But Copper shook his head and pointed to the chair. “Sit the fuck down.”
While following orders was the last thing he wanted at the moment, Copper was due all the respect Mav possessed, so he dropped into the seat. Immediately, his leg bounced, and he drummed his fingers on his thigh.
“I’m not gonna fucking hurt her,” Copper said as he took the seat behind his desk. With a weary sigh, he rubbed a hand down his face. “Just want to start with that. I ain’t in the business of brutalizing women. This is fucked to all hell, but there are at least three of us that should be in the back of those POS FBI sedans right now. Only reason we aren’t is that woman.”
Mav nodded as an ounce of the tension he carried evaporated.
“She’s gotta go though, Maverick. Don’t know if you have an enchanted cock or what, but the only reason I can think she didn’t turn us in was you. Can’t risk keeping her here and her getting an attack of moral fucking conscience one day and turning on us.”
That could still happen with the information she already had.
The unspoken words hung between them because neither wanted to admit the risk Copper was taking. He may not be in the business of hurting women, but if Mav hadn’t had a relationship with Stephanie, Copper would make her disappear. Permanently.
“You gonna be able to live with it?” Prez asked.
Live without Stephanie? He wasn’t sure anymore, but he nodded. What the hell choice did he have? She’d lied repeatedly. Lied about who the hell she was. She’d put his entire club at risk, his family at risk.
Christ, they’d all loved her. Every last one of his brothers had fallen just a little bit in love with her.
Even Toni, and Shell, and some of the ol’ ladies raved about how fun, helpful, and supportive she was. Somewhere along the way, he’d forgotten why his hit-it-and-quit-it-attitude worked so well in the past.
This reminder would be tattooed on his soul.
“I’m gonna talk to her, see what I can get outta here before I give her the boot. Don’t want you to see her again. I’ll tell you what I find out. Okay?”
Maverick grunted. Okay? Fuck no. None of this was goddamned okay.
“Go get drunk. Find some easy pussy. Start getting the fuck over her. Bitch ain’t worth it, Mav.”
“Just—”
“Told you I wouldn’t hurt her. You ever known me to break my word?”
“No, Cop.”
“Ain’t gonna start today.”
Maverick watched Copper leave. Once he was alone in the office, his entire lifeforce seemed to drain from his body. Darkness settled into his heart, a blackness he’d only ever experienced once before. It was like a demon sucking his soul from his body, making him care about nothing but ending the pain.
Back then, the only thing that saved him from ending that pain at his own hand was his brother.
He slumped in the chair, staring at a large twenty-four by thirty-six framed picture hanging over Copper’s desk. It was him, Zach, Jig, Rocket, and Copper. Shell had given it to Copper last Christmas. Those men were who mattered. Nothing else.
He felt himself teetering on the edge like he’d been years before. His brother’s would have to be the ones to pull him back once again.
Shoulda known better than to let a woman worm her way under his skin.
Lesson learned. He’d toughen that skin so nothing or no one would ever pierce through it again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“SIT.”
Her legs were shaking so hard Stephanie wasn’t sure she’d be able to control her knees and lower to a sitting position.
In the basement with the drain in the floor.
The basement that King died in.
On a chair that looked an awful lot like the one King died in.
The faint bleachy smell tickled the hairs in her nose making her sniff and causing her stomach to lurch. If by some miracle, she survived this fiasco, she’d never buy that particular cleaner again.
When she reached the chair, she turned and forced her legs to bend. Basically, she crashed down onto the metal chair, whacking her tailbone. Though the pain was intense, she didn’t bother reacting. Zach, with his folded arms, spread legs, and hateful scowl, wouldn’t care about her discomfort. In fact, he’d probably revel in it.
Seated, her legs finally stopped trembling, but not her insides. They shook like she was made of Jell-O.
Preparing for impending pain wasn’t an easy feat. When Shark held her, there was always the chance she’d be rescued, the chance something would happen to keep the men from hurting her. But now? Well, now she was SOL, and the pain was coming. Her mind didn’t seem to fully grasp that fact.
Maybe because the pain was already there. Sharp, deep, powerful, and centered on the left side of her chest. Would they allow Maverick in the room? Would she ever be able to apologize, to try to explain? At the very least, she didn’t want him to feel guilty for bringing her into the club, and she wanted one last chance to tell him she loved him.