by RB Hilliard
“I still don’t get the name thing,” LuLu muttered.
“Tell me about it. Gibbs was a good ol’ boy who never met a stranger he didn’t like. We started dating in high school and got married the summer after we graduated. God, I loved that man. When he died, it felt like my whole world ended. I know it sounds dramatic, but I honestly believed we would have forever together.”
“Not at all. I lost my dad last year. He was all I had. After his death, I went through a dark time. I know it’s not the same, but I get it.”
Sage took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I hope you had someone to help you through it. My saving graces were my daughter and the club, but most especially Alex. Petal was just a baby when it happened. My parents live on the other side of the country. They wanted us to move in with them, but I wasn’t ready. This was my home and leaving felt like a betrayal to Gibbs and his club. At least here, I wasn’t alone in my pain. We were all hurting. At first, the guys were around all the time. The Ol’ ladies, too, but they had kids of their own to take care of.” She smiled wistfully. “It was sweet. They used to make up reasons to stop by. As time went on, the visits became less and less, but not for Alex. He made a point of stopping by at least once a day. I got used to it, and then I started expecting it.”
LuLu took a not-so-wild guess and asked, “When did you realize you were in love with him?”
“I’m not. At least, I’m trying not to be anymore, but to answer your question, it happened a little over a year ago. He came over one night with pizza and beer. I drank too much and fell asleep on him while we were watching a movie. Like a gentleman, he carried me to my bedroom, and like a hussy, I tried to jump him. He shot me down, and we didn’t talk for a few weeks because of it. It felt like Gibbs’s death all over again, except this time I was mourning Alex. I decided right then and there that I couldn’t go through that again. Alex saw me as a friend. To him, I would always be Gibby’s wife and Petal’s mother, and I was going to have to learn to be okay with that.”
LuLu’s heart squeezed. Sage and Ax were perfect for each other. Ax was just too stubborn to see it. “I hear a but in that sentence.”
Sage dropped onto the dining room chair with a sigh. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this, and you have to promise not to say a word about it to anyone.” LuLu promised not to tell. “Night before last, at the bonfire, Alex wanted me to check out a new lick he’d learned on the guitar. We were about to head back downstairs when out of the blue, he kissed me. The next thing I knew, we were ripping each other’s clothes off.” She leaned forward, and in a low voice, said, “Girl, we were naked in his bed and second’s away from having sex, but he decided he couldn’t go through with it.” She snapped her fingers. “It happened just like that. He got up, got dressed, said he couldn’t do it to Gibby, and walked out. As you can imagine, I freaked.”
LuLu wanted to kick Ax’s ass. “God, honey, I’m so sorry. He cares for you. I can see it every time he looks at you.”
She shook her head. “I can’t keep pining for a man who wants me, but won’t let himself have me. I’m thirty-three years old, and my vagina is withering away. Gibbs has been gone for five years, now, and I want a life. I want more children. I wanted that with Alex, but after the other night, I can see it’s never going to happen, so I’ve made a decision. Petal and I are moving to Mexico with Carlos.”
LuLu’s jaw nearly hit the floor as she scrambled for what to say. “Whoa, are you sure? Do you even know this guy? I’m not saying you shouldn’t, I’m just wondering if it’s a knee-jerk reaction to what happened with Ax.”
Sage rolled her eyes. “Of course it is, but unlike Alex, Carlos wants me. You should see the things he does for me, and he absolutely adores Petal. Colima is a beautiful, and Carlos has a house right on the beach.”
LuLu thought Sage was rushing things, but it was Sage’s decision, not hers. She wanted to talk more about it, but Aimee walked in and announced that Mary hadn’t shown and their help was needed in the kitchen.
“You go. I’ll finish up in here,” Sage told her.
“We’ll talk about this later,” LuLu said. At Sage’s nod, she turned her attention to Aimee. “Did you check the attic rooms? I’m pretty sure that’s where they’ve been staying.”
“I’ve checked everywhere, and I’ve called her a few times. She was here when I went to bed last night.”
