Page 42 of Maverick
I nodded and reached a hand to Baller’s shoulder. “Thanks, brother.”
Baller smiled. “Anytime. I’ll text as soon as I get something.”
“Well, if that’s all, I could use a beer.” As I led the guys to the bar, I couldn’t help but run through the final words of the Diablos’ leader before we killed him months ago: “We’re the first wave. He’s got so much planned, just you wait.”
Is this what he meant? Some Volkov guy wanted to turn our town into a drug factory? At the end of the day, it didn’t matter. We got rid of the Diablos, and we’ll get rid of this guy too. And for threatening my woman, I’d make it hurt.
25
Kat
Fucking hell.
I’d driven straight to the MC bar after leaving Ivy’s, feeling guilty about leaving my dad with Mav for so long. The whole point of me being here was to take care of him, and here I was, pawning him off on someone else. And for what? Lashes and nails? I sighed. I had to be the worst daughter ever.
At least Dad knew who I was when I walked in the bar. The back and forth was giving me whiplash, but it was better than him forgetting me all the time. That was probably my fault too. If I’d come around more often, insisted he use the tablet I’d sent him to video chat, maybe he would remember me like he did Mav.
I’d planned to pop in to tell Mav thanks and to apologize for crashing out earlier. I could tell there was a lot more to Ivy’s story, but it was clear she trusted the MC completely. And Lexie, too. Surely someone as sweet as her wouldn’t be involved with anything too messed up. But it turned out that was unnecessary.
Mav hadn’t been bothered at all. In fact, he was already moving on to his next conquest in the middle of the fucking hallway. Asshole. But maybe that was another part of the MC life I would never understand, fucking multiple women in a day. The fucking fuckhead.
I sat with my dad while he waited on a to-go cup for his sweet tea.
“Did you want one too, Kat?” Lexie dropped Dad’s tea off at the table.
“Will it have booze in it?” I asked, only half joking. Mav hadn’t come after me when I’d caught him, and I hadn’t seen that hussy either. I could only guess what was going on.
Lexie smiled. “It’s technically against the rules, but…” She looked around. “I think we’ll be okay.”
She poured Coke into a styrofoam cup and added a double shot of rum.
I smiled. “You’re a saint.”
She nodded. “A little rule breaking never hurt anybody.”
“I promise to wait until I get to the house before drinking.”
Lexie gave me a thumbs up.
Dad stood up and we headed out of the bar.
“Want to ride with me?”
He whistled and Noodle ran out from behind the dumpster.
Gross.
“I’ll walk back with Noodle. By the time you drive around the road, I’ll be on the couch and halfway through the next episode ofThe Unit.”
He was probably right. And there was no telling what Noodle had found behind the dumpster. I wouldn’t argue about not having her in my car. “See you in a few.”
I climbed into my car and drove onto the main road. A part of me worried Dad would forget me by the time I made it home, but that was ridiculous. Probably. He’d had a nap and some food, sohe should be okay. His issues seemed to happen more when he was tired or stressed.
After a few minutes, I pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. I couldn’t resist checking out my lashes in the rearview mirror. They weren’t that bad. I think I was just having flashbacks to the great poodle perm debacle of sixth grade.
And now that I had a few minutes to think, I thought back to Mav and that woman. As much as I tried to deny it, what we had was more than a vacation fling. A man didn’t pretend to be your boyfriend or look after your sick father for a hookup. Not when he had women like that available. Maybe she was just… checking him for ticks.
I rolled my eyes. What had my world come to, that I was hoping my fake-ish boyfriend had parasites? Was this what living in the country did to a person?
