13. Maverick
CHAPTER 13
MAVERICK
I leaned against the doorframe, taking in the scene before me. Skye had taken Brooks and Wes’s son, Riley, to the gym and was sparring with them. We had one in the house but Brooks was getting restless, so Skye brought him to the gym in the city where he met Riley. It was two against one, and even though Brooks had some skills, Skye was clearly still kicking their asses.
Riley huffed, stepping back frustrated after Skye broke his guard with a kick to his side . . . again.
“Ugh, you’re barely even trying. How is this fair? You’re literally a professional, dude.”
Skye just grinned, bouncing on his toes. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, slasher,” he said using the nickname Riley earned himself after protecting his step-brother last year. “You’ve improved so much since we started training.”
Brooks lay on his back on the mat, starfished out and panting. He was shirtless, which apparently was his default state, and his hair was matted to his face. I took a minute to just take him in. I hadn’t gotten much of a chance to get to know Brooks or Diego since they’d come here a few days ago. Between the job and making sure Luca didn’t self-destruct, I’d been too busy, but I couldn’t deny wanting to know them better. Luca had been hung up on this boy for years, and Skye wasn’t even trying to hide his attraction. If my men were this into him, I wanted to see why.
Today seemed like the perfect chance. We had been spending most of our time following the Covingtons, but we were all exhausted. Some of Leo’s guys were taking the shifts for the day, leaving us with some free time. While they mainly acted like security for here, his team freelanced for us on occasion when we needed more hands on deck.
Things had been slow going. With the feds crawling all over Marshall Fieldburg and his businesses, Diego hadn’t been able to do as much digging as he normally would. We had to be very careful, and we had no way of knowing the skills of their own hackers that were likely doing the same from their end.
Which left us dealing mostly with the Covingtons, and we hadn’t found anything there. If they had any involvement with killing Fieldburg or breaking into the Foster brothers’ house, they were doing a good job of hiding it. While Diego had been able to identify the bodies of the men Wes had killed, all we’d found out was they were all freelance mercenaries who had no issue taking any job that paid well. We still couldn’t trace who’d hired them.
So now we were in a frustrating standstill. I was used to it, unfortunately. This was part of this life, and sometimes there was just an excruciating amount of waiting before shit could get done. But I knew it was taking a toll on Brooks. Not to mention Luca had been very purposely avoiding him for the last three days while he “figured stuff out.” The boy was struggling. It was why Skye had been sparring with him and trying to distract him. It was my turn now, and since Brooks and Diego hadn’t been back to their house to get the rest of their shit, this was as good a time as any to kill two birds with one stone: get their stuff and get to know Brooks better. I wanted to spend time with Diego, too, but he was a much harder nut to crack than his brother.
Skye hopped out of the ring and started to unwrap his hands. That was when he noticed me. “Hey, big man.I didn’t know you were coming here.” He swung his hips deliberately as he walked up to me. He stunk, but it didn’t matter when I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him.
“Morning,” I muttered into his mouth. “I missed most of the show.”
“I’ll be happy to put on another for you . . . later.”
I squeezed his ass, tempted to take him up on his offer right fucking now. But then I remembered our audience. Not that either of us cared much about that, but I wasn’t sure how Wes would feel about us fucking in front of his son. Riley was watching us with amusement. Luckily the rest of the gym was empty, we always reserved the time just for us when we came here rather than the one in our basement.
“Don’t stop on my account. This is much better than getting my ass handed to me first thing in the morning.”
I smirked. I was surrounded by brats. Speaking of . . . Brooks was sitting up now and watching us in a way I could only describe as hungry. It wasn’t just Skye he was staring at, but me as well. He licked his lips.
With one last kiss, I stepped away from Skye and sauntered to the ring, my attention solely on Brooks.
“How’s it going, brat?”
Brooks grinned and he deliberately looked at Skye and then me. “Much better now.”
“Did you like what you see?”
Brooks climbed to his feet and closed the distance, only the ropes and about five extra inches separating us. He sized me up and down before tilting his head up to meet my eyes. I could absolutely see why Luca was so hung up on him. There was something about Brooks that was captivating. I wanted to take him apart inch by inch and see what was underneath the face he showed to the world.
“I didn’t think I was a voyeur, but I’m starting to change my mind on that.” He shrugged and gave me a flirty smile. “I have a feeling I’ll be unlocking a lot of kinks while staying here.”
I leaned forward so we were only inches apart. I wanted to reach out and close that space. I knew it would be welcome, but I wouldn’t cross that line until we talked more.
