossing her arms. She had that thoughtful expression on her face, the one she got when she was weighing all the pros and cons. “Then I say we go,” she said finally, a grin tugging at her lips. “I mean, we planned on spending a few more days here, but we can bail. We’ve met most of our favorite authors anyway. It’s your mom. Let’s just do it.”

Her quick agreement surprised me. I hesitated, piddling with the straps of my tote. “Are you sure? It’s a biker rally, Nova. There will be, like, real bikers. Not these romance cover models who smell like fancy cologne and do push-ups for photo ops.”

She wiggled her eyebrows. “All the more reason. A real adventure.”

A trickle of excitement ran through me, despite my groan. I’d never stepped foot into my mother’s biker world. I knew only glimpses of it, the secondhand smoke, the leather, the sketchy bars she dragged me to when I was a kid before I went to live with my aunt. Still, something about stepping out of my comfort zone made my heart race. I was a grown woman, a brand-new lawyer, single, though I’d been practically married to my books for years. It was time for a break from the monotony.

“All right,” I conceded. “We’ll drive out after the event tonight.” I wasn’t going to miss this occasion for anything.

Nova clapped her hands. “Yes! Road trip!”

I mustered a laugh, but the flutter of nerves in my stomach wouldn’t settle. My mother had always been a drifter, hooking up with random bikers and coasting in and out of my life at her convenience. I’d spent considerable time resenting her, but my sense of loyalty remained strong enough to bring me when she required my presence. Maybe that was a weakness in me. But I had another weakness, the yearning to experience what I’d only read about.

Chapter 2

We left Frisco in the late afternoon, the trunk of my car stuffed with signed books and suitcases of clothes we’d barely touched. My silver sedan wasn’t exactly a road warrior, but it would get us to California.

The miles melted away under the scorching Texas sun as we sped west, talking about anything and everything. Nova and I had been friends since college, and we had a comfortable rhythm.

She’d been engaged once, briefly, to a guy who turned out to be controlling and unfaithful. James was a sex addict who liked her being submissive. He also liked to video tape her. She figured she was all over the internet by now. Needless to say, they broke it off. She moved on, but ever since, she’d been reluctant to settle down again. James was always a topic of conversation.

For me, relationships never even began. My big secret, I was twenty-five and still a virgin. Not because I was prudish or anything, or because I wasn’t as thin as Nova, but because, well… I never met the right guy, never felt like risking my heart and body with some random fling. Books were safe. Studying was safe. And men rarely found me approachable. Tall, curvy, and wearing glasses, I was not your typical girl. I’d get flustered. I tended to babble, which apparently wasn’t sexy. Not sexy enough to get swept off my feet.

At least Nova always hyped me up.

“Smutty,” she teased as we merged onto a highway through New Mexico. “When we get to California, if you see a man who makes you moist, promise me you’ll let him buy you a drink?”

I sighed dramatically. “You know I hate that word… Slutty, you know how I feel about random men, especially bikers. The only bikers I like are the ones in my books.”

“Then it could be time to see if reality measures up,” she said with a wink.

I couldn’t help but snicker. “Trust me, the real ones are not as dreamy as in the stories. My dad was probably some random biker my mom hooked up with once. I never even knew him.”

Nova grew thoughtful. “Still, you can’t work 24/7. You’re a lawyer now, Lex. You’re allowed to get ‘moist’.”

My nose wrinkled. “Will you stop that?”

---