Custom Built

by Chantal Fernando

Me?

  Shit.

  I asked to be involved, and I guess this is him handing me the reins.

  “What if what she says is the truth? She’s clearly not the best person out there, but I don’t know if she deserves to...die.”

  There, I said it.

  These people aren’t just going away on fucking vacation, they are being killed in retaliation for what they’ve done. And there’s no point pretending otherwise.

  “Did you check up on what she said? We should check the records and see if the domestic abuse is true,” I suggest.

  “Already did, and it is,” Nadia states, shrugging. “And she was married to him, and she does have a college-age daughter named Anne.”

  “So everything is true, except we just don’t know if she’s lying about her involvement with Dad’s death. Can we find out if she really is moving her daughter to a different college? Maybe Jean will move there with her and we won’t have to worry about her anymore,” I say, thinking that would be a best-case scenario.

  It’s clear I’m leaning toward having a little faith and trusting her. If everything else she said was true, there’s a chance all of it was. Jasper is a hundred-percent guilty, but with Jean, I don’t know if she is, so of course I’m not going to want anything to happen to her.

  “So you want us to let her be?” Neville nods, leaning back and studying me. “We can find out about the college thing, if need be. But if that’s what you want to do, then okay.” He leans forward and kisses my head. “And please go and see your dad’s lawyer. He won’t stop calling me, trying to get you to go in there.”

  “I will,” I promise.

  Eventually.

  “I did see him at the station, but I didn’t have time to discuss the will with him.”

  “I better get going, I didn’t mean to interrupt your girls’ night,” he murmurs, standing up and fixing his navy suit. “Let me know if you need anything, or if there’s any kind of trouble.”

  Nadia comes over with a container filled with baked goods. “For you.”

  “Thank you, Nadia,” he replies with a smile, then turns to me. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but we will find out. I’m going after Jasper, so shit will hit the fan really soon. Just stay safe, Bronte.”

  “I will.”

  He leaves and I make sure the apartment is all locked up.

  “Your life has so much more drama than mine does,” Nadia announces, shaking her head and going back into the kitchen. “I don’t know how you do it. Here, eat a cookie, you deserve one.”

  I eat a few cookies, and then I text Crow and tell him my uncle dropped in, and that everything is fine.

  At least I hope it is.

  * * *

  Abbie comes to visit at work, answering phones for me in between our chats. “So what else has been going on with you? Dad said he dropped in to see you the other night,” she says, tapping a pen on her lips.

  “He did. We discussed the current plan.” I don’t know how much she knows, but I’m assuming whatever the Knights know, they let her in on.

  “I heard,” she admits, lowering her voice. “Temper is staying on alert.”

  “I told him to not worry about Jean. I don’t think she’ll give us any more trouble.”

  And so far, she hasn’t. No one has seen or heard from her, although she must have realized we bugged her car and house, because the bugs were destroyed. So we can no longer listen to her personal conversations.

  “I don’t know how you all live in a state of permanent stress,” I say, resting my forehead against the cold wooden table. “Like, what is going to happen next? Is Jean going to come out of nowhere and prove me wrong? Is Jasper still alive or being held captive and tortured somewhere?”

  Cam walks by and I instantly shut up, not wanting her to get involved in all of this. “James is coming now for those parts. Can you send him into the garage to see me when he does?”

  “Sure,” I reply, smiling. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah, you look good in red,” she adds, grinning and walking off.

  “She’s not wrong,” Crow says as he approaches. He’s wearing another bowling shirt, yellow and blue this time, and it’s particularly terrible.

  “How many of those shirts do you own?” I ask, wishing the one he’s wearing now would die in a fire.

  “A lot,” he replies, smirking. “Remind me to show you the next time you come to the clubhouse.”

  “He has a whole wardrobe full of them,” Abbie agrees, eying it in distaste. “I don’t know how you get women in them, really.”

  “Ask Bronte,” he says, leaning down and kissing me. “The only woman I want.”

  I touch his stubbled cheeks with my fingers. “I better be the only woman that you want.”

  “Get a room, you two,” Abbie adds, pulling us back away from each other and inserting herself between us. A few customers walk in and we all go into professional mode.

  Crow winks at me as he walks away, and Abbie and I share a look. “You’re crazy about him, aren’t you?”

  Sighing, I reply, “You have no idea. Or I guess you do. I want to be around him all the time, but then I remind myself that I’m an independent woman and I don’t need no man.”

  Abbie starts laughing, her shoulders shaking. “I know exactly what you mean. I don’t know what I’d do without Temper—he’s everything to me. He’s my family, my lover, and I know he will always have my back and be loyal to me. I know that you and Crow haven’t been together long, but soon you’ll realize you can be both head over heels in love with your man, and still a strong-ass woman.”

  “You’re very wise,” I say, watching as Crow speaks to the new customers, making one of the women laugh at something. “And he’s too damn charming for his own good.”

