Road to Forever

by Piper Davenport

  “Love you, Hunter,” I called.

  He grinned and headed back home. I climbed the stairs and walked into Maverick’s hug. He kissed my head and gave me a gentle squeeze then ushered me inside.

  “How did it go?” I asked, slipping my shoes off.

  “Good.”

  “And...”

  “And it went well, baby doll.”

  I sighed. “Okay, okay, I’ll drop it... for now.”

  He chuckled. “Thanks. Wanna come show Mom how good that ring looks on your finger?”

  “Yes!” I said, excitedly.

  Leaning down, he kissed me gently. “Needed that first.”

  “You can have that first anytime.”

  He grinned, taking my hand and walking me into the kitchen where everyone was eating. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt dinner,” I said.

  Cassidy gave me a dismissive wave as she rose to her feet. “You aren’t, honey.”

  “Hey, Lil,” Ace said.

  “Hey.”

  Liam gave me a chin lift, and I bit back a giggle. He was such a mini Ace. “Hey,” he said.

  “Lily!” Tillie said, excitedly. “Do you like my hair?

  “Ohmigosh, I love it, Till.” Maverick’s little sister had purple streaks on the underside of her blond hair, and it looked really cool.

  “Are you hungry?” Cassidy asked.

  “I just ate actually.” I hugged her and then glanced up at Maverick. “Did you eat?”

  “Not yet.”

  “I’ll come back,” I said.

  He held firm. “No. I’ll grab something later.”

  “Or you could eat with your family, and I can come back or sit with you while you do.”

  “Let me see the ring,” Cassidy ordered while Maverick grabbed himself a plate.

  I sat beside Cassidy and slid my hand toward her. Tillie wanted to see it next, so I obliged.

  * * *

  Maverick

  I filled my plate and then sat across from Lily. The meeting today had been rough. I didn’t see a way out of patching in, and truth be told, I didn’t want one. I just needed to figure out how to get Lily on board.

  The Spiders were closing in, and Jenny was quickly becoming a bigger problem than anyone had anticipated. I didn’t feel I could effectively protect Lily from her mother’s bullshit drama if I didn’t have all the information, and I wouldn’t get all the information until I patched in. It was surprising Prez had shared as much as he had. I chalked it up to the fact that I was Dad’s kid and Lily was Hawk’s, and both men were well respected.

  Lily raised an eyebrow pointedly at me, but I just smiled and took another bite of mashed potatoes while she continued to jabber with my family. She was a perfect fit, and I loved how much she completed a family that wasn’t broken.

  “Dad, can I play Overwatch?” Liam asked.

  “Homework done?” Dad asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Rinse your plate and put it in the dishwasher and you can have an hour.”

  Liam pushed back from the table and did as directed.

  “You too, Tillie,” Dad said.

  “I don’t want to play Overwatch,” she argued.

  Mom giggled. “How about you and I subject your dad to some chick flick?”

  Tillie clapped her hands. “Camp Rock?”

  “I’d rather be shot in the head,” Dad said.

  “Miss Congeniality?” Tillie countered.

  “Sandra Bullock I can handle.”

  “I bet you can,” Mom retorted.

  I saw Lily attempting to bite back a smile, and I focused back on my dinner.

  “Mav and I’ll do the dishes,” Lily offered, and I raised an eyebrow pointedly toward her. She cocked her head, knowing I’d do anything she asked.

  “Yeah, we’ll do the dishes,” I confirmed.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.” Mom pushed away from the table, kissed my head, and dropped her plate by the sink.

  I finished my dinner just as the rest of my family dispersed, so Lily and I cleared the table.

  “I’ll rinse, you load,” Lily suggested.

  I backed her against the counter and kissed her. “Dishes?”

  She slid her hands up my chest and grinned. “It was a nice thing to do.”

  “Hmm-mm, yeah, it was... at my expense.”

  Lily giggled. “Our expense, Möosh.”

  “Mine, yours, ours. Same dif.”

  “The amount of time you’ve stood here bitchin’, we would have the dishes done by now.”

