Page 44 of Maverick
“Um sure, just let me finish—”
“No, I mean like right now. Like drop everything and come this second.” I gazed back at the body. The puddle had grown. “We have a… situation. I should probably call the police, but I don’t think… We just need your help.” I looked back at my dad, who was calmly cleaning his gun. My voice cracked as I pleaded. “And I need you.”
“I’m on my way.” His voice was steel.
I let out a deep breath. Just knowing he’d be next to me in a few minutes made me feel better. Movement rustled on his end.
“Do you think you could, um, bring the medic guy?” What had Ivy said her man’s name was? “Stitches?”
He swore and I heard mumbling from the other side of the phone. “Bear’s calling Stitch. Are you hurt? Is Larry? What happened?” His breathing picked up, and was he running?
“No, I’m fine. Just um…” Burglar man certainly didn’t need a medic, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to confirm that he was gone. “Hurry.” I hung up, not wanting to say more over the phone. “Dad, Mav and the guys are on the way.”
He nodded. “Good, they’ll take care of the mess and keep your mom from finding out. You can keep this a secret, can’t you? I hate to ask, Katie, but me and your mama are on real thin ice. She wants to leave me, and this might be the last straw.”
I sat next to him at the table and squeezed his hand. “Yeah, no problem. I promise not to talk about this to another soul, outside of whoever shows up tonight.”
We enjoyed a few moments of silence before Noodle started up again. The back door crashed open and Mav stepped inside, his eyes darting until they found mine. He must have used the four-wheeler.
“Kitty Kat, what’s—” He stepped forward, right into the body. “Oh, shit.” He looked down, his eyes widening.
“Yep,” I said, popping the p.
The sound of a diesel truck filtered into the kitchen before promptly cutting off.
Mav looked up. “That’s us.”
I nodded. “Front door is still open.”
Heavy footsteps sounded down the hall.
“Oh, shit.” Bear walked in first, followed by Blade and a military looking guy I assumed was Stitch.
“Blade, check the perimeter,” Mav ordered. Blade nodded and backed out of the house.
“Sooo, what happened?” Stitch asked, looking from the body to me before settling on my dad. He had a military vibe with buzz cut and a solid build.
Without thinking, I sat up in my chair. “It was me! I was, um, cleaning and found a gun in that drawer. I was trying to move it to the safe, but then it fell on the floor and went off. And that, uh, guy was, um… Well he sort of…”
Mav crossed his hands over his chest and raised an eyebrow. “Sort of what?”
“Um, well, there was gravity, and a ricochet, which then led to…” I looked up at the ceiling, desperately trying to think of something.
“Don’t stop now, baby,” Mav continued, the look of disbelief not wavering.
I waved my hand in the air. “Physics.”
“Physics,” Mav repeated.
“Yes.” I nodded. “A lotof physics happened.“ I looked back at Bear and Stitch, who didn’t look any more convinced than Mav. But they did look confused, which was something.
Dad snickered. “Thanks for trying, hon. That was cute.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I walked home with Noodle and the back door was unlocked. And since I knew damn well Mav and I hadn’t left it unlocked, I pulled out my little gray raider—“
Mav cleared his throat. “I thought all the guns were in the safe.”
Dad grinned and shrugged. “Anyway, I found this guy standing in my kitchen. I told him to get out of my house. He pulled a knife and said shit was taking too long and he was here to ‘escalate the timeline.’ Whatever the hell that meant. Noodle was growling, about to take a chunk out of his leg when he turned his knife on her. I shot him before he could hurt my baby.”
As if she understood, Noodle walked over to dad and laid her head in his lap. “That’s right, you’re my sweet girl. But I appreciate you boys coming over, and if we could get this taken care of before Rhonda finds out, I’d be much obliged.”
