“You’re sure as shit not going back to him,” Maverick said, as if she’d spoken the words aloud. Had she? The situation felt so surreal she wasn’t sure.
Alexa met his gaze again and hated the doubt she saw there, and the little hidden sliver of fear. Maybe the others wouldn’t have seen it, but she knew Maverick, and she did. “No, I’m not. I can’t. Especially not now. But, Jesus, getting free of him means that my mom and me . . . we lose everything. How am I going to tell her? Where am I going to move her? Am I even going to be able to stay in this area if Grant ruins my career and reputation here?” She kneaded at the muscles in her neck. “What an arrogant, twisted asshole he is. I can’t believe it’s come to all this.”
Maverick grasped her hand and leaned down until their eyes met. “We’ll figure it out. Did he attach any sort of a deadline to his demands?”
She laced her fingers with his. “He wants me home—well, back to his place—immediately, but the real deadline is next Saturday.”
“The wedding,” Maverick said.
“Yeah. I don’t show—”
“—and the shit hits the fan,” Mav finished for her. She nodded.
“So we have a week to make arrangements for your mom,” Dare said. “We will figure something out. That’s a guarantee.”
“Shit,” Maverick said, his eyes going wide. He turned to Phoenix. “I hate to ask, man.”
“What?” Phoenix asked. “Name it.”
Alexa loved that about the Ravens. Always had. How they were there for each other, no matter what. Like a family.
“Any chance you’d be willing to let Mrs. Harmon use Creed’s house?” Maverick asked. Alexa gasped. Creed was Phoenix’s cousin who’d been killed a month or two ago in Baltimore. He was older, and she hadn’t known him well, but she knew Phoenix well enough to know that he’d idolized Creed. Which meant Maverick asking him such a thing for her was huge.
She shook her head. “Oh, no, I couldn’t—”
“Hey, that’s actually a damn good idea,” Phoenix said, nodding, his expression thoughtful. “I haven’t touched it since Creed died, so it’ll take some work, and it’s not very big, but it’s just sitting there.”
The kindness they extended to her disproved stereotype after stereotype. Her billionaire businessman fiancé was a manipulative, abusive control freak, and her law-breaking motorcycle gang friends made a habit out of helping people who needed it. “That’s an amazingly generous offer, Phoenix, but my mother’s not the easiest person. She’s not likely to take the best care of the place even with my help, and I don’t even know what I can afford yet.”
He gave her a look. “I’m talking about a gift, Al. I don’t want your money. Or your mother’s. Once we get it cleaned and fixed up, she could stay there as long as she wants. Creed always liked Tyler. I think he’d like this.”
The man’s generosity pierced more holes into her numbness. “Okay, well. Wow. I don’t even know what to say. Thank you isn’t enough.”
“Yeah it is.” He winked. Nodding, her thoughts raced. That potentially alleviated one big problem, assuming the work could be done within the next week, and assuming that Alexa could get her mother and all her crap out of Grant’s house within that time frame.
Maverick turned to Phoenix and offered his hand. “I know what this means. Thank you. We owe you. Anything, anytime. Just name it.” The men clasped hands for a long moment.
We owe you. We. Such a small word. Such a huge meaning. It shattered what was left of Alexa’s numbness. Worry, fear, panic all came rushing in, but so, too, did courage, resolve, and—for the first time in a long time—the steadfast knowledge that she wasn’t alone. We. She and Maverick. Whatever they were, he was in her corner. All of these guys were. After years of feeling so alone, that meant everything. She pressed a hand to her chest and nodded, emotion overwhelming her.
Maverick faced her again, his big hands going to her shoulders. And it was like his touch grounded her, shielded her, pulled all the disparate pieces of her together so she could stand strong. “The rest we’ll figure out. I promise. But until then, no going out on your own anywhere. If you feel like you need to stick it out at work, I understand. But we keep with me dropping you off and picking you up.” On their surface, his words seemed calm, but the agitation was clear in the tight clench of his jaw and the hot flash of his eyes.
“Knowing Slater, this will escalate before it gets resolved,” Dare said matter-of-factly. In her heart, Alexa knew that was right. But what would that escalation mean? She couldn’t stand the idea of anyone getting hurt because of all the mistakes she’d made.
Which meant she had to act. She had to do whatever she could to protect herself and her friends. “I need to get a lawyer first thing Monday morning. And maybe I should talk to Sheriff Martin this weekend, just to see what he thinks?” Alexa didn’t know Henry Martin well, but she’d heard Grant grouse about a divide within Frederick’s local police over the Ravens—and that Henry tended to fall on their side and even protect them. The details of those internal politics were a mystery to her, but certainly an enemy of Grant’s could be a friend to her.
“Good. That’s good,” Maverick said, a gleam of pride in his gaze. “Touching base with Martin makes sense. Get you protected legally, too. Because this fucker’s not going to get away with what he’s trying to do. Just you wait.”
No, he wasn’t. At least, not without a fight.
Problem was, she feared into her very soul that she was going to have to pay in some way before everything was said and done. The only question was how great that cost would be.
CHAPTER 20
As it got later, more Ravens arrived at the clubhouse. Bunny and Haven laid out the fixings for beef tacos, and everyone dove into building a plate. Afterward, the atmosphere clearly veered in the direction of partying. Truth be told, Maverick had some adrenaline and not a little anger burning through his blood that could use being worked out. But then he found Alexa sitting at the kitchen table talking to Bunny and Haven, her knees drawn up to her chest. And even though she put on a smile for him, it was clear that she wasn’t in the partying mood.
“Why don’t I take you home?” Maverick asked, something deep inside him needing to not just protect her, but take care of her, comfort her. However she needed, whatever she needed.
“It’s okay,” she said.
“What do you want to do?” he asked, crouching beside her. He was aware that his mom and Haven were listening in, but didn’t mind, didn’t care. There was no shame in wanting to take care of what was his—even if she was only that in his stubborn fucking heart.
“I’ll do whatever you want,” she said. Her hand fell on his where it rested on her knee, and the touch shot heat through his blood.
He arched an eyebrow. “I want to know what you want.”
She met his gaze for a long moment, then gave a little shrug. “I don’t want to pull you away.”