“Good,” Bunny said, that one word so filled with anger that it vibrated through the room.
“I agree,” Dare said.
Alexa released a shaky breath and looked at Maverick, and the emotion shining from his eyes reached inside her chest and soothed so much of her pain.
“Shit, I don’t remember anything after taking your mom out. But you were so strong, Alexa. You saved us,” Maverick said.
Dare braced his elbows on his knees, his gaze going serious. “I hope you don’t feel a second of guilt, Alexa. He wasn’t behaving rationally. He would’ve kept coming at you, and he made it into a situation where it was you or him. And the P.I. learned something that I think maybe confirms that.” His dark gaze moved to Maverick, then back to her again. “Did you know that Slater spent time in a psychiatric hospital when he was nineteen?”
Alexa gasped. “What? No.” She shook her head, barely able to process the information.
Dare nodded. “All the P.I. discovered so far was that it was an involuntary admission. Lasted ten weeks. When Slater got out, he moved away from his hometown and, as best as can be told, never returned.”
Shell-shocked, she glanced at Maverick. “That must be why he had no relationship with his parents. Wouldn’t talk about it, either.” A barrage of questions flooded through her that all boiled down to one—what had Grant been hiding from her? Because Dare was right, Grant had changed these past few weeks from a man always in tight, strict control to one completely out of it. Either way, it really was like she’d been with a stranger all those years. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“If the P.I. finds out more, I’m sure he’ll tell us,” Maverick said. “But the most important thing is that it’s finally over.” He shifted in his bed. “And damnit I want out of this bed.”
Dare let loose a small laugh. “Welcome to my world.”
Maverick scowled at his cousin, making Dare laugh harder.
“Why don’t we let you all rest?” Bunny said, coming to Maverick’s bedside. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, and it was the sweetest thing. “You’re my favorite son. I don’t know what I would’ve done . . . Well, I’m not even going to entertain that now.”
Mav swallowed hard, Bunny’s words clearly getting to him. “I’m your only son, Bunny.”
She managed a small smile and winked. “That’s why you’re my fave.” Next, she came around to Alexa’s bed and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I wish I would’ve had half your strength at your age. You hang in there and take care of each other.”
“I will, Bunny.” Now she was the one Bunny was getting choked up. “Thank you.”
Dare said his good-byes next. Clasping Mav’s hand, he said, “This was some fucking extreme lengths to go to in order to get out of your turn in the dunking booth.”
Maverick barked out a laugh, and the sound was so amazing to her. Proof of life. Proof of truly living. “Silver linings, man. You gotta embrace ’em where you find ’em.”
“Truer words,” Dare said, then he came around to Alexa, and leaned down over her so he could look her in the eyes. “You did good, kid.”
She blinked back tears and gave a quick nod. And then they were gone, and she and Maverick were finally alone.
“I’VE HAD ENOUGH of being apart from you,” Maverick said, climbing out of bed and shuffling over to her, holding on to his IV stand. A pale blue hospital gown was all he wore, but he didn’t care about any of it. About anything other than touching Alexa again.
“Are you naked under there?” Her expression was almost playful, and it made him want to distract her, to help her find a moment of light in all this dark.
He chuffed out a laugh. “You really feeling up to sex?”
Alexa grinned. “No, damnit. But I thought your ass might look cute sticking out.”
He shook his head, and then he turned around for her and gave her his bare ass. “Happy?”
“Wow. That is . . . yeah. I’m super happy.”
He chuckled and turned back to her.
“I feel so much better now,” she said. “I might need to see that every once in a while. You know, for purely medicinal purposes.”
“You’re so full of shit,” he said, but he enjoyed her teasing, enjoyed seeing her come back to life, a little at a time. He put down the side railing to her bed. “Let me in.” It was a little awkward with her bandaged hands, but she managed to scoot aside enough to make space for him. His back was one giant bruise from where the ceiling had collapsed on him, so he settled on his side facing her. Fuck, that felt good. Satisfying. Exactly where he belonged. “That’s better.”