CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Maverick

Four Hours Later

We're almost home.

Alpha has called ahead to make sure Livvy is there to meet us.

I'm so angry with myself as I continue to cradle Sadie against my body. I can't stop touching her to make sure she's still breathing. I glance at Haven. "Why she isn't waking up?"

Haven exhales. "Dude, chill out. She'll be fine. For someone who hated her so much, you sure do care about her."

My stomach falls as I stare at her pale face. Yeah, I did hate her. She aggravated me so fucking much. But somehow, along the way, those feelings turned, and I've gone from not only caring about her, but I can't stand the thought of a world without this woman in it. She means everything to me. It's not that I simply care about her.

She is the air I breathe and blood flowing through my veins.

I can't function without her.

I fucking love her.

And the thought that I could be the person who killed her is ripping me to fucking shreds.

Suddenly, the truck pulls to a stop.

"We're home," Dutch calls from the front, sending me a small amount of relief.

Noah, Rip, and Haven help lift Sadie. I stand, and we all help bring her down from the tall truck. We rush her inside the clubhouse, straight to the pool table where Livvy is already waiting.

My eyes meet hers when I approach, and she weakly smiles as I place Sadie on the table. "Wow, those guys really did a number on her, didn't they?" Livvy states.

My heart sinks, nausea rolling over me. "Actually, I shot her."

Haven steps up beside me with a shrug, gently patting my back. "And I did the rest."

Snapping my head to the side, I glare at my sister. "The fuck?"

She holds her hands up as I rush to her, demanding answers, and she places her hands on my chest. "Before you lose your shit, she begged me to do it because it was the only way we were going to sell the lie of me taking her in to barter for her."

Fuck.

It makes sense.

But it doesn't mean it hurts any less.

We were the ones who were supposed to be looking out for her, but in the end, we were the ones who hurt her.

The emotion of it all hits me like a tidal wave. It's too much as I slump down, sliding my ass to the floor beside the pool table. All of Sadie's injuries are caused by the people who were meant to protect her.

What the hell did we do?

Haven slowly sits beside me as Livvy gets to work, and Haven wraps her arm around my shoulders. "She knew the risks. She put herself on the line to help us. But she is going to be okay. Right, Liv?" Haven asks, glancing back up at Livvy.

Livvy drops the bullet into a metal container and nods. "Absolutely. The bullet didn't hit any vital organs. Honestly, it's barely even a wound at this point. It just hit her flank. Mav, you barely hit her."

"Then why isn't she waking up?" Frustration rattles through me.

"She's exhausted. Emotionally. Physically. She needs to rest. Going back to that place would have been triggering for her. Once all the fighting started, it was too much as well as all the pain she was in. Trust me, Mav, she needs to sleep it off. She willwake up."

"Is she patched up?" I ask.

"She's good to go."

"Thanks, Livvy. I'm gonna take her to bed. Haven, can you keep an eye on her brother for me? Sadie might trust him, but I'm not sure we can."

Haven nods. "You got it. And Mav, don't beat yourself up."

I stand, pick Sadie up, and carry her to our bed. The entire way, her breathing is normal, and she appears like she is simply asleep. Maybe she just needs the rest. After walking into the bedroom, I place her on the bed, slowly remove her clothes, and then walk into the bathroom to grab a bowl of warm water and a washcloth.

My heart still feels like it's racing a million miles a minute, and my hands continue to shake. As I sit on the edge of the bed beside her, I place the water bowl on the bedside table and glance over her many wounds. I shake my head. "What have you gone through today, baby?"

My guilt lays heavy on my soul as I wring out the warm cloth, then gently begin to clean the congealed blood from her wounds as best I can.

Even though I have a few wounds myself, I don't give a shit as I slowly and meticulously wipe her down, making sure to pull out any pieces of gravel from her knees and wipe away all the dirt. Once I am satisfied she's clean, I step back, taking the cloth and bowl to the bathroom. I clean myself up, then move back in, take my clothes off, and slide into the bed beside her. Cradling her to me, I stroke her hair all night, just willing her to wake up.

I'm not sure what the time is, but I finally start to drift off just as the sun begins to creep through the window when Sadie lets out a small whimper and moves slightly in my arms. My eyes shoot open, and I look down at her, stroking her hair again. "Hey, I'm here. I'm right here."

