Chapter 37

Maverick

"This shithole is where the pretty boy has been staying?" Rebel's face twisted in disgust as we rolled up to a shitty motel on the ass end of Las Vegas. "Seems unlikely."

"You doubt my tech prowess?" Slate clapped Rebel on the back, on brow arched in an intimidating glare.

"No, but this place? The whores only like this place because they rent the rooms in thirty-minute intervals."

"He ain't wrong," Rocky said, and shook his head. "But it's kind of perfect. A place this has no security or surveillance cameras. It's off the beaten track, so who the fuck would recognize him here."

"And it took us fucking forever to find him, so it worked." My mind was still on Grace and how odd she'd been acting lately. Something was on her mind, and it was something she didn't want to share with me. Later, I told myself. "What's the plan?"

Diesel pushed both hands against the glass doors of the motel wearing an angry expression. "Room 212, it's around back. The fucker's been staying here the whole damn time."

"Let's go." I was eager, maybe a little too eager, to get my hands on that son of a bitch. He'd made Grace's life a living hell for years and who knew what kind of damage he'd done to the bright light that was Sophie. I stopped and turned to face my brothers. "What?"

"You don't go in first, I told you it was a bad idea that you come with us," Diesel ordered. "I don't want this fucker leading with bullets."

I laughed. It had taken some persuasion, but finally my club president relented. He knew how much catching this fucker and making him pay, meant to me. "Unlikely. A bully like that only goes after people he knows he can beat." And I would love a few minutes alone with him to show him what it was like to fight a real man.

"No arguments here, but he also might react like a caged, desperate animal. I'll go first," Diesel said.

"No, you won't." Rocky put a hand to Diesel's chest. "I'll go first."

I expected Diesel to argue, but he simply nodded, agreeing a little too easily. "Yeah, fine."

"Okay, now that we've figured that out, let's go. The last thing I want is for him to see us coming."

Rebel snickered. "Do they even have windows in this place? Seems like it used to be a prison instead of a motel."

I practically bounced on my toes I was so fucking eager to get in there and end this shitshow. "Let's go!"

"Come on," Rocky said with a laugh. "Before Maverick goes in half-cocked. Never thought I'd see you so worried about the competition."

"He's not competition. He's an abusive asshole who deserves to have every bone in his body broken before I toss him in the ocean." My fingers tingled with the desire to rush ahead of my brothers and do just that. But I held myself back.

"Noted. Okay, come on."

We climbed the cement stairs that had seen better days as a unit, leaving Slate downstairs just in case any unexpected visitors decided to drop by. Rocky balled his big hand into a fist and banged three times.

There was no answer.

He knocked again, harder and louder. "Open up!"

There was still no answer, and my heart kicked against my chest, my anxiety crept up. "Did the receptionist say anything about him leaving?"

"Nope. Said he leaves late morning and returns early evening every day like clockwork. Except today."

"Shit." That couldn't be good. "Move," I ordered Rocky, barely giving him a chance to step aside before I kicked the goddamn door off its hinges. "Fuck. Shit. Goddammit!" My brothers crowded around me to see what I saw, an empty room.

It was a fucking mess, filled with discarded fast-food containers, cigarette butts, and two messy full-size beds. But that wasn't what alarmed me. Oh no, it was the photos. Dozens of photos—of Grace and Sophie, of me and the guys, even of my grandma—and they were everywhere. "What the fuck?"

"He's been watching and following us this whole time." My blood ran cold at the thought that he'd been witness to our lives for the past few weeks. "He's been around the whole damn time, and we missed it. We fucking missed it." I was glad I'd made Grace and Sophie stay at the clubhouse for the past few days.

"Gather this shit up," Diesel ordered. "We'll take it with us."

"But first." Hawk stepped in front of us all with his hands held up to stop us. "We need to take pictures. Just in case we have to go the legal route."

"Slate! Get your ass up here," Rocky called over the banister.

