by Faith Gibson
Chapter Twenty-One
Maveryck
Maveryck’s lion wanted to roll around on the floor with Natalia. Her hands in his mane was heaven. At first, he had been upset with Lucy telling Natalia about the Gryphons, but he understood why she did it. The girl was just as protective of their family as they were of her. Having Natalia know the truth was freeing. Lucy had done him a favor, really. His niece smiled when she came into the game room and found his lion on the floor.
“You want to shift back so we can talk?” Lucy asked.
Maveryck nudged Natalia with his nose making her giggle before leaving the room to shift. When he returned, Natalia was sitting on one of the sofas, so he took the empty spot next to her. Rev was sitting in an oversized armchair, and Ryker was leaning against the pool table with his arms crossed, Hayden mimicking their older brother. Ryker’s eyes were unfocused, and Maveryck wanted to know what was on the male’s mind, but his oldest brother was a private person. He only shared what pertained to the club.
When Tamian and Kyllian joined them, Lucy opened her laptop. “Julian was able to get shots of the Volkov estate. Natalia, you’ll need to take a look since you’re most familiar.” Lucy handed the laptop over, and Natalia turned it so Maveryck could look at the screen too.
“The gate is new, as is the guard shack.”
Mav rubbed his beard. “Since I’ll be going in through the woods, that won’t be a problem.”
“And I can take the tunnel,” Natalia added.
Maveryck nor his Gryphon wanted Natalia anywhere near her cousins, but he knew she could handle herself. Having her rifle would be a plus in the numbers column. “Tunnel?”
“Yes. There’s a secret passage no one knows about. Well, my father did, but I don’t think he ever shared its existence with my cousins.”
“Then how do you know about it?” Ryker asked.
Natalia smiled, her eyes soft. “My mother. She would take me on walks around the property when she wanted to get out of the house. I was young, so it might be me remembering things a certain way because of what I now know about Anatoly, but I don’t think she was happy with my father. I often heard them arguing, and it was always about me. She never smiled unless it was only the two of us. She and I spent a lot of time outdoors. My father never seemed to mind it either. He would often suggest us going for walks, and I think it was so he could talk freely about his business without the chance of her overhearing. Anyway, one day, we were walking in the woods, and she asked me if I wanted to play a game. Of course, I did, so she told me we were going to pretend to run away. Looking back, I think she knew. Somehow, she knew I would one day need a way to escape.
“She made me promise to never speak of our games to anyone, and showed me a secret door. It was covered by brush. I wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the lever, but she explained how it worked. When she pulled it a certain way, the brush opened up, a heavy steel door sliding with it. We walked into this tunnel. We always took a picnic with us, but on that day, she pulled a flashlight out of the basket, like she’d planned on showing me the tunnel all along. We walked the entire length. It’s about a quarter-mile long, but back then it seemed like a massive journey to someone my age. The tunnel is just wide enough for a vehicle to pass through. The other end opens up on a path just outside our property. It has the same type of covered door. That was the only time we ever visited it, because she said it was too special to risk anyone else finding our secret.”
Lucy leaned back against Tamian’s chest, biting her lower lip. “Luce, what is it?” Maveryck asked.
“Natalia, please forgive me if this is painful, but what happened to your mother?”
“She was in a car wreck. I went to school as usual, a somewhat normal child, and instead of finding my mother waiting to pick me up afterward, my father was there. When I asked where Mama was, my father told me she was gone. That she’d been in a wreck driving home after dropping me off that morning. I was devastated. I didn’t speak for a couple months. Not only had I lost the only person in my life who loved me, but my father pulled me out of school, and I guess I was depressed. The fact that I wouldn’t talk to him pissed him off, and that’s when my life changed even more. He demanded I have an English tutor and forbade me from speaking Russian. You know the rest of it.”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed, and Maveryck knew the wheels were turning. She, like him and probably everyone else in the room, assumed Anatoly was responsible for Bellona Volkova’s demise.
Natalia cleared her throat, and like she hadn’t relived the most painful time of her life, she stood and said, “Mikael is mine. I don’t actually care what happens to Ivan and Viktor, because they’ll eventually get what’s coming to them when they screw someone over with their stupidity. If they happen to get caught in the crossfire – or crossclaws – it’s not going to be a huge loss.”
