Harley sat back and looked at him. “Poppy, I think you should have told Val you were going to help Daddy and everybody catch the bad guy. You didn’t,” she said, shaking her head.
“Valerie, I just didn’t want anybody to stop us, and I knew that it was important to Everly.”
“You should have told me you were leaving,” Valerie said coldly.
“You always gots to get permission. You can’t go off on your own without permission, Poppy. Everybody gets mad,” Harley said, rolling her eyes.
Maverik looked Valerie in the eye. “We weren’t alone out there. Havoc, Remi, even Kiernan and Shawn already had him pinned down and were just playing at terrifying him. It was perfectly safe, Valerie.”
“I’m not saying it wasn’t. But you need to let me know when you go gallivanting off. When are you going to learn that?” Valerie asked.
“Probably never. I ain’t lying to you. Sometimes I just have to follow my instincts. If I stop to talk it through with you, you’ll come up with all kinds of reasons that it’s not a sensible decision. And, Valerie, my love, you have to understand that I’m not meant to be a sensible male. I’m all about the instinct. But if it’s ever serious enough that it might be more dangerous than usual, I’ll let you know then. I promise you that. How’s that?” he asked.
“It’s better than nothing,” Valerie answered.
“Better than before,” he pointed out.
“True,” she agreed. “And for the record, I’m not angry you went, I’m irritated you didn’t bother to let me know you were leaving.”
“How long it take you to figure out that I was missing?” he asked.
“About three minutes.”
“You see? You already knew what I was up to,” Maverik said, grinning at her.
“He’s not going to ask permission is he?” Harley asked, looking up at Valerie.
“Nope. He never does,” Valerie said.
The front door opened and Ronan stepped inside. “Hey, I hurried over here the minute Kiernan and Shawn got home. Any word on Emmalyn?” he asked.
“I think she’ll be okay. She’ll just need some time to heal,” Natalie said.
“Oh, good! I was worried. Glad she’ll be okay,” Ronan said. He walked over to his dad and held out his hand for a high-five. “Shawn was telling me about you bringing Everly out to take her vengeance on the bastard. Wish I was there!” Ronan said proudly.
Maverik shushed his youngest son. Shaking his head just enough for Ronan to be able to see it.
Ronan tried to ask why he was shushing him, and Maverik cut his eyes from Valerie to Ronan and back again.
Ronan laughed.
Maverik smirked, and Valerie shook her head and sighed. “What am I going to do with the both of you?” she asked.
“Hey! Me, too. Don’t forget about me,” Havoc said.
“Oh, no. You’re mated. You’re Analise’s problem now,” Valerie teased.
“You know you love us, Mom. You’d be so bored without us,” Havoc said.
Valerie smiled and refused to acknowledge Havoc was absolutely right.
Chapter 15
Janie waited while Delilah wrapped up her phone call with Tessa.
When she was done, Delilah smiled as she slipped her cell phone into her pocket. “I’m happy that she’s made some friends she enjoys.”
“Me, too.”
