As we started for the exit, her dad stepped into our path, while Aunt Kelli and Raven muttered for him not to cause trouble.
“I want you to go home,” Colt told her, a hard edge to his voice that warned River not to argue. “I’ll be there as soon as I finish up here.”
“I’m going to work,” River informed him pointedly, the same tone in her voice that was in his. “And then I’m going home. With Maverick. That’s where I live now, Dad.”
“Your home is with your mother and me.”
She sighed heavily, her shoulders drooping. “I’m too tired to argue with you about this.”
“Which is why you should get home and rest,” he snapped.
“Look, you might still be my father, but you no longer have the right to tell me what to do. I’m eighteen now. That means I get to make my own decisions.” She leaned into me, and I stroked my hand down her back, offering her my support. “And I choose Maverick. When you stop acting like a five-year-old who had his toy snatched away, give me a call. Maybe we can have dinner together as a family or something.”
“You are not—”
Aunt Kelli cut off his harsh retort. “That sounds like a great plan,” she said with a tight smile. “I’ll call you later, sweetheart. Love you.”
“Love you, Mom,” she murmured with a sad smile then tugged me out the door.
Sixteen
River
As soon as we were outside, Maverick pulled me into his arms and held me so tight it was nearly impossible to breathe for a moment. I felt him tremble and knew he was quickly losing control. Leaning back as much as I could when he was squeezing the oxygen from my lungs, I cupped both sides of his face.
“I’m really okay,” I promised him. “I was scared when I found Nova in the library, but that passed as soon as Ben showed up.”
His throat bobbed a few times as he tried to swallow, then he nodded and lowered his head to bury his face in my neck. “If anything happened to you…” he choked out.
I combed my fingers through his hair. “Shh, shh,” I soothed. “Nothing happened. I’m right here.”
We stood there for several long minutes, just holding each other. In his arms, I felt safe, loved, wanted. It was the only place I ever wanted to be.
“River,” I heard someone call my name from behind me, and I reluctantly shifted my head until I spotted Mila walking my way with Monroe at her side. Behind Monroe, two of her husband’s men followed, their eyes vigilant, their hands under jackets as if ready to pull a gun at any sign of danger.
The twins threw themselves against their brother and me, smothering me in the Masterson triplets hug that I would never get tired of. Maverick freed one of his arms to pull his sisters closer and kissed the tops of their heads before brushing his lips over mine.
“Where are you going?” Mila demanded after a minute of our group hug.
“Work,” I said with a tiny shrug.
Her eyes filled with concern. “Let me give you a ride, then. You shouldn’t be riding on a motorcycle after… Yeah.”
I glanced up at Maverick, silently asking his permission.
“Yeah, baby. Go with Mil. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Actually, could you take me over to the school so I can pick up Kingston’s car?” I asked. I doubted I could get into the school to get my backpack, but Ben had promised he would have someone drop it off for me. Still, I needed to get my cousin’s car. I didn’t like having to rely on other people to drive me around, and not having a way to or from places made me feel a little anxious for some reason. It always had.
“No problem.” She linked her arm through mine, and the twins urged me toward Mila’s huge SUV. “Mon, are you coming with us?”
As answer, she opened the back door and climbed inside. One of Gian’s men got in with her, while the other guard walked over to the car they must have driven Monroe to the hospital in. Maverick opened the front passenger door and then picked me up, placing me in the seat before leaning in to kiss me.
“Didn’t want you to have to climb in, baby,” he murmured softly as he pulled back. “I’m going to be right behind you. Mila.” He glanced across to where his sister was now seated in the driver’s seat and pulling on her seat belt. “Drive carefully.”
“Sure thing, Dad,” she grumbled, sticking out her tongue at him.
I was glad when his lips twitched up in a half smile, and I pulled him back down for another kiss. “I love you. Please don’t worry about me.”
He stroked his thumb over my jaw. “I always worry about you,” he muttered. “When I don’t have eyes on you, all I can do is wonder if you’re okay.”
“Aww,” Monroe gushed from the back seat.
“Look, Mon,” Mila said with a sappy look in her gray eyes. “We trained him so well for our River.”
“Fuck off,” he growled at her. “And make sure you go the speed limit.”
Once we were out on the road, with Maverick right behind us on his motorcycle, Monroe scooted to the middle of the back seat and leaned forward so she was practically in the front with us. “Tell the truth,” she commanded. “How are you really feeling? Mila told me what happened Monday. Are you in any pain?”
“I’m fine,” I told her honestly. “No actual pain. A little discomfort at times, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Are you…bleeding?” she asked hesitantly.
I shrugged. “A little, but the doctor said I could deal with that for up to two weeks.”
“Does this mean you can’t…you know, have more babies?”
Biting my lip, I glanced out the side window. The thought of never getting to have Maverick’s baby hurt.
Monroe touched my arm. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”
I covered her hand, blinking back my tears before turning to give her a small smile. “It’s okay. I’m just a little emotional lately. The doctor said I could still get pregnant, but the chances are cut in half because I only have one fallopian tube now.”
