Chapter 30

Chap ter 30

Rose

I'm not sure who's more surprised—Mav or Cade. Cade glances over his shoulder at me, but it's Amber that steps in. She's holding Paige, who they must have dragged out of bed because she's sleepy on her mom's shoulder. "He's not hurting him...much." But when I look back, Mav doesn't look happy.

"Are you done?" he asks Cade, obviously irritated.

"I want to know what you did," Cade growls in a voice that I don't recognize from him.

"I did what I had to," Mav returns.

I have no idea what's going on, but I'm not about to let Maverick get in trouble for saving me. "He saved me tonight. I don't know why you're giving him such a hard time. But I'd probably be dead if he hadn't saved me." I do my best to hold Cade's stormy gaze, but it's hard.

"That's not what this is about," Cade says, his voice still rough.

I look between the two of them in confusion. "The reason they showed up tonight is because Mav here paid them a visit. And threatened the owner in his private home." Cade turns to me. "Tonight was payback."

I stare at him before glancing at Maverick. His face is expressionless, and I can't get a read on him. "Why?" I ask him simply.

"I needed to find out if they're the ones pulling the strings or if it's somebody else," Mav surprises me by answering. He meets Cade's eyes. "I got my answer."

"But at what cost, Mav?" Amber interrupts. "How did that work out for you? They almost got Rose."

Maverick stiffens. "I wouldn't let anything happen to her."

"Because you happened to be at the right place at the right time. But what about the next time? Or the time after that?"

I raise my hand. "Can we just back up? You went to the guy's house, who we had dinner with?" I ask Maverick. Maverick doesn't look to be in pain, and he's not struggling against Cade either. "What is going on?"

Cade eases back and releases Maverick. Maverick gives him a look and then stalks over to the front door. When he opens it, Eli comes in. The room suddenly feels extremely small. Then I can't see anything else because Maverick steps in front of me. "Here." He hands me something. I realize it's a sweatshirt—his sweatshirt. I look up at him in surprise. He doesn't say a word but waits until I put it on—I mean I guess that's what he's waiting for. I don't argue with him because I'm feeling overwhelmed and out of sorts. His sweatshirt is warm and unsurprisingly smells like him. I resist the urge to take a deep breath because he's still standing there watching me intensely. I'm not going to think about the fact that I recognize his scent and that it gives me comfort. I will dwell on that fact when I'm in my room alone, later. When he doesn't move, I look up at him. "Are you okay?" he asks in a low voice.

I nod. "Thanks for protecting me." An expression comes over his face, but it's gone in an instant. It was too quick for me to read. He turns away from me, and I face Cade, Amber, and Eli.

The door opens and two more guys come in. "We can meet in the meeting room," Cade says, eyeing me. "We can leave the ladies here.

Panic wells up inside me, and my gaze shoots to Maverick. He's the closest thing I feel to safety right now. For some reason, the thought of him leaving makes me scared. He's already looking at me. "We'll stay here," he says without looking at Cade. Relief fills me.

"What happened?" Eli asks. I find a seat because I have a feeling it's going to be a long night. Maverick's sweatshirt is long enough on me, it doubles as a blanket when I pull my feet up on the seat.

"Maverick went to the owner's home and threatened him and his family," Cade says in a flat voice.

"It needed to be done." I look over at Maverick as he speaks. He's leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "We needed to find out who they're working with."

"What'd you find out?" Eli asks, facing him.

"It's not them," Mav says. The room is silent a moment. "They're not the ones pulling the strings."

"They're not polluting the water?" Eli asks.

"Oh, they are; but they're being paid to do it," Mav says.

I wrinkled my nose in confusion, but Cade beats me to it. "Who is it then?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" Mav says.

"You didn't get any more information out of him?" Amber asks.

Mav smirks. "Well, short of killing him, which I didn't think you would condone—"

"I wouldn't," Cade interrupts.

"I couldn't get any more out of him."

"And then they came here and went after Rose," Amber points out, shifting Paige to her other side. Cade reaches out and takes her from Amber and gently pushes her little head down on his shoulder. But her head pops up; it's obvious she's not going back to sleep anytime soon.

"Uncamav."