  I kissed her again. “But this was way more fun.”

  “Are you going to fill me in on the meeting?”

  I pulled away and stepped to the sink. Lily started to rinse the dishes, and I tried to think about what to say.

  “Just spit it out, honey,” Lily said.

  “What I know is that the Spiders are closing in. They’re starting to mess with a few of the recruits... mostly because they can’t get close to anyone else. And Jenny’s gunning for you.”

  “Shit,” Lily whispered.

  I met her eyes. “She won’t get near you, Lil.”

  “I’m not worried about that. I know she can’t get near me.” She sighed. “I just don’t understand why this is all coming down now.”

  “I don’t know.”

  Lily stared at me for several seconds. “I’m in, honey.”

  “Yeah?”

  She nodded. “I talked to Mom.”

  “There’s no going back.”

  “I know.” She reached out and fisted her hand in my T-shirt. “You have to promise me you won’t shut me out, though. I can’t be an ol’ lady whose ol’ man doesn’t talk to her.”

  I chuckled, leaning forward to kiss her again. “I promise, baby doll.”

  “Then I’m in.”

  I cupped her face and smiled. “I love you.”

  “I love you more, Möosh. Never doubt it.”

  I ran my nose against hers. “I never do.”

  “When do we start looking for our own place?”

  “This weekend.”

  “Really?” she squeaked.

  “Yeah. I already have a list.”

  “Shut up. When did you make a list?”

  “A week ago.”

  She threw her arms around me and pulled me close. I stepped around the dishwasher door, so we didn’t fall over it and held her tight. “We movin’ in first?”

  She nodded against my chest. “Unless you want to marry me on Friday.”

  I chuckled. “I’d marry you tomorrow, baby doll, don’t doubt that.”

  Lily licked her lips and whispered, “Do you think everyone would hate us if we eloped?”

  “I think the bigger question is how bad would you feel if everyone hated us?”

  “Bad.”

  “Worse than having everyone focusing on you?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Whatever you want, Lil.” I smiled. “Talk to your mom. See what she thinks.”

  “You sure you don’t care?”

  “Couldn’t care less, baby doll. Just want your last name to be the same as mine.”

  “I’ve actually decided I don’t want to change my name.”

  I cocked my head. “Really?”

  She nodded. “Lily Quinn is just so—”

  I squeezed her middle, and she squealed with laughter, cutting off her offensive remark.

  “Do you want to change that answer?” I challenged.

  “I can’t wait to take your name, Möosh.”

  I studied her. “You sure? ’Cause if you want to—”

  “Mav,” she interrupted. “I was messing with you.”

  I relaxed. “Just checking, baby doll, ’cause it’d break my heart, but if it’s something you feel strongly about...”

  “I can’t wait to be Lily Quinn.” Lily patted my chest. “Jeez... when did your ego get so delicate?”

  I hummed in suspicion. “No way to answer that wi
thout looking bad.”

  Lily nodded. “I know. It’s why I asked.”

  “When did you get an evil streak?”

  “That was gifted to me at birth.” She grinned. “You’re welcome.”

  “Fuck, I love you.”

  “Back atcha.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me. “Let’s finish the dishes, so we can make out for a bit before I have to head home.”

  “Can’t wait to get hot just to let you go,” I deadpanned.

  “This is why we’re looking for a place.”

  “We’ll figure out some way to be alone this week.”

  “Can’t wait,” she said, and we finished the dishes.

  Lily

  “NOT HAPPENIN’,” DAD ground out.

  I was standing in the kitchen with Mom and Dad and talking about Maverick’s and my plans to look for a place to rent.

  “What? Why?” I demanded.

  Dad scowled. “You’re not leavin’ this house until you’re married.”

  “There goes our plan to elope,” I grumbled.

  Mom gasped. “You wouldn’t really elope, would you?”

  I bit my lip. “Not if it would devastate you.”

  She sighed. “It would devastate me. But I wouldn’t have a problem with a small wedding.”

  “Us and the Quinns?” I asked, hopefully.