Maveryck normally looked to Ryker when it came to who partnered on jobs, but this shit was personal, and they needed the best. “We’ll be taking Rev, King, and Ace.”
Hayden pushed away from the pool table. “And me. I’m going, so don’t even think about pulling the ‘you’re too young’ shit with me.”
Ryker grabbed their younger brother by his nape. “Settle down, Havyk. You’re in. You will be with Natalia coming in through the tunnel. The other five of us will be going in from the treetops.” Maveryck arched a brow, but Ryker waved him off. “This is too important, so of course I’m going. Lucy, please send the satellite images to the computer at the clubhouse. I’m going to send Digger to the estate tonight to sit on the house and make sure the cousins don’t leave. The rest of us will all get some sleep tonight, and we’ll meet first thing after breakfast to get Ace and King up to speed. If we’re all in agreement, we’ll hit the estate tomorrow night.”
“Are you good with that, Princess?” Maveryck asked.
“Yes. I’m used to doing more recon, but I already know the layout as well as the mark. Tomorrow night is fine. I just… I need to go back to my house for my weapons.”
“But your house is mostly gone,” Ryker said. “I had Sultan and Hawk swing by there to monitor not only the fire, but to also see if they couldn’t find the shooter if the cops didn’t get him. I’ve got a score to settle with that one.”
“You and me both,” Kyllian muttered.
“With the exception of a pistol I sleep with, my weapons are in a fireproof cabinet, so they should be okay.”
Ryker pulled out his phone and made a call. “Sultan, Natalia has a gun cabinet that contains her weapons. I need you and Hawk to retrieve it, drop it off at Mav’s, and put it in the garage. Thanks.” When he disconnected, he told Natalia, “They’re on it.”
“Oh, uh. Thanks.”
Lucy walked over to where the laptop was and picked it up, taking it to the bar. “Natalia, if you don’t mind sharing your old bank account information with me, I’ll get started tracking down Mikael’s other accounts so I can work on wiping them out. Depending on how encrypted they are, I may not be able to move the money before you hit them tomorrow night, but I’ll do my best.”
“I don’t mind.” Natalia went to join Lucy. While the females were busy with that, Ryker inclined his head to Maveryck. Maveryck stood and followed his brother to the far side of the room.
“Are you okay with me taking lead on this?” Ryker asked.
Maveryck shoved his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “Yes. I feel like this is the most important job I’ve ever taken, and I want it to go smoothly. That means I want the best at my side.”
Ryker’s eyebrows shot up, and Maveryck bristled. Did his brother not know how much Mav admired him? “You might be a grumpy bastard, but you are the best of us besides Pop. I’m honored to have you take lead.”
Ryker looked at the ceiling, blinking. Maveryck had only seen Ryker get emotional one time in the past two decades, and that was when he found out his daughter was alive. Not wanting him to feel embarrassed, Mav clapped his hands. “Now, I’m
ready to go snuggle two little hellions.” Natalia and Lucy had finished going over the account information, so he held out his hand. “Ready to go home?” He knew all eyes were on them at the way he worded his question, but he didn’t care. Natalia’s rental had been torched, and if he had his way, her staying with him and the twins would become permanent.
When she took his hand, he held out his free one to Hayden. “Keys,” he said, making a give-me motion.
“I’m not riding bitch,” Kyllian grumbled.
Rev chuckled. “You can ride with me.” The Hound’s bike had a sidecar even though Mav had never seen anyone ride in it. Bethany, his wife, rode behind him, and his kids were almost grown.
“Or you can take one of my cars,” Lucy offered. She still had her parents’ vehicles in the garage.
Kyllian grinned. “Nah. After getting shot, I need the wind in my face.” He clapped the big Hound’s shoulder. “Besides, the sidecar needs to actually get used.”
Rev grunted. “It gets used.”
“By an ass in the seat. Your dirty laundry doesn’t count,” Hayden joked. Rev reached out to smack Hayden, but the shifter quickly jumped out of the way.
