Maverick (Carter Brothers Book 5)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  He leans forward, pulling a limp Faith into his arms, a roaring cry tearing from his chest. I feel it in the depths of my soul.

  “Get Teagan out, now,” Max yells, his breathing ragged and hard as he steps past me to Maverick. In a daze, I move over to Teagan, who is still unconscious.

  “Maverick, you need to get Faith to a paramedic,” Max orders, his voice gentle yet firm. “Now, Maverick.”

  His head lifts, his eyes red with tears pouring down his face. He nods at Max, cradling Faith in his arms before getting her out, his body hunched over hers in a protective stance.

  Turning to Max, I let him see the fear in my eyes. “Max.”

  “Everything will be okay,” he says, looking away.

  Please let everything be okay.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  MAVERICK

  Life is made of moments, of memories, some good and some bad. But those moments, those memories, they have the power to either make or break us. They shape who we are, no matter what we try to do or say.

  But what do my moments say about me? That I’m a broken man destined to live in torment and pain.

  Because that’s what I am in this moment.

  I’m broken.

  I can’t wrap my head around the reasons as to why fate would bring someone as remarkable as Teagan and Faith into my life, just to have them taken away, causing so much misery and despair. It’s not fair.

  Have I not been through enough in my life? Is this my destiny? To suffer, tormented?

  I’m shaken from my dark thoughts when the curtain slides open. The nurse walks in and I sit up, hoping she has some good news for me.

  “The test results have come back clear.”

  “So why isn’t she waking up?” I ask, looking over at Teagan’s pale face.

  I need her to wake up. I can’t live without her. I can’t go back to that lonely existence before I met her. She’s everything to me.

  “Patients who have gone through a traumatic event sometimes shut down to give themselves time to recover mentally. I promise she’s fine. I’ll be back in a little while to check in on her, “ she tells me, putting her clipboard back in the pocket at the end of the bed.

  Turning back to Teagan, I bring her hand to my lips. “Please wake up. I need to know you’re really okay,” I whisper.

  I don’t know how much time passes, but when her hand twitches in mine, I shoot up off my seat, leaning over her.

  “Come on, baby. Open your eyes for me,” I breathe. Slowly, her eyes flutter open and my shoulders sag with relief. “That’s it, baby.”

  Sliding my thumb across her cheek, I lean down, kissing her forehead. “I love you. I love you so much,” I murmur, tears falling from my eyes.

  “Faith,” she croaks, and like a switch has been flipped, she tries to sit up, her eyes wide and filling with tears.

  “Calm down. You need to calm down,” I warn, pushing her back down on the bed, mindful not to hurt her.

  She shakes her head, tears falling heavier. “She was… she was… Oh God, my baby,” she sobs, her body shaking uncontrollably.

  “No, no, Teagan. Faith is doing okay. She’s in the children’s ward with your nan.”

  “No, I saw her.” Her chest is heaving, but I can see the hopeful look in her eyes.

  “I know, babe. I saw her too. She’s lost a lot of blood and has broken her leg in three places, but she’ll be okay.”

  When the paramedics told me she had a pulse but it was weak, I collapsed onto the floor, my weight giving way. I believed I’d lost her and everything in me tore wide open, my insides ripping apart. It hurt so much that I couldn’t hear or see anything, nothing but those words on repeat. It was like God had answered my prayers for the first time in my life.

  “I need to see her,” she tells me, her voice rough.

  “Let me get the nurse to make sure it’s okay.”

  I move to the curtain only to bump into Mason and Detective Barrett.

  “How is everyone?” I ask Mason, wincing. I feel like shit for not checking in, but as soon as I got the all-clear with Faith, I left her with Tish and Connie, Teagan’s nan, and came straight to my girl, not wanting her to wake up alone. I haven’t left the room since. I even had the nurse treat me whilst I sat next to her, holding her hand.

  “They won’t tell us anything about Harlow. All we know is she got rushed into theatre for an emergency C-section not long after arriving. Everyone else is okay, just minor cuts or injuries. But….”

  “But?” I prompt, swallowing.

