Chapter 24
Maverick
I walked into Chapel after settling Van in with Tavi.
She was thoroughly fucked and sated, and Van was happy to have his mum back.
He wasn’t happy with me leaving. Now, that was something I fucking loved, and missed from being out of my own kids’ lives for so long. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“All good?” Reaper asked, his head tilted up when I entered.
“Yep.”
“He better be, fucking heard his missus screaming down the top floor,” Beast complained.
“Best invest in some headphones, mate,” I replied, laughing with the rest of the boys when Beast rolled his eyes at me.
“Trojan?” Reaper motioned for the man to sit down and give us an update. The shit that went down tonight was going to be everywhere. It was best if we laid low, and I was more than happy to do that with my woman.
“News outlet has just picked up a visual of Hardy being hung off the Harbour Bridge in the traditional outlaw pose. Nice, by the way.”
I smirked at him. “Had to bring back the old ways, since he was so hellbent on doing it himself.”
“Karma’s a bitch,” Shadow added. He was freshly cleaned. I could tell he would have made sure nothing could trace back to us which was no small feat when you hung a dead body off one of the most visited attraction sites in Sydney.
Trojan pulled up the vision on the wall of the Chapel. An aerial view, taken by a drone, of Hardy’s near headless body hanging off the bridge.
“That’ll keep the sharks at bay for a while,” Reaper added. “I heard from Mannix. He said a lot of the old guard of Ironborne have gone quiet, some even pledging allegiance to him tonight. It did its job.”
I nodded. “Two birds, one stone.”
“Agreed,” Reaper surmised. “Any leads?”
“None,” Shadow said. “We’re clear, but I’d lay low if I were you. You know they’re always watching.”
Reaper nodded. “Got it.”
He threw his gavel down on the table and we exited the Chapel. The image of Hardy strung up like the old outlaws back in the old days filled me with an excitement I knew was wrong. Yet, he deserved that, and so much more for what he did to my woman.
“Your woman okay?” Shadow asked me once we got to the bar.
“She is. Thank you, brother.”
“No need to thank me for that,” he said, grabbing the drink off Cherry who was gladly handing them out. “We’re Sons, we look after our own.”
I nodded.
“You know she’s been through a fucking lot, torture, probably more that she hasn’t told you.”
“Yeah, I have a feeling she’s only told me a portion of it.”
“What I’m saying is she’s going to need to talk to someone. Probably not you, probably not someone outside…but maybe someone a little closer to home who wants to help.”
I turned to see who Shadow was looking at. Pope sat on the couch with Rowan draped over Reaper, smiling at something she was telling him. Pope near raised Shadow from a kid, the same as Chaos and Reaper, and he was our chaplain for a reason.
“You’re right. I’ll bring it up with her.”
Shadow nodded, taking a sip of his beer, before his phone dinged. He looked down at it, his eyebrows creasing for a moment, before he was out the door, his phone to his ear.
I’d never seen him move so fast. He’d been doing that a lot lately.
He was good at disappearing and hiding in the shadows, hence his name, but lately…
there was something going on with him. Once things with Tavi settle, I’ll ask him.
He has always been there for me, and I would be there for him. No matter what it was.
“Not drinking, Mav?” Cherry asked.
“Nah, got a woman and boy to put to bed.”
She winked. “I knew it would happen one day.”
I smirked at her, before heading down the hall to my bedroom. Van was asleep on Tavi’s arm, her head on the pillow, fast asleep. I stripped down to my boxers and slid in behind Tavi, wrapping my arm around her waist, keeping her close.
Tonight could have turned out tragic. Instead, I was lucky enough to have my woman with me.
Whatever penance I’d paid the devil for my past crimes, I was glad for it. I couldn’t imagine a life without my Tavi.
And I wouldn’t have to.