MAVERICK“I’m sending your wife to you. You should be thanking me instead of treating me like a bad guy.”“I came here willingly. You were my ride, Terzo,” I said, defending myself.He tightened his arm around me. “You should have called me. I could have sent OB to your Nana’s house.”“Where’s Homer?” I looked at him. “You did not fire him, did you?”“I didn’t. He will be taking days off to visit his family.”“Oh.”“He’ll come back.” He shifted his gaze back to Terzo. “I was referring to what you’re doing here in the city.”Terzo released a deep breath. “I have doubts, but I’m still gathering info.”“Doubts about what?” I asked him because I thought he was here for some business.“You’re not here collecting payments.”Terzo nodded slightly. “I did, but I have this feeling in my gut that her ex is not the real mastermind of her Nana’s abduction.”I sagged against Lake as I felt the twist in my stomach.“What are you saying? That fucker confessed.”“It doesn’t mean no one ordered him. H
LAKEI showered and shaved. I finally felt alive after a week of misery, all because of pride.I didn’t mind if love made me this way, giving me a reason to move forward. Rusher was right. I should have been there for her after that traumatic situation in her life.I still had a towel wrapped around my waist when she came to my walk-in closet.“Hey,” she said softly.“Hi.” I turned around, and she was smiling— the smile I had missed for a week. It was a huge relief that she was home with me. “You should call your Nana so she wouldn’t worry.”“I’ll do that later.”“Did you miss me?” I raised my hand and brushed her cheek with my thumb.“Just a little.” She gestured it with her fingers.“I can live with that. I missed you, Maverick. I don’t like what happened between us, and I should have been with you after that traumatic event. I’m so sorry, baby.”She hugged me, squeezing me tight. “I relived that moment in my head. It was horrific. I dodged death twice. What if I wouldn’t be so luck
MAVERICKWe woke up at the same time, yet nobody wanted to get up. I was cocooned in his solid arms and didn’t mind keeping it that way for a while.I’d been through hell. I still felt the goosebumps all over my skin and the rising of hair at the back of my neck every time that horror visited my head. But as people always say, life must go on. Move on and live your life to the fullest.“What’s on your mind?” He snapped me out of my reverie.“Grateful for another day.”He kissed my shoulder. “Me, too, baby.”“I don’t get nightmares, but every time I thought about it, it gave me chill, dread, and made me paranoid sometimes.”“I think it’s normal to feel that way. We’ll see a doctor if it makes you feel better and safe.”“A shrink?” I stiffened, my tummy tensing. “I don’t like sharing my life’s story. I’m more comfortable sharing it with you. Please, don’t talk me out of it. If I feel worse, I will volunteer myself.”“Of course, baby. I would never do that unless you will harm yourself.
MAVERICK”Bitch!”I gasped, and my hand went instantly on my right cheek. It was supposed to hit hard with that kind of slap filled with fury and rage, but it didn’t happen.Releasing a shuddering breath, I put my hand down and stared at Leah in utter shock. Homer pinned her wrist.Her face was red in anger as she tried hard to break free her arm from Homer’s grip. “Let me go! I will sue you of assault.”Homer snorted. “Or my client will sue your ass instead.”My anger boiled inside me, and my first thought was to slap her back, but I realized I was better than this bitch, and we were in a public place.“You’re lucky I won’t sue you, but if you ever do that again, make sure you do it hard because if I hit you back, I will make sure you won’t have the same face again.” I nodded at Homer to release her.The security guard arrived, taking Leah from Homer. “Are you okay, ma’am?”“Yeah.”Once she was gone, I blew a shaky breath, trying to digest what had just happened and why everyone want
LAKE“This is intimidation! I will sue your asses. I know who you are!”I shook my head in annoyance as I watched Leah through the one-way mirror in the room before I turned to Maverick. “Are you sure you want to talk to this woman? She’s out of control.”“I think I’ve had enough threats in my life that an angry woman could put me down easily,” she said, making me proud of her and feeling guilty at the same time.“I’ll come with you.”“No, babe. I want to do this alone. If I say banana, that’s my signal that I need help.”I couldn’t help but smile even if I were worried about her. “Okay, banana.”Kye assisted her out of the room to the interrogation room. I watched her walk inside calmly.“I know it. It was you because you’re banging a billionaire, and now you can do this to me. I still have rights. You can’t hurt or intimidate me.”“I’m maybe banging a billionaire, but it doesn’t give me the right to slap people because you’re angry or because my husband is rich. Do I look like that
MAVERICK“Augustine Maverick Bates II, we need to talk,” said the woman in her authoritative tone, who blocked my way in her fine suit.I didn’t have to ask what kind of work she did— it gave it away— it was a white-collar job. But what did she want with me?“Excuse me?”“We need to talk in private.” She looked at Cooper and then back to me.“Look, lady, whoever you are, you can tell whatever you want in front of me because I’m not leaving by her side.”“I don’t think so, Cooper Greene.”“Gee. You know my name.” Cooper laughed nervously.“I know more than your name,” said the woman flatly, no humor in her voice.“It’s fine, Coop.” I walked away from Cooper. Once we were far enough, I stopped and looked at the woman. “Who are you? What do you want from me? If this is about that incident, I already told them everything I could remember.”“This is not about what happened at your grandmother’s house and apartment.”“Who are you? How do you know that?” I strolled my gaze.She put on a good
LAKE“This is a damn good pizza, Mrs. Winston.”“Thank you, Owen. I hope you’re not only complimenting me because you don’t want to hurt my feelings.”I saw a little tinge of pink on her cheeks. “It’s really good, baby.”“Yeah. I like classic pizza without too much cheese and toppings,” Homer seconded.“Do you believe us now?”She smiled at me. “I want to cook if I have time and always love cooking.”“Hold that thought. I need to answer this.” My phone just vibrated in my pocket. I’d been waiting for a call from the owner of the company I wanted to buy. My offer was so solid that there was no way he would turn it down, and I considered his demand. I fished out my phone; surprisingly, it was from Venus.I answered the call.“Mr. Winston, check the link I just sent to you.” I instantly knew it was bad news. I could feel it in her voice.”“Thanks, Venus.” I hung up the call and clicked the link she sent. It redirected me to a local online news. The headline alone made my blood boil. The
MAVERICK“Oh, my God. Are we trespassing? Whose house is this?” I pulled him on the back of his shirt as he tried to climb off the wall.I mean, we could just go by the gate, talk to the guard or something. It was just a few yards away. Yet here we were, doing something illegal that could get us arrested.My heart began pumping hard as I watched the street so people and cars could pass by like some delinquent kids.“I just want to test the theory,” he said casually as he made it to the top, and then the alarm just went off. “Fuck.” He laughed like a lunatic.When he told me earlier we were going for a ride, I was excited because I couldn’t remember we’d done that before. Right now, I might have just regretted coming with him.“Just jump, Lake. What the hell are you doing?” I groaned in a whisper but was already gritting my teeth in annoyance.“Why are you whispering?” he asked me, laughing.A few moments later, he was still sitting on top, and a guard and an old man just saw me, and j