Maverick (Carter Brothers Book 5)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “Hey, babe, Faith has decided she wants to come dress shopping with us,” Maverick says, walking into the room.

  Lifting my head in his direction, I give him a small smile.

  I can’t hold this in anymore. I need to tell him before it all becomes too much. I just pray he doesn’t hate me when I do.

  “I knew she’d change her mind,” I murmur.

  “Are you okay? You’ve been really distant the past two days.”

  This is it. This is my chance to tell him. Straightening my back, I shake my head, willing my eyes not to start watering. Already I can feel the tears burning at the back of my throat.

  “No. Maverick, there’s something I need to tell you,” I whisper, ducking my head.

  He sits next to me, taking my hand in his. I give him a squeeze before making eye contact, trying to mask the sadness I’m feeling.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You know the other day when I told you that I had to go into work to sort out a delivery for my nan?”

  “Yeah.” His voice is cautious now, wary, and I hate that. I never wanted him to be wary, not of me.

  My hands start shaking, my eyes filling with unwanted tears. “I lied. I went to see Lynn. You were all so torn up, not sleeping and always worrying about Lily. I hated seeing you in so much pain so I went to see her, to see if I could make her talk. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you. I really am. I never wanted to lie to you, ever, but I knew you’d never let me go if I did,” I rush out, the first tear slipping free.

  His eyes bore into me, narrowed as he grits his teeth. Turning away, he roughly pushes his fingers through his hair, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

  “I really am sorry,” I whisper, scared I’m going to lose him. “If you want me to go, I will, but please know I only did this to help. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  When he still doesn’t say anything, the pain in my chest becomes unbearable. Standing, I try to shake it, unable to look at Maverick.

  I’m so angry with myself. I should’ve listened to my gut instead of rushing in there, not thinking it through. I knew there could be a chance I’d lose him when I made the decision to go see her, but I was willing to do anything to find Lily and help Maverick.

  I go to leave, a strangled sob escaping. But then he reaches out, pulling me down into his lap. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he presses his head into the crook of my neck and more tears fall. He only ever does that when he’s seeking comfort.

  I’m puzzled by his actions, wondering why he isn’t yelling at me.

  “Maverick?”

  “You shouldn’t have kept this from me, Teagan, but most importantly you shouldn’t have gone. Someone as pure and good as you shouldn’t be stepping into a place like that. Something could’ve happened,” he stresses, running his palm up and down my thigh.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whisper, dropping my forehead against his.

  He sighs, kissing me briefly. “Did she say anything?”

  “No. She just laughed. She kept taunting me, saying it wasn’t over and that we had what was coming to us. All the usual mumbo jumbo crap.”

  “Hopefully she’s all talk, but until we find Lily, I don’t want to take any chances. The cops have put out an alert, but with only a name, no picture, and Mum’s mugshot, we don’t have much to go on. The calls coming in are from all over the place, but they’re all dead ends.”

  “We’ll find her,” I tell him, cupping his jaw. “God wouldn’t bring you a sister if he didn’t mean for you to have her in your life.”

  “Mummy, Da― I mean, Maverick, can we go now. I’m bored,” Faith asks, walking into the bedroom with her doll. “Sally wants to go for a walk.”

  Maverick tenses underneath me, and my breath catches in my throat. It’s not the first time she’s slipped up and started to call him Daddy. The first time, his face went soft and he lifted her in his arms to give her a kiss before carrying on with what they were doing. I, on the other hand, must have messed up big time because I told her he was Maverick, not her daddy. I didn’t mean it the way it came out, but nonetheless, it hurt his feelings. I could see it in the way he looked at me afterwards, his eyes drawn and sad.

  As much as I’d love for him to be her father, because he would be a great father, I don’t think we’re ready for that. Maybe farther down the line, when the time is right, we’ll talk about it, but at the moment, I think we just need to see where this is going. He could get bored of us at any moment and ask us to leave. Then I’ll be the one left mending my little girl’s broken heart and explaining to her why he wasn’t her daddy anymore.

