Chapter 19
Maverick
The air was thick with tension when I walked into the empty bar. Gavin was sitting alone, lost in his thoughts, while he took a drink from his beer. The stool screeched against the floor as I sat down next to him, and when he turned to face me, I could tell from the expression on his face that he was dreading this conversation almost as much as I was. We were both trying to face the demons from our past, things we wished we hadn’t done, and it wasn’t going to be easy for either of us. But then again, I wasn’t the one who had been lying to my own flesh and blood for all these months, keeping secrets that no brother should’ve kept. Hell, I wanted him to dread it, to feel like the sorry bastard he was. He’s my fucking brother! He should have said something, and I doubted I would ever be able to forgive him for keeping this from me. Things between us would never be the same, and he was going to have to live with that regret for the rest of his life.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled with his eyes full of remorse. “I don’t know what else to say. I’m just so fucking sorry.”
“How about you tell me how John Warren ended up being your son, Gavin? Why don’t you tell me when you started fucking Hailey?” I growled. The anger inside of me was burning in my gut, and I wanted to beat the living hell out of him… tell him how he fucked it all up. I wanted to walk out of that bar and never speak to him again, but I needed to know the truth. I had to know what happened between him and Hailey.
“It was only that one night, Logan. I swear it. Hailey loved you. Loved you more than you ever really knew, but that night… she was just,” he said, as he dropped his head into the palms of his hands.
“What night, Gavin?” I asked. When he didn’t answer, I slammed my fist against the counter and shouted, “Tell me! What fucking night?”
He turned to look at me, and anguish rippled across his face as he said, “The night you caught her buying more drugs and walked out on her. I’m not saying it was the wrong thing for you to do, but it broke her. She was just so damn broken.”
“So you fucked her? That was your answer to all her troubles? I was trying to make her see that she needed to get help, that she was going to kill herself if she kept that shit up, and you decided to go fuck her? You thought that was going to make it all better?” I shouted. “That’s just great, Gavin. You’re the fucking hero.” The sarcasm dripped from my mouth as I glared at him with all the rage that was building inside of me.
“It wasn’t like that, Logan! You know I wouldn’t … The guys and I had been watching the game, and I was already plastered when she got to the house. After they left, Hailey and I had a few drinks—more than a few. She was upset, and we spent the entire night talking about everything that had happened. There was so much pain in her voice. I hated to see her like that, and I wanted to help her.”
He looked up to the ceiling, trying to rein in his emotions. Finally, he cleared his throat and continued, “She wanted to be the Hailey you loved, but a part of her knew she’d never be that girl again. I’d never seen her so upset. She was just so heartbroken. You know I’ve always had a soft spot for Hailey, and I just wanted to help her, to be there for her.” He took a long tug of his beer and let out a deep breath.
“Why didn’t you just tell me? You knew the hell I was going through, and you never said a goddamn thing! That’s bullshit, Gavin. I should’ve been able to trust you more than anyone, but you lied to me to protect your own sorry ass. There’s no excuse. You should’ve said something!” I told him.
“Maverick, I don’t even remember what happened that night. It was all just a blur. The more we talked, the angrier she got. The angrier she got, the more she drank. We were both completely wasted, and when I woke up the next morning, she was gone. I couldn’t remember a damn thing. I wasn’t even sure we had actually slept together. I prayed we didn’t. I hated myself for putting myself in that situation, but you have to know that I would never intentionally hurt you or her.” He looked up at me, glaring with hurt in his eyes, and said, “I should’ve told you, Maverick. I’m sorry. I really am. It was only one night, and I really thought he was your kid.”
My anger slowly started to subside as I listened to him talk, knowing that he was really struggling with his guilt. I could see the grief written all over his face, and I knew he would never intentionally set out to hurt either of us. Gavin was just a kid, and Hailey should’ve never gone over there that night.
I rested my hand on his shoulder and said, “I knew she was upset the night I left. I’ve always hated myself for not staying with her and making sure she got the help she needed,” I told him.
“No. It wasn’t your fault, none of it. Hailey’s the one who got behind the wheel that night. She was tired, and never saw that drunk driver heading in her direction. It was an accident. You can’t keep blaming yourself for that night.”
“Maybe.”
“And her addiction was just that—hers. She knew you loved her and that should’ve been enough. That’s all on her, Maverick.” I knew there was some truth in the words he was saying, but I wasn’t willing to let myself truly accept it. A part of me would always blame myself for what happened with Hailey. No one would change my mind about that.
“I’m just so tired. Tired of it all, and I’m done with it. Done with the lies and the guilt. No more, Gavin,” I told him, dragging my hands through my hair. I was so fucking tired of being angry. Tired of all the bullshit. It was wearing me down, and I had to let it go. At the end of the day, Gavin was my brother. I knew I’d never be able to forget what he did, but I had to forgive him. I had to forgive myself.
His hand rested on my back as he assured me, “No more.”
“I mean it, Gavin. You fucked up. We’re family. We don’t keep shit from each other. Period.”
“You’re right. You have my word. I’ll never make a mistake like that again,” Gavin promised.
