“Yeah, well, I guess he was feeling confident of what he’d find. Which in and of itself is fucking fishy,” Caine said.
“Like maybe he already knew,” Phoenix said. Nods all around. “And the drag strip is far enough from the clubhouse and close enough to the highway for someone to get in and out quick without any of us noticing. Especially if they did it in the middle of the night.”
Maverick nodded, Phoenix’s words sounding more and more like the truth of it. Someone planted this shit to cause trouble for them, maybe even keep them from getting their license renewed . . .
Sonofafuckingbitch.
“The timing of this . . . someone knew about the inspection,” Maverick said, his mind racing through the possibilities. And landing on one that made his blood boil.
“Oh, God,” Alexa said from behind him.
Mav turned to find her holding a shaken-up Haven’s hand, Cora on Haven’s other side with an arm around her.
Alexa’s face was sheet-white. “Grant,” she whispered, giving voice to the same conclusion Maverick had just made. “Grant would be able to find that out. He would . . .” She shook her head, her eyes wide and panicked.
“Christ,” Maverick said, his gaze swinging back to Martin. “She’s right and you know it.”
“Aw, hell,” Martin said, planting his hands on his hips. “You can’t go accusing Grant Slater of anything without proof. He’s one of the mayor’s best friends and one of the richest and most influential men in town. If he was behind it—and that’s a big if—he certainly wouldn’t have dirtied his own hands with it, so you’d be hard-pressed to connect it directly to him anyway.”
“He’s right,” Caine said, palming the knit cap covering his shaved black hair. He shook his head. “He’d hire this out.”
“Probably,” Mav said, nailing Martin with a hard stare. “But what we can a hundred percent prove is that he’s blackmailing Alexa to keep her from calling off their wedding next Saturday. Slater’s an abusive, controlling prick, and there’s no doubt in my damn mind that this bullshit is part of what he’s trying to do to her.”
Martin’s gaze cut to Alexa, and she gave a nod to confirm what Mav had said. “Damnit,” Martin said on a sigh. “Okay, I hear you. I’ll dig into this as much as I can.”
“Do it,” Maverick said, his vision going red the more all the implications of this penetrated his thick skull. “Because if you don’t get to the bottom of it, we’ll have to. But I’m guessing the fucking body count will be lower if you take the lead.”
The sheriff held up his hands and arched a brow. “Let me get out of this conversation before we all regret me being in it.” The guy was a friend to them, but he drew the line at knowing anything that might cross a line. And all kinds of lines were going to likely have to be crossed to right this mess. Because shit had gone seriously sideways. “I’ll get down to the station and keep an eye on your guys. Get a lawyer and get down there.” He rounded the back of his squad car.
“Take care of them, Martin,” Maverick said, eyeballing the other man. “Anything happens to either of them and there’s going to be hell to pay in this town and you know it.”
Martin nodded as he opened his door. “Just keep your goddamned heads about you.” He got in and drove off, passing a tow truck rumbling into the lot as he did. Slider rushed out, his expression making it clear that he’d heard the news. Phoenix started catching him up as Mav made a call.
James Walter was a personal attorney who Doc had known forever. When Walter answered, Mav quickly explained the situation. The guy agreed to meet them at the station without having to be asked. Next, Mav left a message with the business lawyer they used for matters related to the track.
When he hung up, he turned to the assembled group. The pissed-off expressions on the faces of Caine, Phoenix, Slider, Blake, and Bear looked like Maverick felt. And the worry and sadness he saw on Haven’s and Alexa’s faces ratcheted up his anger by a factor of about a thousand. “I want a detail up here to guard the women and people at the ready just in case something else happens. Assemble as many Ravens as you can. Caine and I will head down to that goddamned station.”
“I’ll let everyone know what’s going on,” Phoenix said, pulling out his phone. “But I want to come, too.”
“No, Phoenix. We can’t have people losing their shit and possibly making things worse,” Maverick said. Because the last thing they needed was more men behind bars. Phoenix gave a tight nod.
“I want to come,” Haven said.
“No,” Maverick said, feeling bad for her but resolved. “Dare won’t want you anywhere near the place. I can guarantee it.”
“But—”
“Haven, if he even thinks you’re there, it’ll make him feel worse,” he said, forcing his voice to gentle. “The best thing you can do ’til we get him home is stay here and stay safe.”
“We don’t know what else might be coming at us,” Caine added. Mav nodded.
“Damnit, okay,” she said, her voice cracking. “I just . . . if you get to see him . . .”
“He knows,” Maverick said, remembering his cousin’s words about how close they’d gotten. No doubt Dare was already going out of his mind worrying about how Haven would handle this situation.
“I’m so sorry,” Alexa said, shaking fingers pressed to her lips. “This is my fault.”
“No, it’s not,” Haven said at the same time that Maverick said, “No, it’s fucking not.”
“But Grant did this to get back at me,” she said, her hazel eyes a little wild.
Maverick got right in her face. He couldn’t tolerate her feeling one more ounce of guilt for what her bastard sleazeball of an ex had done. “That’s right. Slater did this. Not you. And he did it to get back at us for showing up at the restaurant. I’d put money on it.”
“That’s what my gut says, too,” Caine said. “Look, I’m gonna get down to the station now.”
“I’m ready, too,” Mav said, nailing Alexa with a stare. “Stay strong for me.”
A quick nod. “I will.”
“We’ll take care of each other,” Haven said. “Go. Don’t worry about us.”
Mav kissed Alexa’s forehead and made for his bike.
“I’ll get things organized,” Phoenix called, his cell pressed to his ear.
Waving, Mav mounted the NRS and brought it to life on a roar. He gave Alexa a look and she nodded. And then he took off.
Way he felt, he was ready to take on the whole goddamned world if he had to, so he’d handle Slater in a fucking heartbeat. One way or the other.
CHAPTER 24