‘Nope.’
‘Did you win the lottery?’
‘Also, no.’
‘Did Poppy get into trouble at school?’ The thought had Nina leaning forward in her seat. ‘Whatever happened, it wasn’t her fault.’
Maverick laughed. ‘I fucking love you. But no. Poppy is still an angel child.’
‘Okay, I’m stumped.’
‘It’s a surprise,’ he teased. ‘You have to wait and see.’
She groaned exaggeratedly, but the truth was she liked this casual teasing. So much of their relationship had been governed by heaviness already; it was nice to just be in the moment, laughing and joking about whatever surprise Mav had in store for her.
He parked the Jeep under the big oak tree.
Nina got out of the car, but she took a moment to let her head fall back as she looked at the thick branches spreading outwards and into the night. ‘We should hang a swing here,’ she said, feeling inspired.
Mav closed his car door at the same moment that Shadow started growling. The dog lowered to her belly and started inching towards the house, her teeth and gums exposed.
Nina stopped moving immediately. She had never heard Shadow growl, and the low, feral sound had rivulets of fear streaking through her. ‘Mav?’
‘Stay here,’ he said calmly. Too calmly.
Alarm coursed through her at his tone. Nina rounded the hood. When he started to walk towards the house, she grabbed ahold of his arm, stopping him. ‘Mav? What’s wrong?’
He folded her into a brief hug. ‘Nina, I need you to stay here, okay?’ When her body tensed, he took her face in both hands, looked into her eyes. ‘Something’s wrong.’ He took his phone out of his pocket and closed both of her hands around it. ‘Call the cops. Donotcome inside. For any reason. Until I come and get you.’
‘Mav—’
‘Nina.’ He talked over her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. ‘I need you to stay here. Promise me,’ he demanded.
She couldn’t voice the words, so nodded.
‘It’ll be okay.’ He took one step back, and then two, depriving her of her safety net even as he walked towards Shadow and the dark house, towards danger, protecting her always.
Chapter 31
Mav’s booted foot crunched over the glass of the porch’s broken lightbulb, announcing his presence to whoever was in his house. But he didn’t let it stop him. This was his home. His land. The house where his family slept – and that was sacred.
Still, because he didn’t have his gun or a death wish, he crouched low as he approached the front door. Reaching up, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.
As it swung wide, he glanced inside.
Next to him, Shadow made that ethereal sound again. ‘Stay,’ Mav ordered, knowing the dog would obey.
He entered slowly, making sure to keep quiet as he crouched low.
The cloying smell of overripe cologne clung to the air, just as Nina had once described it to him. To say that he was surprised would have been an understatement. Alexander showing up at Hunt Ranch with the criminal trial pending wasn’t just plain stupid. It was madness – and that’s why Mav knew that this was the point of no return.
Still crouched low, he moved along the interior of his house, making sure to be absolutely quiet as he clung to the walls.
His gun safe, a modern biometric one that only his fingerprint could open, was kept in his room – he just had to reach it. And soon. Because all he could think about was that Nina was a sitting duck outside.
Mav’s heart thumped with adrenaline. His hands, surprisingly, were steady. His eyes, adjusted to the dark, scanned the lounge and the hallway leading to the kitchen, and seeing nothing, hearing nothing, he crept to the stairs.
He took them slowly, quietly, and when he came to the hallway, he deepened his breathing and softened his footsteps.