Minutes later we had everything in a couple of garbage bags shoved into the storage compartments on our bikes. I still didn't feel good about this. Something was off and I had a bad fucking feeling. "Why did he sneak out today?"

"Who said he snuck out?" Rebel shrugged when I glared at him. "Maybe he just went out to start surveillance again."

"Maybe, but the receptionist said he was here, which meant he went out of his way not to be seen. She doesn't know how long he's been gone. Why?" Shit. This wasn't good. "We need to find him."

"Meet you out front," Slate said, and left abruptly.

"What the fuck was that about?" Rocky asked.

"Don't know," Diesel offered. "Don't care. Let's get the fuck out of here before we all catch bedbugs."

Those words got us all moving out of the room like nothing else could have. I walked ahead of the group, eager to get to my bike. I pulled out my phone to check on Grace and my heart froze. There was a missed call and a voice message, I tried calling her, but got nothing. Fuck this place and its shitty cell reception. I hoped it wasn't anything urgent.

Slate joined us with a smile. "He has a phone with him. Probably a disposable, but I sweet-talked the receptionist into giving me the credit card he used to check in, which means I'll find him in a few short minutes."

"Good, let's get back to the clubhouse." Diesel walked away from the group as he powered his phone up, maybe he'd have better luck.

"Wait. Shouldn't we stay in the area in case he's here? Follow him? Grab him and talk to him like we planned?" Why in the hell was everyone so goddamn eager to get back to the clubhouse? "If he comes back here, then we can get him before he tries to get to Grace and Sophie."

"The wi-fi is shit here, though it's better than the cell phone reception," Slate said. "All I have is a basic VPN to cover my tracks out here."

"Okay, and the rest of us?" I spun in a circle to look at my brothers, to plead with them. "You all saw the photos and you know what this means. He's watching and planning. He's waiting for the right moment to strike." It made me sick to think about this fucker out there, hunting Grace and Sophie. "Fuck it, I'll do it myself." I shook my head and my whole body shook with an anger I hadn't felt in too many years to count.

These men were my brothers. We fought plenty of battles and we always did it side-by-side. Whether it was about protecting the club or, more recently, a woman, we did it together.

Always together.

"Maverick." Diesel called out to me, he was standing further down the sidewalk waving his phone like he was trying to get some bars on it. I could barely hear him through my own thunderous thoughts, I chose to ignore him.

"Maverick, stop," he shouted over.

"I can't. He's put Grace through too much already and I won't let him get close enough to traumatize her or Sophie ever again. They're mine, goddammit, and I'm going to keep them safe. I promised." I wouldn't be another person, another man who just let them down.

"It's Mabel. She took a fall," Diesel said.

"Fuck." My shoulders fell because I knew what that meant. Firstly, it was time to think about putting my grandmother in an assisted living facility. Secondly, it meant breaking my promise to Grace. For now, I said to myself because it was just a temporary pause.

"Grace went to her. Alone, Ellie sent me a text telling me, Grace tried to call you."

"No." My heart stopped beating in my chest, but I shook that shit off. I could break down later, right now, Grace and Mabel needed me. I pulled my phone out and checked again, I had a bar of reception, I tapped play and then hit the speaker button so everyone could hear the voice message.

"Mabel texted saying she took a tumble and needed my help and I'm heading to her place right now. I just wanted to say…" She sighed and there was a rustling noise. "In her message she called you Maverick, not Dylan. It could be nothing, just a forgetful old woman, but it might be something. I can't risk that Mabel is in there in need of help and wondering why no one is coming, so I'm going in anyway. Just remember that you promised to keep Sophie safe. No matter what." There was another long pause followed by another sigh. "Thank you, Maverick. My heart. My soul. Just… thank you."

The message ended and my heart ached. She was saying goodbye. She knew what my brothers and I all knew in that moment. "Trent is there. We have to get there. Now!"