  “We’re not taking Sally and her pushchair, bug,” I tell her, getting out of Maverick’s lap but not before giving him a quick kiss. He relaxes, smiling at Faith.

  “But I want to take Sally.” She pouts and Maverick chuckles. I finish tying my hair up in a ponytail before facing her.

  “I said no.”

  “But―”

  “She said no, squirt,” Maverick chimes in.

  “Oh, okay then,” she sulks, stomping out of the room.

  “You ready?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his neck.

  “Yeah, let’s go get you girls some dresses.”

  Leaning down, he captures my lips in a scorching kiss and I begin to wish Harlow hadn’t asked me to be bridesmaid. I want to stay here and get back into bed with him.

  We stay like that, wrapped in each other’s arms until Faith comes back in, demanding we hurry up. We chuckle, watching as she runs back down, telling everyone down there we were kissing.

  “Come on, there’s only two more days until the wedding. We need to get going,” he says, pulling me behind him.

  *** *** ***

  My feet are killing me; it’s like walking around on bruised feet. My arms aren’t much better, aching from the amount of dresses I’ve had to try on, but I’ve finally found the perfect one to wear to the wedding Saturday.

  When Harlow insisted we pick out our own bridesmaid dresses, only giving us a colour theme, I thought it would be a quick grab and snatch.

  Boy, had I been wrong.

  Although, Maverick’s appreciative glances were kind of worth it.

  Faith’s dress, on the other hand, had been a walk in the park. We walked into the kids’ party dress shop, Faith laid her eyes upon a puffy, pink sequined dress and demanded we buy it. Maverick and I then spent ten minutes arguing who was going to pay for the darn dress. He won.

  My phone beeps, so I step away from Maverick where he’s paying for my dress. I’m still a little annoyed with him for buying it, but I can’t help the butterflies in my stomach at the romantic gesture. I’ve never had anyone but my nan and Tish look out for me the way he does.

  “Who was it?” he asks, coming up behind me and making me jump. I’ve been jumpy ever since the attack, and trying to adjust has been hard. But with Maverick there for me and the culprit behind bars, it’s becoming easier.

  “Kayla. They’re all going out for dinner and wanted to know if we’re joining them.”

  I giggle when I find Faith struggling with the bag her dress is in, dragging it behind her.

  “Give me that, squirt.” Maverick chuckles, holding his hand out.

  “No! It’s my princess dress,” she tells him, her face strained and full of concentration.

  “I thought princesses got other people to carry their bags.”

  Her eyes widen adorably at Maverick’s statement, making me giggle. “Oh yeah. Here you go. It was getting pretty heavy.” She puffs out a sigh of relief.

  Another message comes through, and I laugh when I see it’s from Max.

  MAX: ??? I’m hungry.

  “What shall I tell them?” I ask, showing Maverick the message.

  “When isn’t he?” he chuckles. “Tell them we’re good, we’re eating out so to go without us.”

  “You sure?” I ask, typing back to Kayla.

  “Yeah, I want to spend some quality time
with my girls,” he says, giving me a heated look. My stomach flip-flops. I love it when he gives me that look; it makes me feel warm inside.

  Once I’ve put my phone away he pulls me into his arms, dipping his head to kiss me.

  “Mummy, stop kissing. People are looking,” Faith whispers loudly.

  “Okay.” I giggle, pulling away but staying close. Looking up at him, I smile. “What did you have in mind?”

  “There’s a wacky warehouse twenty minutes from here. I thought we could go for dinner, let Faith run around and blow off some steam before we head back. What do you think?”

  Ha! He has no idea what he’s getting himself into. “You do know there are going to be other kids there, don’t you?”

  He scrunches his eyebrows together in confusion. “Well, yeah. Faith can play with other kids.”

  “They’ll be screaming… loudly.”

  “It can’t be that bad,” he scoffs and I laugh, throwing my head back.

  He really has no idea.

