Like Leti did.
“Morning,” Gabby said softly.
I bent my lips down to kiss the top of her head. “Good morning, gorgeous.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“I have to have a meeting with the guys today. To update them on things.”
“You mean on me,” she said.
“Among other things, yes.”
She nodded against me. “Should I get up and find somewhere else to stay?”
I furrowed my brow. “Why the hell would you do that?”
“Because your club is obviously going to hate you and me for this. At least I can spare you some of their wrath by not being here after the meeting is done.”
I peeked down at her. “You’re not going anywhere, Gabby.”
“They’re going to hate me, and you know it. This isn’t like Leti’s situation. I wasn’t blackmailed into working with the cartel. I did it willingly and of my own volition.”
“And left the second you figured out what your father was really doing. They’ll be on your side for that.”
“You sound so sure of that,” she said.
“Because I am sure of it. I’ll be by your side the entire time,” I said.
“What do you mean, by my side?”
“By your side. You know, when we tell everyone.”
“What?” she asked.
I watched her crane her neck until her eyes met mine, and worry had already flooded them.
“You’re coming with me to the meeting,” I said.
“No, I’m not. They’ll slaughter me, Maverick.”
“Then you didn’t do enough research,” I said, grinning.
“This isn’t funny. They’re not going to take this the way you think they are.”
“It doesn’t matter how they initially take it. What matters is what happens after they all calm down. And until they do, I’ll be in your corner. From start to finish.”
I watched Gabby nod, but I knew I hadn’t convinced her. Still, I couldn’t put this meeting off any longer. I had just left the guys hanging yesterday, and they had been blowing up my phone ever since. Jace had threatened to come over to my place and figure out what was happening, but I assured them I was taking care of something and that I would talk to them about it later on.
As she laid her head back down onto my chest, I reached for my cell phone on top of the file folder. I needed to call Dean and get him to call church with the guys. I shot him a text message, knowing damn good and well that if he got me on the phone, I’d spill all of it to him. And I wanted everyone to hear me at the same time. I didn’t want to give them the chance to react individually. That was always worse than how they reacted as a group. I shot off a text telling Dean I had a mound of information I was sitting on about the cartel, and that we needed to meet immediately.
And ten minutes later, a formal phone call informing me about church rang through my phone.
“Come on. We should get up and get going,” I said.
“What time is the meeting?” Gabby asked.
“An hour.”
She sighed. “Wow. You guys don’t waste any time.”
“Not when it comes to groups that are distributing drugs to the children of our town, no.”
I felt Gabby cringe. “I’m so sorry.”
I held her close in my arms before I sat us both up. “You have no reason to be. Once you found out the truth, you picked a side. That alone is grounds for keeping you safe through this. Now come on, let’s get cleaned up and get some clothes on.”
Usually, I would have followed her into the shower. Taken her against the wall before christening my bathroom counter with her body. But, we had things we needed to keep our mind on. I pieced myself together and grabbed the folder, then reached out for Gabby’s hand. She threaded her fingers within mine before we started down the stairs, and the two of us headed to the bar.
But when we walked into the bar, she pulled away from me.
I glanced over at her, and I saw her nerves getting the best of her. I watched her eyes flicker around to each guy, probably clocking them and naming them in her head with the information she had found out about us. All of the guys looked at her warily, but I could tell Jace already knew who she was.
“Where the hell did you find her?” he asked.
“I need you guys to sit down and listen,” I said.
“Who is this?” Dean asked.
“That’s a damn good question,” Colt said.
“I’m Gabriela Martinez,” she said.
I watched shock roll over all of their features, but the only one that grew angry was Jace. Before any of them could react, I set the file folder of information down onto the table they were all sitting at. I wasn’t sitting down for this. I was staying by Gabby’s side, no matter what she chose to do. If she decided to sit, I’d sit. But she wasn’t sitting, so neither was I.
And judging by the anger rising in my brother’s eyes, it was a damn good thing we weren’t.
“You’re who now?” Duke asked.
I slid my hand into Gabby’s and threaded our fingers together.
“Oh, you have to fucking be kidding me,” Jace groaned.
“A few weeks ago, Gabby and I met at a bar. What started as a one-night stand turned into something a little more, but things sort of got complicated,” I said.
“How complicated?” Colt asked.
“If you tell me that damn girl is pregnant, I’m going t0 fucking kill someone,” Jace said.
“Take a damn breath,” Dean said.
“Let me do this,” Gabby whispered.
“All you have to do is stand here by me, okay? I’ve got this,” I said.
“What’s in the folder?” Duke asked as he nodded at the table.
“That folder contains all of the information Gabby gathered on us over the past few weeks,” I said.
“Fucking what now?” Jace asked.
“Maverick, please,” Gabby whispered.
“Trust me on this, okay?” I asked as I looked down at her.
“What does the file contain?” Dean asked.
“A lot. Let’s just say I’ve learned a few lessons myself on being careful with our things. Gabby here is good at what she does. Information retrieval, specifically. Jace, you know a thing or two about that,” I said.