She was just about to ask if Aimee had talked to Loco when he strolled past the kitchen doorway. She wasn’t quite sure why he was called Loco. Maybe one day she would work up the courage to ask. Reyn and Lucy thought he was tall, dark, and handsome. She considered him more tall, dark, and brooding.
“Where’s Mary? Aimee asked. “She’s supposed to be on kitchen duty.”
“I was just coming to tell you. She’s sick,” Loco responded.
“Is she upstairs? Does she need anything?” LuLu could tell by her reaction that the two women were close.
He tried to smile, but it looked like more of a grimace. “I took her home late last night.”
Aimee frowned. “What do you mean you took her home? Aren’t we still on lockdown?”
“Relax, woman. She thought it was a stomach bug and didn’t want to give it to anyone. She was up all night, and when I left this morning, she was dead to the world. The alarm’s on, and I’m regularly checking the cameras.”
LuLu left the two of them talking in order to start on the guacamole. After that, she made rounds through the house to make sure everything was in place and ready to go. She was in the game room talking to Cupcake, Ego, and Art about which drinks she wanted served, when Arson popped in and asked if he could speak to her. Luckily, Lucy and Reyn were with her or she might have said no. Arson was a nice enough guy, but something about him made her nervous.
“Spill it, Arse,” Reyn commanded. Arse? LuLu thought, trying not to laugh.
“Okay, well, I’ve kind of got a new brewery business going. Don’t get excited yet, it’s still in the beginning stages, but I was thinking about bringing some of my new brew tonight for everyone to taste. I talked to Steele, but he told me to talk to you since you’re putting on the party. It’s similar to Born Yesterday, so I know you’re going to like it. I’m calling it Arson’s “Older than the Younger” but Younger than the Elder, which is kind of a play on two IPA’s by Russian River Brewing.
After LuLu told him he could bring it, he hugged her so tight that she was pretty sure her ribs were bruised.
_______________
When Steele agreed to the party, he thought burgers and beer, not barbeque and bourbon. His woman had gone all out, and he had to admit he was enjoying it.
“Oh, God, here he comes again,” Luciana whispered against his side. Steele tagged Arson coming their way and tried not to laugh.
“Want me to take the hit for you?”
“Would you, please. I’m warning you, though, it smells like stinky cheese and tastes like blech.”
He was chuckling at her description when Arson approached. “I got you a full cup this time. I need to tweak the terpenes a little, but overall, I think it’s a hit.”
Intercepting the cup, Steele said, “Luciana has been over here raving about how good it is.” She elbowed him in the ribs, and he muttered, “Be nice, or I’ll make you drink it.” The smell hit him first, and it wasn’t no stinky cheese. Try stinky pussy. Thinking the taste had to be better, he took a drink and nearly gagged. It took everything in him to swallow and not spit the shit out.
“Good?” Arson asked.
Steele started to tell him, “Fuck no,” but Luciana’s jab to his ribs and death glare made him change his tune to “Mmmhmmm.”
Arson’s hands shot into the air, and he did some weird dance thing while singing a song Steele had never heard of. “I knew it was going to be a hit. You keep that one. I’ll go get one for you,” he told LuLu and disappeared into the crowd.
Steele gave Luciana a look. “Christ, woman, why didn’t you let me say something
?”
“Because it would hurt his feelings,” she snapped back at him.
“Who gives a fuck? I wouldn’t give this shit to my worst enemy. Scratch that. That’s exactly who I would give it to, if I wanted to kill him.”
Ax stepped up to congratulate Luciana on a great party, and Steele handed him the cup of beer.
“What’s wrong, old man, you can’t hang with the young dogs?” Ax teased.
“Hey, Ax, your song is up!” Treena shouted.
“Watch how it’s done, my man,” Ax said with a wink.
“That was mean,” Luciana murmured as they watched him saunter toward the stage. Steele just smiled and thought, this is going to be great.
They waited halfway through a piss poor rendition of “Wagon Wheel” before Ax took a drink. From what Steele could tell, it wasn’t a small sip, either. His eyes bulged, his face twisted, and his body spasmed as beer shot from his mouth and nose. The crowd in front of him let out a collective shriek as they were sprayed by stinky pussy beer.
