Chapter 2 Maverick Bishop #2
Blaire moved somewhere more private before answering, her voice dropping as the noise of the hospital she worked at faded into the background.
“Dude, I cannot get into that kind of shit again!”
Her tone immediately turned serious, the hesitation in her voice replaced by genuine concern.
“You know I was at the police station just a few months ago because I got some people to beat up the asshole who hurt my best friend.”
She let out a frustrated breath, rubbing her forehead as she spoke.
“I can’t do it again so soon. I need to stay out of trouble for a few months.”
“Someone hit my friend,” Zoe said immediately, her voice shaking with anger. Her fingers tightened around her phone as she paced a few steps away from the crowd. “I want to take care of him. Give me your guy’s number. I’ll call him myself. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
There was silence on the other end.
Then Blaire’s voice came back, slower this time.
“Say that again.”
“Her boyfriend hit her in the face.” Zoe’s breathing quickened as the anger that had been building inside her spilled over. “I can’t even breathe, Blaire. I’m so angry. I’m so fucking furious. I can barely even find the words to explain how furious I am about this.”
Another brief silence followed.
Then Blaire spoke.
“Are you serious?”
“I am.”
Blaire exhaled heavily, clearly torn between her anger and the trouble she knew she could get herself into.
“You know what? Fuck this shit. We’re doing it. I’m with you on this. He doesn’t get to just get away with it.”
She paused for a moment, her anger still evident in her voice.
“We’re not waiting months to deal with him. Come over. We’ll figure this out ourselves.”
Then, as if suddenly remembering the person at the center of all of this, she asked, “How is she?”
Zoe glanced back toward the bar where she had left Rose.
“Rose is better than I expected. She’s still at the party. I told her to sit down, relax, and have a drink, but I can’t just let him get away with what he did.”
“Come over,” Blaire said firmly. “We’ll go together.”
“Okay.”
Zoe ended the call, shoved her phone into her purse, and immediately made her way out of the party.
Meanwhile, Maverick stormed across the room, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
His expression was hard, his jaw clenched so tightly that a muscle twitched near his cheek. His shoulders were rigid, and his fists remained loosely clenched at his sides. The tension running through his body made it clear that the calm was only on the surface.
People instinctively stepped out of his way as he approached.
The look on his face was unlike anything they had expected to see from him, especially at a party he had hosted himself for such an important project.
He kept walking until he reached the bar.
Once there, he stopped and looked around.
There was no sign of Rose.
His brows drew together.
He scanned the room again, this time more carefully, his eyes moving from one face to another. He stepped around the bar, searching the nearby tables and the surrounding crowd.
Rose was nowhere in sight.
There was no sign of Rose anywhere. Maverick’s brows drew together, tension tightening his face as he slowly looked around the room again. He moved around the bar, his gaze sweeping over each face with increasing attention, but Rose was nowhere to be seen.
But his feet came to an abrupt stop when he heard Rose’s name.
“Josh, do you still like Rose?” A girl whispered urgently to her friend.
The young man glanced at her and shrugged. “Like? Yeah, I guess. She’s sexy.”
The girl immediately smiled.
“She just asked me if you want to sleep with her. Do you want to go?”
The man immediately straightened, interest flashing in his eyes.
“Where?”
“She’s up there.” The girl pointed toward the first floor. “Third room from the stairs.”
Josh turned around and immediately hurried toward the stairs.
A thunderous look settled over Maverick’s face.
He immediately turned and followed the same path, his long strides carrying him toward the staircase.
The crowded hall gradually thinned as the stairs came into view. The upper floor was off-limits to most of the guests.
Josh didn’t seem to care.
He was already rushing up the stairs.
Maverick’s stride lengthened.
His shoes struck the steps hard as he increased his pace, climbing faster. His entire body had gone rigid with fury, a darkness settling over his features that made it seem as though he could burn through anyone who dared stand in his way.
It wasn’t long before he reached the upper floor.
Josh was looking around, searching for the room.
Maverick reached him in seconds.
The moment he did, he grabbed Josh by the back of the neck, his fingers tightening around him as he forced him forward.
“What the fuck? Who are you? What are you doing?”
Josh immediately struggled, twisting beneath Maverick’s grip as he tried to turn around and see who had grabbed him.