  Two hours later, Maverick is eating his words. Not only did he complain during the meal about the noise, but a kid sitting behind him with his parents did nothing but throw his food at Maverick’s head. I’d laughed every single time, even snapped a photo and sent it to the others.

  But the worst part is what happened after we ate our dinner. Faith had batted her dark eyelashes, using her brown eyes to get her way, dragging him into the play area. Maverick, not being able to say no to my daughter, went along.

  Now he’s stuck, wedged between four rolling pins that he followed Faith through. His large frame isn’t made for such a tight space; how he didn’t see that when he struggled through the first two is beyond me. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t get through the last two pins and instead of being any help, I’ve only stood here laughing.

  “Teagan,” he hisses down at me.

  “I’m sorry. Give me a minute,” I wheeze, holding my stomach.

  “People are staring,” he tells me wide-eyed.

  Yeah, people are staring, mostly the female variety. I can’t say I blame them either. With his black leather jacket thrown over his white T-shirt, dark denim jeans, and his unshaven jaw, he looks incredibly hot. It’s such a shame that he’s currently wedged between pins in a kids’ play area.

  “I’m going to try to pull you back, so push back as hard as you can, okay?”

  “Just get me out of here,” he moans, and I laugh all over again. “Teagan!”

  “Okay, okay, sheesh. Keep your pants on.” I chuckle, grabbing his broad shoulders.

  “I’ll push,” Faith yells excitedly, standing in front of Maverick.

  “Sir, we’re going to have to ask you to leave the play area. Parents are complaining about bad language,” a squeaky voice says. I look down to the waiter, giving him a smile and a wave.

  “Don’t you dare tell him I’m stuck.”

  “We’ll be down shortly. He’s in a bit of a situation at the minute,” I shout, causing Maverick to groan.

  “Is everything all right?” he asks worriedly, looking Maverick over. From his angle he probably can’t see much, just some bloke standing awkwardly.

  “Don’t,” Maverick warns me, still struggling to free himself.

  “I’m afraid not,” I muse. “He’s stuck between the rolling pins.”

  The waiter looks at Maverick again with wide eyes before turning to me with a grim expression. “That’s never happened before. Let me see if I can help.”

  “I can’t believe you told him,” Maverick growls.

  “We’re not exactly having any luck getting you out, you big turd. He might be able to help,” I whisper.

  “Oh dear, you are in a pickle,” the waiter says. “I’m Sam by the way. Can you turn?”

  “Hi, Sam, and we’ve tried that. Doesn’t work,” I answer, grinning.

  “Hmm, okay. Let’s try this. You go around the front and push, and I’ll try to pull this pin away from his shoulders,” he tells me, pointing to the rolling pin blocking Maverick in.

  I nod, ignoring Maverick’s whining. Moving to his front, I look up at him with a smirk.

  “You could stop enjoying this so much,” he mutters. I giggle, sticking my tongue out at him.

  “Ready? On three. One, two, three,” Sam says, then starts to pull the pin away as I push Maverick.

  After three more tries, I give up, sighing. “We need to call the fire department.”

  “No!” Maverick shouts, horrified.

  “Let me film him for five more minutes,” we hear a familiar voice say, and I look up at Maverick with a sheepish expression.

  He closes his eyes, ducking his head. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

  “Um….”

  “Tell me I’m hearing things.” He glares at me, making me wince.

  “What?” I ask innocently, holding my hands up. “They asked us why we weren’t back yet, so I explained what was going on.”

  “This is fucking ridiculous. I’m never going to live this down,” he mutters before looking through the ropes to where the gang is standing. “Max, stop fucking recording.”

  “Sir, can you not swear? There are children around,” Sam says, sounding fearful as he steps away from Maverick.

  “Get me the fuck out of here, now.”

  “Calm down. Lads, come help,” I shout.

  “Pleasure. Mav, don’t go anywhere, I want to get a close-up,” Max shouts, then kicks off his shoes and enters the play pit.

  “If he comes anywhere near me with his phone, I’m breaking his neck.”

