Maverick lived. But my Maverick seemed dead to me. He was in there somewhere though—I had to believe that—and that side of him was what I needed to appeal to.
The one thing that hadn’t changed was his love for his MC brothers, so that was where I’d start.
If they were his Achilles’ heel, then that was where I’d aim my attention.
“Storm? What the hell are you doing here?”
Giulia’s caustic question had my lips twitching, and Lily choked out a laugh as we walked into the tattoo studio where Giulia was working now, and where the ex-VP of this Sinners’ chapter was hovering at the front desk she’d recently begun manning for her sister-in-law.
Indy snorted. “See, this is why I hired you, Giulia. For you to greet my clients.”
She snickered. “Then you got the best employee ever. But seriously, Storm, what the fuck are you doing here?”
“Getting fucking ink, Giulia. What the hell’s it got to do with you?”
She and Indy shared a look, and though I was curious, my interest stirred deeper when Indy shook her head and Giulia’s nostrils flared like she was angry.
Wiry, like he was coiled with energy he couldn’t burn off, Storm jiggled his keys, drawing my attention his way. He was a handsome brute, slightly leaner than the other brothers and with a mop of hair that was longer than the last time I’d seen him, tangled waves that bobbed around his ears and dipped to his shoulders.
For all that he was good-looking, he was also a perennial cheater. Which made him quite, quite ugly in my opinion. Especially as I’d grown close to his wife, Keira, when she’d had to move back to the compound because she was saving up for nursing school.
“Look, should you really be wasting time?”
“Why? What’s my time got to do with you? I can’t work twenty-four fucking seven.”
“You should be spending time with Cyan and Keira,” she argued.
Indiana heaved a sigh. “Giulia—”
“No. He has a right to know.” Her chin jerked up. “Some truths need to be liberated.”
Indy blanched somewhat, and I’d admit to being totally confused as to what was happening here. There was definitely an undercurrent that Lily and I weren’t involved in, and to which we were helpless bystanders.
“What are you talking about?” Storm snapped, his patience wearing thin.
Giulia had that effect on most of the brothers. Well, apart from Nyx. He was the only one who seemed to find her amusing. I’d often watched their dynamic and wondered how a man like him—one who wielded respect and power around the club like it was a scepter and he was king—allowed this pocket rocket to wrap him around her finger.
Indiana cleared her throat. “Hasn’t Keira mentioned it?”
“Mentioned what?” Lily chimed in, her interest piquing as mine was.
I’d only come in for ink, but now this was happening, I wanted to know more too.
“Lodestar’s still looking into it, isn’t she?” Indy retorted. “Her initial findings were innocent.”
Giulia’s eyes narrowed. “And you and I both know you wouldn’t overreact.”
Indy scowled right back. “He told you.”
“Course he fucking told me.” Giulia hissed out a breath as she slid her hand over her hair. The gesture was explosive, like she was trying to stop herself from doing something more violent.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, aside from the fact that the already bloodthirsty woman appeared angrier than usual. To be honest, I’d thought she was simply hormonal. Some pregnant women craved candy, maybe Giulia was a true vampire…
But apparently not.
Apparently, something had happened to make her that way.
“Would you stop talking in circles? I’ve got places to be,” Storm rumbled, his gaze slipping between the two women.
Indy and Giulia were similar in nature. Both of them strong, both of them the kind of people who head-butted their problems rather than avoid them. Govno, why couldn’t I be more like them?
“If you don’t tell him, I will,” Giulia rumbled. “Nyx should have said something when it was clear Keira hadn’t.”
“Not our place,” Indy pointed out.
“Yeah, it is. If you want Nyx to keep his promise to you.”
A hiss escaped her. “Jesus, Giulia. Low blow.”
“You can’t ask Nyx to stop doing what he does best and not expect him to find release somewhere.”
“This is getting annoying,” Lily complained. “Storm’s right. Stop talking in circles, dammit! What the hell’s going on?”
