I hadn’t wanted to marry Maverick in the first place, but now I realized it was the best thing that had ever happened to me.
He was the man who took care of me.
But I threw that away when I saw those women. I did the right thing and protected the innocent—but I paid a price for it. If I could do it all over again, I probably would have done the same thing. I couldn’t live with that guilt—and neither could Maverick. My actions set off terrible repercussions, but there was no other option.
I sat on my bed with my suitcase against the wall. Maverick said I could stay until morning, but I wasn’t sure what the point of staying was. It would be easier to sneak into the theater now when people were there. I could stop by and say I forgot something but hide in a closet until everyone went home for the night. There were showers there as well as a couple of cots.
I could make a home there until I figured out what to do next.
It would be okay…right?
A knock sounded on my door before Maverick walked inside.
I glanced at him then turned away, unable to handle the disappointment in his eyes. When his father was strangling him to death, he’d given up like he wanted to die. But once my life was on the line, he did everything he could to protect me—even against his own father.
Maverick sat on the bed beside me, keeping a foot of space in between us.
I stared at the floor. “I’ve decided to leave now instead of waiting until morning…” I didn’t have a car because I gave it to Ramon’s wife and daughter. I couldn’t afford to waste money on a cab, so I’d have to walk if he wouldn’t give me a ride. I’d never felt so helpless in my entire life. I literally had nothing…except for a few hundred bucks.
Maverick was quiet. Maybe he was here because he had the same thought. He didn’t want me to be in his house a second longer. “Remember the time I left in the middle of the night to fix a broken pipe on the property?”
I only remembered it because some woman named Becky had made a peculiar entrance while we had breakfast. With her heels in hand, she kissed him on the neck and walked past me, not at all concerned that I was his wife. “Yes.”
“That was a lie.”
I turned to him, watching the side of his face.
“Your father had made a deal with a man named Kamikaze. Some kind of investment. He came to my front gates to collect you.”
My blood turned to ice.
“Said he would turn you into a sex slave to raise the money your father owed him.”
I’d been scared to survive on my own, but now I was terrified. This man would hunt me down and force me into prostitution. Now I wished I had a gun so I could blow my brains out. I’d rather die than be subjected to that torture.
“I wouldn’t give you up, so he offered to buy you from me.” He brought his hands together and stared at his palms. “I told him you weren’t for sale—at any price.”
I had been dead asleep, and Maverick kept me safe. He didn’t even tell me about it, probably because he knew it would disturb me. “Thanks for the heads-up…” Now I realized how much I needed Maverick, that he was the only thing standing in between me and torture.
“You won’t survive out there. If Kamikaze doesn’t get you, my father will. You won’t even last a week.”
My hands started to shake because I’d never been this scared in my entire life.
“So, I take back what I said… I’ll stay married to you.”
I turned to him, surprised he had changed his mind.
He rose to his feet again. “It would be a shame that you saved those girls but there’s no one to save you.” He headed to the door. “You broke my trust when you snuck around behind my back. You betrayed me when you took matters into your own hands. Don’t expect me to trust you again.” He opened the door.
I went after him. “Maverick.”
He stopped in front of the door. It took him a second to turn around, like he was considering ignoring me.
“Thank you for letting me stay…” If he’d kicked me out on the street, I would have been raped and killed. Changing his mind meant I got to live…and that meant he saved my life. “Without you, I wouldn’t have anything. And I realize that now more than ever. You’re a good man…and I hope I can earn your forgiveness someday.”
His eyes were lifeless, like those words meant nothing to him. “Don’t count on it.”