Chapter 17

Maverick

"You look like shit, brother." Rocky gripped my shoulder and gave me a shake. "Rough night?"

"Yeah, something like that." I slept like shit, it wasn't just trying to fit my bulky frame on the tiny sofa. I tossed and turned for hours worrying about Grace and whatever wickedness she was running from, whatever—or as my grandma had pointed out—whoever had put that look of fear in her eyes.

Rocky laughed. "What was her name?"

"Grace, but it wasn't like that." Even if my mind had wandered to thoughts of Grace in next to nothing as she'd been when I first laid eyes on her at The Den.

Rocky's smile slipped. "Shit. Okay, what was it like, then? Are you all right?"

I shrugged as we walked inside the clubhouse together where most of the other brothers sat around talking. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Grace, she's in some kind of trouble."

Rebel groaned. "Another fucking damsel in distress? Seriously, guys." He shook his head and reached for the bear that sat in front of him.

I glared at him. "She's been taking care of Mabel since she got out of the hospital," I explained, leaving out the part where we met, because it would only color their opinion of her unnecessarily.

"Is Mabel all right?" Diesel's brows dipped into a concerned frown.

"She's getting old, and she took her meds twice in one day, so she can mostly take care of herself, but having a caregiver made me feel better about not being with her all the time." I scrubbed a hand over my face and sighed. "It turns out that Grace is running from a bad situation."

"What kind of bad situation?" Rebel set his beer down, his brows dipped in a deep scowl.

"I'm not totally sure. Mabel says she has all the signs of a woman being abused." I told them about the bruises she said she saw. "And ribs that healed wrong too. She hasn't confided in me, but someone tried to break in last night and it spooked her."

"Did she get a look at anyone?" Slate asked.

"No. She put Mabel and Sophie in the walk-in closet upstairs and went down, but whoever it was didn't even get inside, they just broke some of the glass on the front door."

"Are you sure this wasn't all just some ploy to get into your house and bed?"

I glared at Rebel. "What the fuck is your problem, man?"

"Nothing," he sighed. "It's just damn near every woman who's come into our lives lately has come with a shit ton of baggage. For us."

"You got a problem with my woman?" Rocky asked Rebel.

"No, man, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying we already have this shit with the cartel and possibly the Carter family, and now a woman on the run? Let's just do some digging and make sure we're not making another enemy for no reason."

"She's not lying," I insisted as my anger rose. "She tried to leave last night to keep Mabel safe, and I convinced her to come to my place." Reluctantly, I explained the whole story of how I found out she was on the run and confronting her. "She still plans to leave in a week, sooner if I find someone to replace her."

"Then what do you need from us?" Slate asked, his voice full of sincerity.

"I don't know. It just doesn't feel right to let her leave again. She can't live on the run with a little girl."

"If she wants to leave, you can't make her stay," Diesel, the voice of reason, offered. "Leo had a good time with the little girl, even though she hugged him."

I laughed. "You should've seen how uncomfortable he looked, but he took it like a champ."

"That's my boy," he said with pride shining in his voice.

"Look, all I want is for a few of you who are willing to keep an eye on things when I can't. She's going to keep taking care of Mabel during the day, but even if it wasn't her ex, it was someone. Until we can confirm one way or the other, I need to make sure my grandma is safe."

"I'm happy to help," Slate offered. "Maybe I can talk to her, get some information that will let me track down her ex to see where he is. At least then we'll know what we're up against."

"I'm fine with that plan. Hawk can keep an eye on the businesses Slate was checking in on for the next week. We'll figure something out if we need to after that," Diesel said.

"Thank you." I didn't want to think about Grace and Sophie leaving at all, alone out in the world with her ex potentially chasing her down.

Diesel nodded, his expression unreadable.

"We should also consider that what happened last night has more to do with the MC than your woman," Rebel offered with a shrug.

"I thought of that too," I admitted. "That's why I'm asking for your help keeping an eye on Mabel, and Grace and Sophie."

"You've got our help, brother." Rocky flashed an uneasy smile. "Ol' Mabel means a lot to all of us."

"Don't let her hear you call her old." I appreciated the support from my MC, especially since Grace wasn't my woman and Sophie wasn't my kid. We didn't often get involved in personal matters that didn't directly affect the MC, but this had the potential to impact Mabel, and she was blood.

"I'll head over there now," Slate offered as he stood. "Maybe some of Mabel's neighbors have cameras and I can access the footage, see what or who shows up." He wiggled his brows and smiled as he gathered up his laptop and disappeared into the office for a few minutes. "Later, suckers," he called out before leaving the clubhouse.

"I'm heading out to check on the businesses," Rocky said. "Check you guys later."

Diesel disappeared into the office and Hawk went with him.

"It's not personal," Rebel said once everyone, but Gio had left. "But we have a lot of shit on our plate."

"And that makes a woman running from her abuser a liar and a user, right? Sure, it's not personal."

"Seems personal to you, brother. Something going on with you and the pretty single mother?"

"Nothing at all." Not that I would be opposed to it, if things were different.

"You want there to be?" he asked, raising his blond brows.

"Don't know."

Rebel laughed. "That's a yes. Just wait to see what Slate finds before you get even more tangled up with this woman and her kid. Even if she was abused, and I'm not saying she wasn't, chicks like that usually go back to the man who beat them."

"That still means he might show up and that Mabel will be in danger." And there was no fucking way in hell I would let him put his hands on Grace in my presence.

"We won't let that happen, brother. Period." He stood and stared at me for a long time before he smiled. "Women are nothing but trouble," he grumbled. "Too bad they smell so fucking good."

My lips parted into a smile. "Amen, brother."

It was time to get some work done, so I headed to Demon Head Guns to make sure everything was running smoothly.