But Storm’s eyes had sharpened at Giulia’s comment. Even I knew that Nyx had an addiction to torturing pedophiles… that Indy had asked him to stop was enough to make the ex-VP cease his bristling and gain his full attention.
“Why would you ask him to stop with his crusade?” Storm asked softly, his attention on Indy.
“Because he has a baby on the way, and he needs to make sure that child is safe. That’s his number one duty.”
Storm scowled. “He can do that and burn his demons at the stake at the same time.”
“Not if he’s serving life in a federal prison,” Giulia growled, her booted foot tapping against the floor as her patience thinned.
“I asked him to protect his child from what I went through.” Indy tipped her chin up, and in her eyes, there was a fire, one that threatened to raze Storm to the ground if he wasn’t careful.
“Kevin got to you?” Storm choked out, his hands dropping to the front desk as he leaned over it and into Indy’s space. “Jesus fuck, Indy. Why the hell didn’t you tell us?”
Before she could answer, his cell buzzed. I thought he was going to ignore it, but Indy grumbled, “When Metallica plays ‘One’ on your phone, we both know that’s Rex.”
He frowned. “This is important—”
“The bastard’s dead,” she rasped, but her gaze tangled with Giulia’s again, and even I felt the scorch of the warning in that glance. “He can’t hurt us now.”
Storm hissed under his breath, but he picked up his cell. “Rex?” He winced at whatever he heard, then he covered the base of the phone and muttered, “I gotta go. I’ll be back, Indy.”
“Can’t wait,” she grumbled. “Remember the aftercare? It’s been a while since you last had ink,” she called out as he headed to the door. “Enjoy,” she tacked on with a wicked cackle.
Waving her off, he growled, “I remember. Bye, ladies.”
Before he could leave, even though his glower would make a demon wary, and even though it was clear Indy needed us, I had to ask him something, so I grabbed his arm and watched as he stared down at my hand with a frown.
“Ghost?” he queried, his tone polite.
“Maverick asked me about someone, and I didn’t have an answer… He wanted to know where Scarlet was.”
Storm’s nostrils flared at that. “She ran off about four years ago.”
“You don’t know where to?”
He shook his head. “If he remembers her at all, he’d know trying to keep track of her was like trying to stalk a butterfly.” His mouth pursed. “Christ, been a long time since someone asked after her.”
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He just grunted, carefully detached his forearm from my grip, then headed on out.
As I watched him go, Lily shuffled over to me. “Who’s Scarlet?”
“His sister. Someone Maverick brought up the other night.”
“She was a bitch,” Indy called out.
Giulia snorted. “You think everyone’s a bitch.”
“Nah, I ain’t that dismissive. She was no better than a clubwhore, but she got away with murder because she was Storm’s sister and used to bat her big eyes to get out of shit. Never liked her. Stone and I used to hang around with the guys, but she didn’t—she was the high school bike.”
My mouth dropped open. “That’s a mean thing to say.”
She
winced. “Yeah, it was. We’ve all got pasts. I shouldn’t judge, I just… well, I never liked her.”
Because I understood that, and just because you were cut from the same cloth as someone didn’t mean you had to get on—case in point me with Tatána and Amara—I murmured, “Indy? What you were saying earlier…”
“I know you mean well, Ghost, but I really can’t deal with you being sweet to me.”
I reached over the desk, much as Storm had, then placed my hand on her arm. “I’m here if you need me.”
Her jaw tensed. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Lily whispered, “I’m here too, Indy.”
“I could kill you for bringing this subject up, Giulia,” Indy snapped, scrubbing a hand over her face. When she did, the new tattoo on her arm was clearly visible. A little pink, just starting to scab over.
“What happened?” I asked softly, watching as she peered down at where I was pointing.
She blew out a breath. “Cruz branded me.”
“No way!” Lily said with a laugh. “Oh God, that’s amazing news.”