I took a step back, as sense came back to me, needing to breathe. Brooks blinked like he was shaking out of a trance.
“Do you want to come with me to get the rest of your stuff from your house? You’ll likely be here for a while, so I thought you might want your own things.”
Brooks beamed, and holy fuck did that do something to my heart.
“Yeah? Oh, that would be awesome. D’s gonna be so happy. He’s been complaining that we forgot his usual sleep pants.”
His sweetness really got to me. He always was looking out for Diego and putting him first. “Will he be coming with us?”
“Nah. Now that he’s here and settling in, good luck getting him out.”
I wondered about that, but so far neither brother had opened up about it, and I wasn’t going to pry or look further into it. It wasn’t our business, and if Diego wanted to tell us, then he would.
“Sounds good. How ‘bout you take a shower and then we’ll head out in 30?”
Brooks bounced up on his feet. “Shower alone? I wouldn’t mind sharing. You know, saving water and all.”
I laughed gruffly. “Yes, brat, alone.” But I smiled and finally gave in, tracing my thumb over his full lips to soften the words. I wanted him to know I was interested, but we needed to have a discussion before anything happened. Things were too complicated not to mention our natural preferences. I didn’t trust either of us not to take things to the next level if we were naked in a confined space, so I’d have to be the voice of reason and keep things under control.
Brooks’s tongue peeked out and brushed against the side of my thumb. I had the urge to push it all the way into his mouth and see what that tongue could do, but I pulled away.
The boy was lost in his lust, but eventually he blinked out of it. “I’ll meet you by the front,” I told him gruffly before turning away.
Brooks seemed satisfied enough with that.
He waved bye to Riley, who still was half crashed on a bench, looking like he was close to falling asleep, and hugged Skye and gave him a kiss on the cheek before bouncing out of the gym. I couldn’t help but smile. Hopefully, I had enough energy to hang with him.
“So . . . ,” Brooks began, leaning back in the chair. “What’s your role in Il Fortunato, besides being the other boss. Not that that’s not enough, but I’ve got a feeling that’s not all you do. You’re way too badass to spend your time doing paperwork all the time.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Yeah, I don’t do paperwork. That’s all Luca. I’m a sniper.”
Brooks’s head snapped toward me, his eyes wide. “No shit? That’s sick.”
“I’m guessing that’s a good thing?” I teased.
“Yeah, old man, it’s a good thing.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Old man?”
Brooks shivered and wiggled in his seat. “I meant extremely sexy, distinguished gentleman, obviously.”
Fuck, this boy. Even I struggled to keep a straight face. “Obviously,” I replied drily.
The whole way there the conversation was light and fun and full of banter. I found myself enjoying talking to him a lot. It was kind of like talking to Skye, but Brooks’s back and forth was a lot less deliberate, and just him being him. His enthusiasm about everything was infectious.
We were barely a quarter of a mile down Brooks and Diego’s driveway when I realized something was wrong. Someone had recently travelled this way, multiple someones by the look of it and the disturbance of the rocks. I’d say it was heavy vehicles, maybe even ATVs. They left a noticeable mess, one I imagined had been on purpose. Even Brooks stilled, staring intensely.
I opened my mouth to tell him to call Diego, but Brooks already had his phone in his hand.
“I’m texting D to check the security cameras.”
“Good call.”
I kept driving, but I slowed down and grabbed my Glock from the center console. It wasn’t my weapon of choice, but would do in a pinch.
Brooks was focused on his phone, so I made sure to pay attention to our surroundings. The woods were pretty dense, so if anyone came at us from either side, it wouldn’t be in a vehicle. I liked our odds against that. My biggest worry now was that they’d come from both ways and trap us. The driveway was too narrow for two cars to pass side by side. If that happened, we’d have to fight.
Brooks was frowning at his phone. “D said everything has been quiet since the cleanup crew left. No one else has—wait, he’s typing again.”
“Fuck, he said someone tampered with the cameras. Be careful, Mav.”
I grunted. “Is anyone here now?”
Brooks shook his head. “He’s saying the glitch was 24 hours ago. So if they are, they’re likely holed up in the house.” He looked at me. “Should we turn back?”
It wouldn’t be easy turning around where we were, and I didn’t feel totally comfortable reversing half a mile down the driveway without knowing what to expect. Our best bet was to keep going and hope we weren’t driving into a trap.
I shook my head. “No. But just stay alert and be ready to take the wheel if I say. Unless you’d rather do the shooting.”
