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TWENTY-NINE

willa

“Are you sure you guys don’t want us to bring something back for you?” I ask Jo. She’s in my living room setting up her laptop. She moved all her stuff into the guest room at Maverick’s. Harlow wouldn’t let her get her own apartment, and Jo didn’t want to stay with any couples. We all still have safety concerns with the idea that Wolfe wasn’t working alone. I think we all feel better knowing Mav isn’t alone too.

“I’m sure. I have a ton of these submissions about Ezra’s case to go through. I’m just going to order a pizza,” Jo says. Harlow is meeting her here once she puts Cora down to bed and Cal’s dad, Jason, takes over. The guys are all hanging out at Maverick’s tonight. Which is why Jo is here. “Thanks for letting me use your space.”

“You can come over whenever you need to, Jo. You didn’t even have to move out.”

She scrunches up her nose. “I don’t need to overhear what you and Declan are getting up to.”

I laugh. “Fair.”

“Ready?” I turn to see Belle standing in the doorway, a tight smile on her face.

“Ready.”

The ride to the restaurant is quiet. Belle is driving since apparently everyone agrees about my skills behind the wheel.

“Why is no one here?” I ask, looking round the empty parking lot of the usually very busy restaurant. Belle pulls into a spot right out front. The door to the restaurant immediately opens, and a server stands out front, holding the door open.

“Ms. Griffin, Mrs. Monroe,” the server says, gesturing with his arm for us to go inside.

“Where is everyone?” Belle asks him.

“Mr. Irons and Mr. Monroe bought out the restaurant for you for the night,” he explains, leading us to a table in front of a window. We picked this restaurant because it overlooks a lake, and this table has the perfect view.

“Of course they did,” I sigh. My phone vibrates in my pocket at the same time as Belle’s pings.

Hockey Boy

Try to have fun tonight, Princess. Belle wouldn’t be there if she didn’t love you and want to talk through this.

“Kai?” I ask Belle.

“Declan?” she asks me in turn. I bite my lip and nod, trying to suppress my smile since I know he’s a sore spot for her right now.

We sit in silence, only speaking when the server comes to take our orders.

“I’m sorry,” I say the moment he leaves our table.

Belle sighs and stares at her hands. “I know you are, Willa. I’ve had a really hard time trying to sort through my feelings, even with my therapist’s help.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Belle shakes her head. “I think I understand now why you kept Declan separate.”

“If you understand, why do you look so sad?”

“Because I feel like I failed you,” she explains, lifting her eyes from her hands. There’s no anger there, only hurt.

“You lost me.”

“I didn’t see it. You started hiding parts of yourself after your mom died. Replacing your smile with a scowl unless you were with people close to you.” She holds my stare, waiting for me to deny her words, but I can’t. “Then your dad died, and you closed yourself off even more. You dyed your hair purple, wore mostly black, and pretended like nothing could crack your armor.”

“I didn’t want you to see it,” I whisper. Belle reaches her hand out and takes mine.

“I know, and that hurts.” I open my mouth to apologize, but she speaks before I can. “I understand it, though. But why did Declan get all of you? That’s what I’m still struggling with.”

“I don’t have an answer to that because I honestly don’t know. Maybe because there was always physical distance between us, or because he always made me feel like I was perfect.” I squeeze her hand and smile softly. “What would you say to me if I said I wanted to quit the band and start an elephant sanctuary?”

Belle’s eyes go wide. “That you should take a step back and think this over. You don’t even like animals. Or the outdoors. Or being in charge of things.”

I nod and hold up a finger, pulling out my phone and quickly dialing Declan on speaker. He picks up on the second ring. I can hear the noises in the locker room filtering through the phone before he even speaks.

“Hey, Princess. Is everything alright? You should still be at dinner.” I smile at his sweet concern.

“I’m fine, hockey boy. Belle and I were just talking, and I’m thinking about quitting the band and starting an elephant sanctuary.”

“We’ll need to find a really large piece of land for that. Have you done a pros and cons list for this? Do elephants like snow?” He answers immediately and then pauses for a moment. “I need to do some research, but if you’re serious, I’m all in, Princess. I’ll go on whatever adventure you want me to.”