“It really is,” I agreed with a soft smile when I saw the war going down in her eyes. I knew how she felt—like a bull caged in a ring, one that wanted to tear some matador’s head off, but the guy hadn’t shown up for the gig.
Indy shot us both tight smiles. “Stone was pissed at me for not telling her immediately, so thanks for not giving me shit, guys. She hasn’t answered a call from me in at least five days.”
Giulia moved over to the desk and sat on the edge of it, all without saying a word. She just stared at Indy, then murmured, “I want to help Nyx stick to his promise, Indy. You deserve blood, but I think him knowing you and Cruz are together will help.” She hitched a shoulder. “Aside from that, I’m just glad you and he are an item.”
“Why?” she rumbled warily.
“Because if he’s what made you finally speak up about what you went through then that’s a cause for celebration.”
“Thought you’d be mad at me for telling Nyx, for breaking down his guard.”
“He’s not the man he used to be,” Giulia said simply. “He’s my Old Man now, and I protect what’s mine. That includes you, sister-in-law.”
“God help me,” Indy said with a groan, but I sensed she was reluctantly amused by Giulia’s claim.
Lily cleared her throat. “What were you talking about with Storm?”
“Indy caught Cyan with this guy… she thinks he’s grooming her.” Giulia twisted to look at both Lily and me. “Lodestar’s been hunting the bastard down, and apparently he used to be a pastor, worked with underprivileged kids.”
“No fucking way,” Indy growled. “That’s not happening. He’s no pastor. You just have to look at him to know he’s bad news.”
“I haven’t seen him,” Giulia said with a shrug. “Either way, you can’t judge on appearances, Indy. You know that better than me, and look at Nyx. We know what he’s done, but you wouldn’t think he was a psycho looking at him, would you?”
Indy’s lips twitched. “No, you wouldn’t.”
“You do know you just admitted to loving a psychopath, don’t you?” Lily asked wryly.
Giulia shrugged. “He’s mine. That’s the only label I need to know.”
“What are we going to do about this man?” I interrupted. “I’m not sure I know what grooming means. Isn’t that what happens with a dog? Where they get shampooed and brushed?”
Three sets of eyes turned to gawk at me, but it was Indy who, with a shake of her head, said, “That’s exactly what it isn’t, Ghost.”
“She wants to be known by her real name,” Lily tacked on softly, making me smile despite the concerning nature of this conversation.
Indy shrugged. “Fine with me. Never did understand it. You’re not a fucking ghost. You’re alive. You’re a goddamn survivor. Trust Link to come up with that bullshit for a nickname—”
“Hey!” Lily protested, evidently about to stand up for her man.
“Ladies!” Giulia grumbled. “We’re getting off topic. Alessa, it’s hard to remember you’re foreign with how well you speak English, but we’re talking about when an old pervert talks to a young child and makes them think the pervert is good people when they’re not. Makes them trust him, gets into their confidence.”
“So he can abuse them?” I asked warily.
Giulia, her expression ripe with disgust, nodded. “Bastards.”
“Khuy na ne! We have to stop this! We can’t let this carry on. We must do something!”
I felt like my face was bright pink with rage, my heart was pounding, and disgust was crawling through my system like a million centipedes had overtaken my body. The rage consumed me, firing me up as if I had a bunch of embers under my feet that my bare soles were walking on.
Lily reached out and grabbed my hand. “Alessa! Calm down!” she barked, and I jerked back, surprise hitting me at her sharp tone.
I turned to look at Indy and Giulia, both of whom had wide eyes.
“You were speaking in Ukrainian, honey,” Lily said gently. “Are you okay? You kind of went crazy on us there?”
“I-I did?” I rasped, staring at the other women, reading their concern and surprising myself by finding comfort in it. Lily’s touch didn’t repel me, not like a strange man’s might have, but I reached up, cupped her wrist, and squeezed her gently. “I’m okay.”
She shook her head. “No. You’re not. What happened? You just kind of…”
“Exploded into Ukrainian and did some ranting and raving?” Giulia inserted dryly, but I could see she was worried for me too.