“But I don’t fucking do it for the cartel, Maverick!” Jace exclaimed.
“Sit down,” Dean bit.
I felt Gabby jump, and I slid my arm around her. “Gabby was collecting information on us at her father’s insistence. She’s been working with the cartel for years under the assumption that they the family business,” I said.
“And she actually believed that?” Colt asked.
“If your father had sugar-coated to you what he did for a living at fifteen, would you have wanted to believe him?” I asked.
I stared Colt down before he slowly sat back into his chair.
“You’ve brought the snake into a fucking lion’s den, Maverick. What the hell is wrong with you?” Jace asked.
“The second she figured out what it was her father really did and the extents he went to with the cartel, she defected to me. I came over, she told me everything, and she gave me that file. I watched her wipe her computer clean. I watched her pry apart her external hard drive with her bare hands and destroy the inside. She left with me after only asking once, and she’s got nowhere to go,” I said.
“My father always told me that he managed,” Gabby said.
All of the guys turned their fiery gazes to her.
“Managed what?” Duke asked.
“Transportation of product. Delivery schedules. And because members of the business always came around during holidays and birthdays and no meetings were ever held in our home, I believed him. He always told me the business was the sole reason he was able to provide for me, our mother, and my five other sisters. That one day, it would be my responsibility to take over his seat,” Gabby said.
“This
is insane!” Jace exclaimed.
“You really need to--.”
“No. Look. I’m done listening to this insane story. I just told you yesterday that this girl is one of the cartel’s main fucking women and you come to us telling us you’ve been fucking her!?” Jace exclaimed.
“You didn’t tell me anything like that,” I said.
“I was going to before you stormed out of here like a maniac. I was going to tell you that her father is one of the main fucking head honchos of the entire damn operation!” Jace yelled.
“What?” Gabby asked.
“Yeah. What do you think about that?” Jace asked Gabby.
I stepped in front of her. “Whatever you have to say to her, you can direct it through me.”
“Fine. Then direct this. Rumor on the street says he’s the coordinator for the U.S. installment of drugs being run in this part of the fucking country. As in, he reports to the boss. Whoever the hell that is. Her father isn’t just some fucking pawn, Maverick. He’s the man who picks the pawns. The man who blackmailed Leti. The man who fucking coordinated taking her god damn brother!” Jace roared.
“That’s enough!” Dean shouted.
I felt Gabby’s trembling hand come down on my back. I heard her ragged breaths. My eyes were wild as I started Jace down, hovering over him as much as I could. How dare he come at Gabby like that. She was digesting enough as it was.
“The weapons,” she whispered.
“It’s okay, Gabby. I’ve got you,” I said.
“What did she say?” Jace asked.
“None of your damn business,” Colt said.
“Thank you,” I said.
“We don’t come for women like that,” Duke said. “No matter what she’s done, we don’t do that, Jace. Sit down and take a breath.”
“How could you trust her?” Jace asked.
My eyes locked with the only man I had considered my best friend for years. “Because when she figured out the truth about her father, she told me everything. Handed over the information without a second thought.”
“For all you know, she’s already handed it over to her father,” Jace said.
“I have not,” Gabby said.
Jace’s eyes whipped over to her as she stepped out from behind me. The guys locked their eyes with her as her hand slipped into mine. I felt her trembling, but I saw her standing strong. She was an incredible woman of unspeakable fortitude, and I’d defend her until my last breath.
“I’ve got you,” I said.
She looked up at me and nodded. Then, she turned her gaze back to the group.
“I was wrong. What I did was wrong, and in some ways, I willingly kept myself in the dark because I didn’t want to believe my father was capable of evil. Capable of destruction. I allowed my father to cover my eyes with thick wool and woo me into thinking he had nothing to do with any sort of seedy underbelly. Because he’s my daddy. Or at least, he was.”
I drew in a deep breath as Gabby nodded her head.
“I let my father manipulate what was really going on. I tailored my education to a role he expected me to fulfill while blindly turning an eye to the questions I had about my future profession. But what my father is doing is wrong. What the cartel is doing is wrong. And they’ll slaughter anyone who gets in their way. Including me.”
“When we left her father’s house yesterday, he shot at us. Both of us. He shot at his own fucking daughter, you guys. She’s got nowhere else to go,” I said.
“Not our fucking problem,” Jace said hotly.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to help you stop them. I have a great deal of information on them. I know things about my father no man in that damn organization does. I’ll help you myself. All I’m asking is that you don’t put me out on the street. At the very least, don’t hate Maverick. He’s a good man.”
I looked down and watched as Gabby’s eyes found mine. “He’s the best kind of man. And I don’t want him in trouble or hurt because of what I willingly decided to do.”
“This is absolute and utter shit, and I won’t stand for it,” Jace said.
“Come on, man. Just hold on a second,” I said.
“That woman’s father willingly blackmailed the mother of my fucking child, and you want me to trust her?” Jace asked.