“I think I’ll stick with this adventure for now,” I say with a smile.

“This one is pretty great,” he agrees. “I have to get on the ice, but I’ll call you after my game.”

“Tell Slava his passes were too slow last game, and he needs to be faster if you want to win tonight. Detroit’s offense is fast and aggressive. They’re going to be on him the moment the puck hits his stick.” I can hear Declan repeating what I said to Slava at the same time Belle snorts from trying to hold in her laugh.

“You got it, Willa!” I hear Slava yell.

“Kick ass out there tonight, baby.”

“You know I will, Princess.” We quickly say our goodbyes, and I turn to Belle.

“You know I support you no matter what, right?” Belle asks.

“I do. That wasn’t the point I was trying to make. You both support me, but you’re more cautious. Dec has always been more balls to the wall. I need you both. It’s never been one or the other for me.” I squeeze her hand again; grateful she hasn’t taken it back. “I’ve never felt like I gave him more of me than I did to you. I have so many more memories with you, Belle. I just kept him to myself because I wanted to be selfish. I’m so sorry that it hurt you.”

Belle’s lips curve into a small smile. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to come to terms with you and Declan.”

“What else?” I ask, making a circle around her face with my finger. “I can see there’s something else.”

She sighs. “I was supposed to be your maid of honor. It’s probably a stupid thing to be upset about, but Kai pointed out that it’s potentially what I’m actually the most hurt by.”

I just stare at her, not sure what to say. We promised to be each other’s maids of honor when we were kids. That never wavered over time, either. “I’m such an asshole,” I mutter.

Belle laughs. “Well, at least it wasn’t something you thought about, judging from your reaction.”

“I’m sorry, Belle. I didn’t even think about it. We didn’t even have a real wedding.”

“Why did you get married so fast?” she asks, the humor leaving her face as she looks down at my stomach.

“No! Don’t look at me like that. I’m not pregnant!”

The server takes that moment to drop off our food. He’s nice enough to pretend he didn’t just hear me shouting about my empty uterus. “Can I get you anything else?”

“Gin and tonic. Two limes. Please.” He nods and quickly scampers off to get my drink. Or to avoid any more shouting.

Belle eyes me suspiciously. “You don’t need to prove it.”

“I know. I need it after that question.” She laughs, but doesn’t touch her food, waiting for me to answer her first question.

“It was my next adventure,” I say softly with a small lift of my shoulders.

Belle smiles sadly and nods. “Can we agree on no more secrets?”

I plaster on what I hope is a convincing smile. “No more secrets.” She must believe me because she returns the smile and then digs into her dinner.

I eat as much as I can, the guilt of keeping one more secret turning sour in my stomach.

Belle and I sing along to her Top 40 playlist the whole ride home. Which, luckily for her, was only about fifteen minutes. Knowing I can’t sing has never stopped me from doing it.

“What the hell?” Belle mutters, turning the radio down. I look where she’s looking.

“Is that Harlow?” Red hair flashes in the beam of our headlights as Harlow runs barefoot down the sidewalk in front of our houses.

“Why is she running?”

“Wait. Jo is chasing her. Pull over!” Belle stomps on the brakes and throws her car into park. We quickly get out and run after them. Harlow is already inside Maverick’s house with Jo hot on her heels. Another woman walks in calmly behind them. “Okay, maybe we could’ve parked in Mav’s driveway,” I pant.

“Oh shit,” Belle says. She’s in front of me but stops suddenly. I barely prevent myself from crashing into her.

“What?” I ask, looking around and seeing what she saw. “Oh, shit!”

Standing in the doorway is Eva Wolfe, Maverick’s bitch of a mother.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Mav shouts from inside his house.

I rush around Belle and shove my way past Eva to get to Maverick. Which turns out to be unnecessary when I see everyone already here. Kai and Cal are standing in front of Maverick like they’re ready to protect him with their bodies. Harlow is staring at Eva with wide eyes while Jo is bent over and huffing air from running over here. I stand next to Cal, trying to get in front, but he pulls me slightly behind him.

“I’ll take out the trash,” I offer, even though Eva is about half a foot taller than me. Belle walks in behind her, not hiding the disdain from her face, before standing next to me. Harlow and Jo move to Kai’s side, all of us a wall between her and the son she hurt.