She opens her eyes, wincing with the pain wracking her body. Then she bolts upright, clear panic washing through her. "Wes!" she practically screams, trying to get out of the bed.

I grab hold, stopping her from moving and hurting herself, pulling her to me. "He's fine. He's here. He is the only one left of the Serpents, Sadie. They're all gone. You're safe."

Her eyes meet mine as her hand shifts to the bandage on her side. I exhale, caressing her cheek. "Oh God, you must be feeling so guilty, Mav. This wasn't your fault. I jumped in front of your shot. You know that, right?"

Dropping my eyes from hers, that guilt slams me straight in the chest again. "I still shot you, Sadie. I could have killed you. I don't think I will ever forgive my—"

"I should have at least shown you a photo of Wes. Prepared you so you knew he wasn't a threat. That's on me."

I exhale and lean in, gently kissing her. I finally feel myself relaxing after the torment I have been feeling. "I was so fucking scared, Sadie. When I saw you jump in front of him, and that bullet hit you…" I trail off, dropping my eyes.

Sadie lifts my face, making me look at her. "I'm so sorry I scared you like that. I just couldn't let anything happen to my brother, even if it meant something happened to me. I regret having put you through all that, but please stop torturing yourself. I see it in the way you look at me. Maverick… Jesse, I'm okay. I promise you."

I try to hold in my emotions. I've never been one to feel so strongly. I've always been such a tough guy, so this? This is taking me by surprise. I hold onto her, staring deep into her eyes, and she looks at me kindly. My fingers brush against her cheek. "When I first met you in Principal Bedford's office, I never for a second thought we'd end up here like this."

A slow smile crosses her face. "Naked in bed together?" she quips.

"No, with me completely and utterly falling in love with you."

Her breath catches, tears instantly welling and falling down her cheeks. I wipe them away, and she hits me with a bright smile. "I'm in love with you too."

A slow smile crosses my face as I lean in, gently pressing my lips to hers. Sadie kisses me back, her tongue colliding against mine, her hand sliding up into my hair as she deepens the kiss. With all the emotions of the past few hours, I can't help but get lost in the moment and instinctively push the kiss harder. Needing her, wanting her. But she lets out a small whimper from the pain coursing through her, and immediately, I pull back, my eyes wide. "Fuck, shit! Sorry. I'm such a dick—"

"No, it's fine. You can kiss me like that anytime. I'll gladly take the pain." She smiles while her hand caresses my cheek.

Exhaling, I run my fingers along the bruising on her neck, and I can't help but shake my head. "About this… I can't believe you forced my sister to hurt you this much. What were you thinking? She's a trained assassin, Sadie."

Sadie shrugs. "And because of that, she knew exactly when to stop and how hard to push to make it look legitimate without causing extreme pain. I forced her hand, Mav, so please, don't be hard on her for it."

Scrubbing at my face, I nod. "Okay, on one condition?" She raises her brow in question. "Don't you do any-fucking-thing like this ever again. I mean it, Sadie. I can't take this kind of fucking crazy."

She giggles, and I wrap my arm around her just to feel her warmth. "What's crazy is that I fled one biker club only to end up at another."

My eyes drop to hers with a long, slow smile. "So does that mean you're staying here… at the clubhouse."

"Well, I guess that depends."

"Yeah? You tell me what you want, Sadie," I tease her.

"This kind of banter is what got us off on the wrong foot to begin with, Maverick."

Smirking, I lean in closer to her. "Well, I don't know about you, but our banter always made me hot under the collar. Seeing you get all feisty… goddamn, that's a turn-on."

"Is that what you're doing? Trying to rile me up?"

"Is it working?" I tease.

"If you could push my buttons that easily, we would have been at each other's throats a hell of a lot quicker than we were, Mav. I am unshakable."

I slide my hand from her neck down the center of her body, gently cupping her pussy. She lets out a soft gasp. "Unshakable, huh? I'm pretty sure I can feel you quivering against me right now," I tell her, gently pressing a finger against her clit.

She inhales sharply. "You're proving that you're still that arrogant asshole from when I first met you."

I chuckle, circling on her clit. "Yeah, maybe so, but the difference now? You love me."

