Chapter 17
Maverick
Parker’s car was in the driveway when I got to Mari’s house and immediately I knew this conversation was going to be rough. Tavi had taken Lani for breakfast and was going to drop her off later, after I could talk to her mother about everything.
I never thought I’d be here.
The one needing to tell Mari what was going on. It had always been the other way around.
Sucking it up, I approached the door and knocked. Mari opened it, her brows knitting together in confusion, before she looked out to see if I was with anyone.
“Dane?”
“Can we talk?” I asked her.
“Of course,” she said, stepping to the side to let me in. “Parker’s just out at the moment, but he will be home soon.”
I knew what that meant. She needed me to be quick about it.
“How is everything with you and Parker?”
Mari moved into my line of sight, her eyes going everywhere except connecting with mine. She was avoiding me, and I didn’t like it. She’d always been there for me. Always made sure I was okay even when I broke our kids’ hearts, and yet she didn’t feel like she could come to me.
That hurt.
“What brings you by, Dane?” she asked, taking a seat at the table.
I followed her lead and sat down at the table myself, facing her. Finally, she looked up, and I saw it. The insecurity, the indecision. I’d seen those watery eyes before, and it had been because of me.
A fierce protectiveness stole over me and I sat forward. “Tell me.”
“It doesn’t matter, Dane.”
“It does to me.”
She sighed. “We’re adults. Sometimes we fall out of love. It doesn’t matter. As long as my kids are happy, I don’t care.”
I looked away, unsure how to tell her about Lani and what happened last night. This was what Tavi was good at. I should have let her do this, not that she would have given me a choice.
“I came here to talk to you about Lani.”
Mari looked relieved. “She’s not here. She had a sleepover with a friend. What did you want to talk about?”
I sighed. “She wasn’t with a friend, Mari. She was at The Pit–don’t worry, she’s safe. I made sure of it, and she asked to stay at mine last night, but I think we need to talk about it.”
Mari was surprised, her mouth opening and closing several times without speaking. “Is she okay? Why didn’t she want to come home?”
“Do you know much about her friends?”
“Not really. She has heaps, but the ones I’ve seen and met are Daisy and Penny. Why? Just tell me what the hell is going on!”
“They left her there, Marz. They left her alone with boys she never knew at The Pit. She was trying to push them off her when I found her there. Luckily, I was there last night. They aren’t her friends.
Now, she was worried that Parker would lose his shit and tell her he was disappointed in her which is why she wanted to stay with me. ”
Mari closed her eyes for a moment. “Where is she, Dane? She can’t hide forever.”
“She’s not hiding. She’s with Tavi. I wanted to come and talk to you first. Now, tell me why my daughter thinks her stepfather is going to be giving her a lecture and making her feel like shit by saying he’s disappointed in her.”
Sitting back, I waited for Mari to explain, pushing down the anger that I could feel mounting all over again. She had been worried about it. She hadn’t wanted to come home.
That irked me.
“Dane, Parker raised her. He’s trying to teach her right from wrong.”
My fist landed on the table, startling Mari. “Tell me what the fuck he has said to my daughter for her to be scared to come home when she fucked up. She’s a kid, Mari. She’s gonna fuck up.”
“He loves her, Dane, but it’s his way of parenting. She knows she’s safe here. It’s just the way he words things sometimes. I promise you, he would never intentionally hurt her.”
“You said you didn’t love him anymore…why do you allow it?”
“Grow up, Dane. I’m raising two teenagers with growing bodies, education expenses and all the little extras they need. There’s more to a marriage than love.”
She made the move to get up and pace. I felt for her, she was one of my best friends, someone who has always been there for me and I hadn’t seen it. She always seemed so put together.
Fuck.
That was on me. I should have noticed. I should have seen she needed me, instead of locking myself away in the clubhouse, hiding away in my own misery.
“Mari…”
I was about to tell her to come with me. We could work things out. Tavi would know what to do, but the front door opened and in marched the fucker. I stood, and just as he cast his eyes over on me, his smile dropped before he turned to Mari.
“I told you he’s not welcome here.”
Mari moved to intercept, but I pulled her back behind me, drawing my gun from my holster under my kutte, and aimed it at him and his friend behind him.
“Dane!” Mari cried out, trying to get in front of me.
“Stop, Mari. Do you know who that is behind your husband?”
“What? He’s just a friend of Parker’s, Dane. Put the gun down!”
“This is exactly why he’s not welcome, Maribelle!” Parker yelled. His voice echoed through the house. I couldn’t hate this fucker more than I did just now, but my eyes were on his friend.
