Fuse poured himself a scotch. “There was a vote. Thane wanted to put you ‘out bad.’”
I cracked a beer. “Really? Why’d I get my cut back?” Thane had veto power. He could have overruled the vote.
“Merrick, mostly. And Reaper. They advocated to let you stay.”
“Who voted against me?”
His large, tattooed hand wrapped around my shoulder. “You know I can’t tell you that. But it doesn’t matter.” He gave me a look. “The majority ruled in your favor once Merrick made his case. He said Merci confided that she’d made the first move.”
I huffed out a rough laugh. “Of course she did. You think I’m dumb?”
Fuse shook his head. “You were playing with fire long before that. You looked at her just like Thane looked at Rhetta the first time they met.”
“Like I wanted to murder her?”
“Like you’d burn the world down for her, if she asked.”
And he wasn’t wrong. A part of me had been drawn to Merci before our first kiss.
Merrick slid onto the barstool beside me. He set a thick stack of papers in front of me.
“What’s this?”
“Business plan. Everest sent it over for us to look at.”
I flipped through a few pages—charts, projections, shit that made my eyes blur. “I guess I don’t really know what I’m looking at.”
I slid the stack of papers to Fuse. He scanned the documents, occasionally circling a line or jotting something in the margin.
“This is pretty good,” he said after a minute. “I’d tweak the budget. You can tell Everest’s experience is in finance and consulting. He’s over-indexing on equipment and undershooting marketing and staffing.”
Merrick nodded slowly. “Good catch. We’ll flag that for him. You still willing to teach a Krav Maga class?”
“Absolutely,” Fuse said.
I stood, grinning at Merrick and Fuse. My Maverick family. But I had someone else now, too.
“I’d better get home before Merci talks Jessa into letting her go for a hike or do some sort of stupid bullshit she’s not ready for.”
Merrick scoffed. “Good luck with that. I remember when she broke her leg when she was ten. We found her hobbling around in the backyard, trying to catch a stray kitten.”
Fuse barked a laugh. “Enjoy domestic bliss, brother. Whipped suits you.”
I flipped them both off as I headed for the door, the weight of my cut on my back.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Two weeks into my recovery, I was ready to climb the walls. Desperation rang in my voice when Kenna called to check in on me, which was how I conned her into planning an impromptu Labor Day cookout at Reaper and Eva’s house.
“I’m not sitting next to you at any tables,” Hatchet whispered conspiratorially in my ear as we walked into their house.
I snickered and wondered if he’d ever forgive me. “I promise to be good this time. Mostly because I’m not in any shape to be chased through the woods.”
He looked at me with concern. “Are you sure you’re ready to be out of the house?”
I bumped his shoulder. “I’ll be fine. I’m still a little sore, but I promise to sit and chill all night. Maybe with a cocktail?”
“No alcohol,” he said firmly. “Doctor’s orders.”
