“He wanted to distract me by pushing me into a custody fight for my son? For what? To get what?”
“He had leverage and wanted, moreover, you and your friends,” Maverick tried to explain.
“The true story of what happened with Mr. Collins is the leverage they have,” Queen said it plainly. “It’s all public information. He needed Maverick to dig and get more of a confession out of you. Did he?”
Delilah's eyes stretched because he had indeed. She confessed the entire story to Maverick, and now the truth was out. After years of being the one to beat silence into her friends, it would be her big mouth that destroyed them all.
Maverick nodded. “He wanted me to use what he had on you in court to cast doubt on the case. He figured it would force you into negotiations that would push the truth he needed out of you two.”
Delilah felt as if a hot dagger had been stabbed in her heart.
“So you were trying to trick me?” Delilah asked.
“No. I didn’t use it. None of the information. Before you changed your mind and exposed my secrets, I had already told the attorneys not to dig up your secrets.”
“It’s true,” Queen said. “He didn’t use it. He did give me the information. Told me that Armand was blackmailing him into staying here and getting more information on you.”
Queen continued: “I decided to tell him the story of what happened with Collins—.”
“Stop,” Maverick said. “I already knew the story. Delilah had told me, Queen. I just never said that to you or Armand.”
Delilah rubbed her temples, trying to understand the depth of his deception.
“You told him?” Queen gasped. “When? Why?” She glanced to Maverick. “Fuck it. It doesn’t matter. At this point, we now know how Jaxon Price knew to dig in our past. Shelly had to have told him we had a secret. She just didn’t tell him what the secret was. And he wanted us out of the picture. He figured if he destroyed the Montgomery’s and had me chasing a faked death, he’d have her to himself.”
“But why? She’s a grown woman. Shelly does what she wants. Look at the mess she caused with Jaxon Price. He almost died—” Delilah paused. She looked to Maverick. He didn’t know the full story of what brought Jaxon Price into their life, and she had no intention of telling it.
“Go on, say it. He knows enough now,” Queen began to pace again.
“No,” Delilah said.
“Dee? We need him. You can trust him,” Queen said.
“Can I?” She glared at Maverick. “Can I really?”
“You know the answer to that question,” Maverick replied.
“Well, hell, I thought I did until now. Sure. Why not spill all our secrets. Three years ago, our friend Shelly was an Instagram model and a DJ in Los Angeles. Her name is Goodiva online. Go on, look her up. She was dating this Hindi Rapper. She was like a party girl to him. Goodiva is different from us. But she’s our sister. And you already know what the three of us went through as kids. Well, things got crazy between her and her boyfriend. She was in an accident. Jaxon Price was in the accident. Remember that?”
Maverick frowned. “I remember him having a big accident and then disappearing.”
“Well, Goodiva fled the scene of the accident,” Queen interjected. “And Delilah covered up the crime. She and Charles both buried the truth with money and lawyers. They didn’t know that Jaxon Price was tied to Yasar Fikrit when they did it. Not then. Turns out the accident was pretty bad. Jaxon Price is disfigured; that’s why he dropped out of public sight. He’s in a wheelchair. And he’s been stalking our friend for years.”
“Stalking? That’s what you think?” Delilah asked.
“It makes sense,” Queen said. “Think about it. She gets a tip on a job in Mayfair while in New York. Her therapist all but confirmed that he was hired by Armand Al Jabaar and Jaxon Price to send her back here. It was a trap from the very start. Then remember the crazy stuff Armand told her. About not having cellphones and the internet on the mountain. They isolated her. And the text you got from her. Since when does she text and not FaceTime? It was all set up. God knows that place is big enough to trap anyone.”
“What did Shelly say when you talked to her?” Delilah asked.
“She wants to meet,” Queen replied.
“Meet? That’s all? No explanation?” Delilah frowned.
“That’s why I’m here. We got a police escort to Mayfair. I landed on your ranch in the helicopter. Goodiva wants to see us now. To explain all of this.”
“She damn well better explain it!” Delilah said.
“I’ll wait downstairs. I also brought you a mask and gloves. You will have to wear it at all times. We need to leave soon.” Queen glanced at him. “Thanks, Maverick, for everything.”
Maverick nodded at her, and Queen left. Delilah closed the door.
“I’m sorry. It was a police matter, and she’s right. I wanted to gain Queen’s trust,” he said.
“What about my trust?” she asked.
“I’m constantly working on that,” Maverick said. “What is this story about you covering up a crime with your friends? Another accident?”
Delilah went back to bed. She climbed on it and went into his arms. He held her to him and kissed her forehead. “Can we not discuss this for now. She’s alive. I’m sorry that we’re all so screwed up.”
“I don’t care about your mistakes, even these mistakes. I’ve made plenty of my own, remember?”
She nodded. He kissed her.
“I just want my friend back,” she said.
“Then get dressed and go get her.”
Delilah smiled. She left the bed and rushed into the bathroom excited, angry, and disappointed over the news. She couldn’t wait to see Goodiva and figure it all out.
Later that Evening —
Maverick had gone back to the guesthouse after the women left. He needed to pack up his things and move into the house. Delilah’s mother kept Noah behind a closed door, and he knew it was intentional. To avoid the disrespect and drama, he felt it best he leave. He made himself breakfast for dinner and then started cleaning the place he had called home for a month. It kept him busy. All the while, he couldn’t help but think about the three friends and the lengths they had gone to all their lives to protect each other. It reminded him of the bond he shared with his tactical unit. How he forgot the vow to ‘protect and serve’ and let their missions become a tribal ‘us versus them’ mentality. Why do humans devolve from societal expectations in times of duress?
None of it mattered that day. Maverick felt the last of the secrets that could harm them were gone. The night before, she had driven them both to the point of no return. Still, they fought their way back and survived the worst of it. He now understood her in ways he couldn’t before. She needed to feel; she needed the realness, not the fairytale. She was a remarkable woman that way.
Maverick finished his clean-up, took out the trash, and bagged the grocery he wanted to take back to the house. He’d make a few trips to bring all that he had to the main house. It was just a start. And just as he readied to do more, he heard the cutting blades and whipping winds of a landing helicopter. Maverick grabbed his jacket, put it on, and then slipped out of the back patio door. The police helicopter landed. The ladies got out of it. He waved his arm at them. They saw him. Instead of heading to the house, they both came fast to him. He stepped back and opened the door to let them inside from the cold.