Page 49 of My Three Rivals

I pushed the cart toward the exit, my head swiveling back every two seconds to keep an eye on Maverick. I didn’t want to leave him, but my gut told me to follow his directions.

Still, I lingered by the Escalade, waiting for Maverick to resurface, my eye on his Porsche nearby. A few minutes later, he finally emerged, his face grim.

I rushed toward him. “What the fuck was that?” I demanded. “Who was that guy?”

Maverick steered me back toward Atticus’ car, his eyes fixed around to ensure that we weren’t being followed.

“Maverick!”

“Not now and not here,” he hissed. “Get in the car and go home.”

“Just tell me who that guy was,” I insisted, peering around the lot for him.

Maverick gritted his teeth together with so much force, I was surprised they didn’t break.

“That was Lou,” he answered simply. “Just go home, and I’ll tell you everything.”

CHAPTER22

Wyatt

Iwas hammering at the railing of the veranda, securing the newly placed wood around the exterior, when Maverick’s Porsche squealed up the gravel road, his tires spraying dust everywhere. I whipped around to curse at him, fresh paint opened everywhere as we tried to get the house up to some semblance of its old glory.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I barked at him, but he strode toward me, his characteristic grin nowhere to be seen.

My own annoyance faded as he rushed past me, barking, “Where’s Atticus?”

I spun around, watching him disappear through the front door, but before I could follow him, Atticus’ black Escalade followed up the driveway. I could read Tegan’s grim expression, her hands curled tightly at the top of the steering wheel.

She pulled up alongside Maverick’s car, and my heart stopped for a moment, dread filling my gut as my honed senses told me something was way off.

The door opened again, and Maverick reemerged with Atticus’, their faces an identical shade of dark.

“Shit. She’s here already,” Maverick growled.

“What is going on?” I demanded, setting the hammer in my hand down on the new patio furniture.

“Just let me do the talking,” Atticus muttered. “How fast was she driving if she’s here behind you?”

“You’re worried about your car?” Maverick shot back. “We have bigger problems.”

Tegan slipped out of the massive SUV and stalked toward us, her face pale. “I want to know. Now.”

“Come inside,” Atticus told her sweetly, ushering her up the steps. “It’s too hot out here.”

“I’ll unload the car—” Maverick started to say, but Tegan’s voice was whiplash.

“You’ll tell me what I need to know. Who was Lou? What are you guys hiding from me?”

“Lou?!” I sputtered, looking at Maverick accusingly. “You brought her to see Lou?”

Maverick scowled at me, but Tegan’s accusing stare withered me in place. “You know Lou, too? Who is he?”

I parted my lips, but Atticus shot me a look full of daggers and again urged Tegan inside the house.

“Come on. We didn’t just spend all that money on A/C to stand out here melting, did we? Come inside. We’ll have a beer—”

“Stop talking to me like I’m a puppy, Atticus,” Tegan snapped, but she did pull open the screen door and make her way inside, the rest of us following.

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