Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MAVERICK
“You’ve got a lot of balls, not coming to me first, Romeo.” I sneer, facing off with the other man who’d given away my woman’s identity. I don’t give a damn if it was to her family or not. He should have come to me first.
“Sorry, but they had a right to know where she was.” Romeo shrugs and takes a sip of coffee that Brynne placed in front of him.
First thing this morning, I woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking, and damn if it didn’t smell good .
. . mouthwatering. It was tempting to leave the bed for, but nothing could pull me away from holding a naked Nevaeh to me, especially after last night.
I loved every minute I got to have with my woman.
Tasting her, fucking her. Hell, I took her hard and fast, slow and sweet, and a mixture between the two.
I also fucked her more than once throughout the night.
Sometimes waking her with my cock inside that sweet pussy of hers.
Other times I woke her with my mouth. I couldn’t get enough, and I know I never will.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do anything this morning, thanks to everyone already being up and us having a long day ahead.
We’re finishing this business where Romeo’s concerned, then heading back to the clubhouse.
Knowing what I know now, I’m not taking chances.
My woman is far too important to me. At the clubhouse, I know she’s safe.
Yeah, she’s safe with me, but that don’t mean shit when she can be protected by the whole damn club.
“You should have come to me first,” I grind out and tuck my woman closer to me.
I’ve yet to let her go since coming out of the room.
The only time we separated was when she was hugging her family.
This shocked me, but I also noted that the hugs were quick-like, still, she put effort into at least moving forward.
Hell, this whole trip has been damn good for her. She’s moving forward in a lot of ways, and most of them are with me. I’m proud of her for making this step.
“And what would you have done?” Romeo asks, cocking a brow, and looks at Nevaeh. “I had no choice in the matter. It was the right thing to do.”
“By you doing that, it put my woman on the radar, most likely.” I growl.
“Maverick,” Nevaeh whispers, placing a palm on my chest, trying to calm me down.
“Maybe so, but knowing who we’re looking for,” he shrugs again and leans back on the stool, “we can now watch for him. You can even find a way to trap him. We have the upper hand.”
“I’ve dealt with too much shit like this to agree with you. Shit happens. More so when you think you have the upper hand. Surprises happen, and it’s fucked up.” I curl my lip in disgust, memories of what we’ve dealt with in the past trying to creep in.
“I gotta agree with Maverick,” Sabotage says, leaning a hip to the counter, a plate of food in hand. “We didn’t know it was my daughter’s aunt who was in on the bullshit that happened to her. Then the shit with Peyton’s sister.”
“That was fucked up and we’re still dealing with the aftermath of this.” Wrath grunts.
“What do you mean you’re still dealing with the aftermath?” Banshee demands, eyes slicing toward me.
A sigh of frustration leaves my lips, and I give Nevaeh a squeeze.
“Each of the girls were sold to the fucker who kept them locked in a cell,” I mutter and glance down to Nevaeh, who stiffens and turns to press her face into my chest. I tighten my arms around her, knowing this is hard on her. I fucking hate it.
“Got that part.” Banshee growls, eyes flashing with anger and something else as he stares at his little sister, and she curls deeper into me.
“Shit with Peyton’s sister was fucked. She showed up and tried to take her sister again but ended up going underground, only to be found by Sutherland with a note attached to her with a warning to us. This isn’t over with.”
“You know, I’m thinking it’s the broker who handles the deals that did that to her,” Pirate speaks up with a mouth full of food. He turns his attention to Brynne. “These are the fuckin’ shit.” Using his fork, he points to the waffles on his plate.
“Thank you,” Brynne smiles sweetly and looks at my woman. “They used to be Nevaeh’s favorites.”
“They still are,” Nevaeh mumbles against my chest.
“Right,” I murmur and turn my attention to Pirate. “What do you mean?”
“Well, last night, while Gizmo was sleeping in my lap, I did some more looking into shit. Now that I know exactly who I was looking for where Nevaeh was concerned, I found the connection. I’m betting it’s the broker for the deals that go down.”
“Fuck me,” Wrath grumbles. “You find anything else?”
“I need to get back to the clubhouse. All of my main programs are there,” Pirate declares. “I don’t want to say more than that without confirming.”
I get what my brother is saying, and I give him a chin lift in understanding. “We’ll head out after we eat then,” I state and look toward Daghda, then his sons. “You can either stay here or you can follow us to the clubhouse. Either way, Nevaeh is with me.”
“What about business?” Romeo asks, cocking a brow. “Are we to finish arrangements?”
“Best is to use the second house we all looked at. It’s spacious, you can have hired hands in place, and it doesn’t have neighbors so we can set up security around the perimeter,” I state.
My brothers nodded in agreement. “Anything further to discuss will have to wait. But that’s where you should start.
