Chapter 4

4

MOLLY

C ooling my jets in Maverick's room while he had it out with his president wasn't my idea of a good time, but I distracted myself by being nosy. He was only gone for about half an hour, but it was long enough for me to go through his medicine cabinet, under the bathroom sink, his dresser and bedside table drawers, and glance in his closet.

Most people probably called what I was doing an invasion of his privacy, but he'd left me alone in his space after basically kidnapping me, so I figured that all bets were off. And I was curious about the guy who had brought my nonexistent libido to life. Plus, I'd learned from my dad how important gathering intel was. If they wouldn't have gone running straight to him, I would've asked Hack or Grey to look into Maverick for me after the big birthday party at the compound.

Since I didn't have any hacking skills of my own, I had to settle for snooping around while I had the chance. Not that I learned much other than the man was a neat freak who only wore jeans, leather, and T-shirts and wasn't big on personal mementos. There wasn't a single photo in his room, and all of the flat surfaces were bare.

I didn't want to get caught red-handed, so when I heard the beeping of the security panel on the door, I raced over to the oversized chair in the corner. Just as I dropped onto it, Maverick came into the room.

His gaze zeroed in on me, and he kicked the door shut behind him. "Sorry I had to leave you like that, princess."

Shifting in my seat to get a little more comfortable, I shrugged. "I know how it is. When the prez wants to have a chat, you're gonna talk. Doesn't matter if you're the VP or the timing is bad."

"It's a bonus for me, you being used to club life." Settling on the edge of the bed directly across from me, he rested his elbows on his thighs as he smiled at me. "And that you were willing to be kidnapped."

I shook my head with a soft laugh. "Only because it was you doing the kidnapping."

"Damn straight." His blue orbs burned into mine. "A man would have to be out of his mind to take you from the Silver Saints compound, and no other guy is ever gonna get close enough to you to ever even consider the possibility of taking you from here."

If he kept this up, my panties were going to spontaneously combust. But I couldn't let that happen until we had some things figured out. "As sexy as all this possessive talk is, you still haven't clued me into what any of this means to you."

"You gotta know that snatching you from Silver Ink could only mean one thing. I plan?—"

My stomach chose that exact moment to let out a loud growl, pissing me off because it wasn't something Maverick was willing to ignore.

Getting to his feet, he held his hand out to me. "First, we fill your belly, then I'll satisfy your curiosity. For everything."

"Fine, dammit," I huffed, sliding my palm against his. "But you better have someone around here who knows how to cook because I might be amazing in the tattoo parlor, but I'm not so great in the kitchen."

"Can't say it'll be gourmet or any shit like that, but Biscuit makes some damn good basic home cooking," he assured me as he led me downstairs, through the main room, around to the back of the bar, and through the door to the kitchen.

When a delicious scent hit my nose, I wasn't surprised to find a group of guys lined up at one of the long tables since the Silver Saints hung out in the kitchen whenever there was food that someone else had cooked available. The only one I recognized was Fox, who was seated at the head of the table. He was also the only man who didn't look surprised to see me at Maverick's side.

The guy next to Fox got to his feet and shook his head. I recognized the road name on his cut, Blade. He was the Iron Rogues doctor like Patch was for the Silver Saints.

"Shit, Maverick." He grabbed his empty plate off the table and walked it over to the sink. "Thought Pike was fucking around when he said you brought a woman to the clubhouse."

"Never a damn joke when our VP kidnaps a woman who belongs to the Silver Saints," Fox grumbled before digging into the spaghetti piled on the plate in front of him.

Several heads jerked back, eyes going wide with shock. The man who'd been sitting on the other side of Blade heaved a deep sigh. The patches on his cut let me know he was the Iron Rogues Treasurer, Phoenix. "Shit, man. I do my best to fill our coffers till they're overflowing, but we could have all the money in the world, and it wouldn't do us a damn bit of good if you piss off the Silver Saints by taking another one of their old ladies."

"Do you see a property patch on me?" I asked, pointing at my tank. "I'm nobody's old lady."

"Holy fuck. She's one of Mac's daughters, isn't she?" the guy at the far end of the table groaned. "That's even worse. He does not play when it comes to his girls. Not even a fucking tiny bit."

"Calm your tits, Viper." Maverick guided me over to where a pot of sauce, a bowl of thin spaghetti noodles, and a platter of garlic bread were lined up next to a stack of plates. "There's not gonna be any blowback against the club. Molly is here of her own free will."

Viper shook his head. "As if that's gonna be good enough for the Silver Saints prez."

Scooping some pasta onto a plate, I winked at Maverick and added, "I'm not sure that I'd call it my own free will when you carried me out over your shoulder."

"We both know you wouldn't have ridden all the way here if you weren't more than okay with me taking you," Maverick chided as he spooned sauce over my noodles. Then he dropped a piece of garlic bread next to it before making his own plate.

Once that was done, he led me to the side of the table where none of his club brothers sat. After he settled me into a seat the farthest away from them, he sat down and wrapped his arm around the back of my chair.

I was lifting my fork to my mouth when I noticed Fox was focused on me. When our gazes met, he asked, "Is Maverick right?"

Although the president of the Iron Rogues was an intimidating man, I'd grown up surrounded by guys who were just like him. It would take a lot more than his glare to scare me. "About what?"

Maverick shook his head with a deep chuckle, shoving some spaghetti into his mouth instead of interfering.

"About your dad not blaming my whole fucking club for the stunt Mav pulled, carrying you out of Silver Ink," Fox replied.

Leaning into Maverick's side, I grinned at Fox. "My dad might think he's the boss of me, but he's not. I'm twenty-five years old. If I want to let a man carry me out to his bike and go for a ride over state lines with him, I can."

"Pretty fucking sure that logic won't stop your dad from putting my VP six feet under for daring to come near you," Fox disagreed.

"Over state fucking lines," Phoenix echoed my words with a deep sigh. "Gonna have to make sure I have bail money if there are federal charges, assuming Maverick isn't dead."

I hummed as I finally took my first bite of spaghetti, the flavors exploding on my tongue. "Mmm, yum."

The only guy who hadn't spoken yet lifted his chin toward me. "Glad you like it."

He wore a white apron with red splotches on it, so I couldn't read the name stitched on the front of his cut. But it was easy to guess who he was. "Thanks for cooking, Biscuit. It tastes delicious."

"You're welcome," he muttered before finishing the rest of his meal and getting up.

I listened to the banter between the men while I polished off my spaghetti, wondering what Fox meant when he said, "Remember what I said, Maverick. Get it done soon."

Assuming it was club business, I didn't ask. Instead, I focused on finishing my meal. Once I finished and Maverick rinsed off our plates, I gripped his arm. "Okay, you've stalled long enough. Why did you bring me here?"

Viper nodded. "Yeah, we're all dying to know."

Maverick glared at his club brother and tossed me over his shoulder. Again. And it was just as sexy this time around.