“Seems Tavi couldn’t keep you happy, you need to move onto another unavailable woman, and so soon,” the fucker said to me. Parker turned to his friend, confusion all over his face.
“What’s going on, Dane?” Mari asked me, her attempts to stop me from aiming the gun at the two men in front of us had stopped.
“Dane? Why aren’t you asking me? Get over here!” Parker yelled at her. Mari stilled beside me, and I knew I’d been wrong about him. He’d been fucking working for them.
All along.
My family hadn’t been safe. They would have been safer with me.
“Dane?”
“Mari, get Bane, pack a bag. You’re coming with me.”
“Like hell!”
Parker made a move to grab her wrist, but I shot at his feet and he jumped back. Mari ran up the stairs to grab Bane, and away from the fuckers in front of me.
“How long have you been feeding information to the Ironborne, Parker?” I asked, marvelling at how calm my voice was when I was anything but. “Don’t lie. I can tell when people lie, it makes my trigger finger all itchy.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I turned to his friend, my sworn fucking enemy, and wondered why I hadn’t taken him out of the equation yet.
“Hardy, I wouldn’t be fucking smiling if I were you. I’m the one holding the gun.”
“In a house with your family,” Hardy sneered. “I doubt you’ll try anything. In fact, there’s not a place that the Ironborne won’t find them. Then again, you discarded them for a piece of tight ass. Where is that ass that I own, by the way?”
“You don’t own shit,” I said through gritted teeth.
Fuck. Tavi was going to bring Lani home. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and dialled Tavi as quickly as I could, holding the phone to my ear, while I kept the gun trained on Hardy.
He had a sick smile on his face, while my heart raced.
When I heard her voice, I relaxed a little.
“Change of plans, meet me at the clubhouse. Take the kids there.”
Tavi was silent for a minute, but when I heard her response, I almost broke. “He’s found me, hasn’t he?”
“Just get there, Tavi.”
I hung up, knowing she would do as I asked her. Hardy seemed pleased with himself and that only annoyed the fuck out of me more.
Mari came down the stairs with Bane, and I lowered the gun a little. Bane clocked it, and he turned to Parker and Hardy, his eyes narrowing into slits almost.
“Go with your mum, Bane.”
He nodded and took his mum’s hand with his good arm, and let her lead him to the door. She turned back to me.
“Go to the clubhouse,” I told her. “Tell Reaper I’ll be there and to call church.” She nodded and headed outside, and away from the fucks in front of me.
“What are you going to do? Shoot us in daylight in the middle of a nice neighbourhood?” Parker asked. “They’ll hear your bike and have you locked up faster than you can blink.”
“You think prison time scares me, fuckhead?” I shot back. “I’ve had plenty of brothers serve time, and I have some still inside. I don’t give a fuck. I’ll do whatever I can to protect my family.”
“And what of them when you’re locked up? Surely you don’t think it’s just us two watching them.”
“You underestimate the Sons, Hardy. We protect our own, not like the scum of Ironborne.”
The rumble of motorcycles permeated the air outside, and I knew my brothers had come to help me. Chaos, Beast and Shadow appeared at the doorway, their guns drawn on the two fuckers standing tall in the living area.
“You good, Mav?” Chaos called over his shoulder at me.
“Be better when they’re in the ground.”
“Too much heat on us, brother,” Shadow said. I wanted to fight him on it, but I knew he was right. He was a former cop, after all. “Don’t worry, we got eyes on them in ways they’ll never see.”
Hardy’s smirk died for a moment, before he put on a front again. His time was coming, and I was going to be the one to snuff that little light in his eyes out.
Gladly.
Chaos kept his weapon trained on them as Shadow and Beast grabbed me and pulled me out.
“It’s time to loop in Prez,” he said.
I nodded. “Yeah. Did everyone get to the clubhouse?”
“Tavi, Lani and Van are there. She alerted us. Prez isn’t there at the moment. He’s meeting with Mannix.”
Fuck.
“Do you think–”
“Nah, brother. Mannix wants change, and we both know he’s up against a lot of shit. Come on. Let’s go.”
I put my weapon away, and jumped on my bike, taking off before I turned back and put a bullet between both those fucker’s heads.
How could I have done this?
I let my own family be ruled by the Ironborne, all for fear I was going to fuck them up. Maybe, I had…unknowingly. The only thing I needed was Tavi.
She’d sort me out.
She was the only thing that could sort me out these days.
Tavi