Chapter 4
Maverick
All afternoon my mind was on Tavi. It had been almost five years since that night where I’d almost had her.
She’d come to the clubhouse a few times, but never came near any of the brothers.
She was young, younger than any of us, and more than once I had wondered what she’d been doing here, but when I’d gotten back from the run and she hadn’t been here, I’d been gutted.
She’d flirted all night with me, after I finally gave in and flirted my ass off.
She was young, innocent and oh so tempting.
She’d been up for whatever, and damn if that hadn’t made me hard just thinking about it.
It hadn’t just been flirting, something had passed between us that night, something more.
Back then, I passed it off on her beauty, but it wasn’t that.
We’d talked about music, and bourbon, and the feel of the mountains around us.
Every weekend after, I’d waited for her to walk through those doors so I could choose her over a run, so I could fuck her until I couldn’t see straight, and had her crying out my name. But she never came back.
I’d thought about her over the years, the only one I ever gave a second thought to, and yet I hadn’t seen her. Not even around town, which made me think she’d moved or she was from out of town.
But today?
Damn, she looked just as good as back then. That same cheeky grin, those same wide brown eyes that I wanted to look into as I brought her to a soul-crushing orgasm.
She had a son, and by the look of him, that happened just after we had met. I knew he wasn’t mine, we’d never gotten that far, but maybe that’s why she never came back.
I’d thought her a bad mum, before my memory had served me and reminded me who she was. Maybe she was. Maybe she was a bad mum, going back to her abuser and letting her son see her hurt. What was she thinking?
I pulled my phone out and texted the one man who could get me the answers I needed.
Troj. Need information on someone. Need this on the downlow. Name: Tavi, has a four year old son Van.
TROJAN
On it. Give me an hour.
An hour. Jesus. That kid was a freak when it came to tracking.
I didn’t know the significance of her coming back into my life right now, but I knew I didn’t want her to be in trouble.
That kid was a bright light, making me think of my own boy.
He’d called me daddy, and I had liked seeing him look up at me like I was the king of his domain, more than I cared to admit.
Why did he call me daddy?
I moved over to the bar and had Cherry pour me a double.
“Something’s weighing heavy on you,” she said as she placed it on the counter in front of me. “Do you need to talk or fuck?”
I tossed back the drink and chuckled at one of my oldest friends. She was always down to the point, and why we all loved her like a sister. “None of the above.”
“Now, that’s a bald-faced lie. Come on, Mav.”
“I’m good, darlin’,” I said, pointing to the empty glass. She sighed and poured me another while I waited for a response from Trojan.
“One day, Maverick, someone’s gonna come in and walk right into your heart and you’ll let her. I can’t wait for that.”
Why did I picture Tavi when she said that?
“Maybe, but this life ain’t for love. It’s too dangerous. “
“That’s bullshit and you know it. This club is family. We protect our own. You just want to make excuses.”
Cherry moved off, leaving me the bottle, annoyed. I didn’t blame her. She came from nothing, and this club protected her when no one else would. She was right, we were a family, but it took a damn strong woman to want this life.
Mari hadn’t wanted it. We hadn’t been strong enough to withstand that. The club called to me, whereas motherhood called to her. We’d agreed. Both of us, and yet, I had lived a life away from responsibility, away from finding love because I didn’t want to hurt the memory of my marriage, and my kids.
But I’d missed out on so much.
I grabbed the bottle of whiskey and headed over to the tables at the bar of the clubhouse. Animal, Knight and Beast sat at the tables, dealing cards.
“Ah shit,” Animal scoffed. “Time to lose your money, boys.”
I smirked at him, knowing he was probably right. I wasn’t named Maverick for no reason. My poker strategy was unparalleled.
“Deal.”
Beast groaned, but did as he was told. We were joined by Pope, Shadow and our treasurer, Vegas. If anyone could best me, it was him, but only on a good day.
The game was underway, sweaty brows, serious faces. I could see the tells on all of them immediately. Suckers.
I played my hand, watching as each of them chewed on their lower lip, or watched as their eyes darted around the table.
Easy prey.
Vegas and I went on rides once a year, heading to Brisbane to meet up with our Brisbane chapter to hit the casino there. Long nights, drinks, cocaine and usually women on tap. When was the last time I’d done that?
