LAKETen minutes to take off, and I was already buckled up on the jet when my phone notified me that someone had broken into my safe. I opened the app, and my wife’s face showed on the hidden camera inside the safe.“What the hell is she doing?” I trusted her, and she was not the kind of person who stole some cash from me, knowing that she had cards with her. Something was wrong. “OB?”“Yes, boss.” He quickly came to me.“Tell the captain to cancel the flight.”“Why, what’s wrong?”“Maverick is in trouble.” My heart raced so fast as I unbuckled and rose from the seat. “Call Homer. I need to talk to him. It’s urgent.” I grabbed my hand-carry and dialed Linden.Owen went to the cockpit to inform the captain.“I need backup. Trace my car and tell them to follow me.”“What’s wrong?” he asked in urgency.“I’m about to find out, but this is not good. I’ll call you back.” I hang up the call.A few moments later, the captain came. “What’s wrong, Mr. Winston?”“I need to get off this plane rig
MAVERICKI’d never been so happy to see a familiar face, but how did Terzo find me? What was he doing here? From what Lake had told me about Terzo, it just terrified me even more. Every time I was in trouble, he seemed there like Superman, saving the day.My arms tightened around Nana.“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” When I was still shocked, he stepped closer and asked my grandmother to reply, “Mrs. Bates, are you hurt?”“No. I’m fine. Thank you,” Nana replied.“I can’t stay long.” He kicked the gun away from the man who pointed at me earlier. “Maverick?”“Y-yeah.” I swallowed hard and blinked rapidly. “Is— is he dead?”“Nope, but he will be if he loses too much blood. Osmium men will be here shortly. Your husband is on the way.”“What? I thought— how?” I had so many questions that needed answers, but our time was limited, and he was ready to bolt out.I did my best to get up. My limbs were still shaky. I could be dead by now if it weren’t for Terzo. How did he get in here so fast? It
MAVERICK“Yes.”Nana didn’t look surprised by Lake’s answer but nodded. “You, two, have a lot to talk about.”“It’s okay if I borrow Maverick for a while?”“Take her. I’m fine. Thank you, Lake.”“Of course.” Lake squeezed my hand and took me out of the clinic. We got into the elevator, lot letting go of my hand.“How did you know I was in trouble? I thought you were on the way to Toronto.”“I received a notification when you unlocked the safe. There’s a hidden camera inside. You looked terrified and disturbed. If you were going to run away with the money. You could have taken them all, and I trust you. You’re not that person.”“Your money saved our lives, but we can’t take it back.”“Don’t be so sure about that.” He wrapped his arm around me, kissing my temple. “I’d never been so terrified in my life and useless at the same time. I have everything money can buy, but I can’t even keep my wife safe, and I failed you, baby.”I faced him and cupped his face so he could look at me. “This i
LAKEThere was that one moment when you wished you could pause your life and return just five seconds. But that fact was impossible— it made you question your purpose in life. You could not even make it worthwhile.Looking at Maverick so terrified made me question whether I was worth being that man— her husband. I knew she was tough, but even a tough person could break.And I didn’t know how to make her forget what happened two hours ago. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how terrified she was for her life and her grandmother. But what I was sure of was that whoever these people were behind this atrocity would pay with their lives.The door swung open. Terzo walked in with his arrogance and overconfident gait. His gaze first found Maverick, and I saw somewhat of a pain, then shifted it at me.Before I could say something, in the blink of an eye, he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and punched me in the nose. I heard a sickening crack, and then the intense pain followed.Maverick ye
MAVERICKMy life was just getting better and better. My father was a notorious criminal, and my brother just shot a human being like a target practice. What could be better than that? Maybe that was why secrets should just be kept buried.“When are you going to leave this house?” Nana had her hand on her hip, leaning against the doorjamb, wearing an annoying look.“I’ll be out of your hair sooner, Nana. Jeez. It’s only been three days.” I scrubbed the sink and poured a generous amount of liquid soap into it.“Three days? It’s been a week, Ricky. If you are scared someone will come and kidnap me again, don’t worry about it. Your ex and those guys involved are already locked up behind bars. You’re safe now, and I’m sure your husband has ordered some people to watch this house. And Terzo is probably keeping tabs on you.”“Since when did you become Team Lake?”“You cleaned that thrice today, Ricky. What you’re doing is not healthy. You kept cleaning the house, but you barely took care of
MAVERICKThat was the first time I heard his voice in days. “If she will not show herself in the penthouse, I will call my attorney to file the divorce and let her suffer the consequences.”“Did he just give me an ultimatum?”Cooper shrugged. “I think so. And it’s been a week, Mave. You should go home, and I missed the funny, outgoing friend I have. I don’t like this person. You’re like her evil twin. A nasty and stinky evil twin.”I glared at him. Since it was Saturday, it may be the time to go out. “Let’s grab a coffee.”“First and foremost, shower and change. You stink.” He crunched his nose as I rose to my feet.I did as he told me to. I showered and changed into a white top and denim shorts. We used his car since I didn’t have mine.We went to the nearest coffee shop, where Terzo and I had coffee. I ignored his calls, too, but at the same time, I wanted to know more about him.Our coffee arrived, and I ordered a slice of Tiramisu. The fork was halfway to my mouth when Terzo walke
LAKE“You look like your cat just died.” Rusher just joined me in the bar and ordered club soda.I couldn’t even go to the Bazz. Otherwise, her friends would suspect we were not on good terms.Since that big revelation at the Osmium, she had been dodging my calls, ignoring my texts, and I felt like shit all the time without her, not seeing her, and sleeping alone in bed with her smell all over it.I missed her so fucking much, but she was the one who left and didn’t want to be followed. I still had an ounce of pride left, and I never begged for women’s attention. If she missed me, she knew how to reach out and how to find me.Apparently, she never did. She was living her life with her grandmother while I was starting to lose my shit.As soon as her ex-boyfriend and the rest of his accomplices were locked up, I focused my time back on work. For a few days, it worked, diverting my attention from her.I accomplished some things, finalized the program design, and submitted it to the Hover
LAKE“I just met the guy, and they threatened me like every five seconds. Is that man really related to Mave?”Fuck. Terzo came to her, and she met her fucking brother while he didn’t seem to care if I was still alive. My chest heaved in pain.“Terzo.”“Yes. That’s him. Anyway, I told her and let her listen to your voicemail.”“About what?”“Your ultimatum.”“Fuck. Why did you do that?” My nose flared in annoyance.“Before you plan on punching me, she listened. You might as well thank me later. She was pissed off at first, but we went out for a coffee, and that’s how we met her brother.”“Wait. They did not plan on meeting each other?”“Nope.” He scoffed. “I swear that guy seems bad news, with no remorse or empathy in his eyes. He’s scary like a lion, but he seems to really care about Mave. He even threatened to pull out my eyes if something happened to Mave.”“That’s Terzo.” Cooper was right. Terzo seemed to care about Maverick genuinely. I just hoped he would not convince her to vis