I rested my hand on his shoulder and said, “I knew she was upset the night I left. I’ve always hated myself for not staying with her and making sure that she got the help she needed,” I told him.
“No. It wasn’t your fault, none of it. Hailey’s the one who got behind the wheel that night. She was tired, and never saw that drunk driver heading in her direction. It was an accident. You can’t keep blaming yourself for that night.”
“Maybe.”
“And her addiction was just that – hers. She knew that you loved her and that should’ve been enough. That’s all on her, Maverick.” I knew there was some truth in the words that he was saying, but I wasn’t willing to let myself truly accept it. A part of me would always blame myself for what happened with Hailey. No one would change my mind about that.
“I’m just so tired. Tired of it all, and I’m done with it. Done with the lies, the guilt. No more, Gavin,” I told him, dragging my hands through my hair. I was so fucking tired of being angry. Tired of all the bullshit. It was wearing me down, and I had to let it go. At the end of the day, Gavin was my brother. I knew I’d never be able to forget what he did, but I had to forgive him. I had to forgive myself.
His hand rested on my back as he assured me, “No more.”
“I mean it, Gavin. You fucked up. We’re family, we don’t keep shit from each other. Period.”
“You’re right. You have my word. I’ll never make a mistake like that again,” Gavin promised.
I was just about to leave when I realized that I still didn’t know what transpired after I left the lawyer’s office. “What happened today with John Warren?”
“I went down to the hospital, and Ana did another DNA test. When the results come back, I’ll sign the adoption papers,” Gavin replied. “Even if I was in a position to be a father, I wouldn’t do anything different. We both know that JW is where he belongs.”
“It’ll be hard, but, at least, you’ll be here with him. You’ll get the chance to see him grow up and spend time with him. You can be a real part of his life, and he’ll be lucky to have you,” I told him.
“Maverick, you should know that I had no idea that I was John Warren’s father when I decided to come here. I honestly thought being here would help you, make it easier for you somehow.”
“At the time, it did make me feel better to know that you’d be here with him. I think this place has been good for both of you,” I told him. I got up to grab a beer from the cooler, but stopped when my phone started to ring. I pulled it from my pocket and saw that it was Big Mike.
I didn’t have a chance to say hello before he said, “We’ve got a problem, Maverick. How soon can you get back?”
“Hold on,” I told him as I walked outside for some privacy. The door slammed behind me when I stepped out onto the gravel parking lot and asked, “What’s going on?”
“It’s Nitro… They got to Nitro,” he said, his voice rattled with concern.
“What do you mean they got to Nitro?” I asked, pacing back and forth.
“We still don’t know all of the details. Just that he was shot four to five times at one of his warehouses. The doctors just got done working on him a few minutes ago. He’s in the ICU now. They’re not sure if he’ll make it.”
“Nitro is too fucking stubborn to die, brother. He’ll pull through. Any idea who did it?”
“You know who fucking did it, Maverick. The same fuckers that were taking those pictures at our last delivery. They were looking for our distributor. They’re not going to stop until they shut us down,” he explained.
“That’s not going to happen. I won’t let it.”
“We’ve got to find these fuckers. We just need to get our hands on one of them. Just one of them, and Stitch will do the rest. He’ll get what we need out of them,” he explained.
“Yeah, one would do it.” Just thinking about the methods Stitch used to get information sent cold chills down my spine. One night in the confines of that room, and he could break any man. Mike was right. All we had to do was get our hands on one of these guys, and Stitch would find out everything we needed to know.
“We’ve talked about it before. They aren’t the type to leave any loose ends, and letting Henley slip through their fingers had to piss them off. There’s no reason for us not to use that to our advantage.”
“I’ve already told you once that using Henley is not an option, Mike. I won’t say it again,” I shouted. I took a deep breath and said, “We’ll be on the road within the hour. We’ll discuss other options when I get back.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you then,” he mumbled. I could hear the frustration in his voice, but I knew one way or another, we’d find a way to get these guys. When I turned to go back inside, Henley was standing behind me with her hands shoved deep in her pockets.
“Is everything okay?” she asked as she shifted her feet across the gravel. I wasn’t exactly sure, but I had a feeling she’d heard the entire conversation.