Brooks made a funny sound in the back of his throat I couldn’t begin to explain. “Nah, I’ll leave the shooting to the fucking sniper, thanks. But I can drive like a fucking boss, and I know this property inside and out. You can trust me.”
For some reason, I knew I could. Usually, I’d be nervous working with someone new, especially if they didn’t have this kind of training. Brooks had been in the life since he’d been a toddler, but he’d dealt with theft, mostly. Sneaking in and out without anyone noticing. I doubted he had much experience in this kind of situation.
But I could tell Brooks was solid. He had good instincts, and despite that innate wildness that always surrounded him, I knew he’d follow my lead and have my back.
The rest of the drive was tense and slow going. I didn’t want to decelerate completely—moving targets are harder to hit—but still needed to be cautious enough to be able to pay attention. Brooks pulled out a knife and flicked it open. From the rainbow glint of the blade, I could see it was the one Luca had given him for his birthday three years ago.
It took me off guard. I had seen it when Luca had had it specially made for him, but I’d kind of assumed after the shitshow that night, Brooks had tossed it or at least packed it up. But no, he had it on him, and by the comfortable way he held it, I’d bet anything he typically did.
The house was silent when we finally arrived there, and there were no cars or other vehicles. It was possible they were hiding in the back, but nothing I could see.
I pulled the car in front of the house and put it in park. Brooks’s breath hitched. “Fucking fuck!”
The passenger door flew open, and I just grabbed his arm before he stormed out. I got it. His front door had been kicked in, shattered to pieces. Holes lined the porch steps like someone had taken a hammer to them.
“Wait, Brooks. We go in together. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you.”
Brooks sucked a breath through his teeth, his eyes narrowed, but after a second, his posture relaxed and he nodded. I let go of his arm. He got out of the car, but instead of tearing into the house, he waited for me, chest heaving but holding his place.
I shut the car door, Glock at the ready, and gave Brooks a nod of approval. He smiled at me like I’d just given him the world. Fuck. I quickly shut those feelings off and focused on clearing the house.
“Stay behind me. If anything looks off, let me know.”
“Yes, sir.” I faltered, only for a second. He wouldn’t be the first guy to call me that, nor the last, but hearing it out of Brooks’s lips, it invoked a reaction that wasn’t appropriate for now. Shut it down, Sommerfield. You can jump the boy later .
I walked into the house, comforted by Brooks’s quiet footfalls behind me.
It turned out there was no need for Brooks to confirm if anything was different. The house had been totally destroyed.
The pullout, where, for some reason, the two of them seemed to sleep, had been cut to shreds, the sheets in pieces, and the stuffing and springs littering the floor. The sides and cushions were all equally destroyed. A coat closet had been torn apart, shredded jackets, sliced up boots, a vacuum pulled apart.
Brooks stood numb in the middle of the room. I watched helplessly as his eyes fell onto a small plant that was on a shelf. The dirt had been dumped on the floor and heeled into the carpet. I walked past a shattered TV and smashed video game console and into the kitchen. The house seemed empty, so I didn’t think the threat was still here, but I needed to clear it before I could relax enough to focus on Brooks.
The kitchen wasn’t any better. Tupperware containers had been dumped on the floor, flour and sugar sacks cut open. Dishes were shattered everywhere. The fridge was on its side. Drinks had been poured over all the surfaces. The shelves in the cabinets and pantry had been torn out.
I headed to the back of the house, only slightly surprised Brooks was following me. He hadn’t said a word, just walked silently, his grip on his blade way too tight.
The home gym was just as bad as everything else. The benches had all been sliced open. The weights had been tossed into walls, leaving massive holes. Anything that could be easily destroyed had been. All their clothes were also in tatters on the floor. Brooks bent down and picked up . . . something. I frowned and looked down. It was multicolored beads.
“This was my first bracelet. Pops gave it to me when I was like, five. It’s not anything special. It was from Claire’s, but . . .” But it was special to Brooks. He fiddled with the bracelets on his arm before dropping the beads and walking out of the room. I stepped over them, careful not to step on them, and followed.
Brooks walked out and immediately went to Diego’s office. I should probably have made him wait, but I didn’t have it in me. I followed, ready to intercede if I had to.
Diego had taken most of this stuff with him, so it wasn’t in as bad a shape as the others. Anything left had been torn apart, and the desks physically broken up into pieces, which felt unnecessary. Brooks picked up a shattered picture frame that held a torn photo that looked like it had him, Diego, and their parents standing in front of a lake. They were younger, teenagers likely, and so happy.
Brooks choked on a sob. “I-I need air.” He ran out of the room and out of the house.