“Leti Rodriguez, right?” Gabby asked.
Jace’s hot gaze turned down to hers, and I held her close.
“Don’t you ever repeat her name,” Jace growled.
“She was right to kill my uncle, Sebastian. He was the one that gave the kill order for her brother. Can you please tell her that? It might help with the guilt she’s probably still feeling,” Gabby said.
I knew Gabby meant well, but the rage in Jace’s eyes frightened even myself. Dean got up and pressed his hands into Jace’s chest while I took a step in front of Gabby. I felt her forehead come down into the middle of my back. I heard the guys rise from their chairs as Dean pushed Jace outside the bar. I reached around to take Gabby in my arms before she pulled away.
Took a step back from me.
Put space between us.
“Don’t worry. Dean will get Jace talked down,” Duke said.
“Yeah. Dean’s pretty good at that shit,” Colt said.
But it didn’t do much to quell Gabby’s fear. It didn’t do much to stop the tears from brewing behind her eyes.
And it sure as hell didn’t stop them from falling upon her cheeks.
Chapter 20
Gabriela
My phone rang out in my purse, and I rummaged around to get it out. The truth of the matter was I didn’t have many people that called me. The only people that did call me were part of my family. And I knew my father wouldn’t be calling, which meant it had to be my mother or one of my sisters. I dipped my hand into my purse as Maverick rubbed my back, and I felt the eyes of the other club members on me. Studying me. Judging me. Watching my every movement.
But when I saw who was calling, I froze.
“What’s wrong?” Colt asked.
“It’s… my father,” I said.
The room fell silent as I watched the line ring out. I heard a door slam open in the background, but I wasn’t paying attention to it. Why was my father calling me? Admittedly, he didn’t have much to say with regard to what happened yesterday. I felt Maverick’s hand fall between my shoulder blades as the phone call fell into my voice mailbox.
But the second the phone stopped ringing, it started again.
“Who the fuck is that?” Jace asked.
“If you don’t cool it, you’re done,” Dean said.
“Is that your dad again?” Colt asked.
“I think she should pick it up. Put it on speaker,” Duke said.
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Dean said.
“Gabby?” Maverick asked.
I slowly looked up at him before I nodded my head. It made me nervous, seeing my father call back to back like that on my phone. I picked up the call and pressed the speaker button, then set it down in the middle of the table. All of the guys were standing around behind their chairs as Maverick soothingly rubbed my back.
But I was too distracted to pay attention to the movement.
“Talk,” Dean whispered.
I looked up at him with watery eyes and nodded.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Gabriela. It’s your father.”
“I know,” I said.
“Where are you?”
“Do you think he’s tracing the call?” Jace whispered softly.
“We can’t jam the phone line. We need to know why he’s calling,” Dean whispered back.
“I’m safe, and that’s all you need to know,” I said, mustering as much confidence in my voice as I could.
At least, I hoped I was safe.
“You need to come home so we can talk, princess. You’re in a great deal of trouble. Unless you were kidnapped, of course.”
“I wasn’t kidnapped,” I said.
“No
t the right set of words, sweetheart. Have I taught you nothing?” my father asked.
“Apparently not. Because you never told me what you really did, Daddy. You never told me what really went on with your dealings in the family business.”
“Wasn’t yours to know until it was time for you to take the seat as the head of this family.”
“You didn’t think I deserved to know? After I tailored my education to what you needed and obeying you blindly, you didn’t think I deserved to know the job I was eventually going to take on?”
“My business dealings paid for that education. You should be proud. Not selfish, princess.”
“Stop calling me that,” I said breathlessly.
The phone call fell silent, and it made me nervous.
“You need to come home so we can talk. You’re in a great deal of trouble, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to fish you out of it this time,” my father said.
“This time? I don’t even know what that means, but I’m not coming home. I’m not doing this anymore, Daddy.”
“You don’t have a choice, Gabriela. You know too much. The business won’t let you go that easily.”
“Call it what it is, Dad. At least do that. You’re talking about the cartel. The cartel won’t let me go that easily. They’ll kill me before they let me leave.”
“No one leaves, princess. No one has ever left the business, and I taught you that,” he said.
“No, I didn’t know that. Not until yesterday afternoon, when I found all of your bloody weapons stuffed in the books of your office.”
“What?” Colt whispered.
“Holy shit,” Duke bit.
“Who was that?” my father asked.
“None of your damn business,” I said harshly.
“You come home this instant, and I can guarantee your life, Gabriela. But if you don’t, I can’t make any promises for anyone’s life. You’ve compromised the entire family. All of us, after we supported you in every single endeavor you ever took on as a young adult. You’re selfish, but if you come home, I might be able to work us out of this tight spot,” my father said.
“I’m not coming home. I no longer want to be involved with the cartel, and I won’t be. Even if I have to run my entire life. Even if I have to change my identity, or flee the country. I’d rather live underground for the rest of my life than be in your grasp!”
Maverick (The Black Hornets MC Book 2) Page 12