  He sighs sadly. “Evan isn’t in good shape. He was the closest to the blast and has a piece of glass wedged into his back. He’s in the ICU upstairs.”

  “Fuck.” I run a hand through my hair, worrying about my friend. “What happened? Who did this?” I ask, looking at Barrett.

  He winces. “Your mum.”

  My fists clench and I grind my teeth together, my hatred for her only intensifying. “How? She’s in fucking prison.”

  “She made a phone call two days ago. They’re recorded, and we were concerned about the context. She only said two words: ‘Go ahead.’ We found out earlier today that the call was made to a gang member who deals with explosives. I’d just called Evan―”

  “Wait,” I say, holding my hand up. “Just before the blast, he called me over, trying to tell me something. Was that you getting him to warn us?”

  “Yes and no. I hadn’t gotten that far into the conversation and had no idea it was your brother’s wedding. I’d actually called him when I couldn’t get in touch with you so he could inform you that we found your sister.”

  Holy shit.

  I know I should be asking other questions, getting answers, but I can’t concentrate on anything other than this and my girls. They need me.

  Mason looks as shocked by the news as I am. “Where is she?” I demand, hoping they’ve got her.

  “Here. She’s being treated at the moment. She was severely underfed, and the crack house we found her in… well, let’s just say it wasn’t clean. They’ve taken bloods to make sure she hasn’t picked anything up.”

  “Can I see her?” I ask, hope flaring in my chest. I’ve not even met her and yet I already feel protective over the little girl.

  “Yes, but she has social services in with her at the moment. I know you’re all eager to meet her, but at the current time, I think it’s best if it was just you.”

  “Is that okay?” I ask Mason.

  “Yeah, we’ll have our chance. Just make sure you tell her we’re here and that we love her already.”

  “I will. Teagan wants to go see Faith, so we’ll be in her room,” I tell Barrett, then turn back to Mason. “Can you get a nurse for me?”

  “Yeah, bro,” he says, slapping me on the back. For the first time, I notice his hand is in a cast.

  I want to find my mother and strangle the life out of her. But first, I need to get my woman to our girl.

  *** *** ***

  Twenty minutes later, I’m pushing Teagan into the ward Faith is staying on. Connie stands up when she sees us, her eyes on her granddaughter, tears spilling down her cheeks.

  “Teagan,” she whispers, covering her mouth with her hand. “You’re okay.”

  “T?” Tish calls, standing up. Her eyes widen when she sees Teagan, and she flies past Connie, engulfing Teagan into a hug.

  “Careful,” I snap.

  “Don’t ever scare me like that again, girl. I can’t lose either of you. You’re my family,” Tish says, breaking out into a sob. I rear back in shock. From what I’ve seen and what Teagan has said, Tish isn’t good at expressing her feelings. Seeing this side of her is like looking at a completely different person.

  “I’m not going anywhere. Promise,” Teagan whispers, her voice filled with emotion.

  “You scared me to death, child,” Connie says, running her hand over Teagan’s hair when Tish finally moves away.

  “I’m sorry,” she starts, but then her eyes land on F
aith and a strangled cry leaves her mouth. “Oh my God.”

  “She’s doing well. She’s a fucking fighter, that one. She woke up a few times asking for you, but she was never awake long enough to hear us,” Tish says hurriedly to reassure her, but I can see she’s finding it hard to see Faith hurt.

  “Push me closer,” Teagan tells me.

  Doing as she asked, I take a closer look at Faith, my gut twisting. She still looks like death, but I have to admit there’s more colour in her cheeks than when she first arrived.

  My heart hurts seeing her look so broken. It should be me lying there, not her. I’d give anything to take her place.

  “Oh, sweet girl,” Teagan cries, running her fingers gently over Faith’s head. “Mummy’s here. Everything is going to be okay.”

  “Sir, are you Mr. Carter?”

  I turn and a woman in a pinstriped suit walks up to me, her expression unreadable.

  “Yeah, that’s me.”

  “We were told you wanted to see your sister, Lily?”