  “Mummy, can I go play with Auntie Denny and Hope?”

  Looking down at Faith, I smile, running my hands through her hair. “Of course you can, darling. I’ll be down soon.”

  As she runs off, Max and Mason walk up to us, both laughing their heads off. “How the hell did you manage this?”

  “Mason, I swear to God, shut up. Just get me out of here,” Maverick orders

  “Wait!” Max laughs, moving so he’s standing next to me.

  “Max, get that fu―phone out of my face before I shove it down your throat.”

  I giggle, hiding my face when Maverick’s glare turns to me. Max laughs harder, smacking his knee when Maverick struggles.

  “Awe, is Mavy getting all worked up?” Max asks in a baby voice, goading his brother. He steps forward, tickling Maverick’s stomach. “Be a good little boy and stay still.”

  “Max, I swear on all that is holy, I’m two seconds from throwing you off the side,” Maverick growls, struggling harder.

  “Like you could get me,” Max scoffs, holding his phone up. “Say ‘stuck’.”

  The flash goes off but then, without any warning, Maverick flies out of the pins, landing straight on Max with a thud.

  “There are kids around,” Max squeaks, his hands palms in surrender.

  Maverick looks around, noticing all the kids watching, and drops his head, muttering something to Max, who pales.

  Getting up, he walks over to me, straightening his clothes out, a predatory look in his eye. I step backwards, fighting the laughter trying to bubble free.

  “Calm down,” I tell him, a grin spreading across my face. “I didn’t get you stuck. You did that all on your own.”

  “You owe me,” he growls, still coming for me. I shake my head, denying him. When he reaches me, he backs me into one of the foam poles, crowding me in. “You owe me big. Tonight, when Faith is asleep, I expect to be paid. You’re also getting a tanned ass for telling my brothers.”

  My mouth drops open at his words, my thighs squeezing together. His gaze darkens, flickering to my lips and staying there. When I bite my bottom lip, he groans, pressing into me.

  “I didn’t tell your brothers, I told Kayla,” I whisper, lost in his eyes.

  “Don’t care. Your ass is mine tonight,” he tells me before walking off, finding his way back down to safer ground.

  Breathing hard, I look around, noticing Mason, Max and Sam have disappe
ared. When I look down, my eyes find Maverick’s, lost in the promise he just gave me. He hasn’t touched me since the attack, and hearing him say those things, knowing I’ll have him inside of me again, is turning me on more than I like to admit, especially in a kids’ play area.

  Shaking myself out of it before Sam comes back up to get me down, I head towards the stairs, praying Faith tires early so I can spend the whole night alone with him.

  Tonight can’t come quick enough.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  MAVERICK

  Watching Malik, of all my brothers, get ready for his wedding is bizarre, but it’s happening and I couldn’t be happier for him.

  When Harlow moved in next door, not only did she change Malik’s life, but she changed ours too. She gave Malik a purpose, a reason to live.

  She completed our family.

  Even though we’ve always been one, it wasn’t the same as the one we are now. Harlow is to thank for that, they all are, but she changed not only Malik’s view on life, but ours too.

  He looks dapper in his black suit, a gold tie adding some colour. The rest of us are wearing a light grey tie.

  He struggles with his, trying to loosen it from around his neck.

  “Stop messing with it,” I scold him.

  He growls, annoyed. “Why the hell am I wearing a fucking tie?”

  “Because Harlow wanted you to.”

  His eyes soften as he curses under his breath. “Yeah.”

  “Come on. Let’s go join the others outside. Mason bought a drink to celebrate,” I tell him.

  “I need one if I’m going to get through today wearing this,” he mutters, following me out.

  “Are you nervous?” I ask as we stand outside in the garden. He’s not giving anything away, so calm and collected. If anything, he looks like he’s done this a thousand times.

  “Nah, why would I be?” he asks.

  “Um, because you’re getting married?”

  “To the woman I love and am going to spend the rest of my life with. I’m not thrilled about talking and shit at the registry office, but I’ll get over it.”