Chapter 15

[MAVERICK]

He had stayed in Hell Hotel last night after Kate had broken the news to him, and hadn't been to his house ever since because he knew Kate would be in there.

She lived with her rich parents on the other side of the city and had recently started to live with Maverick after a few casual fucks had led to something serious some time back.

Mav's instincts prickled as he approached the modest two-bedroom apartment he shared with Kate. The front door, usually closed and locked, hung ajar, casting an ominous shadow. The silence within was oppressive, punctuated only by the creaking of the old wooden frame. Kate's habitual TV hum was noticeably absent, amplifying the eerie stillness.

Kate always had the TV on because she hated total silence.

Mav's hand instinctively went to his gun, his fingers wrapping around the familiar grip as he pushed the door open with caution.

With a swift motion, Mav drew his gun, a habitual reflex in the face of potential danger. Yet, deep down, a more primal truth stirred - one that would soon reveal itself. For in moments like these, when adrenaline coursed through his veins, Mav's true nature began to surface, hinting at a ferocity that rendered guns superfluous. He was a force on his own, and the gun was merely a prop - a crutch for the savage instincts he had yet to fully acknowledge..

"Kate? " He called as he let the door creak a little while he slowly pushed it back. But when he entered, there was no sign of Kate. The T.V was broken and lying detached and unrecognisable on the floor. The glass table was broken, like it was hit and punted with a baseball bat, and there were drops of blood.

Blood.

His senses suddenly became alert. His eyes flashed green beneath the lenses he wore, and his heart churned as he moved forward behind his gun.

"Kate, please." He called again. Please be alive, please be fine.

He turned into the neat corridor, and headed for the room. And that was where he found Kate.

Sprawled on the floor, hair covering her face and blood all around her.

"No, no, no, no." Mav knelt besidenher and picked her lifeless body in his hands.

She was still breathing. A very faint heartbeat. The blood all around him seemed to awaken something in him, but he fought it desperately, as he took Kate easily in his huge arms and rushed to his car.

The baby. My child.

*****

Charles and Zane rushed to meet up Mav in the hospital after the nurses had taken Kate off to intensive care. And since they weren't there yet, he sat down there and stared at nothing.

Someone attacked him. The scariest man in Grimden right after Don Charles.

The Jade Killer. His woman. His pregnant woman.

He thought about Agatha and Joseph. And the weird eye contact they had had.

"What the fuck, man? Is she alright?"

"Shes alive. So is the baby." Mav said.

"Phew!" Charles breathed out loudly and patted Mav on the back. "I'm so sorry."

"Someone made a direct hit on the family." Zane said seriously. "They couldn't even come for Mav, they had to go for his girl. That's shitty."

"We're definitely going to hit back. We need to tell Don now."

"We don't even know who is behind it."

The pungent and unfamiliar scents of the strangers clung to the air of the house, and Kate, Mav's keen senses had picked them up with ease. He knew every player in the city's underworld, and the distinctive smells that came with them. But this... this was something new. An outsider's scent. It was a jarring realization, one that hinted at a presence beyond Don's carefully constructed web of influence. Everyone with the audacity to pull off a stunt like this was usually on Don's payroll - or at least, on his radar. But this... this was an unknown entity, and Mav's instincts were on high alert.

Finally, he spoke. "The Milo brothers and their fucking Pack."

"What?" Zane said.

"Whoa, slow down, Mav."

But Mav was already standing and stomping out of the hospital.

Someone has to die for this.

He had lots to tell her, but most of all he wanted to say he was sorry for being such a coward. For running. For treating her like shit for a baby he had put in her.

All because I was afraid.

The rage that had consumed him was short-lived as soon as he remembered the party happening tonight at Club Nine. The wolf brothers would definitely be there.

Then, he would let his rage out lose.