“I-I don’t know what happened.” My head was buzzing though.
One time, I remembered walking up the stairs in front of Donovan Lancaster. He’d pushed me because I wasn’t walking fast enough in the device he had me in, and when my knees had collided with the stone steps, my brain had just turned to mush. I remembered waking up on the floor in a pile of limbs, having passed out from the pain. It was strange because I’d endured worse at his hands, but for some reason, that had pushed me into unconsciousness.
Feeling shaken, wretched at the thought of Storm’s daughter being groomed, I whispered what I’d said in Ukrainian, “We have to do something.”
Giulia dipped her chin. “We do.”
“But what? What do we do?” Lily asked, and I saw her eyes were pink. She’d been abused as a child, so she knew what it felt like.
I prayed to God that her father was being raped in hell by demons. That was the fate he deserved.
Indy licked her lips. “We could threaten him?”
“How?” I asked, but I saw Giulia’s eyes light up with interest.
“We can discuss it while you get your ink, Alessa,” she said brightly.
So we did.
And by the end of the ink being completed, we’d cried, sworn, and plotted together.
Lord help me if that didn’t make them feel more like sisters to me than Kati did.
Eighteen
Maverick
“Where the hell have you—”
Before I could finish, I watched as Alessa lifted a baseball bat high and let it collide with the mega expensive Lamborghini Veneno. As I stood there, she did it a few more times, destroying the bodywork of a car that probably cost two or so million, used, and didn’t stop until the glass of the windshield was smashed, and the mirrors were hanging like limp lettuce on either side of the car.
When she was done, she was panting, her hair had come loose from the high ponytail she’d been wearing, and her breasts were heaving with the effort of wielding the baseball bat with the intent to cause as much destruction as was physically possible.
It was the first time I’d really seen her be out of control. Even in the aftermath of my waking up and almost choking her, she’d been gulping for air, but there’d been a calmness about her, an acceptance…
The thought put me on edge because I knew that meant she was used to abuse.
Here, now, however, she looked like a warrior. Like she wanted to destroy, and though a man joined the army for many reasons, to make war wasn’t one of them. To fight for peace, sure. But that didn’t mean the soldier didn’t get a boner when Wonder Woman came running toward him. One who was intent on wreaking chaos on a harmless supercar that, even my biker self, could drool over.
Her gaze was defiant as she stared at me, like she was expecting criticism but wasn’t going to take it. Who could blame her? She was a grown ass woman, who, somehow, was my wife too.
It was a surreal thought.
Surreal because, at that moment, she became more than just a label. More than just a weight around the neck of a man who was drowning, a man who happened to be me. She became a woman.
Flesh and bones. Blood and muscle.
Tits and…
Christ.
Now was not the time to recognize just how fine she was in her dishevelment.
Because I had to look away or I’d get a hard-on, and I was in no state of mind to deal with that, I switched focus and came across about ten or so supercars that were as wrecked as the Lamborghini.
“What the fuck?” I rasped, taking in the ruined vehicles that would probably cost more than this palatial house did on the real estate market.
“It’s therapeutic,” Lily told me, her voice prim. I twisted around and caught sight of her over by the doorway to the garage where I realized she’d been standing, watching Alessa destroy one of her cars.
“You told her to do that?” I rumbled.
“Why are you speaking around me?” Alessa demanded, dumping the bat which clinked a few times as it collided with the ground. Christ, I felt each clink in my skull. Though the pain was more manageable after her help, this wasn’t making it better. “I have a voice,” she snapped.
I firmed my lips into a line I knew was loaded with disapproval. “I know you do. I’m just not sure if I trust that voice when you’ve obviously lost your mind.”
“I told her to do it, Maverick,” Lily countered. “I wanted her to do it. But you might be right. She has lost her mind.”
Maverick: A Dark MC Romance (A Dark & Dirty Sinners' MC Series Book 6) Page 16