  “He is, isn’t he? But he’s all yours. Trust me when I say you have nothing to worry about. Besides, I live with him and I’d personally kick his ass if anything shady went on.”

  We fist bump.

  “Speaking of, I’m thinking of having a party at the clubhouse next weekend. It’s been a while since everyone has been together, so what do you think? Want to lose your biker party virginity?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “I’m there,” I reply instantly.

  * * *

  Crow leaves work early to head to Kamikaze, and when George, my dad’s lawyer, calls me for the millionth time, this time I answer and tell him I will drop by his office after I finish work. When I get there, I can tell he’s extremely unhappy with me.

  “I’ve tried to contact you so many times,” he says, sitting opposite me, scowling over the desk, tapping the paperwork so it’s in line. “Your dad had a very clear will, everything goes to you. His house, his money, his cars, everything. And it’s a substantial amount of money.”

  “How much?” I ask.

  He slides me a piece of paper and, eying him, I lift it up and look at the amount.

  Holy shit.

  Business must have been pretty damn lucrative. My dad never bought anything flashy or designer, or lived out of his means. He was just a normal guy in a normal house with a normal car, or at least that’s what I thought.

  “Wowzer” is all I can manage to say.

  So I’m a millionaire now. Something I never thought in my wildest dreams would ever happen to me. I don’t even know what I’m going to do with this money, but it feels like a lot of pressure.

  George makes me sign some documents and gives me all the details that I need to know.

  “Thank you,” I say, standing up and offering him my hand. “And sorry for being such a pain in the ass. Being here just made it all real, you know?”

  And I never wanted it to be real.

  He nods. “He was a good man.”

  “I know,” I say, offering him a sad smile.

>   I walked into his office with five hundred dollars in my account and I’m leaving with just over a million to my name. As I step outside, I look up at the sky.

  “And I’d give it all away in a second just to have you back for one day, Dad.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Hey,” Crow says with his phone pressed against his ear. “Okay, just take whatever you need from my card. Stay safe, you hear me? Okay, bye.”

  I mustn’t be able to hide my expression because he tilts his head and asks, “What?”

  “Nothing. Just wishing I had a sibling like you who would make my life extremely easy,” I say, smirking.

  “I know, I’ve spoiled her,” he grumbles, sitting back down next to me on the couch. “But you know our parents aren’t here—they are off enjoying their empty nest, living their best lives—so I make sure I’m there for her. I’m in a lucky position where I don’t have to worry too much about finances, so of course I want to make sure she’s taken care of. Does it annoy you?”

  “It’s your money,” I say, lifting my legs up and laying them over his. “But...”

  “I knew there was a but.”

  I grin. “There’s always a but. She’s never going to learn to be independent, or hardworking, or any of those things if you just give her everything.”

  “Yeah, I suppose those are important qualities,” he says in a dry tone. “It’s just always been this way, and she’s used to it. I don’t know how she’d do without my money, if I’m being honest.”

  “You don’t have to cut her off. Maybe just make her get a job or something. I don’t know, it’s up to you, but that’s what I’d do,” I admit.

  We head to work, and I happily sit down at my desk when we get there. “You’re lucky I love my job here,” I say to Crow.

  “Why?”

  “Because I can afford not to work now, so if I hated it here, I could quit in some dramatic-ass way. Maybe knock over a motorcycle or something,” I joke, closing the desk drawer.

  Crow just smirks, crossing his arms over his bright green T-shirt, accentuating his strong biceps. “Well, lucky is the right word then, isn’t it? Considering you basically run the place now, and it would probably fall apart without you.”

  I’ve really gotten the hang of this whole admin thing, and I love organizing everything for the business. The new staff members, Pia and Alex, have taken over customer service and helping sell the merchandise, and know way more than me about all the bike parts, leaving me to simply do reception, which has been way less stressful. It’s also meant that I can properly do all the bookkeeping and accounts and handle the phones.

  “I’m glad you are aware of that.” With no one else around, I go to him and steal a sneaky kiss. “The eye candy around here is pretty good, too.”

  “I was just thinking the same thing,” he murmurs, holding on to my neck and bringing me in for another kiss. “But it’s also very distracting. I find myself looking over at you constantly, wondering what you’re doing.”

  “I’m usually doing the exact same thing,” I laugh. “Sitting at the computer, or I’m on the phone.”

  “Yeah, and you’re looking sexy while doing it,” he says as he nuzzles my neck. “And fuck, you smell so good, too. If no one was here right now, I’d lift you up on that desk and—”

  “You two just can’t help yourselves, can you?” Cam asks, making me jump. She is standing in front of my desk and blowing a big bubble with her gum. “I need you for a moment, Crow. There’s a problem with one of the bike parts—I think we’ve ordered in the wrong part.”

  “Coming,” he replies.

  “You might have been if I didn’t wander over,” she replies in a dry tone, laughing at her own joke.

  I spend the next hour on the phone ordering parts for the next few custom motorcycles and organizing the business receipts to send to the accountant.