I have no idea what Paige mutters, but Cade must because he walks the short distance across the room and shocks me by handing Paige to Maverick. Mav doesn't bat an eye as he reaches for her, like he's used to holding her. She snuggles in against him, and he turns his attention back to the group, completely at ease with the fact that he's holding a toddler. I, on the other hand, can't even wrap my head around it. And then he rubs her back with his big hand and mutters something softly to her, and I'm done for. He meets my eyes, and I can't look away. I stare at him. And before I can stop it, my mind forms a picture—Mav with a little girl in his arms, but one that has dark hair and dark eyes and looks just like him. I blink and the image fades, but I continue to stare at him. He only looks away when Eli asks him something. The voices around me sort of fade out, and I think back through the night. A shiver runs through me when I think about what could have happened if Maverick hadn't gotten back when he did. I wonder what's going to happen next. Will they give up or will they return ? I think about the Northwoods pack and make a mental note to reach out tomorrow and see if they're being affected in a similar way or if this is just what the Orlando pack is dealing with. I think about Sam and Wyatt and their pack too and wonder if they're all safe.

"Hey," Maverick says quietly. It takes a minute to get my bearings back.

I look around the room in surprise. "Everybody's gone?"

He nods. "For now. We'll get back to it first thing in the morning." I don't even bother asking if they came to any conclusions. I can tell by the frown on his face that they didn't. I stand up and stretch, knowing I need to get back to my own room. Not that I'll be sleeping any more tonight, or what's left of it anyway.

"Do you want to watch a movie?"

I look at Maverick in surprise. "What?"

He walks over to the tv and picks up the controls. "Do you want to watch something?" he asks again, nodding at the tv. I watch as he walks over to the side of his bed and kicks off his shoes before climbing on the bed and sitting against the headboard and uses the controls to flick on the tv.

"You watch movies?" The question just sort of comes out.

He gives me one of his smirks. "Yes, Healer. I watch movies."

I glance at the tv and then back at him. "Name one."

He turns his head slowly to look at me. "What?"

"Name a movie you've watched." He cocks an eyebrow at me. "I don't believe you. Name a movie."

"Indiana Jones."

"That doesn't count; every guy has seen that," I tell him with a huff.

He smirks again and nods at the bed next to him. "Or are you going to go back to your room to sleep?" He looks at me expectantly, and I know what he's saying without actually saying it. He knows I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep. I'm too keyed up. Besides, it's almost morning. I lift my chin and take a breath, forcing myself to be brave. I walk over to the bed and climb on. I don't have to take off my shoes because I'm not wearing any. That's what happens when you're dragged from your bed in the middle of the night. I settle on the bed next to him, holding myself stiffly.

He looks over at me. "What do you want to watch?"

"Whatever you want to watch."

He faces the tv and flips through several apps. I stare at his screen. "Disney Jr.?" I ask, eyebrows high.

He doesn't even look flustered. "Paige likes Bluey."

I stare at him; I can't even form words. "Bluey."

"Yeah. Ever watch Bluey? It's pretty good. Pretty sure Bandit puts dads everywhere to shame." I don't say anything. "Bandit's the dad," he offers.

"I know who Bandit is; I'm just shocked you do." I had never heard of Bluey until I saw it on in the pack house one day when I was with the Northwoods Pack. One of the mothers told me what it was, and I'm totally not ashamed to say I watched at least eight episodes.

Maverick turns on a movie I haven't seen before. Surprisingly, it looks like a chick flick. I hold myself stiffly for about the first twenty minutes before I finally get comfortable. Maverick doesn't say a word as we watch, even though I glance over at him every so often. It takes a long time, but I finally feel the rigidness begin to dissipate from my muscles. I stare at the screen, wondering if I'm losing my touch on reality. Maybe this is all a dream. Because watching a movie...with Maverick...a chick flick...in his bed. It's all too much to take in. Add Bluey to that and Mav holding Paige earlier, and everything I thought I knew about him is blown apart. I blink increasingly slower and finally let my body come down.

I open my eyes and blink, trying to figure out my surroundings. It takes me a full minute to realize I'm in Maverick's room still. I sit up, tossing off the throw blanket that covers me and stand to my feet. I look at the clock and grimace when I see that it's after nine. A quick glance around the room reveals that he's not here. I almost look for a note or something until I remember it's Mav we're talking about. I slip out into the hallway quickly, so I can get back to my room before too many people see me. I am keenly aware of the fact that I'm wearing my pajamas, Maverick's sweatshirt, and no socks or shoes. I've barely gone a few steps when a door opens, and several shifters step out into the hallway. The first few take in the sight and drop their gaze. Maverick comes out into the hall next. He sees me, and I swear his eyes soften. I fight the urge to smooth down my hair; I'm sure I look like a hot mess. He stops in front of me. "I'll walk you to your room." I watch as he gives a hard look at the people around us, and they look away. Then he puts a hand on my back that I can feel even through his sweatshirt as we make our way to my room. When we stop at my door, I finger the bottom of his sweatshirt, preparing to pull it off. "Keep it," he says, putting his hand on mine. "I'll get it from you later."