“How’s your arm?” Natalia asked Kyllian as they watched him try to fold his long legs into the sidecar.
Kyllian pulled his still-red sleeve up. “Good as new. I just needed to shift for it to heal since the bullet only grazed me,”
“Then why the charade of Rev patching you up?”
“You didn’t know about shifters yet.”
Natalia grinned. “Makes sense.”
They all said goodbye to Lucy and Tamian, thanking them for everything. When Mav and Natalia were on the road, Natalia asked, “Why didn’t we take your bike?”
“You wanna ride with me, Princess?”
“Yes. I’ve never been on a motorcycle, but it looks fun.”
“After we get these hits off us, we’ll go for a ride. Guess I’m gonna need to get a sidecar too so the boys can go with us. But as for why I didn’t take the bike home, you were shot at a few hours ago. At least with the SUV, even with a couple bullet holes, we have some protection. Out in the open on the Harley? Not so much.” Maveryck reached over and took Natalia’s hand. “How are you doing? You’ve had a pretty shitty day.”
“Let me think.” Natalia tapped a finger against her chin. “I was pulled out of bed by a hot mercenary. I met your family. All your family. Your ex came by, and I wanted to beat her within an inch of her life. My house was burned down, which means I’m now homeless without clothes, shoes, my computer, or disguises. I found out about shifters. We’ve plotted murdering not one but three of my family. But I got to spend most of the day with two extremely cute boys, and I got to meet your lion. I wouldn’t say it was all bad.”
“You think I’m hot?”
Natalia laughed, smacking Maveryck on the bicep. “You know you are.”
“Do we need to go shopping before we get home?” Mav asked, once again referring to his house as hers.
“Not tonight. I’m ready to see the boys. But I will need to get something to wear for tomorrow night. I can’t very well do a job wearing shorts.”
“You could, but I’d hate to see those pretty legs get scratched up.”
“My legs are too short and skinny. I’m skinny.”
“Princess, you’re perfect. No, you aren’t tall, but your legs are toned.” Maveryck didn’t care that Natalia was short, or that her tits were on the small side. She was perfectly proportioned. “And I love your hair. Do you keep it short because of the wigs?”
Natalia leaned back against the headrest, but turned and focused on him. “My hair was really long when I was younger. I thought the brown was boring, so I colored it red. Anatoly had a fit and chopped it all off. And when I say chopped, I mean he did it himself and none too carefully. I let it grow back out, but never as long as it had been. When Mikael kicked me out, I had it all cut off and colored lavender just because I could.”
“Well, I like it. And I know two boys who bought a birthday cake with purple balloons because they were intrigued by it.”
“Was their birthday recent?”
“No, it was a couple months ago. Since they didn’t get to celebrate with Jenna, I wanted to make up for it.”
Natalia narrowed her eyes. “Speaking of that woman, I may kick her ass if she ever stops by to see the boys again.”
Maveryck grinned at his feisty Princess. “You don’t have to worry about that. I told her to forget about them and never come back.”
“You think she will?”
“I know so.” Maveryck wasn’t sure if Lucy shared about the shifter voice, so he asked, “What all did Lucy tell you about Gryphons?”
“Not much. I know you can alter human thinking. Is that something I need to worry about?”
Maveryck squeezed her hand. “No. I would never use my persuasion on you, unless you threatened to tell others about the Gryphons. I shouldn’t have used it on Jenna, but she seriously pissed me off keeping the boys from me.”
“What are you going to do when the boys ask about her? Ask why their mother never comes around.”
“I’ll make up some bullshit excuse if they’re not old enough to understand the real reason. If they are old enough, I’ll tell them the truth. You saw them when she came by. Neither one ran to her like they missed her. Hell, Marshall all but gave her the finger when he told you he loved you in front of her. As long as you’re around, I don’t think they’re going to miss her.”
Maveryck didn’t want Natalia to think he wanted her around only for the boys. “My home is yours as long as you want it, Princess. I know it’s not the kind of house you’re used to, but it’s plenty spacious enough for all four of us.”