  “Us and the club,” Mom countered.

  That meant a hundred people, minimum. I frowned. “That’ll take some planning... so I’m back to my original plan of finding a place with Mav.”

  “Lily,” Dad said, his voice pitched low in his “serious” voice. “You’re not gettin’ married until all this shit with Jenny’s sorted. And you’re gonna stay close where I can protect you.”

  “Dad—”

  “You’ll obey me in this, baby girl.”

  I threw my hands up. “Dad, I’m an adult. I start working at Legacy as a nurse in two weeks, and I’m engaged to be married, so which part of this indicates I’m still a child?”

  “Daddy just wants you safe, Lil,” Mom said.

  I took a deep breath and faced Dad again. Arguing with him was not the way to go here. “I know you want me safe, Daddy. But Mav and I want to start our lives together. He can keep me safe... will keep me safe. Or better yet, I will keep myself safe.”

  Wrong thing to say.

  “What the fuck!” Dad roared.

  “Ohmigod, Alex,” Mom said. “Take it down a notch.”

  “What’s wrong?” Hunter demanded, rushing into the room with Case on his heels.

  “Nothing,” Mom and I said in stereo.

  “Why’s Dad yelling?” Case asked.

  “See what you’re doin’?” Dad accused.

  “Hold up there, handsome,” Mom interjected. “You roaring down the house has nothing to do with Lily wanting to move out.”

  “Lily wants to move out?” Hunter asked.

  “Oh, yeah, you can’t move out,” Case said in all his teenage wisdom.

  “And why can’t I move out?” I challenged.

  Case crossed his arms, much like my dad was doing. “’Cause me, Dad, and Hunter can’t make sure you’re safe if you move out.”

  “I can keep myself safe, Case. Plus, I’ll have Maverick for backup.”

  “No. You need us,” he continued. “You’re a girl, and girls need us men to protect them.”

  I watched Dad try not to laugh.

  I threw my hands up again. “Seriously, Dad? This is working for you?”

  “Which part of it isn’t working for you?” Dad challenged.

  “Forget it. I’m no longer talking about this with you. Maverick and I are going to look at apartments this weekend, and since I’m an adult, you have no say in it.” I stomped up the stairs, you know, because I was an adult, and slammed the door to my room.

  I glanced out my bedroom window and saw that Maverick’s was open, so I opened mine and leaned out. “Mav?”

  He leaned into view and then stood and leaned out his window. “What’s wrong?”

  “Dad’s being unreasonable.”

  “I’m coming over.”

  “No, don’t,” I said. “It’ll just piss him off.”

  “Baby, I don’t like seeing you like this.”

  “I don’t know why he still has this power over me,” I complained. “I’m an adult. I don’t need his permission.”

  “I’m coming over.”

  “Möosh—”

  “Two minutes, Lil.”

  I couldn’t say anything else because he was out of view, so I closed my window and rushed downstairs, arriving just as Maverick knocked. I disarmed the alarm and pulled open the door, shaking my head as Maverick stepped inside. “Don’t poke the bear.”

  “Fuck the bear, Lil. This is bullshit.”

  I reset the alarm and followed Maverick into the kitchen.

  “Wanna talk to you, Hawk,” Maverick said, his voice gruff.

  “Oh, yeah?” Dad said, his tone demeaning.

  “Don’t patronize me,” Maverick ground out. “You talk to me like a man, or I’m takin’ Lily home with me.”

  Mom raised an eyebrow in my direction, and I shook my head. With a grunt, Dad led Maverick out of the kitchen, and I stepped over to Mom.

  “Maybe not the best move, honey,” Mom said.

  “Didn’t have much of a choice, Mom.”

  “Well, there is that.” She smiled. “Tea?”

  I sighed. “Yeah, tea would be good, thanks.”

  She handed me a mug, and we sat down at the kitchen table. “How do you deal with this?” I asked.

  Mom smiled. “The alpha male, beat-the-chest, I-am-man thing?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You just have to let them do their thing and then talk it out when they’re calm. Your dad’ll come around.”