“That’s a good thing, though, right?” She gave me a bright smile. “I mean, half the chance is still a chance.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I just…”
“What?” she and her twin asked in unison.
I swallowed roughly and glanced at the side mirror, watching Maverick on his bike behind us. “I’m scared it might happen again.”
“Lyric’s aunt Lana had something like that happen to her. He told me about it the other night, and how she and her husband decided they would just let fate determine how many kids they would have, if any.” Mila said, reaching one hand across the console to take my hand as she drove. “And then she had five babies. He said they were always really open about being nervous during the first trimester. I guess the anxiety won’t ever go away, but River, babe, you can’t let fear hold you back. I mean, if you want a baby. If you don’t, that’s okay too.”
“Yeah,” her sister agreed. “If you and Mav decide not to have kids, Mil and I already have plenty for you and everyone else to spoil rotten. So, it’s not like Mom and Daddy will be all growly about not having grandbabies and put pressure on you.”
I laughed. “True.”
“Speaking of parents and pressure…” Mila pulled into the high school student lot and parked behind Kingston’s car. “We heard Uncle Colt shouting in the waiting room earlier.”
I pressed my lips into a hard line. “Yeah, he’s still being difficult. But at least he isn’t throwing punches or trying to kill Mav.”
“True,” she agreed. “I’m just worried he’s going to try to break you two up.”
I couldn’t help snorting at that. I knew my dad would try to come between Maverick and me. But he would learn he was just wasting his time, because Mav was my forever, and nothing short of death was going to tear us apart. “He can try all he wants. Nothing will come between your brother and me. Ever.” Leaning over, I kissed her cheek, then turned to hug Monroe. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll call you both
later.”
“Take it easy,” Monroe urged, her brows pinched together in concern. “You’re still recovering.”
“I can’t just sit around with my feet propped up and expect to be waited on hand and foot,” I told her with a roll of my eyes. “I need to keep busy. It helps.”
“In that case,” Mila said as she leaned forward and pulled something from her purse that was sitting at my feet. “Take a look at some of this inventory I want to include in the store.”
I took the thick folder from her and slid it into my own purse. “I’ll let you know. The less time I have to think about all the crap that has been going on lately, the better.”
“Just don’t burn yourself out,” my best friend warned. “I need you around for at least the rest of my life. Don’t make any of us have to live without you. Do you hear me?”
I kissed her cheek one more time before opening the door. “I hear you, sexy.”
Closing the door behind me, I walked back to where Maverick was waiting on his motorcycle. “Are we going straight to work?” he asked when I reached him.
I gave him a quick kiss before stepping back. “I don’t want things to pile up. And you need to take care of your clients. Slacker.”
He grabbed me by the hips before I could get too far away and pulled me back. “Babe, if there was a choice between you and doing ink, it would always be you.” His kiss was a gentle caress of his lips over mine, making my head swim as I sank against his chest and kissed him back.
Lifting his head, he tapped me playfully on the ass. “Go on. I’ll be right behind you.”
I blinked up at him, trying to get my brain to clear. “I love you.”
“I know, baby.” He traced his thumb over my bottom lip. “I love you.”
Seventeen
Maverick
Everyone was tense when Uncle Bash called church the next morning. I arrived at the clubhouse barely half an hour after I’d gotten the text from him, the parking lot already overflowing with the others’ bikes. After what happened the day before, I knew our security level was red, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if my uncle announced we were going on lockdown for a while.
Pocketing my keys, I walked into the building behind my fellow MC brothers. The others were already sitting in the common room where there were couches, chairs, and pool tables, and several televisions were mounted on the walls. I’d grown up in this clubhouse. It was a second home to me. Hell, I might have spent more time playing there than I had at my parents’ house over the years.
“Mav, over here,” Kingston called, and I moved through the still-growing crowd of brothers to where he was standing with Jack and Elias.
“How’s River?” the three of them asked, almost in unison.
“She’s fine. I left her sleeping at home since there was no school today.” I would have rather brought her with me, or at least dropped her off at Uncle Bash’s house so she wouldn’t be left alone, but she’d whined and pouted when I’d tried to wake her up. Unable to leave without knowing she was protected, I’d set my Glock on the bedside table and made her promise to use it if she needed to. Gun safety was something every kid in our family learned at an early age, so I knew she could and would use it without hesitation.
But knowing Ramirez was out there, trying to take out someone I cared about and didn’t care who got caught in the cross fire, made me anxious to get back to River.
Max walked over to us, his dark hair falling over his forehead as he eyed me hard. “How’s my cousin?”
“Good, man. Tired but good.”
He gave a nod, but he seemed distracted as his eyes scanned around the room. “Ryan arrived last night. He’s still here, along with his mom and about twenty guards.”
“Fuck,” we all grumbled.
The MC worked for the Vitucci family, doing protection runs from the West Coast all the way to New York. Drugs. Guns. Even willing women at times. They had strip clubs all over the States, and sometimes they had girls who wanted—or needed—a change of scenery for whatever reason. Vitucci wanted to make sure each girl was relocated safely.