It wasn’t until he heard Luciana’s quiet snort that Steele started laughing.
“Here you go,” Arson announced, handing Luciana the cup of beer. He then exclaimed, “Oh, I need to get one for Reyn!” and was off again.
“Who’s next?” Luciana asked.
Her golden eyes met his gray ones, and at the same time they both said, “Ink,” then busted into laughter.
Steele had just grabbed Luciana a glass of wine and a beer for himself when he saw Buck enter the room from the other side. The look on his face made the hairs on the back of Steele’s neck rise. Something’s wrong.
“Be back in a minute,” he told Luciana.
He found Buck pacing the hallway outside his office. “What is it?” he asked.
“You’re not going to fucking believe it,” Buck growled.
Steele could see that he was barely keeping his fury in check. “What?” he snapped when Buck didn’t say more.
“Downstairs,” Buck finally managed to say.
Fuck! Steele thought, his pulse pounding like crazy as he hauled ass down the stairs. He found Grover sitting in his usual spot. He was about to ask, but then he saw it. On the monitor in front of Grover was the pixelated picture. Only, it was no longer pixelated. It also wasn’t Dario or Gamble, but a clear-as-day shot of Jake Espinoza.
Chapter Twenty-Three
STEELE DRAGGED IN a harsh breath and tried to make sense of what he was looking at. His eyes flicked to Grover, then back to the computer screen, then to Grover again. “Please tell me this is some kind of twisted joke.”
“I wish I could,” Grover quietly responded.
“It all makes sense now,” Buck said from the doorway. “Think about it. Jake knew Dario. He’s been acting cagey as hell ever since LuLu arrived. He freaked out when you said you were going to ask your brother for help, then tried to take her out the same night. The fucker’s got to be our fourth guy. He knew it was only a matter of time before he got made, and it has him running scared.”
Steele heard what Buck was saying but was having a hard time seeing it. Jake was a narcissistic prick. They’d butted heads through the years, mostly because he was a lazy fucker and a horrible VP, but a traitor to the club? It didn’t add up.
“I don’t see it, man.”
“Then how do you explain that?” Buck asked, pointing to the picture. “I was standing there when he said he got high and passed out. He lied, and the proof is sitting right in front of our fucking faces.”
Grover’s fist hit the table with a loud thud, and Steele bit down on his reply. “I’m just as shocked as you are about this. Jake’s been a good friend to me, but whatever we do or don’t want to believe, this is proof that he was in that field the night Hannah was killed.” He dragged his finger to the bottom of the screen. “Look at the time stamp. You were both there. Now, ask yourselves, does the time match up? If so, then whether you like it or not, you’ve got your answer.”
As much as Steele wanted not to believe that Jake would betray them, Grover was right. The time stamp on the bottom of the screen matched. Buck was also right. Jake was their connection to Dario. He’d been given every opportunity to play them.
Staring at Jake’s picture on the computer screen, he asked, “How did we not see it?”
“Because we didn’t want to, so what now?” Buck asked.
Anger burning deep in his gut, Steele pushed back from his chair and stood. “We find the fucking traitor.”
“Be smart and keep your cool!” Grover called out as they headed for the door.
Steele paused at the top of the stairs to give orders. “You take the game room and living room, while I hit the kitchen and dining room. Grover is right. We need to play it cool or else someone might get hurt. If you find Jake, don’t let him know that we’re onto him. Just stay close and wait for me. I’ll do the same.”
Buck took off for the game room, while Steele circled the front of the house via the hallway outside their two offices. Of course, Jake wasn’t in his. That would have been too damn easy. On the way to the kitchen, he passed by Loco and Taz heading outside for a smoke and told them to hold up for a moment. After checking the kitchen, where he spotted Luciana and Reyn, and the dining room, which was empty, he circled back to the front entry to find Buck, Loco, and Taz waiting for him.
“Nothing?” he asked Buck.
“Nothing,” Buck confirmed.
He turned to Loco and Taz. “Have either of you seen Jake?”
“Not since earlier,” Taz replied.
