Chapter 30

Grace

Two weeks went by without a Trent sighting or any more ill-timed notes, and I slowly let myself relax. I started to live my life and I tried to forget about Trent, but I couldn't. Not really, because I knew he was there.

Watching.

Waiting.

But it was in the background of a life that had started to take form. A good life for Sophie and me, and one that heavily featured Maverick. He was everywhere I turned, which was a ridiculous thing to say when I lived in his home and slept in his bed. But even when he wasn't around, he was there, in my mind making me smile. In my memories making me believe things could be different the second time around.

If I was looking for a second time around.

Which I wasn't.

I was looking to rebuild my life, to find a job, and get Sophie enrolled in school and programs where she could spend time with kids her age. That was my priority because I couldn't let my little girl live half a life because Trent was making things difficult.

"You ready, Soph?" I stared at my reflection in the mirror and smiled at the familiar face staring back at me. The red had faded enough that I decided to go back to my natural blond coloring since there was no point in hiding in plain sight anymore. Trent knew where I was.

"I'm ready, Mommy!" Sophie appeared in the bathroom and gasped. "Mommy you're back." She beamed a smile so wide and so bright it brought tears to my eyes.

"I am. Do you like it?"

She nodded in an exaggerated way, her smile wide. "We look the same again."

"That's right." The old me was back, but better than ever. I looked the same, but the woman I used to be—meek and timid and afraid of her own fucking shadow—was gone, replaced by a woman with a backbone, who knew her strength. A woman resolved to be the star in her own damn life.

Sure, I spent most days cooking and cleaning and taking Sophie to the park or visiting Mable. But I felt different.

No, that wasn't right. I didn't just feel different, I was different.

And instead of worrying about covering up bruises, I took a second look at my daughter, and I smiled. "You look very pretty today, Sophie."

Her cheeks turned pink. "Thank you, Mommy. Mr. Maverick bought me this skirt." She twirled in a circle so that I could admire the denim skirt with ruffles—and pockets—she wore with leggings underneath. "I like Mr. Maverick a whole lot."

Me too, honey."He's a good man."

She leaned in close and whispered loudly. "I wish he was my daddy."

And those six words steeled my determination like nothing else could have. She didn't need Trent in her life because Maverick and his brothers had shown her what it meant to be a real man.

"Girls? You ready?"

Sophie's eyes went wide at the sound of Maverick's voice and a second later she took off towards the living room. "I'm ready!"

I ran a hand through my new hair and sighed. Ready or not, this was happening. Maverick wanted us to spend more time at the clubhouse so that he and his brothers could keep an eye on us. He promised we'd be safer there among the other women. The other women, as if I was his woman.

You want to be, my subconscious taunted.Maybe I did, but it wasn't the right time. I was still married and traumatized, and definitely not in the market for another relationship. Not that he'd mentioned anything about wanting a relationship with me, or anything other than nightly orgasms that shook me to my core. "Ready," I called out, and joined Sophie and Maverick in the living room.

His gaze ate me up the minute he saw me, and heat filled his blue eyes. "Gracie, you look…holy shit."

"Holy shit," Sophie repeated.

"Sorry," he mouthed, and winked at me. "Okay, ladies, time to get going."

As soon as we got there, Sophie ran off with Leo and Chopper, their laughter echoing throughout the place.

I kept to myself at the bar while Maverick and the other bikers disappeared down the hall.

"Want a beer, hon?"

I looked up at the source of the friendly voice with a smile. "I'm good, thanks. But maybe a water or a pop?"

"Midwest girl?" I opened my mouth to deny it, but she waved me off. "Never mind, I know it when I hear it. Spent the first half of my life in Chicago," she offered, and set a glass of cola in front of me. "You're Maverick's girl?"

I laughed. "I don't know if I would say that, but he's the reason I'm here. I'm Grace."

"Tess," she answered. "Been here forever. Maverick's a good guy. Never seen him so concerned over a woman before."

Heat flamed my cheeks. "It's complicated."

She shook her head. "Doesn't seem all that complicated from where I'm standing. The complicated thing is what's in here," she said, and tapped three fingers over her heart.

"Perhaps." I wouldn't agree to anything at the moment, so I simply smiled and sipped my cola.

"You can hide from your emotions, from your feelings, even from your old life, but you can't hide from your bartender." Tess arched a brow and refilled my cola with a slow smile.

"Are you really a bartender if I don't order a drink?"

"It's liquid in a glass, it's a drink. It counts." She laughed to herself as she popped open half a dozen beers for the younger guys she called prospects. "Isn't it time for you boys to do a perimeter check?"

One young guy grinned. "You do know how to crack that whip, Tess." He winked and strolled away, cold beer in his hand.

I laughed to myself. "You're some kind of biker whisperer."

She tossed her head back and laughed. "Hardly. I've just handled enough young bucks to know how to do it effectively."

Before I could ask her anything else, her gaze shifted towards the hall where Maverick and his brothers had disappeared to more than two hours ago. I turned over my shoulder and spotted the men, all looking exhausted and not too thrilled.