  When it’s closing time, I still have a little work to do, so I decide to stay behind and just get everything done. My new reorganization system is almost complete, and I just want to keep going until it’s all sorted. An hour later and it is, and I’m about to leave the garage, opening the door, when I see a man right in front of me. He pushes past me through the door, overpowering me as I try to shove him back outside.

  I’ve never seen this man in person, but I know who he is from pictures. Jasper. And I know that right now I’m in deep shit.

  What is he doing here? Hasn’t he done enough already?

  He looks like crap, with bags under his eyes, messy hair and rumpled clothes. He has desperation written all over him, and that makes him more dangerous than ever.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I ask, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end.

  This can’t be good.

  I know this isn’t going to end well for me.

  “Close the door,” he demands, beady dark eyes on me as he pulls out a gun out and aims it at me. “Now. And I’m not fucking around. Listen to what I say or you are going to die. Just like your father died.”

  Shit.

  Him mentioning my dad makes my blood turn to ice, and I’ve never wanted revenge on someone more than I do right now. This man is a complete piece of shit. A coward.

  And I’m not going to let him get what he wants right now.

  I’m going down fighting.

  I close the door and face him, just the two of us, alone in this huge garage. “What do you want, Jasper?”

  I try to stay calm. Panicking isn’t going to help the situation, and I don’t want anything to set him off.

  He tilts his head to the side and laughs. “So you know who I am? Well, let me see, Bronte. What do I want?”

  He’s clearly insane. There’s a look in his eyes that says that something has pushed him over the edge.

  “I want you dead,” he says, finger on the trigger. “I thought I had accomplished that, but instead I killed your little friend. Has anyone ever told you both that you kind of look alike? Unfortunately for her.”

  I freeze. I knew he did it, but to hear it coming from his mouth so nonchalantly is a whole different story. So he thought Billie was me. She really did die because of me.

  I hold my hands up. “You don’t need to do this, Jasper. Do you really want more enemies by killing me?”

  “I do,” he says, sighing. “You’ve been standing in my way of getting what I want for too long now. And after Jean spoke to you, both her and Anne went missing. What did you say?”

  “Nothing,” I say, wondering how the hell I’m going to get out of this. “She came to tell me that she didn’t kill my dad, that it was all you.”

  He laughs without humor. “Of course she did. After I kill you, I’m going to get your uncle and then I’ll be right where I deserve to be, sitting on top of a drug empire. One by one my enemies will die. No hard feelings, right?”

  His finger moves on the trigger, and I’m not going to stand here and wait to be shot, so I do the only thing I can right now: I run.

  I run through the garage, and he shoots two bullets at me, but lucky for me, he misses. He doesn’t know this warehouse like I do, and that’s the only thing I have going for me right now. I hide in the garage behind a car Crow is working on for fun, and try to control my breathing. I’ve never been one for guns or weapons, but right now I’m wishing I were a little better equipped to handle a situation like this.

  I didn’t prepare myself, and now I’m going to die.

  I find a tool set and pull out a big wrench. Now if only I can dodge the bullets, maybe I can hit him with this and then run away.

  A big bang has me lifting my head, and then I hear Crow’s voice yelling my name. “Bronte? Where are you?”

  I stand up and slowly walk out, wrench still in hand, body on alert. “I’m here.”

  “Oh thank God,” he says, running to me and pul
ling me into his arms. “Can you feel my heart? Fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.”

  I look over to see Temper standing there with Jasper lying on the floor, his foot on his back, Jasper’s gun in his hand.

  “What do you want to do?” Temper asks me, eyes on Jasper.

  “What do you mean?” I reply, frowning. “Call the cops.”

  “You sure you don’t want to handle this ourselves?” he asks, lifting his head.

  I look to Crow, my mind working. I know they are against this, but I think right now this is the best option for us all. “Call the cops.”

  He nods, and pulls out his phone.

  I don’t want them to get into any trouble because of me. My revenge can be him behind bars.

  “The cops are on the way, everything will be fine,” Crow says, wrapping his arms around me.

  “How did you know?” I ask, brow furrowing.

  “We have a live camera feed,” Crow says, taking the wrench from my hand. “We have a control room and someone always checks to make sure everything is running smoothly. One of the new prospects was on duty, saw you and called me right away. Temper and I were on our way somewhere else and got here as soon as we could.”

  “He was going to kill me,” I say, my body starting to shake. “Just look me in the eye and kill me.”

  “I know,” he replies, jaw tight. “But you’re safe, all right? And he’s going to be arrested.”

  Crow needed to save me again. Next time something happens, I want to save my damn self.

  The police come and take Jasper away. Temper hands over the security footage of the night, and that’s all the proof they will need to lock him away.

  “He admitted to killing Billie because he thought she was me,” I say to Crow, tears pooling in my eyes. “It really was my fault.”

  And I don’t know how I’m going to live with that.

  “Did you get shot?” Crow suddenly asks, touching my skirt.

  “No, why?” I ask, frowning. I glance down and see blood.

  And then everything goes black.