“How did you get in here?” Harlow asks. “There’s a guard at the gate.”

Eva doesn’t spare a glance at any of us, her beady gray eyes zeroed in on Maverick. “Your father was arrested, and I don’t hear a word from you, yet you have time to visit him.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” Maverick answers her.

Eva scoffs and crosses her arms. “Your father ruined this family, and you have nothing to say?”

Maverick pushes his way through Kai and Cal. “We’re not a family. Never have been. You made it clear that I was only alive to marry and make connections for you. Just a pawn in your scheming.”

“What have I done? All I did was support my husband. How was I supposed to know he was breaking the law?” Eva scoffs again. I forgot how much I heard her do that over the phone when Mav met her for lunch over the summer. It’s grating on my ears.

“Breaking the law? He’s been accused of trafficking drugs, Mom! Drugs that killed thousands of people!” Maverick shouts, but she doesn’t even flinch.

“I’m very aware of the charges against your father. Which is why you need to come home and —”

“No. I am home.” I smile at how strong Maverick is right now. His parents have done a good job chipping away at his confidence for most of his life, but he’s finally fighting back.

“We need to show a united front if we hope to beat the charges. The prosecutor has a son that shares your. . .tastes.” She scrunches her nose like she smelled something rotten.

“You’re not pimping out your son to save your murderous husband, you psycho,” I snarl, trying to get around Cal, but he keeps his arm firmly in front of both me and Belle. I look around him to see Kai struggling to keep Jo back too. Harlow is still really pale and staring at Eva like she’s seen a ghost.

“Dad is taking a plea deal, and I’m releasing a public statement condemning his actions and making sure the public is aware of the distance between us,” Maverick states, shocking everyone in the room if the gasps are anything to go by. Even Eva shows a brief flash of shock on her face. If I blinked, I would’ve missed it.

“Your father isn’t taking a plea deal, Maverick. There isn’t one on the table.” Eva takes a step forward and reaches out like she’s going to grab Maverick and drag him out of his own house. I dart under Cal’s arm and stand next to Mav, slapping his mother’s hand away before she can touch him. She sneers at me.

“Oh, hi Mrs. Wolfe. So nice to see you again. Please feel free to fuck right off,” I say, smiling sweetly.

“Let’s go, Maverick,” she says like she hasn’t heard a single thing he’s said.

“You misunderstand. You are not welcome here. This is Maverick’s home, and we are his family. Leave.” I say the last word through teeth clenched almost as tightly as my fists. I’ve never punched someone before, but now feels like a good time to start.

Eva scoffs, looking down on me like I’m beneath her. My smile widens, and I step towards her. Maverick grabs me around the waist and hauls me back against him, but the look of fear on Eva’s face, as quick as it was, satisfies me enough not to fight him.

“Call Dad if you don’t believe me. From your car because Willa is right. You’re not welcome in my home with my family. Come back here, and I’ll be pressing trespassing charges against you.”

“Sorry I’m late. Whose car is in the. . .” Jon freezes in his tracks as he walks through the door, carrying a box of chicken wings and a case of beer. “Street.” he finishes. “What’s going on?”

“You will come home, Maverick,” Eva says, spinning on her heel and slamming the door behind her.

“Should I leave?” Jon asks.

“It was her,” Harlow says, her eyes wide. Cal wraps her up in his arms and murmurs something in her ear. Jo’s eyes go wide and everyone else looks as confused as I feel.

“Stay, Jon. We need to have a family meeting,” Maverick says, leaving the foyer and sitting on his couch. We decided to keep Jon in the loop since he’s become close to the guys and is the one handling anything band related. It’s easier to explain delays to an agent that understands what’s happening.

“I need the laptop,” Harlow says, making a break for the door, but Cal doesn’t let her go.

“You’re not wearing shoes, Firecracker. I’ll get it,” he says. I leave them to talk and sit next to Mav on the couch.

“Thank you,” he says.

“Should’ve let me at her,” I mumble. He laughs and pulls me in for a side hug. I hug him back instead of questioning how he’s so happy right now. I peek up at him and see him smiling. I meet Belle’s eyes across the room where she’s standing with Kai. She looks just as confused as me.