Speak with Viking if you have any other questions. ”
“I do have a question for you,” Romeo quips. “If you wanted Nevaeh to stay hidden, why did you bring her with you?”
I stiffen at the question and look down at my woman before glancing back to Romeo.
“Nevaeh is with me because it’s where she belongs, but also because Viking wanted her here so we could get a feel for the type of guy you are in her eyes.
She’s got a way of telling good from bad.
If she felt any way of you being malicious, then the deal would be dead. ”
Romeo holds my gaze for a brief time before nodding and looking at Nevaeh. “Right, and did I pass the test?”
“You’re sitting in front of us, aren’t you?” Sabotage grunts. “But you fucked up with us by not coming to us with your suspicions about Nevaeh being who she is.”
“I’ll make note that if anything else like this were to arise.” Romeo smirks.
“You better,” I grumble and look down as Brynne places two plates on the counter in front of Nevaeh and me.
“Eat up,” Brynne states. “And as for staying here or coming to the clubhouse, if Daghda and my sons don’t mind and you all are okay with it, we’ll stay here a few days.
” Her eyes go to Nevaeh as her sons start protesting.
“I don’t want to overwhelm you. You’ve been through more than I can ever imagine, and you also have grown so much.
As much as I want to keep you close, I see you have found the other half of your soul, and I will not stand in the way. ”
“Mom,” Nevaeh whispers and moves to her mom, embracing the older woman.
“We should still be going with her to protect—”
“Do you think her man and his brothers don’t know what they’re doing?
” Brynne snaps, interrupting Druid, and shutting him up.
“They are the ones she trusts most right now. She needs to be comfortable and not worrying about anything else. Now, we’re going to stay here for a few days, then we’ll join her at the clubhouse.
” She turns her attention to me and the others. “Long as that’s okay?”
“It’s fine,” Sabotage answers. “I spoke with Viking last night, and he said that you all could stay at the clubhouse.”
“Where will Nevaeh be staying?” Banshee demands.
“I’ll be staying at my house,” Nevaeh answers, releasing her mom and moving back to my side. She digs into her waffles as she looks at her brothers, and with a mouthful she glares at them. “With Maverick and our roommate, Ryann. And no, you will not be staying there. So don’t even think about it.”
“Fuck me, get around her for not even twenty-four hours, and she’s already giving attitude,” Banshee grumbles, looking to the ceiling. “Some things never change.” He brings his gaze back to mine. “She like this with you? If not, then just wait. She will be.”
“Don’t even start,” Nevaeh remarks, pointing the fork at her brother.
“How about neither of you start,” Daghda pipes in. “We’ll stay at the clubhouse when we get there. We’ll also give Nevaeh space but still be there.”
With the tension leaving the room, I finally dive in and take a bite of my waffles. At first bite, I see why they’re Nevaeh’s favorite. Her mom kicks ass at making them.
Once we finish eating, I help Nevaeh pack our stuff back up and load it in my truck. We didn’t have much, so it didn’t take long. My mind keeps going over all the shit that I’ve learned over the past several days.
Before I can head back in the house to get Nevaeh, my phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket to find it’s Sean, the CEO of my family’s company, calling. Great, just what I need.
Answering, I lift the phone to my ear. “What is it?”
“We’ve got a situation here that needs your attention,” Sean states.
“And that would be?” I demand, not liking the way this is starting.
“There’s been several incidences lately. The last being the office was broken into, and one of the staff’s computers was stolen.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, letting out a harsh breath. Closing my eyes, I reach up and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I’ll head that way.”
I don’t wait for Sean to respond before hanging up. He knows I hate talking to him over the phone or in general. It’s nothing against him. He’s damn good at his job, but that doesn’t mean I want to talk to him all the time. Sean gets this and doesn’t let it bother him.
Shoving my phone in my pocket, I grumble under my breath and head back into the house.
I guess we’re not heading to the clubhouse.
Instead, I need Pirate with me so we can get shit dealt with and find out who the hell stole one of my computers.
What those at the company don’t know is there are cameras in every room except the bathrooms, so nothing gets past me or Pirate.
Inside, I look at my brothers. “Change of plans. I’ve got to go to the office.”
“The office?” Nevaeh speaks up.
I hold a hand out and motion for her to join me. “Yeah, we’ve got to get there. Pirate, need you with me.”
“We’ll come too,” Wrath states, nodding.
“I’m following you,” Pirate grunts at the same time.
“Right, then, let’s get a move on. I’ll call Viking on the way.” Taking Nevaeh’s hand in mine, I glance down to meet her eyes. “Looks like you’re gonna get to see part of the world I grew up in, Sweets.”
And I damn well hate it. I might have loved my family, but I hated the world they were from. The stuck-up people and ass-kissers rub me the wrong way.