Chapter Fifteen
Maverick
“How’s she doing?” Stefano whispers.
I look toward the hospital bed where Olivia and Amelia are fast asleep.
Amelia is curled carefully around her daughter, one hand resting on Olivia’s back like she needs proof with every breath.
“She’s okay,” I tell him. “The doctor said she might have a cough for about a week, and she has a small burn on her foot. Other than that, she should be fine.”
“Good,” he sighs. “Damn, brother.”
“Yeah.”
For a while, neither of us speaks.
The machines hum softly.
Olivia breathes.
Amelia breathes.
I stand there and count both.
“You good?” Stefano asks.
He keeps his voice quiet.
Careful.
He already knows the answer.
“I almost lost them.”
The words scrape coming out.
Stefano says nothing.
“I failed to protect them.”
Again.
I don’t need to say it.
My brother hears it anyway.
He steps closer, stopping beside me.
“No,” he says.
I look at him.
His jaw is tight. “Don’t do that.”
“They were attacked.”
“That’s not the same as you failing them.”
“I should’ve had men there.”
“You had no reason to think someone would burn her sanctuary tonight. Or ever.”
“I should have,” I snap softly.
Stefano’s eyes darken. “You’re not God, Maverick.”
“No,” I say, looking back at the bed. “I’m only the man who keeps surviving the women he loves.”
The heavy words settle between us.
Stefano exhales.
Then he places a hand on the back of my neck and squeezes once, the way he did when we were boys and one of us was too close to breaking.
“They’re alive,” he says. “Hold on to that first.”
Alive.
Yes.
But only barely.
And only because Foster ran into a burning building when no one else would.
“I need to see Foster,” I say.
“He’s two rooms down.”
“How is he?”
“Mostly exhausted,” he says. “The gear protected him from the worst of it, but he got too hot in there. Dehydrated too. He said it’s heat stress.”
My jaw tightens. “How bad?”
“Not as bad as it could be. They’ve got him cooling down and pushing fluids. He’s already better than he was an hour ago.” Stefano exhales. “He’s actually gearing up to leave.”
“He saved her.”
“Yes,” Stefano says. “He did.”
I close my eyes.
For one breath, all I see is fire.
For the next, I see Olivia in Foster’s arms.
Then Amelia collapsing when she saw her daughter alive.
My chest tightens until it feels like something inside me might crack.
Stefano lowers his voice. “Go see him. I’ll stay with them.”
I look at my brother.
“I won’t let them out of my sight,” he says.
I believe him.
Still, it takes everything in me to leave the room.
When I make it to Foster’s room, he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, putting his cut on.
He looks up when I step inside.
“Don’t start,” he says. “I’m fine.”
I cross the room without a word and pull him up into my arms.
For half a second, he goes still.
Then his arms come around me.
“Thank you, brother,” I say, my throat tight. “I will never be able to repay you for saving her.”
Foster’s hand tightens at my back.
“There’s nothing to repay, Outlaw,” he says quietly. “We’re family.”
My eyes burn as I step back and look him in the eyes.
“Still,” I say. “Name it, and it’s yours.”
His mouth twitches. “A million bucks.”
“Done.”
Foster blinks.
“That’s a start,” I add. “What else?”
“Damn, Mav.” He laughs, but it comes out rough. “I was joking.”
“I wasn’t.”
“I know. That’s the concerning part.”
“Name something else.”
His humor fades.
He looks down at his hands, the same hands that carried Olivia out of the fire, then back at me.
“I don’t need money,” he says. “I don’t need anything.”
“You saved my little girl.”
His expression shifts at that.
My little girl.
He heard it.
So did I.
I don’t take it back.
Foster nods slowly. “Then let me be there when we find whoever did this.”
The request settles between us.
Cold.
Clean.
Fair.
I look at him. “You want justice?”
His mouth hardens.
“No,” he says. “I want a front-row seat when you get yours.”
“We need to find them first,” I growl.
“That’s what I’m heading to do,” he says, walking toward the door. “I can’t believe someone is targeting an animal sanctuary. I’ll find them, Mav. Just be ready when I do.”
With pleasure.
“I’m sending you some contacts,” I say, following him out of the room. “Get in contact with my online security team and update them on what you know. They can help.”
“Will do,” he says. “I’ll see you later.”
Nodding, I turn and walk back to my family.
***Mia***
“Mama, your fingers are cold against my back. Cover them up.”
Smiling, I remove my hand, boop her tiny nose, then tuck my fingers between my thighs.
“You okay?” I whisper.
“Yeah,” she whispers back. “But that sure was scary.”
My throat tightens.
“Yeah,” I say, fighting tears. “It sure was.”
Her eyes search mine.
“Mama, are the animals okay?”
Shoot.
“Most of them,” I admit.
Her little face crumples. “Who isn’t okay?”
I swallow hard.
“Bobcat Billie.”
Livy’s eyes fill immediately.
“I wanted to save her, baby. I did. But I couldn’t open the cage and let her loose. She was scared and would have run and attacked the first thing she sensed.”