But Maverick refused to let him turn.
He kept a firm hold on the back of Josh’s neck and shoved him forward until they reached a small door at the corner of the corridor.
Maverick yanked the door open and pushed him inside.
It was a broom closet. The brooms stacked inside immediately toppled over Josh, several of them crashing onto his shoulders and head.
Josh winced and cried out in surprise, throwing up his arms as he tried to shield himself from the falling brooms.
“What the fuck is going on?”
He struggled to push the brooms away and turn around, but before he could do anything else, Maverick slammed the door shut.
Then he locked it from the outside.
The handle snapped into place.
Josh immediately pounded his fist against the door.
“What the fuck is going on? Open the door! Open the door!”
His fist struck the wood repeatedly, but the pounding barely made a difference with the loud music and party noise coming from downstairs.
Maverick didn’t wait around.
He turned away, his dark eyes immediately scanning the corridor.
Then he spotted another door.
It was slightly open, a strip of light spilling through the gap.
Maverick’s entire body tensed.
He stormed toward it. Reaching the door, he shoved it open and stepped inside. Then he slammed it shut behind him, the lock clicking automatically into place.
Silence surrounded him.
Maverick’s dark eyes immediately swept across the room, searching for Rose.
The room was filled with darkness, except for the dim yellow light coming from a small lamp across the room. It was quiet, almost unnaturally so, with the silence stretching through the room.
There was only one sound—a woman singing loudly, her voice drifting through the darkness.
Maverick frowned and immediately turned toward the sound, walking across the room. But he came to an abrupt stop when he saw Rose standing on the couch.
Drinks were scattered across the table. Several glasses of martini rested there alongside a bottle of alcohol. The bottle had been opened, and almost half of it was already empty.
Rose was swaying on top of the couch, a beer bottle held loosely to her mouth as she sang loudly.
“So my love is gone… I don’t want you anymore, don’t come back…”
She sang the song loudly before stumbling into another line.
Maverick’s expression darkened.
Rose, still completely oblivious to his presence, continued singing. Her feet shifted beneath her, her balance becoming increasingly unsteady.
Then she started to fall.
Maverick immediately lunged forward and grabbed her around the waist, catching her before she could hit the floor.
Rose’s eyes flew open.
Her gaze fell on him.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
Then Rose smiled.
Both of her arms immediately lifted, wrapping around Maverick’s neck as she leaned closer. Before he could even catch his breath, she tilted her head and pressed her mouth against his.
Their lips touched.
Maverick’s entire body went rigid, every muscle tensing beneath the sudden contact.
Rose moved against him without hesitation, while Maverick remained completely still, his hands still firm around her waist.
He stared at her as she kissed him.
Then Rose pulled back.
She blinked slowly, her unfocused eyes searching his face as a small smile appeared on her lips. She lifted her hand and waved it vaguely in front of him.
“Do you want to sleep with me?” she asked.
A displeased frown immediately appeared on Maverick’s face.
He reached over, took the bottle from her hand, and placed it on the table behind them.
Rose didn’t seem to mind.
Instead, she immediately slid her arms tighter around him, pressing herself closer to his body. She tilted her head back and looked at his face, her drunken gaze slowly roaming over his features.
“Hmmm…” Her brows furrowed as she studied him. “You look so familiar. Have I seen you before? Rena said she was going to send Josh, but you don’t look like a Josh.”
Maverick’s expression became stern as a rock. His face darkened, the seriousness in his eyes becoming even more pronounced.
Rose immediately noticed his expression and frowned slightly.
“I want to kiss you more, though.” Her words came out in a drunken mumble. “It’s a good thing that you are not Josh. You are definitely better looking.”
Before he could react, Rose leaned forward and kissed him again.
This time, Maverick put his hand to the back of her head as he took control, his mouth moving over hers as their lips moved together. His other arm slipped down from her waist to her legs, and he lifted her off the couch.
Rose instinctively wrapped herself around him as he turned around, carrying her in his arms. He held her securely by the hips to keep her lifted while his mouth continued moving over hers.
He turned them around, the movement making the table shift slightly with a scrape against the floor. His leg pushed the table aside as he moved, clearing space before he sat down on the couch with Rose in his lap.