  “He doesn’t get it.”

  “He gets it, Lil. It’s just hard to let his little girl go. Give him a minute.” She sipped her tea. “Glad you have an alpha man by your side. He’s the only one who could stand up to your dad and win.”

  I nodded. “I know. But the challenge is managing that alpha man so that he remembers we’re equal.”

  Mom chuckled. “Oh, honey, he doesn’t forget; he just likes to see how far he can push you.”

  “I was talking about Dad.”

  “I was too.”

  We dissolved into giggles, and all was right with the world again. “Thanks, Mama.”

  “Anytime, baby girl.”

  Dad and Maverick returned, and Maverick held his hand out to me without comment. I stood and grabbed my tea, taking his hand and letting him lead me up to my bedroom.

  “What’s going on?” I asked after I closed my door.

  “We can’t look for a place this weekend.”

  “Why the hell not?” I snapped crossing my arms.

  “It’s not safe. Your dad’s right. We’re gonna have to postpone until this mess with the Spiders is finished.”

  “And?” I pressed.

  He didn’t respond.

  I raised my hands and shook my head. “No.”

  “Babe, seriously.”

  “No, Maverick, I need information. No ‘club business’ bullshit.”

  He sighed. “Do you remember when you were little and Payton beat the shit out of some guy in a store?”

  “Yeah. Vaguely. I remember being stuck in that gross basement after Payton and I were kidnapped more, though.”

  The memories of being thrown into a dirty basement and seeing my mom on a mattress, bound and out cold, came flooding back. I thought Payton was dead and I was so scared. Ashley, Crow’s daughter, had been hurled down the stairs and she and Mom had worked to get us free. In the end, Dad had found us, and the Club had rescued us, but Dad had been shot in the process. It was the Russian Mob, from what I understood, but Dad didn’t really fill me in on the details. It was awful.

  “Did you ever hear the entire story?” Maverick asked.

  “Um, no. I was, li
ke, four, and I haven’t really wanted to revisit that memory.”

  Maverick dragged his hands through his hair, and I realized his hesitation to talk to me had nothing to do with Club rules and everything to do with trying to protect me. I closed the distance between us and slid my hands up his chest. “I’m okay, Möosh. Whatever you need to tell me, just tell me.”

  He dropped his hands, so he could wrap them around me. “Hawk said Jenny had sold you but—”

  “What?” I snapped. “She fucking sold me? To whom?”

  “The Spiders, in a roundabout way. They work with the Russians and have a little trafficking business on the side.”

  I held Maverick tight. “So...”

  “So Jenny didn’t deliver. She owes them... with interest.”

  I shivered. “There’s still a price on my head.”

  “Yeah, baby, there’s still a price on your head.” He kissed said head. “A big one.”

  “I...” I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed. “I get that now’s not the right time to move, but the thought of not waking up with you every morning is... well, really not a good thought.”

  “I know. Hawk and I came up with an option.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah. Actually, we have two choices,” he said. “We move to the compound, or we make some changes to your parents’ basement and move in there.”

  I leaned back with a frown. “We’d move into my basement? Really. And you’re okay with that? Okay with knowing my dad’s upstairs? Better yet... is he okay with that?”

  “He suggested it, Lil.”

  “He’s gonna know we’re doin’ it,” I said with a groan, dropping my head to his chest again.

  Maverick chuckled. “He’ll get over it.”

  “I don’t think he will.”

  “Then we’ll move to my place... or the compound.”

  “I don’t want to live all the way in Beaverton, Möosh. It’s too far from work.” I looked up at him again. “And your basement isn’t particularly private.”

  “There is that,” he agreed.

  “What about Uncle Brock’s place?”

  “No.”

  “Why not? His tenants just moved out.”

  “Not secure enough.”

  “That’s a lie. Brock’s FBI, Möosh. He’s got security cameras and—”

  “No, baby. It’s already been decided.”

  I scowled. “By whom?”

  “Your dad and me.”

  “Without talking to me about it?” I demanded, pulling away from him.