I was fascinated by them, all of them, as they filtered back into the bar. They were strong and tough, but right now they all looked defeated. And gorgeous. Maverick wore his distress beautifully, looking like a brooding model as he stalked through the bar searching for me. My heart caught in my throat when our gazes collided, and he strolled towards the bar with his easy, long-legged gait.

"Wow," Tess whispered before she disappeared from my line of sight.

"Hey." Maverick took the seat beside me and drummed his fingertips on the bar. It was clear to me that something was wrong, but I gave him the time he needed to say whatever words were on the tip of his tongue.

"Hey," I replied. "Are you all right?"

"Yes and no." He knocked on the bar to get Tess's attention. "Slate hasn't seen Trent anywhere." I could tell the news was affecting him, and all I wanted to do was make him feel better.

"I'm not surprised," I offered with a smile. "I can feel him watching, but I never see him."

Maverick nodded before he slowly turned to me. "We're still looking for him, but I think the best course of action is for you to move forward. Get on with your life while we focus on tracking him down."

Get on with my life. As if things were just that easy. "I'm working on it, Maverick, but you have to understand that it's just not that easy." I was well aware that I couldn't live off Maverick's kindness for the rest of my life, but the truth of my situation was inescapable. I had no job, no money, and no prospects for the future. Once again, I was completely reliant on a man for my survival. "It's not exactly easy, given my current circumstances, to just move on."

"Maybe," he conceded. "But it's the best advice I have for you at the moment."

"I know you didn't sign up for this, taking are of a woman and her child, and I understand if you want to back out. But I've given it a lot of thought and there isn't much I could do until Trent is caught. The best I can do is another job under the table, otherwise he'll find me and ruin it. I know I can't live off your kindness forever." I hated that I had to do it now.

"Grace." He let out a heavy sigh as though I was some small child who just didn't get it, but I did get it. I got it loud and clear.

"I know, Maverick. I need to find another job, and I will, but I can't enroll Sophie in school yet, not when he still has legal rights to her. Not when he could show up and just take her out." I wrapped my arms around my middle and shivered. "I need to know what's going to happen, so I know how to move forward." My shoulders slumped forward because the truth was that this wasn't Maverick's problem, it was mine. It wasn't his responsibility either. It was mine. "I'll figure it out. I promise."

"At this rate, it could take months before we find him."

I bit back tears and blinked hard and fast, forcing my emotions down deep where they wouldn't interfere with my ability to do what needed to be done. "I understand, Maverick." I got the message loud and clear, there was no free ride in this life. Period. "I'll go back to the Bald Eagle, and if that's not enough, Sophie and I will be on our way." I knew nothing lasted forever. It was the one lesson I'd learned time and time again. "Don't worry about it. Or us. We'll be fine." I pushed away from the bar, desperate for fresh air and space from this man who made me feel too much of all the things I vowed never to feel again.

"Dammit, Grace, I'm not saying you need to get a job right now and earn your keep. It's not about the fucking money, I love having you both around."

I sighed. I loved us being around him too, but I knew it was too good to last. "Then what are you trying to say? Because that's what it sounds like to me."

"I just want you to start thinking about the future. I don't want you or Sophie living half a life while you wait for Trent to make his next move. You need to move forward, forge ahead, and think about the next chapter in your life. No matter what."

"There is no next chapter until Trent is dealt with. I can't afford to start over, to rebuild only for him to rear his mean head and ruin it all the way he always does." A holding pattern was better than a good life ruined by a bad man. Wasn't it?

"I won't let that happen. I'm happy to take care of you, both of you, for as long as you need me to, but I want you to think about your future, about where you belong and where you see your life once Trent is no longer an issue."

I laughed bitterly and shook my head. "I don't know how to do that, and I'll never learn until he is no longer an issue." Our gazes collided in a fiery tangle of emotions, spoken and unspoken. "I don't want to put any pressure on you, Maverick. This really isn't your problem no matter how willing you are to take it on as yours. I should probably figure out an alternative." Leaving him would hurt, but maybe this was just the kind of hurt I needed to move forward and remind myself why I couldn't let myself care. Couldn't get involved.

"You don't need an alternative." He gripped my bicep. "I'm right here, Grace. Here and I want to take care of you both, to keep you safe. Why won't you let me?"

"Because," I whispered, and looked away. "I'm scared that if I let myself lean on you, I'll never learn to stand on my own."

"I don't want to cage you in, I want you to stand on your own. Just let me stand beside you and hold your hand, dammit."

That was a novel idea, one I hadn't considered. "Is that what you want?" Why was he so eager to help, to take care of my little girl and me? "I don't understand."

Maverick turned to face me. "You don't understand because all you know is bad men who want to use you and control you. I want you safe because I like coming home to you and Sophie wearing smiles, happy to see me. I like knowing that I add something positive to your life, that you want me around. Isn't that enough?"

"I don't know."

He pressed a kiss to my forehead and hugged me close to his chest. "Well, you'll learn soon enough."

I hoped so.

I really, really hoped so.