Chapter Six
Maverick
“This place is incredible,” Sunny beams, looking around with wide eyes. “I can’t believe I didn’t know it existed. Do you think they need volunteers?”
“No,” Bones growls.
Sunny turns to glare at him.
“I agree with Sunny,” Abby says, ignoring Bones completely. “Maybe we can find the owner and ask.”
I bite back a smile as Bones lets out a long, suffering sigh.
His gaze scans the property, sharp and restless, taking in every tent, every vendor, every open gate and moving body. I’m not surprised he’s in protective mode. Sunny’s here, after all, and Bones has never met a shadow he didn’t think might be hiding something dangerous.
Still, he doesn’t have to worry.
I have men surrounding the place inside and out.
Subtle enough not to alarm the guests.
Close enough to become a problem for anyone foolish enough to make one.
I ignore the reason I felt the need to have eyes on the sanctuary today.
It has nothing to do with Olivia or Amelia.
Nothing at all.
A very large portion of my family is here. Children. Women. People under my protection. That is reason enough to increase security.
That is the only reason.
My gaze drifts across the fundraiser grounds before I can stop it, searching through the crowd until I find her.
Mia. Amelia.
She stands near the welcome table with a clipboard in one hand, her pale green sanctuary shirt tucked into worn jeans, her hair pulled back like she means business. She’s actually talking to Abby, but even from here, I can see the tension in her shoulders.
Busy and tired…but beautiful.
Extra security was definitely for my family.
No other reason whatsoever.
“Is that her talking with Tank’s woman?” Stefano asks.
I nod.
“She’s beautiful,” Stefano says.
Again, I nod.
Because she is.
“Be right back,” Stefano says.
My head turns sharply. “What are you doing?”
He doesn’t answer because, of course he doesn’t.
He simply walks away, his shoulders pushed back, chin high, and arms relaxed.
“Stefano,” I warn, knowing exactly what he’s about to do.
He lifts one hand without turning around, and I narrow my eyes at his back.
I won’t need to put that protection detail on my brother after all because I’m going to kill him myself.
***Mia***
I smile as the owner of a local boutique hands me a check.
“It’s not much,” she says bashfully. “But I wanted to help where I could.”
Glancing down, I see the check is for five thousand dollars.
For a second, I can only stare at it.
“Do you have any idea how much food I can buy with this amount of money?” I ask, looking back at the kind woman. “How much medicine? Please don’t say it isn’t much. The fact that you’re willing to help already means everything. And this amount really will help.”
Her shoulders relax as she takes a deep breath.
“Good,” she says softly. “I can’t believe I’m only just learning about this place. We actually have a mutual friend who told me about it last week.”
“Really?” I ask with a smile. “Who?”
“Cody Bentley.”
“Oh, I love Cody,” I say with a laugh. “I met him when he first came to volunteer a few years back, and I haven’t been able to get rid of him since.”
“Yeah, he has that effect on people,” she says, laughing with me. “Anyway, I can see you’re busy. Maybe we can meet up later? My family is all around here somewhere, and I know they would love to meet you.”
“Absolutely,” I tell her. “Please enjoy your visit. And again, thank you.”
She nods, then turns and heads toward a beast of a man waiting patiently a few feet away.
Tank…An Iron Shadows member.
There are hundreds of Shadows in Palm Springs, but everyone knows the handful who live inside that huge compound. The ones people whisper about at grocery stores and pretend not to stare at when they roll through town on their bikes.
Tank is hard to miss.
Tall, broad, rough around the edges, and currently watching the woman walk toward him like she’s the only person in existence.
I’m assuming that means she’s his.
Which also means she’s one of the women people talk about with that strange blend of curiosity and caution.
The Iron Shadows’ women.
I don’t know much about their world, but I know enough to understand they protect what’s theirs.
And apparently, today, a good chunk of what’s theirs has wandered straight into my sanctuary.
I’m startled when someone touches my shoulder.
Turning, I take a quick step back and look up at the face I’ve been both excited and nervous to see all morning.
“Mr… Moretti?” I ask, unsure.
Because it looks like him.
Mostly.
Same dark eyes. Same sharp jaw. Same broad shoulders wrapped in an expensive suit that probably costs more than my monthly feed bill.
Which is a freaking lot.
But at the same time…it doesn’t.
Something’s off.
Of course, I only met the man last night, and my emotions were all over the place, so maybe I don’t remember him correctly.
Maybe my tired brain added a little extra danger to him.
A little extra intensity. Maybe I built him up in my mind until the real man couldn’t possibly match the one I spent half the night thinking about.
“Good morning, Mia,” he says with a smile.
It’s handsome.
Very handsome.
But wrong.
Which is a ridiculous thing to think about another human being, but there it is.
“I’m sorry,” I say with an embarrassed laugh. “It’s been a long morning. How are you doing? Did you bring Sabrina with you?”
“She’s here somewhere,” he says easily.
“Who are you?” Livy asks, coming to stand at my side. “And why do you look like my friend’s Don?”
Okay, so it’s not just me.
“Because he’s my twin,” another voice says.
I turn.
Then immediately do a double take because… come on.
There are two of them?
A second Mr. Moretti stands a few feet away, watching me with an expression far too knowing for my comfort.
No.
Not second.
First.
That’s him.
That’s the one from last night.
The one I definitely did not think about while taking a shower. Or while trying to fall asleep. Or while lying there wide awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering why a man with a dangerous voice and impossible eyes had my stomach acting like I was sixteen and stupid.
They look identical at first glance, but now that they’re standing near each other, I see the differences.
But, it’s nothing physical.
It’s the way they hold themselves. The look in their eyes.
The first Mr. Moretti looks amused. Lighter somehow. His shoulders don’t seem too heavy.