Everyone is silent while we wait for Cal to get back with the laptop he went to get. I’m snuggled between Mav and Harlow, the latter bouncing her knee so much I reach out to stop it. “Sorry,” she whispers.

“Can we call Declan?” Cal asks while Jo pulls something up on the computer.

“He’s playing right now.” And losing. I haven’t been able to watch any of it, but I get the alerts on my phone.

“We can watch the rest of his game if you want,” Mav offers.

I shake my head. “There are eighty-two games in a season. I can miss one. This is important.”

“Who wants to go first?” Kai asks, looking between Mav and Jo.

“You first,” Mav says to Jo.

“I was going through the submissions to our new platform when one of them got my attention,” Jo explains.

“It’s why I ran here shoeless,” Harlow adds.

“And said it wasn’t my dad,” Mav says.

“Listen first and then hopefully Harlow can explain because I don’t know how she jumped there either,” Jo says, clicking on an audio file.

“ You got rid of the boy?”

The voice is muffled, but clear enough to understand the words. I can’t tell if it’s male or female, though.

“I told you I did.”

My heart stops. That’s Maverick’s dad.

“Then why is his brother trying so hard to find him?”

That’s the first voice again.

“It’s his brother. What the fuck were you expecting?”

Senator Wolfe .

“You could’ve left a fucking body.”

First voice.

“You told me to make sure no one could connect it to us!”

Senator Wolfe.

“Did you hear that?” Harlow asks. “Play it again, Jo,” she says before anyone can answer. Jo does as she asks.

“So my dad either thinks he killed Ezra, or he pretended to?” Maverick asks.

“Not that,” Harlow says and makes Jo play it again. She replays a noise after the muffled voice twice more.

“The scoff!” I yell, making Harlow jump next to me, but then she smiles.

“Exactly!”

“Harlow, you need to call your dad,” I tell her. “How the fuck did she get in here? Someone call the gate.”

“I’m going to need this explained,” Kai says, scratching the stubble on his jaw.

“Eva scoffs. It’s pretty much her favorite thing to do,” I explain. I watch as all the pieces click into place on Kai’s face.

“Fuck!” he shouts and runs his fingers through his hair.

“My mom. All this time, I thought she was just a puppet for my dad, but it’s the other way around, isn’t it?” Maverick sighs and leans back.

“I was still focusing on the senator since we had no evidence to point us anywhere else,” Harlow explains.

“A noise that might be a scoff or a million other things on a recording isn’t exactly evidence,” Belle says gently.

“I know, but Wolfe is clearly the other voice. Which means he either is terrible at murder or faked Ezra’s death. And who would he be answering to?” Harlow asks. “I need to call my dad.” She jumps up from the couch and makes the call while heading into the kitchen.

“It makes sense,” Maverick says.

“It does?” I ask.

“My dad was always strict and definitely disappointed in me for my choice of career, but he was never cold in the way my mom is.” He picks at the hem of his shirt. “I’ve been thinking about my childhood a lot since we went to visit him. Every comment he made about Ezra was after my mom said something.”

“What about the weird, arranged marriage thing she seems so focused on?” Jo asks.

“Political marriages are more common than you’d think.”

“Gross,” Cal mutters.

“She’s power hungry. I always thought it was because my dad hit her, and she was compensating by becoming the woman standing by a powerful man,” Mav says. “But what if he wasn’t lying? What if he never hit her?”

“Then who did?” I ask. Mav shrugs as Harlow takes her seat.

“So,” she says. “Plea deal?”

“I said that to see her reaction.”

“She seemed surprised, but I think we all were,” I say.

Mav smirks at me. “That’s because you don’t know her. She was surprised at first, but she turned angry really fast,” he says. “And not at me.”

“Because she thinks he’s about to roll on her,” Harlow says.

Maverick shrugs. “Or at least embarrass her more.”

Everyone is quiet, letting the chaos of the evening sink in. It’s a lot and nothing at the same time. Harrison is going to do a lot of digging to figure it all out. But the biggest question that no one wanted to voice hangs heavy around us all.

Are we safe?