Chapter 5
Maverick
Ileft the bucket by the pen and texted the prospect Dan to come and collect it. He was still in his probationary period where he had to prove his loyalty to the club. Dan had been with us for almost a year, but due to a prospect disaster beyond his control, his time had been extended.
The bucket was empty now, but no sense drawing attention to it.
I was lucky Kat hadn’t come up a few minutes sooner.
All those frozen limbs and discombobulated body parts would have been quite the shock.
I’d let the guys know to avoid this disposal area for a while.
This wasn’t our only method for getting rid of bodies, though it was an easy one.
Larry was a great neighbor. He had a bit of a wild past himself, so he didn’t ask questions. He also appreciated the heavy discount he received at my gun shop.
We reached the house and Kat opened the door to let me in. The unlocked door. Noodle bounded inside, running across the open floor plan, through the living area and kitchen and down the hall to Larry’s bedroom.
“Hush! He needs his rest!” Kat shook her head. “I don’t know how he puts up with her. Maybe while I’m here I can get her into obedience classes.”
“Noodle!” I commanded and her head whipped back. “Settle.” She whimpered but quickly lay down next to the closed door.
Kat’s gorgeous blue eyes turned toward mine. “How did you do that?”
I shrugged, my mouth curling. “Let’s just say I have a way with women.”
Kat laughed. “Oh, well, that I can definitely believe.”
I stared after her, licking my lips as I watched her ass sway while she filled up Noodle’s water and food bowls.
I’d seen pictures of the woman before, but they didn’t do her justice.
They sure as hell didn’t show how well she filled out a pair of jeans.
Her hair was midnight black and pulled into a sleek ponytail.
The urge to wrap my hand around it was strong.
She was far from my usual type with her expensive clothes and big city air. But who was I to discriminate?
I walked around the kitchen and living room. Larry had one of those open floor plans where everything was connected. I checked each of the windows to make sure they were locked. “How long are you planning to stick around?”
“I’ve got six weeks of family leave, but it depends on how much Dad needs me and how his recovery goes. It should be enough though.”
Six weeks. I fought to hide my grin. I could work with that. Though, to be honest, if it was based on what Larry needed, she wouldn’t be going back at all. Poor bastard.
“I’m going to check through the rest of the rooms, but these windows are all locked.
” She didn’t say anything to stop me, so I took that as permission.
I’d been in Larry’s house dozens of times.
He used to love fishing on the coast. Whenever his freezer got too full, he’d call us over for an old-fashioned fish fry.
We hadn’t done that in years. I needed to talk to Pixie. Maybe it was our turn to host one.
Larry had a nice house. Sure, it needed some work, but there were four bedrooms and a full bath upstairs in addition to the master suite downstairs.
The brothers and I had been concerned about him staying out here all by himself.
Maybe after Kat left, we’d see about moving one of the guys over.
I could present it like we needed help, ran out of room on our end and needed to rent something close by.
That could let the man keep his pride while also keeping him safe.
But I’d keep that idea to myself for now. Wouldn’t want to give the pretty lady a reason to leave before her six weeks were up.
The bedrooms all checked out. Not that I thought the old girl would have jumped out of a two-story window, but it could have been how a two-legged someone got in. I opened the door to the bathroom to make sure nothing was amiss, when I spotted something that definitely did not belong.
***
“Ah, thank you, Katie. This hits the spot, not like the swill they served me in the pen.”
I watched from the edge of the kitchen as Larry took a big spoonful of the delicious smelling soup.
“Dad, you were in the hospital, not jail.”
He shrugged. “Same difference. Bad food and they wouldn’t let me leave. Thanks for the rescue and getting my girl back.” He patted Noodle’s head where she rested in his lap.
“Good to see you up and around, old man. We missed you across the way.” I smiled as I made myself known.
Larry looked up from his bowl, blinking rapidly. “Mav? Where in the world did you come from?”
Kat chuckled. “He found Noodle and brought her back. He offered to check the house and see if he could find out how she got loose.”
Larry nodded and returned his focus to his soup. “Good call, sweetie. These boys might not look it, but they’re pretty smart.”
Her gaze raked over my body. “Good to know.
“And speaking of that,” I began, “I didn’t find anything unlocked or tampered with. That’s not to say someone could have used an unlocked door to get inside and then locked it on their way out.”
“Well, that’s not very comforting.” Kat crossed her arms over her chest.
“It’s not, but I actually think Noodle was outside when Larry left.”
Kat raised an eyebrow. Nope, I wasn’t about to admit that she’d been right.
Larry sputtered in his soup. “I didn’t leave her outside!”
“I know that’s not your normal M.O., Larry, but this time I think you did. Because if someone had been in your house, I’m pretty sure they would have taken this.” I placed a now unloaded nine-millimeter Glock on the kitchen table.
Kat flinched. I didn’t like that. Given her father’s love of guns, I assumed she’d be comfortable around them. Plus, out here in the country, she needed to be able to defend herself. “Larry, you know we talked about keeping these locked in your gun safe.”
Larry rolled his eyes. “It’s just me and Noodle. There’s no kids around here to accidentally pick one up.” He turned his head and stared pointedly at Kat.
She shook her head. “Don’t you start with that. I haven’t even been here twenty-four hours.”
“You’re thirty years old and my clock is ticking! I won’t be here forever, and I’d like to see my grandbabies before I go.”
“Oh hush. You’ve got plenty of time left. And so does my uterus.”
She rubbed a hand across her pelvis and my cock jumped. I had absolutely no breeding kink, but something about that was hot as fuck.
She turned to me. “Where did you find that thing?”
“In the upstairs bathroom sink.”
“Dad!”
Larry shrugged. “I wondered where that got to.”
“With your daughter here now, it wouldn’t hurt to get that security system up like we talked about.”
Larry shook his head. “Bah. I hate all that newfangled crap. I don’t want to be rushing in here to push some code. What if I forget it and the police show up with that thing blaring all out to high heaven?”
“The boys can also install cameras. That way you can keep an eye on Noodle anytime you’re away.”
I looked over at Kat and winked, hoping she’d catch what I wasn’t saying out loud.
“I think that sounds like a great idea, Dad. We can even get one of those doorbells where you can see who’s outside from your phone. You won’t even have to get up if you don’t like who’s there. You can fuss at them from your couch.”
Larry’s head cocked to the side. “Now that idea does have some merit.”
“Do you think someone could come out and give us a quote?” Kat’s blue eyes stared into mine.
Blade ran the security firm, and he had several older clients whose kids checked in from afar.
“For our favorite neighbor, I’ll make sure it’s a priority.
” I rapped my knuckles on the counter and backed away.
“Glad to hear you’re doing better, Larry.
Pixie will be expecting you on Thursday.
And my number’s on your fridge for a reason.
Anytime you need to leave without Noodle, give me a call. You know I’ll look after her.”
Larry smiled. “Thanks, Mav.”
Kat turned to me. “Yeah, Mav.“ She licked her lips. “Thanks.”
Fuck. The way she said my name, the raspy tone with a hint of breath… I had to get out of there before I got a hard on in front of her father. I cleared my throat as I stepped through the doorway. “How long are you here again?”
“Six weeks.” Her gaze locked on mine.
Oh yeah. This could be perfect, just the thing I was looking for.
A relationship of sorts with a clear end date.
Just enough time to quell whatever bug I’d caught from Bear, but not enough time to catch major feelings.
“Number’s on the fridge for you, too. Anything you need while you’re visiting, I got you.
” I gave her one final eye fucking. “Anything at all.”