“I understand,” she whispers, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Was it bad?”
“No, piccola,” Maverick says gently, moving to sit on her other side.
Livy rolls onto her back and looks up at him.
“The smoke got into her lungs,” he tells her. “That’s how she died.”
The lie is soft.
Merciful.
The fire did reach Billie.
Her screams will follow me for the rest of my life.
“But smoke got in my lungs too,” Livy says. “Does that mean I’m gonna die?”
“No.” Maverick’s voice is steady. “Foster got you away from the fire before it was too late. We owe him for that.”
Her chin lifts.
“And as Dons, we have to honor that, right?”
She coughs, but it’s not as bad as before.
Maverick smiles. “That’s right, little Don. He saved our lives, so we owe him.”
Livy frowns. “Wait. Were you trapped too?”
Maverick shakes his head and scoots closer. He leans one hand on the bed behind my back until both Livy and I are tucked against him.
“Then how did he save you?”
“Because he saved you,” he says. “And you and your mother are my life.”
My breath catches.
He says it so simply.
Like it’s true.
Like there’s no room left for argument.
“Now,” he says, brushing Livy’s hair back from her face, “let’s get you dressed. The doctor said you can leave, and we need to get your mother warm.”
Reality hits me hard enough to steal the little air I have left.
“Our home,” I whisper. “It’s gone.”
“I have people rounding up the animals,” Stefano says from near the door. “They’re being taken to another sanctuary for now.”
“But, Steffy.” Livy’s voice breaks. “Two of those horses are mine and Mama’s actual pets. You can’t take them away. What if someone hurts them?”
“I made sure they’re going to a very good sanctuary,” Maverick says. “They know which ones are yours. They will be cared for until we rebuild.”
“Oh.” She coughs again. “Okay then.”
She tries to sit up. “Come on, Mama. Let me help you get your shoes on. Your fingers won’t work right now.”
“But all our things?” I whisper.
Panic presses at the edges of my mind.
“We have nothing.”
“It’s just stuff, Mama,” Livy says softly. “We can get more stuff.”
I stare at her.
My brave girl.
My too-brave girl.
She looks at Maverick. “Mav, can we stay with you until Mama has someone fix our house?”
“That was the plan, piccola. I have a special room in my suite that is perfect for you.”
“And Mama?” Livy asks. “Do you have a special room for her?”
“I do, sweetheart.”
His eyes find mine.
“Right by my side.”
My heart gives one hard, painful beat.
Livy’s eyes narrow. “Does this mean you’re officially dating since we’re moving in?”
What is wrong with my child?
Our whole life just went up in flames…literally…and she’s still hung up on my dating life.
“Yes,” Maverick says, watching me closely.
I’m still lying on my side, hands tucked between my thighs, trying to process the fact that my daughter and the head of a crime family are apparently making housing arrangements over me.
“That’s good,” Livy says. “Mama’s zoned out, which means she’s gonna forget about her needs for a little while. Then, when she feels better, she’ll freak out about everything and focus on taking care of me. So she needs someone who will take care of her until she can take care of herself again.”
Maverick’s face softens.
“How about I take care of both of you?”
“Deal,” Livy says. “Let’s get up so we can take Mama home. She needs a hot bath.”
Deciding to be the adult, I take a breath to tell them both to stop.
Livy and I are grateful, but we are not moving into Maverick’s house.
We’ll go to a hotel for the night and figure this out in the morning.
“I can’t feel my toes,” I say instead.
Maverick’s expression changes instantly.
“Amelia.”
“I’m okay. Just cold.”
Livy sits up straighter. “Mama?”
“I’m okay, baby.”
Maverick’s hand closes around my toes, and his jaw tightens.
“Amelia.”
“I know.” I try to pull my foot back, but he doesn’t let me. “It’s Raynaud’s. My fingers and toes get cold when I’m stressed or too cold. Sometimes they go numb.”
His eyes cut to mine. “Numb?”
“It sounds worse than it is.”
“It does not.”
“It’s annoying, not deadly.”
“Tonight is not the night to tell me something is not deadly.”
Fair.
Annoying, but fair.
Livy crawls closer, her face pinched with worry. “Is it happening because of the fire?”
“Probably. The cold, the stress, all of it.” I force a smile for her. “I just need warmth.”
Maverick looks toward Stefano. “Get a nurse.”
“I don’t need a nurse.”
He gives me one look, and I stop talking.
Stefano is already moving.
Maverick rubs his hand carefully over my foot, trying to warm my toes through the blanket.
“Maverick,” I say softly.
His thumb stills against my ankle.
“I’m okay.”
His eyes lift to mine.
“No,” he says quietly. “You’re alive. There’s a difference.”
My throat tightens.
Livy sniffles beside me. “Mav?”
His face softens instantly when he looks at her. “She’s gonna be okay, piccola. We’re gonna make sure of it.”
The nurse steps in with Stefano behind her, carrying another heated blanket.
Maverick moves only enough to let her work.