Chapter 21 - Maverick #2
After the doctor left, there was nothing I could do but pace the floors and wait for an update from Skye.
Brooks was asleep. Skye was still neck deep in the bullshit at the house.
I was getting updates mainly from Diego and Luca, as Skye was focused.
He had found . . . a lot. It seemed Tanner had been gathering information on pretty much everyone.
While he had been holed up in France and raping and hurting innocents, he’d also been stacking up every piece of evidence he could manage to find on anyone and everyone.
I had no idea exactly what Skye had found, but it was too much for him to go through on his own.
He had begun taking pictures of as much of it as he could while Diego worked on hacking into Tanner’s personal computers to get whatever he had there.
I felt useless. I wanted to be with him, helping with the work and dealing with the guards and the cleaners and whatever other bullshit might come up.
But I also needed to be here for Brooks. Yeah, he was sleeping, but I had to check on him every hour, and he was still vomiting fairly often . . . and fuck I was spiraling. I hated having nothing to do.
“Alright, I’m disconnecting our comms,” Wes announced after a couple of hours of me nagging and Luca bossing everyone around.
We were all getting snappy and reaching our limits.
“We need to step away. Mav, Diego is still monitoring the situation, and if something happens, he’ll call.
He has a million alerts set up. But everyone needs to back off and get rest. Now. ”
“Skye—”
“Will be back soon, Mav. I promise. But I’m on team Wes here. I love you guys, but the constant check-ins are becoming too much. I do know how to use a phone if I really need it.”
Smart ass.
“Perfect. Maverick, get some rest while Brooks is out. It’s going to be a long night, so take the break while you can, like they tell new parents.”
Wes was in a bossy fucking mood. It was kind of sexy.
Lucky Luca and Diego. I was sure he’d take care of them.
“Skye, let me know when you’re done there,” Luca ordered, his final one before Wes cut him off.
“I will.”
“And if anything changes with Brooks—”
“I’ll let you know,” I informed him. I doubted I could sleep even if Wes was right that we all needed to decompress. We were fucking professionals, but when one of us got hurt, it was hard to remember that.
It took longer than I was sure Wes or Skye wanted, but we finally all got off, and for the first time in hours, I was able to pull my earpiece out.
I checked on Brooks, but he was still sleeping, and I had a little time before I had to wake him again.
I needed to shower, though I couldn’t bring myself to do it yet.
I had this irrational fear that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to hear Brooks if he needed me.
I’d have to wait till Skye got back and we could take turns.
With nothing else to do and no chance I’d be able to sleep, I went back to the living room and slumped in one of the chairs.
I turned the TV on, flipping to the news.
It was in French, obviously, but mine was decent enough to get by, and I could see the images well enough.
Nothing about Tanner showed up, not that I’d expected it to.
I checked my phone. Fuck, only twenty minutes had passed. I was going to lose it. I did not do well sitting idly.
My phone was burning in my hand and I was more restless than I thought I’d ever been. I was the one who tamed my men’s restlessness, not the other way around. I didn’t fucking like this. Checking the time, I realized it was still pretty early in the States. My parents would still be up.
“Fuck it.” After checking on Brooks one more time, I pulled up my contacts and called my mom and dad. If anyone could get me to chill the fuck out, it would be them.
“Hello?” my mom answered, sounding a little distracted. In the background, I could hear kids screaming. My nieces and nephews must be over.
My heart panged. I really needed to make more of an effort to see my family more regularly. I missed them.
“Hey, Ma. Is this a bad time?”
“Maverick? Of course not, honey. Your sister is over with the kids, but you know I’m always happy to hear from you. I thought you said you were going to be away for a few days. Is everything okay?”
Concern immediately overtook any happiness in her tone.
“I am. Both okay and away on a business trip. Today got a little . . . rough. We’re all okay,” I quickly added so she didn’t worry. “But I’m feeling a little off and wanted to hear your voice.”
I cleared my throat, glad no one was around to see how red my cheeks got. I didn’t typically blush, and I fucking knew the guys would give me shit.
There was a pause, and then the commotion in the background disappeared. She must’ve gone into another room.
“Maverick, are you sure everything is okay?” Her tone was serious, concerned.
I closed my eyes. “Yeah. Brooks . . . he got hurt during a job today. He’ll be fine, but I guess it rattled me more than expected.
” My family didn’t know the details, but they had a vague idea about what I did.
My mom knew she couldn’t ask questions, but it would be alright to tell her that at least.
“Of course it did. You love him. If you weren’t rattled, I’d be more concerned.” She hesitated. “I know you can’t tell me anything, but he’ll be alright? Honestly?”
I smiled softly. “Yeah, he will. I promise. He’s sleeping now, but once we’re home, I’ll have him call you. That way you can see for yourself.”
“Good. You know I worry about all of you. I don’t care how trained you are.”
“I know, Mom. We’ll be fine. I think I felt a little bit helpless, out of control.”
Mom laughed. “And we all know how much you hate being out of control.”
I snorted. She had no idea. Or, well, she probably had a little bit of an idea of my preferences, but that was one thing we didn’t discuss, thank fuck. Still, I’d been a bossy little kid, and that hadn’t exactly died down into adulthood.
After that, the topic shifted and we just spoke about everyday things for a few minutes.
My niece had a dance recital coming up soon and she had put on a show for my parents in their living room today.
My brother had gotten accepted into the Phd program he had wanted in.
My parents were looking at booking a cruise for their forty-fifth wedding anniversary.
She asked about our Thanksgiving plans, and I told her I’d let her know for sure when we got back.
It would be nice to have all the families together, but it would really depend on Everett and what was going on in this case.
By the time I was caught up on all the family gossip, I was feeling much better and it was about time to go check on Brooks. “I’m gonna go, Mom. I gotta check on Brooks. But . . . thanks. I needed this.”
She made a thoughtful noise. “Of course, Mav. I love you and your men. Your dad and I are always here, whenever you need us.”
I was not about to cry while on the phone. “Thanks, Ma. I love you too. I’ll have Brooks call you when we get back,” I reminded her.
“He better. Bye, honey. Get some rest. You sound exhausted.”
Laughing, I said my goodbyes and finally disconnected. When I went to check on Brooks, I felt a lot more settled than I had earlier. Everything would be fine. It had to be.