When Beast finally put his cards down, I chuckled as we all saw the cocky bastard had a good hand but not as good as mine.
“How the fuck do you do that?” he grunted, as he pushed the chips toward me. “Every fucking time.”
“It’s called strategy, kid,” I told him with a wink, which only earned me a scowl. His twin, Knight, and older brother, Animal, both laughed and clapped him on the back. He always did have the biggest temper of all of them.
But he was one of the fiercest we had.
“Deal.”
Vegas did as he was ordered and I sat back, watching, calming my nerves after being off kilter from seeing her again, and waiting on Trojan’s text.
Play after play, I got lost in the feel of the game with my brothers, laughing at Beast losing his shit and tagging in our prospect Brandon. He was good.
Damn good.
Better than I thought he would be, and I didn’t have a proper read on him yet. I would. I always did. I could read people. Always been able to. It was a curse sometimes, and there were times it was useful.
Like this.
Like when I needed to get us out of sticky situations with rival clubs, or the Ironborne.
Brandon almost got me with his hand, because I’d been thinking about the shit we were going through with Prez’s son. I knew Trey, and I knew he was a dumbass, but to get involved with the Ironborne wasn’t like him.
I wanted to find him so we could chat without his dad looking over his shoulder.
I loved Reaper more than a brother, but he wasn’t the dad of the year.
None of us were, but he’d never had to make a hard decision like I did for the sake of his kids.
The women he chose to have kids with hated him, taking his kids from him and raising them away from the club.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and immediately, I folded, getting up and heading out of the clubhouse.
TROJAN
Got your girl. Tavi Bainbridge. Married to Hardy Bainbridge, CEO of Black Anchor. Son Evan is four. Nothing about a job or friends.
Fuck.
Black Anchor was an Ironborne business, which meant she was somehow linked to them through her husband.
Husband.
Fuck.
She hadn’t been wearing a ring when I saw her today. It had been the first thing I looked for when I saw it was the girl of my dreams.
It was clearly him who was beating her. It just made no sense why she would come to our garage for her car.
Unless it was a cry for help.
And she came hoping I would remember her.
I was torn. I wanted to go there, pack her and that boy up, and bring them home to protect them, and another part was sure I didn’t want to bring the heat to the club.
Another vibration and I was grabbing for my secret phone. Fuck. I had told Mari I might go to dinner tonight and never told her no.
I grabbed it out of my pocket and flicked into the message.
MARI
If you were thinking of coming tonight, don’t. Long story but I’m in the emergency department with Bane.
I didn’t need to ask any questions, my body was moving before I could catch up to whatever the fuck I was doing.
Tavi
“Straight to bed,” I said to Van after our day out.
He was playing with his toy truck, running it along bannisters that led to his room.
I could tell he was tired, and I was thankful he usually didn’t scream his head off when I needed him to sleep, but I could feel a shift in the air when I walked into the house.
Hardy’s men were not at their normal posts, and the house was quiet.
“Rosina,” I called out. “Are you here?”
She’d been our chef, nanny, maid, whatever you wanted to call an all rounder who looked after us more than we did ourselves, and an absolute godsend.
I moved down the hallway and into the kitchen. It was pristine, almost like she hadn’t been here today. That was odd.
Moving back out of the kitchen, I hooked a left to look in the dining room, but it was empty too.
My heart was racing, my stomach was full of butterflies, the anxiety of what I was about to walk into. There was only one reason why Rosina and Hardy’s men were not here.
Because he was.
And he wanted to be alone with me.
I put my hand, now shaking, on the bannister and moved up the stairs slowly. Each step felt like I was walking toward my doom. Van was happily playing on his bed, with his truck, when I got there.
“Time for sleep, bud.”
“But my bath!”
“Tomorrow bud, I promise,” I said, kneeling down next to his bed and tucking him in. I took his truck and put it down on the bedside table. “You were a good boy today.”
He smiled up at me, and I felt the anxiety ease slightly. He always had a way to make me feel better, even with just a hug or a smile.
“We go back tomorrow?”
“Oh bud, I don’t think so,” I said, watching his smile turn. “But maybe we can go back for a visit later in the week.”
“Okay, Mama.”
I kissed him on the forehead, and switched his nightlight on for him, before I headed to his door.
Switching off the light, I closed his door, and braced myself for what was to come.