“Sorry to bother you, Maverick. Alexa didn’t answer and I wanted to make sure I was ready when you got here.”
Didn’t answer? Alarm bells threatened to go off, but Maverick also knew Alexa was neck deep in last-minute details today. “You’re no bother,” he said. “We’ll see you soon.” They hung up. “Hey,” he said to Phoenix.
“Thought you could use a drink,” the guy said, handing him an icy bottle of Coke.
“Fuck, yeah. Hot as hell out here today.” Maverick popped the top and took a long pull from the bottle. Cold and fizzy and sweet. Then he gave in to the urge clawing up his spine and texted Alexa. You okay?
His phone buzzed almost immediately. Yes, almost done. Breaking for lunch and then that’ll be a wrap.
See? She’s fine. He shot off a reply. Knock ’em dead, baby. Appeased, Mav slid his phone back into his pocket.
“You did a great job stepping into Jagger’s shoes and putting all of this together, Phoenix. He’ll be grateful. And so am I.”
Phoenix heaved a troubled breath. “I fucking hate that he’s in there.”
“Me too,” Maverick said, the regret he felt a weight on his shoulders that wouldn’t go away. And why should it go away when Jagger was locked up for a crime he didn’t commit? That was a weight.
They sat together for a long time and drank their sodas, both of them clearly lost in their own thoughts. Aside from Jagger sitting in jail, the week was going better than any of them had expected.
Dare was home and no worse for the wear—way more pissed off, but not harmed in any way. The Ravens already had the tires and oil barrels removed from the property, and an environmental firm was treating the small spills that had occurred. A new licensing inspection had been scheduled for tomorrow to review the property after the environmental violations had been addressed. The Hard Ink team had hacked into the traffic camera footage again and was reviewing it, although they said it could take a while. And the P.I. they’d hired had found a social connection between Slater and the judge, confirming their suspicions. Not great news, of course, but at least there was forward fucking motion. Alexa had even managed to finish and submit her schoolwork, and he knew she was feeling good about having that off her plate.
Even better, the illegal dumping story didn’t seem to be hampering the carnival at all. Advance ticket sales were strong, local businesses had signed up in droves to sell their food or other products, and the word was getting out. The charity aspect of the carnival was the real selling factor, and it seemed to be getting more play in the press than the dumping story. Thank God for small favors.
Best of all? Grant Slater hadn’t bothered Alexa at the model home even once.
“All right,” Phoenix said, hopping off of the table. “No rest for the wicked. I’m gonna go find the carnival manager and see where everything stands.”
Maverick nodded. “Grab me if you need me. I’ll be around until about quarter ’til five.” Assuming he could actually sit still for that long when he knew that Slater would be going to the model home today for Alexa’s presentation. That fact had him absolutely itching to ride over there and park his bike on all that brand-new grass. They clasped hands, and then Mav sat for another minute and emptied his drink.
Everything was finally coming together—for the carnival. For Mrs. H’s move. Even for him and Alexa. His thoughts drifted to the other night, making love to her in the moonlight by the pond. How her words had hit him square in the chest and made him want. Her. Them. Everything. More than ever before. They were so close to having her ex behind them that Maverick could taste it. And then he’d be free to lay it all on the line.
So all the news was as good as it could be.
Maverick’s gaze scanned over the colorful rides, the bright food carts, and the festive strings of lights swaying in crisscrosses above the whole grounds. Music played over the track’s sound system, and men talked and laughed as they worked. Everything was normal. Good. Exactly what it should be.
All of which made him wonder why his gut was still so tied up in knots.
CHAPTER 26
Thanks Mike,” Alexa said, hopping out of the prospect’s car in front of the model home. She’d forgotten to pack a lunch this morning, so Mike had run her out to grab a sandwich before the walk-through with Grant, the general contractor, and the sales team. They would all be arriving soon.
“Any time, Alexa,” the newest Raven said. “Call us if you need us. We’re hanging out two minutes away.”
She gave him a nod as he pulled a U-ey in front of the house. Holding her stomach, she frowned. The big rock sitting there at the thought of seeing Grant again said maybe she should’ve skipped lunch, but she wasn’t sure when they were going to fit in eating dinner with moving her mother tonight.
Everything will be fine. You won’t be alone with him.
Right.
On a sigh, she made her way inside. The cool air wrapped around her, helping her stomach just a little, as did the calm, relaxing vibe of the home’s design. The place made her want to sit down and stay awhile. And for the four-hundred-thousand-dollar price tag associated with this particular model, she hoped it made a lot of people feel that way.
She stowed her purse and washed her hands, then grabbed her clipboard from the sales office and made another pass through the house. Grant loved perfection. In fact, maybe it was the only thing he truly loved. And in this one instance, she was determined to give it to him. Everything had to be just right for the walk-through. Maybe then he’d see that she could be valuable to him without becoming his wife and just let her go.
She began in the basement, which featured a big rec room, an exercise room, and a media room that looked like a little theater. She checked the finishes, paint job, placement of furniture, and double-checked her punch sheet. Next, she made her way through the living spaces on the main floor. She fixed the plantation shutters on the library windows, making sure all the slats lined up just so because she knew that even one out of place would drive Grant crazy.
Thump.
She froze, her ears going on alert. People were arriving for the walk-through already? She’d thought she had another ten or fifteen minutes. She went to the front door and peered outside, but there weren’t any cars in the driveway.
Damn nerves. They had her jumpy and anxious. Feeling time getting away from her, Alexa rushed up the steps to run through the bedrooms, bathrooms, and upstairs laundry room.
At the far end of the hallway, she pushed through the double doors of the master bedroom—and stopped short.
For a moment, her eyes couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing. Rose petals on the bed. Candles flickering on the nightstands and dresser. The low strains of jazz music playing from the built-in stereo system.