  Realisation dawns on me and I take a small step towards her. “Yes, please. Is she okay?”

  “With a lot of love and care, she’ll be fit as a fiddle before we know it. We do have some concerns over her development though. She hasn’t spoken to us yet and has only been able to communicate through nodding or shaking her head. If I were to guess, she was either never taught, or is too scared due to her upbringing.”

  I grit my teeth together, hating that she went through anything at all.

  “Is there anything I should know before going in there?”

  “We aren’t sure how well she’ll react to a male in her presence, so I’d advise you to take it slow.”

  I nod and kneel in front of Teagan, taking her hands in mine. She’s been listening to the whole conversation, but I’m still worried about leaving her, knowing she needs me.

  “Go. I’ll be here waiting for you. If you need me, come get me and I’ll be there.”

  “I love you,” I tell her, kissing her head.

  “I love you too,” she says, tears dropping onto our joined hands.

  “I won’t be gone long.”

  Following the lady, we don’t walk far down the hall until we come to a private room.

  “Come on in,” she says, and I realise I’d been staring at the door, shaking with nerves. I don’t know what to expect when I walk in there, and that frightens me.

  This is one of those moments that can change our pasts or our futures. In this phenomenal moment, I get to meet my sister for the first time, a sister I knew nothing of until recently.

  Swallowing down my nerves, I take a shaky step into the room, my eyes shooting straight to the bed. Sitting in the middle of the small bed is a little girl, her knees tucked into her chest.

  I pause, just staring, my heart opening with vulnerability when I look into her eyes.

  Eyes I’ve seen before.

  Then it hits me.

  Jesus Christ.

  She was the little girl I saw at the house I found Teagan’s attacker hiding out in. Guilt wraps around me like a snake choking me.

  I could have helped her.

  She was right there.

  The doctors have cleaned her up, but it’s definitely her. I don’t know how I didn’t see it then, but she has our brown eyes―expressive, big and round like an anime character’s. What I thought had been brown hair is actually a dirty blonde.

  She looks at me hesitantly, her eyes flickering to the woman sitting next to her. I hadn’t noticed her when I walked in. She’s dressed in a suit too, her eyes soft as she watches Lily.

  “It’s okay, Lily. This is your brother, Maverick. Can you remember me telling you about him?” she asks her gently.

  Lily nods slowly, still seeming unsure about me. “Hey,” I say, my voice gruff.

  Get a grip before you scare her half to death.

  Seeing the stuffed rabbit in her hands, I take another small step towards her. “I like your rabbit.”

  She pulls the rabbit closer, but I see in her eyes that she’s curious about me.

  “Does she have a name?” Hesitantly, she nods, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Can you tell me, or is it a secret?” I whisper expressively.

  She full-on smiles at that, and it transforms her entire face.

  She’s fucking beautiful.

  She nods again, putting her finger to her lips.

  “Can I sit down?” Another nod, but when I move closer, she frowns, pointing to my face. I know she’s referring to the cut above my eye and most likely my torn clothes.

  “Me, your other brothers, my girlfriend and her daughter were in an accident. We’re all okay though,” I assure her when her eyes go wide.

  She rocks her arms side to side as if asking me something and I’m confused.

  Then it clicks.

  “No, Faith isn’t a baby. She’s actually a little older than you. She’s poorly at the minute and sleeping in a room down the hall. Would you like to meet her? She’d love the company when she wakes up.”

  She nods furiously, her whole face lighting up.

  “Maverick,” the woman behind me calls and I turn, giving her a look not to argue with me on this. I’ve just got her; I’m not letting her out of my sight ever again. She’s family―our family―and family sticks together no matter what. Lily will soon see the true meaning of the word, and I intend to spoil her rotten.

  “Can she be moved into the same room as Faith? That way my girlfriend and I can watch over her.” She pauses, thinking about it, then nods. “Thank you,” I say, relieved. I’d expected an argument, and I’m seriously not in the fucking mood.

  There’s a knock at the door and she walks over, stepping outside. Muffled voices come through the small gap, and a few seconds later she walks back in, closing the door behind her.

