CHAPTER 17
Maverick
Thankfully Kaya’s job only took a few hours.
It was sexy as fuck watching her in action.
She had three men in suits following her around, hanging on her every word as she explained system updates and a whole bunch of other shit I didn’t understand.
I stood back and took it all in. She’s wicked smart when it comes to all that techy shit.
I saw the way they checked her out too. Lucky for all of them, they were smart enough to reign it in, even purposely looking away when she had to bend down.
I’m sure it was because I was standing nearby intimidating them with my presence.
When I walked in with Kaya, the bank manager looked back and forth between us with his eyes full of questions. Kaya didn’t miss a beat and announced to him and everyone else in the lobby that I was her bodyguard. Whatever works.
“I appreciate you keeping quiet today,” Kaya says, from the passenger seat, as we ride out of Colton.
Her hand is resting on my thigh. I lift it to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “Didn’t need to say anything.”
She laughs. “I wonder why. You had poor Martin shaking in his loafers.”
“Martin?”
“The manager. He kept glancing over at you like he was afraid you were going to charge at any moment.” She says through her laughs.
“So, what is it you did there?”
“It was just an upgrade. Simple really. But afterward we had to make sure the audit trails and RBAC were working. Then we had to check the integration and network connectivity, encryption and compliance, and—”
“Never mind. How the hell do you know all that shit?”
“Years of practice. Computers have always been there for me. I was having a hard time adjusting when I landed with Trudy and Bill. A few weeks after I got there Bill asked me if there was one thing I could have from my old life, what it would be and I told him my computer. He went out the next day and got me one. It was the nicest thing anyone had done for me in a long time.”
“What happened to your old one?” I ask.
“Huh? Oh. The one from before my parents died?”
“Yeah.”
“I got it back years later. One of my aunts kept it for her own kid. I was practically a zombie at the time and I had let my cousin use it. When I moved from her house to another aunt and uncle, it got left behind. The one Bill got me was better anyway, but I have the original to this day.”
Once we’re back in Dogwood Creek, I drive us to a parking area by the river normally used by fisherman. “I need to talk to you.”
“Awe and I thought you brought us here to make out.” Kaya quips.
“Maybe after, if you still want to.”
“Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.”
I sigh and shift my body to face her. “I know Ty.”
She shakes her head slightly. “What? Ty? How would you know him? He was gone before you even got here.”
“Ty saw something over a year ago that put him in some hot water. People were after him. That guy Bishop.” I say leading her.
She nods, but her face is pure confusion.
“Well, he wanted him dead. Ty reached out to Riker for help and Carnage helped him. I met him then and moved him to Tennessee. We were there for a few days before I moved him down to Texas.”
“Hold the fuck on! You’re telling me that Ty, my Ty, as in Gretchen’s Ty has been in Texas this entire time? You knew? Everyone in Carnage knew?”
I rake my fingers through my hair. “Not really. I mean I knew Ty, but I didn’t know the situation or anything about Bishop or Gretchen until I came here. Only a few people knew the entire situation.”
Kaya is ready to explode. Her eyes are wider than I’ve ever seen them.
She looks like a cartoon character. “What the hell has he been doing? He couldn’t call?
Him leaving destroyed Gretchen! I mean, literally fucking destroyed her.
She didn’t eat for a week. It took months for me and Sophia to even leave her alone because we were afraid she would do something stupid. And he’s just been what? In hiding?”
“Babe, I know this is fucked up, but, listen, the whole situation was volatile. It wasn’t only Bishop and his club involved, but the mob too. Ty was told not to contact anyone, just in case people he knew were being watched too.”
“Oh my God. Is that why Flip was watching her all the time?”
I nod.
“Drive. I need to get to Gretchen now.”
I pull back onto the road. “Wait. Before you go telling her anything, there’s something else.”
She huffs. “What?”
“He’s on his way to the clubhouse.”
Kaya opens her mouth and then closes it.
She starts texting at lightning speed. I watch her eyebrows move up and down as she texts, all the while her brown eyes are bouncing around the phone, blinking hard, opening wide, and damn near having a whole conversation all on their own. “When will he be back?”
“A few hours. Apparently, he left Texas sometime yesterday afternoon. But there’s one more thing...”
She stops texting and glares at me. I turn down the road toward Carnage. “Ty’s a member of the club now.”
And just when I thought Kaya’s face couldn’t show any more emotion, her jaw falls open. She drops her phone on the floor and her brows almost give her hairline a high five. Holy shit.
“Of Carnage? Ty? No. There’s no way!”
I shrug. My little firecracker is about to blow. “It’s true. He patched in around the time that I rolled into Dogwood Creek.”
“So that bastard has been in Texas playing biker boy while my girl fell the fuck apart? I’m going to kill him!”
“Kaya.” I say, trying to calm her. That was not the right move.
“Oh no! Don’t Kaya me, Maverick. You didn’t see her! You didn’t watch my best friend sob for days. You didn’t see her literally throwing up because of the pain of losing him and not understanding why! He just left! Do you get that at all?”
I sigh as I pull through the gate to Carnage. I do get it, but at the same time I don’t. I’m not a very empathetic person so it’s hard for me to really put myself in Gretchen’s position. I park and turn off Kaya’s car.
“So, you texted Gretchen?” I ask cautiously.
“And Sophia. They’re both on their way. I can’t fucking believe this.
” She shakes her head. “It took her six months to even go out with me to a bar, just to get out of her apartment. Things started getting a little better after she hooked up with this guy, Lawson. After that she finally decided to say fuck it, and started getting back out there just to have fun…”
Her eyes snap to mine. “Please tell me he didn’t stay faithful to her.”
“What? Why?”
“Oh no. Maverick, it will kill her if she’s been up here sleeping around while he was just celibate, waiting for her. You don’t get it.”
“So, you want him to have cheated?” I’m so lost right now.
“I mean no, of course not, but she’s not going to be able to handle it if he didn’t.”
“Is she going to be able to handle it if he did?”
Kaya’s eyes narrow on me. “Hard line for me Maverick, just so we’re clear. I’ve never dated so I never had to worry about this, but I’m telling you here and now that if you ever cheat on me, I will chop it off.”
I choke back a laugh. She is not amused. “I’m serious!”
I get out of the car, walk around to the passenger side and open the door.
I grab her hand and pull her out. I lace my fingers through hers in both hands and then raise our hands and pin them to the car above her head.
I lean down and brush my beard against her cheek, then bring my lips to her ear.
“If I wanted to be with other women, I could have just kept living life the way I always have. I don’t want anyone but you.
” I give the bottom of her ear lobe a lick before backing up and freeing her hands.
“You’re sure? I mean, now that we’re official, the chase is over. It might not be as fun for you.”
I quirk a brow. “You think that was fun? Girl, none of that was fun for me.”
“No?”
I rush at her lifting her from the ground. She shrieks as I take a few steps and plop her on the trunk. I step between her legs, wrapping my arms around her. Her hands cup my face and she begins stroking my beard, that I’m pretty sure she’s obsessed with.
“All I want is you. Not some bullshit chase, and definitely not any other woman. Now, let’s talk about you and your threats about fucking every guy in the clubhouse.”
She winces. “I hope you know I never meant that. I’m messed up, baby. I tried to push you away in every way possible. I thought if I pissed you off enough you would go sleep with someone else, which would then be my proof that you never really cared.”
“How’d that work out for you?”
She lays her head on my chest. “Exactly how I wanted it to.”