I was just about to leave when I realized I still didn’t know what transpired after I left the lawyer’s office. “What happened today with John Warren?”
“I went down to the hospital, and Ana did another DNA test. When the results come back, I’ll sign the adoption papers,” Gavin replied. “Even if I was in a position to be a father, I wouldn’t do anything different. We both know that JW is where he belongs.”
“It’ll be hard, but at least you’ll be here with him. You’ll get the chance to see him grow up and spend time with him. You can be a real part of his life, and he’ll be lucky to have you,” I told him.
“Maverick, you should know that I had no idea I was John Warren’s father when I decided to come here. I honestly thought being here would help you, make it easier for you somehow.”
“At the time, it did make me feel better to know you’d be here with him. I think this place has been good for both of you,” I told him. I got up to grab a beer from the cooler, but stopped when my phone started to ring. I pulled it from my pocket and saw that it was Big Mike.
I didn’t have a chance to say hello before he said, “We’ve got a problem, Maverick. How soon can you get back?”
“Hold on,” I told him as I walked outside for some privacy. The door slammed behind me when I stepped out onto the gravel parking lot and asked, “What’s going on?”
“It’s Nitro… They got to Nitro,” he said, his voice rattled with concern.
“What do you mean they got to Nitro?” I asked, pacing back and forth.
“We still don’t know all of the details. Just that he was shot four to five times at one of his warehouses. The doctors just got done working on him a few minutes ago. He’s in the ICU now. They’re not sure if he’ll make it.”
“Nitro is too fucking stubborn to die, brother. He’ll pull through. Any idea who did it?”
“You know who fucking did it, Maverick. The same fuckers that were taking those pictures at our last delivery. They were looking for our distributor. They’re not going to stop until they shut us down,” he explained.
“That’s not going to happen. I won’t let it.”
“We’ve got to find these fuckers. We just need to get our hands on one of them. Just one of them, and Stitch will do the rest. He’ll get what we need out of them,” he explained.
“Yeah, one would do it.” Just thinking about the methods Stitch used to get information sent cold chills down my spine. One night in the confines of that room, and he could break any man. Mike was right. All we had to do was get our hands on one of these guys, and Stitch would find out everything we needed to know.
“We’ve talked about it before. They aren’t the type to leave any loose ends, and letting Henley slip through their fingers had to piss them off. There’s no reason for us not to use that to our advantage.”
“I’ve already told you once that using Henley is not an option, Mike. I won’t say it again,” I shouted. I took a deep breath and said, “We’ll be on the road within the hour. We’ll discuss other options when I get back.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you then,” he mumbled. I could hear the frustration in his voice, but I knew one way or another, we’d find a way to get these guys. When I turned to go back inside, Henley was standing behind me with her hands shoved deep in her pockets.
“Is everything okay?” she asked as she shifted her feet across the gravel. I wasn’t exactly sure, but I had a feeling she’d heard the entire conversation.
“We’ve got to head back.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Henley grumbled, moving her hands up to her hips. I loved that she didn’t back down from me. She knew what she wanted, and she didn’t have a problem going after it. Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t telling her a damn thing.
“Go pack,” I told her. She looked up at me through her long, dark eyelashes, pouting because she knew she wasn’t going to get her way. I leaned down and quickly pressed my lips against hers. Her pout began to fade when I said, “We really need to get going.”
“Okay,” she replied with a defeated sigh. She followed me back to the room, and after packing our bags, we headed to the bar to tell everyone goodbye.
Gavin was the only one still around, so I told him, “We’re heading home. I’ll try to get back soon.” I wanted to be able to stay for a little longer to be there for him while he got this mess sorted with John Warren, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to get back.
“Maybe I can make it back for a couple of days before Thanksgiving. The holidays are busy, so I won’t be able to stay long,” Gavin explained.
“Come whenever you can. It’ll be good to see you,” I told him as I gave him a hug. “Let me know how things go with Lily and Goliath.”
“I will. Be careful driving back,” he said, smiling. “And Henley… try to make him stop from time to time. He’ll drive all the way through if you let him.”
“I’ll try, but you know he has a stubborn streak a mile long,” she laughed. She hugged him quickly before we headed to the car.
For the first two hours of the drive back, Henley never stopped talking. She asked a million questions about Bishop and the Devil Chasers, and wouldn’t stop prodding until I told her everything I could about them. She was disappointed that she didn’t have a chance to meet them all, but I assured her we would be back. When she had her fill of the club, she started talking about Courtney. She couldn’t stop laughing when she told me all the funny things she’d said when they were out shopping. It was obvious that she’d had a good time with them, and I looked forward to bringing her back.
Eventually, the day caught up with her; she yawned and stretched before resting her head on my thigh. I gently ran my fingers through her long, brown hair while she drifted off to sleep. I took a deep breath, inhaling her soft scent, and it helped calm the storm of thoughts that were rushing through my head. Even with all the shit that was going down with the club, having her next to me gave me a sense of peace I couldn’t explain. I didn’t know when it happened… or how it happened, but this woman had stolen my heart. I knew I couldn’t fight it any longer, and honestly, I didn’t want to. She was mine, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.