  “Your brother Max needs you upstairs. He says your sister-in-law is back in her room.”

  I nod, turning to Lily. “I’ll be back, but these two ladies are going to take you to Faith and her mum, Teagan, okay. She’s really nice, I promise.”

  She nods, smiling, so I give her a smile back, wishing I could pull her in my arms and hold her. I want to promise that I’ll make her life better and that she never has to be scared again, but words won’t mean anything to her. I intend on showing her how loved she already is.

  “I’ll be as quick as I can,” I tell her before reluctantly leaving.

  Max is in the hallway when I step out. He sees me and kicks off the wall, frowning. “Why couldn’t I come in and see her? Kids love me.”

  I roll my eyes. “Dude, you look like you’ve been on a killing spree,” I say, gesturing to his bloodied clothes. “And she’s not good around people. She doesn’t even talk.”

  He nods, understanding. “What’s she like?”

  I smile. “She’s fucking beautiful, and she has our eyes.”

  “I can’t wait to meet her.” He smiles, looking over my shoulder at the door.

  “Is everything okay? She mentioned Harlow.”

  “Oh yeah, Malik wants us to meet the babies. They’re both doing fine and healthy. So is Harlow.”

  “What she have?”

  “Fuck knows. The bastard wouldn’t tell us.” He chuckles.

  “Let me tell Teagan they’re going to put Lily in the same room as Faith, and then we’ll go up.”

  He nods and walks beside me as we head down the hall. Before we reach the room, I put my hand out to stop him, turning to face him.

  “Mason told me what you did tonight. You did really fucking well. You took charge, stayed calm and got everyone to safety. I’m really fucking proud of you, Max,” I tell him, giving him a hug. I don’t care if we get caught; when Mason told me how amazing he’d been, I knew I couldn’t let it go unsaid. He stepped up tonight and saved lives. I’ll never forget that for the rest of my life.

  “It was nothing. Anyone would’ve done it,” he says, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.


  “But they didn’t―you did.” His eyes water, his throat bobbing up and down. “Are you crying?” I chuckle.

  He rears back, wiping his eyes. “Fuck no. It’s the dust getting to me.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” I laugh and walk into see Teagan, excited about meeting the new additions.

  *** *** ***

  Walking down yet another sterile hallway, we come to the maternity ward, both Max and I peeping through the glass window in the door to see if anyone we know is in the waiting area.

  “I don’t see anyone,” I mutter, but then the door opposite opens and Mason pokes his head out, frowning.

  “Will you two fucking hurry up? I want to meet my nephews.”

  “They could be nieces.”

  He waves me off, giving me a look that says ‘that will never happen’.

  When we walk in, everyone is gathered outside a room, talking in low voices. I’m immediately bombarded with questions, so after giving them all a hug, I fill them in on Teagan, Faith and Lily, letting them know they’re all fine.

  “Before we go in, do you have any news on Evan?” I ask Denny, and the mood dims.

  “I’ve just got back from there. He’s just gotten out of surgery and they’re pleased with how it went. It’s going to be touch-and-go through the night though. He lost a lot blood, so he needed a transfusion,” Denny says, her eyes glistening with tears. Mason pulls her against him, kissing her forehead.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, closing my eyes briefly. “Is Kennedy doing okay?”

  “She’s okay at the moment. Her friend came to get Hope and Imogen for the night so we could stay here. Dad and Nan are with her, and I’ll go back down after.”

  “I’ll pop by tomorrow. Max said he wasn’t allowed any more visitors,” I say, not wanting her to think I don’t care.

  She laughs dryly. “No. They made us get changed into these before we could see him,” she says, touching the blue scrubs.

  “He’ll get through this. He’s strong.”

  “Yeah, he is.” She smiles and we turn to the door when Joan sticks her head out.

  “Come on guys,” she says, beckoning us in.

  We all pile into the room. My brother’s sitting on the bed, holding a baby in his arms. He’s a sight for sore fucking eyes. He’s been crying, I can tell, but I can also see how relaxed and happy he is as he stares down lovingly at the bundle in his arms.