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Chapter Nineteen
The meeting was held at Will’s compound in the downstairs game room. His housekeeper, Mrs. Taylor, provided drinks, while outside, Harper and Jeremy attempted to train the two puppies, Flash and Duke. Jeremy had chosen the name Duke because he wanted a regal and powerful name for his puppy, while Noah had named Flash after his favorite superhero.
The room was a powerhouse of Maverick muscle—Daniel Spencer, Sebastian Montgomery, Evan Collins, and Will Franconi. The only one missing was Matt. None of them wanted to disturb his and Ari’s honeymoon.
“Tell us what the guy said, Gideon.” Daniel sat with legs spread, elbows on his knees.
“He knew Jorge’s name and hinted that he also knew where Jorge went to school. And he has both Rosie’s home and cell numbers.”
“He’s obviously been researching her,” Will said.
“That’s not the worst part,” Gideon told them. “He very casually wondered what she’d do if she lost her job, her home, and her credit rating.” His blood felt like it would boil over at any moment as he thought about the smarmy bastard.
“The creep is playing games,” Evan noted. “Implied threats. Telling her what might happen. He must think he’s so smooth.”
“He didn’t come right out and say he wanted to take Jorge away from her, did he?” Sebastian wanted to confirm.
“Nope. He simply implied that Jorge could have so many more advantages if his birth father got involved in his life. From what I could tell, he’s feeling her out right now. He wants to know if it’ll be easy, if there might be something she wants, or if she thinks Jorge is a burden and he can just flash a little money and she’ll fold.”
“Fat chance,” Daniel said, the words almost a growl. “Rosie is like a mama bear with Jorge. She’ll tear her ex to pieces before she’ll let him near her son.”
“I agree,” Will said. “Jorge is everything to her. There’s no way she’d fold. The guy obviously doesn’t know her at all.”
But, clearly, the Mavericks did know Rosie. Her devotion, her loyalty, her spirit, her strength. And how amazingly huge her heart was.
“If anything happens to Rosie or Jorge…” Gideon couldn’t finish the thought, not when even the remotest possibility of their coming to harm destroyed him. “Thank you for coming together today, to brainstorm how we can permanently neutralize Findley. I’ll find a way to repay you guys,” he vowed.
“Family doesn’t repay family,” Evan said, “because family doesn’t owe family.”
“There’s no debt here,” Sebastian agreed, his features gravely serious, so unlike his usual gregarious demeanor.
“You’re one of us now, Gideon,” Daniel said.
Will grinned. “You and Rosie and Jorge—you’re all Mavericks now, whether you like it or not.”
“All for one and one for all,” they said in unison.
Something unfurled deep inside Gideon. A kernel opening, starting to sprout. A seed growing.
He thought of Noah—how blood didn’t matter, how Noah was his no matter what. Blood was irrelevant. What mattered was loyalty and love. That was the bond.
And now, the Mavericks had offered him that bond.
He bowed his head, fighting his innate sense of unworthiness, a sense that had been magnified by his screwup with Ari and then with his team. Ari, his men, Karmen—they were all he’d ever had.
Until now. Until Ari had come back into his life, and now the Mavericks. If he let the seed flower…could there one day also be Jorge and Rosie? Not just for two weeks, but forever?
When he raised his gaze again, he was no longer completely hollow inside. At long last, the dark, empty spaces inside him—gaping holes that had been carved out of his heart in Iraq—had begun to fill up with friendship. With loyalty. With trust. With gratitude. With love.
“Thanks.” It was only six letters. Yet he didn’t need to say anything more. Not when something told him that the Mavericks, who had each come through their own personal hell, understood.
The four other Mavericks grinned at him…and then they got to work fleshing out their plan.
Gideon started them off by running through his research. “When I went online to see what I could find about her ex, I found a couple of huge sales for artists neither Rosie nor I had ever heard of, and for whom we couldn’t find another mention on the Internet. No other sales, no other art.”
“Art is one of the most common ways people launder money,” Evan said. “Her ex could be involved with some shady characters.”
Will made a note on his phone. “Let’s have Rafe dig into whether Findley could be laundering money.” Gideon knew Rafe Sullivan worked as the Mavericks’ investigator. “I’m guessing it has to do with why he shut down in San Francisco and opened in Las Vegas. There are probably much bigger clients to roll with in Las Vegas. Like, say, the mob.”
