Ride Hard (Raven Riders #1)(44)

“No, Haven,” Maverick said, turning all the way toward her. “You taking care of someone I care about will never be nothing.”

“Okay,” she said, unsure how else to respond. “I really hope things work out for her.” With a nod, Haven turned and rushed down the hall, hoping against hope that things worked out for herself, too.

WELL, THAT SUCKED ass, Dare thought. He blew out a breath and waved Maverick in. “What’s up?” he asked Maverick as the two of them settled into the chairs on either side of the desk. “How’s Alexa?”

Maverick braced his elbows on his knees and dropped his face into his hands. He ground the heels of his palms into his eyes and heaved a troubled breath. “Fuck,” he bit out, and then he looked up at Dare. “She won’t tell me what happened, just insists it was a misunderstanding. Like we haven’t heard that before.”

“Yeah,” Dare said. “A misunderstanding that involved her face getting slammed against some immovable object?”

“Right.” Mav shoved to his feet and paced. “I don’t know what to do.”

Fuck if this conversation wasn’t going to suck, too. “You’re not gonna like what I have to say.”

Maverick pointed at him. “No, I’m not. So don’t say it.”

“Maverick—”

“I f*cking mean it, D,” he gritted out.

Dare stood and braced his fists on the desk. “You can’t help someone who refuses to be helped. You know that, maybe more than anyone. And Alexa Harmon is possibly the most stubborn woman on the face of the earth.”

His cousin chuffed out a humorless laugh. “Ain’t that the truth.” He paced along the short space in front of the desk, and then raked his hands into his blond hair. “But then what do I do? I have to do something. I can’t just sit here waiting for the next time.”

“Shit, Mav. Whatever’s going on for her, she’s gotta want out of it before you can do anything. That f*cking sucks, I know—”

“No, you don’t goddamn know,” Maverick yelled, glaring at him.

Dare didn’t take offense. He could only imagine how he’d feel to see Haven bruised and bloodied like that—

The thought nearly stole his breath, because he didn’t have many days left to see Haven at all. A vague sense of dread coursed through his veins. How did he know she’d be safe without him, even if they took every precaution in setting up a new life for her? How did he know if he wasn’t there?

And why did the prospect of not being there make him want to pound his fist into a wall? Why did it feel like he was the one running away—again? Like he’d done the day Kyle and his mom had died, instead of staying and fighting . . .

Dare shook the thoughts away. Or he tried to. “You could set up some low-key surveillance of her house for a few days,” he managed, wanting to solve just one person’s problem today.

Mav’s eyes went wide. “But what about the manpower we need here? Until we can make arrangements for Haven and Cora?”

“We’ll make it work,” Dare said, and then he nailed Maverick with a stare. “But do not f*cking engage. Not while you’re by yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course not.” Maverick sagged into the chair behind him. “Thanks.”

“Is she still here?” Dare said, taking a seat himself.

“Yeah. Bunny came and she was talking to her. I hoped maybe Alexa would open up more to a woman.” Even though Bunny was Maverick’s mother, he’d used her nickname for as long as Dare could remember. Everyone did. “Speaking of which, Haven was great with her.”

Dare nodded, working hard to school his features. “She was.”

Maverick tilted his head and eyeballed Dare. “What’s going on between the two of you, anyway?”

Pulling his cell out of his jeans pocket, Dare shook his head. “Nothing.” The word tasted sour on his tongue. If it was nothing, then why was he so tied up in knots?

“She sure doesn’t look at you like it’s nothing.”

“Is that so?” Dare asked, checking his texts and e-mails to see if the pics of her father and his men had come through yet. What kind of pathetic was he that he took pleasure from hearing Maverick say Haven looked at him like she was interested?

“Don’t tell me you don’t see it,” Mav said.

Eyes still down, Dare shrugged. He saw it. He saw her. “Doesn’t really matter, does it?” Something hit him in the forehead. He flinched as a pencil tumbled down his front and fell to the floor. “Ow, you f*cker. Coulda taken my damn eye out.”

“Uh-huh. Stop shitting me for a minute,” Maverick said.

Dare sat forward in his chair and threw the cell to the desk. “What do you want from me, Maverick?”

Maverick’s eyes went wide, and then narrowed as they studied Dare. “You like her.”

“Mav—”

“You f*cking like her.” The big idiot grinned. Like there was anything good about Dare’s errant feelings. For f*ck’s sake.

“Good-bye, Maverick. Don’t let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out.” Dare gave him a pointed look.

Maverick settled back in the chair and crossed his hands and fingers over his stomach. Goddamned pain in the ass. “You’re totally feeling her.”