Maverick (Hell's Handlers MC 2)

Rocket grunted and opened his mouth.

“And yes,” she cut in before he had a chance to get a word out. “I’m fully confident she was telling the truth. And yes, I asked the questions in a clever way, so she didn’t think I was just fishing for that information.”

With a smirk, Rocket turned to Mav and arched a brow. All they’d told Steph was that they’d wanted to check in on Chloe, make sure she was dealing and not slitting her wrists in the bathroom.

“Figured out what we were really looking for, huh?” Mav asked as he grabbed her hand and tugged her against him.

She shrugged. “It wasn’t exactly a mystery. Sure, Copper doesn’t want anything to happen to her, but his top priority is and always will be the club. Chloe has information that could be used to take you guys down. If I were him, I’d want to make sure she wasn’t going to blab. Both for her own safety and the club’s.”

Another grunt from Rocket, this one full of grudging respect. After knowing the guy for years, Mav could decipher his grumbles pretty well.

It was pretty impressive, the way she’d seen inside Copper’s head and straight to the heart of the matter.

“And how’s she holding up?” Mav asked as he gave Steph a chaste but lingering kiss on the cheek. For all the dirty they’d done that week, Stephanie melted in a special way when he did something as simple as kiss her cheek or hold her hand. Once in a while, it seemed even more intimate than the drugging kisses they usually shared. He was at the point where he’d do damn near anything to sink his hooks even farther into her.

Shit. Maybe Rocket was right, and he was pussy-whipped.

“She’s a little hard to read, to be honest. On the surface, everything seems good. House is clean, she is clean, seems to be eating. Saw an empty carton of ice cream sitting on top of her trash.” She drew in a breath, then reached up and smoothed her hand over Mav’s head. “Helmet messed it up. Anyway, she has some dark circles under her eyes, but you can hardly fault her for not sleeping well. She told me she’s gone back to work and appears to be functioning well.”

“So what’s the problem?” Maverick asked. Rocket just sat on his bike, stone-jawed and clenching his fists at his sides.

“Well, I could totally be reading into things, but her nails were bitten down to nothing. And her eyes were all shifty like she kept expecting someone to jump out of the pantry or something. I think she’s scared out of her mind and just really good at hiding it.”

Mav stared at her. Damn, she really was perceptive. Saw things that most people wouldn’t even think to notice, let alone put meaning to. Maybe those powers of observation came from growing up with a cop for an old man. She’d be an asset to Mav’s security company for sure.

Another reason to find out what her plans were going forward. Offering her a permanent job might make her more willing to stick around in his life and in his bed.

Down at the end of the block, a man in a dark suit emerged from his house and slid into a BMW sitting in his driveway. It started up three seconds later.

“Time to get the fuck out of here,” Rocket said.

With a quick nod, Mav fired up his bike and waited for Stephanie to climb on. She threw her short leg over the seat and hoisted herself up like it was nothing, wrapping her arms tight around him.

“Let’s roll,” she said as though she’d been a biker’s woman her whole life.

Mav smiled as he shot off after Rocket. Steph was badass. Never seemed shocked by his lifestyle, didn’t blink at being asked to help his brothers. Hell, she’d been in the room when he killed someone and she still wanted him. Was it any wonder he fuckin loved her?

The revelation hit him like a ton of bricks, making him swerve and nearly run off the road.

Fuuuck. Bitch of it was, it was true. He could fight it, deny it, but in his gut, he knew it was true. He was in love with the damn woman.

Now, what the hell was he supposed to do?

STEPHANIE INCHED CLOSE to Maverick’s ear the second the engine ceased rumbling. “Everything okay? You did this crazy swerve thing back there.”

Over his shoulder, Mav gave her his customary grin, the flirty one that never failed to make her knees weak and her stomach all warm and squishy. The fact that he seemed to only be sending that special smile her way these days made it extra potent. “All good, sweetness.”

“Where exactly are we?” They’d pulled into the deserted parking lot of a bar that she wasn’t even sure was open. The name was plastered across the roof in neon lights, but the only part still lit was Bar, so she couldn’t even read the name. Aside from Rocket and Mav’s bikes, the lot was empty.