“When you were breaking in to kidnap me, did you happen to notice the type of house I was living in? I’m not a material person. Don’t get me wrong; I do love my clothes and shoes. But I only lived in Anatoly’s three-story manor because it’s where I was raised.”
“I wasn’t going to kidnap you. Just get some answers.”
Natalia groaned. “And if you didn’t like those answers, you were going to kill me.”
“No, I wasn’t. I don’t go around killing women or children. Never have, never will.”
“But you took the contract.”
“So no one else would. And I’m so very glad I did.” Maveryck didn’t believe in coincidence, and Gryphons didn’t have fated mates. But he believed all the way to his soul he met Natalia because she was supposed to be his.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Natalia
It was late when they got home. Not home – Maveryck’s house. He said she could stay for as long as she wanted, but she couldn’t believe he wanted someone like her. Still, she was glad to be there. Her day might have had shitty parts, like Maveryck said, but it hadn’t been her worst. Not even close. The boys were waiting up, and they both ran to her and Maveryck when they walked into the kitchen from the garage. War and Kerrigan followed, and when War asked how things went, Maveryck grabbed them a couple beers and went out back where they could talk freely. That was after spending a few minutes listening to his sons go on and on about what they’d been doing.
Natalia sat down on the sofa with a twin on either side. Marshall had asked her to read them a story, and Natalia couldn’t say no. Every so often, she’d glance at Kerrigan and find her staring almost wistfully. By the time she got to the end of the book, the boys had scooted down so their heads were on her lap, and they were both snoring softly. Natalia set the book aside so she could run her hands through both boys’ hair. When she felt Kerrigan staring again, Natalia asked, “Is everything okay?”
“I admire you.” Kerrigan’s eyes were kind, and her smile friendly. “You’re this kickass woman. If you want it” — Kerrigan motioned around the room — “this is all yours for the taking. Don’t get me wrong. I love War with everything I am. But I was a bartender before I was kidnapped. I’ve never led an ex
citing life. You, on the other hand, could probably write a book.”
“Do you honestly think if given the choice as a young girl, I’d have opted to”— Natalia knew the boys were asleep, but she looked down to make sure — "I’d have chosen my particular occupation? I can tell you I absolutely would not have. I wasn’t taught anything other girls my age were. Until a few months ago, I’d never cooked or cleaned a day in my life. We always had Marta for that. I don’t see it as being spoiled. I see it as being hindered. I had to watch a video online to figure out how to wash my clothes. I’m a twenty-six-year-old woman with no life skills.
“I’m good at what I do because it’s what I was groomed for from the time I was seven. My father gave me a year to grieve my mother’s death before he started instructing me in how to fight. I can throw a punch without breaking my hand, and I can take a punch without it knocking me out cold. I held my first rifle when I was nine. I took my first life at sixteen. That isn’t something to admire. It’s something that should disgust you.”
Natalia hadn’t cried since she was six, but being around Major and Marshall, and now Kerrigan, was making her tear up. She closed her eyes tight, willing the wetness to go away. “I admire you, Kerrigan. You’re working with Sutton and Rory, using your experience with the cult for good. You helped the boys cook spaghetti tonight. You’re not a criminal. You are the kind of woman these boys need as a stepmother. Not someone like me,” she whispered, losing her battle with her tears.
Kerrigan moved from the chair to drop to her knees in front of Natalia, pulling her hands from the boys’ hair. Her own tears fell when she choked out, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t… I didn’t mean to offend you. But I don’t think you’re a criminal. If I did, I would have to think the same thing about the Hounds, War included. You’re wrong about the kind of woman the twins need. Yes, they helped me with supper, but the whole time we were in the kitchen together, they were talking about you. Lolly this. Tolly that. Do they make purple noodles? War mentioned them going to bed, and Marshall almost threw a tantrum. Said he had to wait until you got home so you could read to them. I offered to read them a story, and Major told me no. Flat out.” Kerrigan squeezed Natalia’s hands. “They are so in love with you. You could feed them peanut butter and jelly every meal as long as it was grape jelly, because it’s purple.” Natalia laughed and squeezed back. “You’ve been in their little lives less than a week, and you’ve captured their hearts. They love their Lollipop. All you have to do is love them back.”