The second one looks like a man who enters a room, and every shadow stands at attention.
My pulse trips.
Yep…That one.
That is absolutely the one I lost sleep over.
Which is inconvenient, because I really need sleep.
And also his name.
I really, really need to learn his name.
“Did you try to trick my mama, mister?” Livy asks the man.
“Yes,” he says with a chuckle. “Although I could see the doubt in her eyes. And you caught me right off the bat, piccola. Very good eye.”
“Thanks,” she says proudly.
“Hello, little one,” the original Mr. Moretti says. “Sabrina and her cousins are getting snow cones, if you’d like to join them.”
“I’ll go say hi,” Livy says, her own clipboard tucked against her chest. “But I’m a very busy woman today, so I won’t have time to play. I’ll take them to the hayride, and we’ll ask the tractor driver to drive us around so we can keep an eye on everything.”
She turns to me.
“Bye, Mama.”
“Stay where the volunteers can see you,” I call after her.
“I know,” she says, already walking away like she has an empire to run and I’m merely the woman who provides snacks.
The second Mr. Moretti laughs softly. “That is a very young grown-up woman.”
“Yeah,” I say with a sigh, watching my daughter march toward the snow cone stand with all the authority of a tiny event coordinator. “Sometimes I’m not sure which one of us is actually in charge.”
The original Mr. Moretti’s mouth curves.
“I have a feeling it’s not always you, bella.”
I glance at him.
There it is again.
Bella.
I should probably correct him…again.
Instead, my traitorous stomach flips like it has absolutely no respect for my dignity.
I guess I’ll have to change my name.
Bella Moore. That doesn’t sound too bad.
“You have a wonderful place here,” the second Moretti says.
“Thank you, Mr. Moretti,” I say with a smile.
“Stefano,” he corrects. “And in case he forgot to tell you, this is Maverick, the head of our family. Although he isn’t opposed to being called Don, Master, or King.”
“Maverick will do just fine,” the original Mr. Moretti says, glaring at his brother.
Although there’s no real heat behind it.
“Nice to meet you both,” I say. “I’m Mia. Although your brother keeps calling me Bella.”
Stefano chuckles.
“Bella is Italian for beautiful,” Stefano explains with a wicked smile. “Well, bellissima is, but bella is what we use as a term of endearment.”
“Stefano,” Maverick says.
Stefano only grins wider.
“Anyway,” he says, taking a step back, “I’m going to go pet the horses. Nice to meet you, bella.”
Maverick mutters something under his breath in Italian.
I don’t know what it means, but judging by the way Stefano throws his head back and laughs as he walks away, it wasn’t meant to be polite.
“Should I ask for a translation?” I say.
“No,” Maverick answers.
“Was it rude?”
“Very.”
Stefano calls over his shoulder, “He called me a pain in his ass.”
Maverick’s jaw tightens. “That is not what I said.”
Stefano’s laughter follows him toward the horses, leaving me standing beside Maverick with my cheeks warm and my pulse acting like it has places to be.
“So,” I say, because silence suddenly feels dangerous. “Maverick.”
His attention settles on me again.
“Yes, bella?”
Oh, good grief.
I am in so much trouble.
“Ms. Moore, someone has a question for you about feed.”
I’m both grateful for and frustrated by the interruption.
“I’ll, um… see you around?” I say to Maverick.
He nods.
“Hey, can someone let me in this cage? I wanna pet that cat.”
“That’s a bobcat, Skip,” another voice says. “It’ll eat you, and then what will I tell Eli? Look at him. He’s about to faint at the very thought.”
“Aww, my pretty boy is getting all flustered.”
“Don’t worry about him,” Maverick says with a sigh. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Oh, you don’t have to,” I say quickly. “You didn’t come here to be put to work.”
“He’s family,” Maverick says, though his expression is both fond and deeply frustrated.
I glance over to where the man near Bobcat Billie’s enclosure is wearing the same leather cut as the rest of the Iron Shadows.
“He’s a Shadow,” I say.
“Yes.”
My eyes swing back to Maverick and his lack of a cut. “You’re in their club?”
“No.”
“But I thought you were…” I lower my voice so no one else hears. “The Don of the local Italian mafia?”
“And I thought finding that out would scare you,” Maverick says, his mouth curving.
“It might,” I admit. “My self-preservation is currently very confused.”
His smile deepens, and that is wildly unfair.
“I’m not a member of their club,” he says. “But they are very much part of my family.”
“Should I be scared that you’re a mob boss?” I ask, fully aware that people are waiting on me and still somehow unable to walk away.
His gaze drops over my face, slow and deliberate, before returning to my eyes.
“Yes, bella,” he says softly. “You should be very scared that you’ve caught my attention.”
Oh, that is not helpful.
“Now go and do what you need to do,” he continues, gesturing toward Bobcat Billie’s roped-off enclosure. “I’ll take care of Skip.”
“Ms. Moore,” another volunteer calls, “the photographer just arrived.”
“Shoot,” I mutter, gripping my clipboard tighter. “I have to go. Things are getting off schedule.”
“Go,” Maverick says like he has every right to send me off to handle my own fundraiser while he deals with a biker trying to pet a blind bobcat.
Thankfully, Skip hasn’t ignored the rules. He’s still standing outside the rope, leaning forward with far too much interest and absolutely not enough fear.
I don’t want him getting bitten.
I also don’t want Billie more stressed than she probably already is with so many new smells and voices around her.
And I definitely don’t have time to explain to the photographer why one of my guests has claw marks across his face because he tried to sweet-talk a wild animal with murder in her heart.
I take one last look at Maverick as he approaches the biker.
Then I force myself to turn away.
Because if I don’t, I’m going to stand here all day wondering why the scariest man I’ve ever met somehow makes my heart flutter.