Loco asked, “Have you checked his room?”
Steele caught Buck’s eye, and they both took off up the stairs with Loco and Taz following closely behind.
As they reached Jake’s door, Steele pulled his gun.
When Buck followed suit, Taz exclaimed, “What the fuck?”
“We’ll explain later. Let me do the talking.” At Loco’s questioning look, Steele said, “Cover us,” then pounded his fist on Jake’s door. When they got no reply, he knocked again. When there still was no answer, he tried the knob. “It’s unlocked,” he mouthed as he pushed open the door and stepped inside. “Jake, you in here?” he called out. No reply. He flipped on the light.
“Jesus, this place is a pit,” Buck muttered. He wasn’t lying, Jake’s shit was everywhere.
“Are you going to tell us what this is all about?” Loco asked.
Buck moved to the closet at the same time Steele went for the bathroom.
“Clear,” Buck said.
Steele spotted several droplets of blood on the bathroom floor, and called, “In here!” He pushed back the shower curtain, and the air gushed from his lungs.
Buck stepped up next to him and gave a long, drawn-out, “Fuuuck.” Fuck was putting it mildly.
Steele and Buck moved over to let Taz and Loco in. No one said a word as they all four stared down at Jake’s body.
“What the fuck, man?” Taz repeated again.
While Buck gave them a brief download, Steele tried to make sense of it all. Jake couldn’t be their fourth guy because he was lying in the bottom of his bathtub with his throat slit from ear to ear. This meant there was someone else. With that thought, his eyes snapped to Loco. “Get Ax and tell him to get on Luciana now. She does not leave his sight.”
“You got it,” Loco replied.
“Taz, get Doc, but be cool about it. Don’t let anyone know anything is going on. Just get him here now.”
“On it,” Taz said, and they both took off.
Steele followed Buck from the bathroom. “We need to get Grover on the cameras.”
“What are you thinking?” Buck asked.
“That we missed something, I don’t fucking know.”
They waited for Taz to return with Doc. When Steele was sure they had it under control, he headed back downstairs with Buck. In the hallway outside his office, he ran into Ax and Sage.
“Where’s Luciana?”
Ax looked confused. “I
thought she was with you.”
“Go ahead,” he told Buck, then turning back to Ax, he asked, “Does it look like she’s with me? I sent Loco down less than ten minutes ago to find you.”
“I haven’t seen Loco since dinner,” Ax argued.
“Fucking hell, just find her now, and don’t leave her side unless you clear it through me.”
“Why, what’s up?”
“I’ll explain later. Find Luciana. She was in the kitchen last I checked.”
“I’ll help,” Sage offered, and they both took off for the kitchen.
Steele arrived downstairs to find Buck and Grover pouring over video footage.
Grover, of course, was bitching about it taking time, and that’s when Steele lost his cool. “Jake’s upstairs in his bathtub with his throat slit. We don’t have fucking time.”
Grover’s eyes snapped to Steele, his jaw dropping in surprise. “What did you just say?”
Steele started to reply when they heard the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs.
Ax suddenly appeared in the doorway with a crazed look in his eyes. “LuLu’s gone.”
Steele started to panic, but then considered who he was talking to, and asked, “Did you check upstairs?” Ax shook his head. “How ‘bout this, I’ll check our bedroom, and you check upstairs.”
“Reyn’s probably sneaking a smoke and talked LuLu into going with her. I’ll check the front porch,” Buck offered.
“Go, I’ll let you know if I find anything here,” Grover told them.
Luciana wasn’t in their room. She also wasn’t on the porch or upstairs. She wasn’t anywhere. When Steele discovered this, he didn’t just lose his cool, he lost his fucking mind.
Chapter Twenty-Four
LULU STEPPED FROM the kitchen bathroom to find Loco waiting outside the door. She took one look at his face and knew something was wrong.
“What’s happened?” she asked.
“I don’t want you to be alarmed, but something’s up, and I need to get you safe. Steele told me to get Ax on you, but he’s gone off somewhere with Sage, so I’m stepping in, if that’s cool with you.”