She lets out a small whimper, her hips beginning to rock against my hand. "I do, but you also love me."

"What's your point, cupcake?" I lean in, pressing featherlight kisses along her bruised neck.

"If I'm going to be staying here at the club, and I'm going to be your woman, then I want the fucking property patch to go with it. Maverick, I want to be your Old Lady. I'm claiming you as my Old Man."

I jerk my head back, my eyes wide. "That's what you were hinting at?"

She scowls like she's disappointed in my response. "Is that not what you want?"

Shaking my head, I grab either side of her face and force her to look at me. "Sadie, I want nothing more. But I should be claiming you, not the other way 'round. Baby, the only reason I didn't is because I thought you'd want more time to get used to being in another club after having such a bad experience with the Serpents. I want you to wear my property patch more than anything. I honestly didn't think you would want to be … locked in."

Sadie sits on the bed, and I shift with her. She reaches out, grabbing my hands. "Jesse, my life is with you now. This club, your brothers, have proven to me that they will move Heaven and Earth for me. Defiance is nothing like the Serpents. I trust that with my whole heart. I belong here. I trust that with my whole heart too. I know my place is wherever you are. So yeah, I want to be your Old Lady."

I pull her on top of me as I fall back to the bed, and she kisses me a little deeper this time. But then she pulls back, her long blonde hair falling into my face while she stares down at me with a more serious expression. "Mav, I need to tell you everything that happened to me growing up at the Serpents because you're going to hear it from Haven anyway."

My expression changes, and I look into her beautiful blue eyes. "Just know, nothing you tell me is gonna change how I feel about you or that I love you, and you're my Old Lady."

I watch her throat bob when she swallows hard before she says, "What if Grave got me pregnant just before I fled the club, and that's part of the reason I fled? To get rid of the baby."

Deeply inhaling, I bring my hand to her face, moving her hair behind her ear. "That would explain why you were so protective of Clover and my sister not being a part of the club. You didn't want her to have the same fate as you."

Her bottom lip trembles, and she nods. "I adore Clover, and I see myself in her. I just didn't want that gorgeous girl living through what I did. No one deserves what I went through with that club."

"I know now you were only looking out for her. I didn't see it then because I didn't understand, but you were doing what you thought was right for her. I get that, especially now."

"I'm so sorry for judging. I can never say that enough."

"I don't blame you. Those idiots were fucking evil. But I'm glad you forgave me for being the one who hurt you."

She leans in, pressing her forehead against mine. "You could never hurt me. Your bullet may have hit me, but you hit me, trying to protect me. You didn't hurt me, Mav. Not even a tiny bit."

The love I have for this woman is overpowering and undeniable.

My woman.

A burning question lingers in the back of my throat, but I'm unsure if it's insensitive to ask.

Sadie smiles, running her nose along mine. "I see your mind ticking over. What is it you want to ask?"

I figure we need our relationship to be based on honest communication. So I need to ask. "After everything that happened with Grave and his baby…" I hesitate to finish the question but she waits patiently. "Can you still…"

"Have children?" she ends it for me.

I nod, and she weakly smiles. "Yeah, as far as I know, everything works fine. It's why I make sure I am on birth control."

"And, do you want to have kids… in the future?"

"You planning on knocking me up?" She chuckles.

"One day, yeah. If you want that too."

She leans in, pressing her lips to mine, and I already know the answer before she even has to tell me. I smile against her lips, but she pulls back, looking into my eyes. "When I'm all healed up, we can start practicing if you want. Purely for educational purposes, of course."

My cock jerks at the thought, and I smirk, sliding my hand into her hair. "With you being a tutor, you'll have to give me extra sessions on how it's done. Just to make sure I get it right."

Sadie chuckles. "I think I can arrange that." She leans in, kissing me, and just like that, within the space of a few hours, I have gone from thinking I was losing her to planning our future together.

It's amazing how things can change in the blink of an eye.

I'm so fucking grateful she didn't hold it against me that I shot her. Somehow, through it all, she made me see it wasn't my fault that I did.

I will always feel guilt.

That unwavering dread when the bullet slammed into Sadie will never leave me.

But at least I can let some of it go.

We're going to have a life together.

And right now, that life is looking pretty damn epic.