Maverick slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her tight to him. Delilah swallowed her smile. It wasn’t for victory. It was from relief. “I love you. I won’t ever let you forget that. I’ll prove it to you. Trust me. Okay?”
Maverick smiled.
She closed her eyes and waited for forgiveness to heal her.
Chapter Twenty-One
GOODIVA’S SECRET
The knock-knock at the door woke her first. Maverick had trapped her beneath his hairy legs and arms. Delilah could barely lift her head, thanks to the weight of his affection. The newfound warmth she shared with him in her oversized bed was a welcomed surprise. Without this comfort, it was a cold empty space after Charles died. And even when he was alive, he didn’t like sleeping in each other arms. After sex, Charles would always shower and then make her shower before they shared a bed. They’d return to their separate sides and put on their sleep masks before a final kiss goodnight. It was how she thought it should be—until Maverick. With him, there were never any boundaries. If he wanted to sleep with his hand on her, he did. If he tried to roll over and make love to her without brushing his teeth, he did. And if he wanted to use baby-oil and introduce her to the carnal side of sex, he did. He did and did, and did.
The person knocked once again.
Delilah groaned in agony. Her plan was to stay in bed all day, loving on him and being loved by him. She had intended to rise in another hour or so and make them grilled cheese sandwiches, avocado toast, and warm up the tomato soup from the can. She’d get bottles of red wine and glasses, with some chocolate for dessert. They’d retreat for the day under the covers to watch Netflix on the big screen television from her bed. She had it all planned. And she intended to enjoy it. In two days, her period would start, and she’d lose several nights of intimacy with him. But first, she supposed she’d have to deal with her mother. Delilah pushed her lover so he could turn over. He responded by rolling back on top of her. He began to kiss her and try for their morning routine. She laughed. The knocking kept on. “No. Stop. Do you hear that? I need to answer the door. It’s probably about Noah.”
Maverick sucked her nipple through her shirt and then let her go with a deep throaty groan. Delilah left the bed and picked up her robe, and slipped it on.
“Coming!” she said.
When she opened the door, she was taken aback. Queen stood before her with her N95 mask covering half of her face. Queen rarely showed up in the middle of the day for a visit. “Well, look who’s here. Let me guess. Mama called you?”
Delilah hadn’t seen her friend in over three weeks. Queen had a key to the house and could visit at any time, but with the quarantine and Delilah’s father is at risk, she stayed away. For Queen to come directly to her bedroom, it had to be a serious visit.
“We need to talk,” Queen said. She wore a mask and gloves. Most people did since the global pandemic had descended on the world.
“This is about Shelly. Isn’t it?” Delilah felt her heart sink into her stomach.
“Yes. It’s about Shelly. She called me.”
“Oh, thank God,” Delilah covered her gasp with her hands to her mouth. “She called?”
Queen nodded. She looked past Delilah to the man in her bed. Maverick had sat up and was listening. He didn’t have a shirt on and with Delilah in a robe. It was clear of the newfound bond they shared. “Come in,” Delilah said. Queen walked into the bedroom but looked hesitant.
“I’m sorry. Your mother didn’t tell me you weren’t alone,” Queen stammered.
“Hmpf, I’m sure she didn’t. Never mind her. I’ll explain it all later. I can’t believe it. Maverick! Shelly called. She’s okay! Ugh, sorry, we call Goodiva Shelly. It’s our nickname for her. Wait? What did Shelly say? Where is she?” Delilah asked.
“She’s at Mayfair. She’s been at Mayfair this entire time.”
“Huh? What do you mean she was at Mayfair the entire time? How the hell is that possible? We’ve been looking for her. We went to Mayfair.” Delilah glanced at Maverick. She looked back at her friend. Queen didn’t offer any further explanation. Delilah glanced to her lover once more. “Maverick, excuse us for a moment. We need to talk; come with me, Queen. We can go to my office.”
“No,” Queen said. “I need him to hear this too,” her best friend insisted.
“Oh?” Delilah glanced to Maverick and then back to Queen. “Why?”
“Maverick’s been helping me in my investigation,” Queen informed her.
“He has?” Delilah asked.
“Yes. I asked him not to involve you. Me and Apollo have been working Shelly’s case with Maverick consulting and the FBI,” Queen replied.
“Wait. Wait. Wait. Consulting? When? You keeping secrets from me, Maverick?” Delilah asked. Her lover rubbed his head and looked at Delilah with apologetic eyes.
“Don’t be pissed with him. He didn’t want to. He did it to convince me that he is in love with you. That he’d do anything to help Shelly. I told him to prove it. I guess by the looks of things he has.”
Delilah tightened the sash to her robe and glared at her friend.
“How have you two been communicating behind my back? And why would you want to do anything behind my back!” Delilah asked.
“I scheduled conference calls, video chats, whatever we needed; he was there for us. I’ll say this. He’s a good detective. We couldn’t have found out as much as we did about Jaxon Price without him.” Queen looked over to him. “Thank you, Maverick. I think the pressure you helped us put on the feds got us the warrant to go up to Mayfair and search. If we hadn’t, Shelly would have never contacted us.”
“You went to Mayfair with the F.B.I.? When did this happen?” Delilah asked.
“A week ago. It’s been Jaxon Price all along, just like we thought. All of this is him. The FBI tossed that place top to bottom, and the Chief let me and Apollo take the lead on the case. We didn’t find either of them. There’s like these tunnels under Mayfair that lead to the mountain. It’s one big maze. Scary shit down there. His staff gave us complete access because they knew we couldn’t find a damn thing. A few of the people on the staff had to rescue several agents when they got lost. It’s insane. I knew it was staged. Anyways, after the raid, I guess Price figured we’d come for him again. That’s where we are now.”
“I don’t understand. Why would Shelly make up a lie to tell us she left Mayfair if she was there? And why has Jaxon Price been trying to destroy my life?”
“That’s why I involved Maverick. His relationship with Armand Al Jabaar has been helpful.”
“You’re still in contact with him?” Delilah asked.
“You want to tell her?” Queen asked Maverick.
“He helped me get the attorneys for court. He helped me try to gain custody. You know this,” Maverick replied.
“Okay, you both need to drive this one home for me. Because I’m getting angry.” Delilah sat in the chair in her room and faced them. “What am I missing? An entire conspiracy, and you’re in the middle of it, Maverick?”
“Al Jabar didn’t help me in my custody fight out of the kindness of his heart. He really wanted to control you, distract you,” Maverick said.