But just because we worked for them from time to time didn’t make them our boss. We had our own work that needed our attention without having to babysit them when they came to visit.
“He wants to leave five of them here to watch over Nova,” Max informed us, his jaw clenching. “Like we can’t take care of one of our own.”
“Now that we know there’s someone after Nova, we won’t let her go anywhere unprotected,” Jack told him. “We can work in shifts. Take her to school, stay with her all day if we have to, and then drop her off at home. Whatever it takes, man. She will be safe.”
I nodded along with the others. No one was going to touch Nova as long as we were breathing.
Uncle Bash, Uncle Hawk, and my dad came out of the office at the top of the stairs, causing everyone to grow quiet as our prez, vice president, and the enforcer joined us. On the bottom step, Uncle Bash lifted his hands.
“We all know what happened yesterday.” Everyone nodded or grumbled, a few of the brothers muttering curses. “The mayor and the sheriff canceled school for the day while they plan to make the school safer. Ben’s going to put a deputy at each school, but there aren’t enough cops. I say we give them a hand. Starting Monday morning, we’re going to be taking shifts. I want no fewer than two brothers at each school’s entrances. Also, someone needs to be with the teachers who are doing bus and parent drop-off duties. After all the kids are safely inside, there will be a brother at each entrance to the school, so we know who is coming and going during the day. And then when the final bell rings, we’ll have two at each entrance and one helping with bus duty as well as parent pickup.”
There were a few complaints, but mostly everyone was in agreement with our prez’s plan. Plenty of my fellow brothers had kids who went to public school, so they wanted to ensure their safety. Nova might have been the target, but that put anyone who was in close contact with her in direct danger as well.
“We will be coordinating with Ben and Raven on this, so expect a text with your schedule and which school you will be stationed at. Each and every one of us will be taking a shift, so if your scheduled time interferes with work or another obligation, let our queen know, and she will switch you for a time that does work.”
He broke everything down for another fifteen minutes, answering questions as they were thrown at him. Once that was dealt with, he brought up whose turn it was to go on the next run and then ended church.
While the others didn’t wait around and headed for the door, I pushed through the crowd to get to the prez. “Uncle Bash,” I called out. He lifted his head as I reached him and my father. “I’m going to be at the high school with River, so tell Aunt Raven she can schedule me for every day. Morning and afternoon shifts. I don’t care.”
He nodded. “We figured you would want to, Mav, but I’ll remind Raven.”
“How is Nova?” I asked him.
He grimaced. “Her arm is hurting her today, but she hasn’t complained about it because Ryan is at the house with her. But she can’t hide the pain in her eyes.”
“Does she need anything? I’ll bring it over with River,” I offered, knowing my girl would want to stop by and check on her cousin in person.
“I don’t think so, but call Raven and see if she needs anything before you stop by.” His gaze landed on something behind me, and his eyes darkened.
Turning my head, I found Colt standing a few yards away, glaring at me. I already knew his dislike of me was most likely permanent now, so I decided to ignore the hate in his eyes and shifted my gaze back to my uncle. “If you don’t need me to do anything, I’m going to pick up my girl and drop by your house before we go to work.”
“Yeah, kid. See you later.”
Dad slapped me on the back. “I’ll be at the shop later. River doesn’t have to cancel my appointments for the day.”
“I’ll let her know,” I assured him b
efore heading for the exit.
River was sitting on the couch when I walked through the door drinking a cup of coffee. Her eyes were barely open as she sipped from the mug, her hair a sexy, tangled mess around her shoulders and her clothes rumpled from sleep. I stopped midstep after closing the door, entranced by just how beautiful she was and how fucking lucky I was that she was mine.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, her eyes opening a little wider when she saw me just standing there, looking down at her.
I nodded. “Just a quick session of church. Nothing too serious. We’re going to be helping with security at all three of the schools for the next few weeks.”
“Ah, so my man will be going to school with me every day?” she gave me a sexy little smirk. “I kind of like that.”
I crossed to her and bent to kiss her quickly. “I thought we would drop by and check on Nova before going to work if you feel up to it.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I want to see her. Let me grab a shower, and we can go.”
While she was in the bathroom, I called Aunt Raven to let her know we were going to come over. Not wanting to be away from River any more than I absolutely had to, I drove Kingston’s car since my bike wasn’t comfortable for her at the moment.
Pulling into my uncle’s driveway, I saw a handful of men in suits outside on the porch, with others stationed around the property, their eyes scanning the area as if the place was going to be invaded at any moment.
Once we were parked, I saw a sign in the yard of the neighbor across the street. “Hey, when did that house go on the market?”
River followed my gaze. “I’m not sure. I can’t remember that sign being there recently.”
“Do you want to take a look at it? If you like it, we could put in an offer…” The look on her face had my voice trailing off. “What?”
“Nothing,” she muttered, ducking her head as she moved to open her door.
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