by Jessie Cooke
He leaned over the table in between the detectives and said, “How many times? I’ll tell you how many times, you worthless thug...!”
“Sir, this isn’t a good idea,” Detective Miller said.
“I don’t give a fuck! My baby girl is dead, and my other daughter saw you with her. She said you had your filthy biker hands all over her. I know you did this,” he said. He was yelling, but his voice cracked on that. His hands were clenched on the table but suddenly a visible rage crossed his face and he dove for Wheelie. Wheelie scrambled back, knocking the chair over and almost getting to his feet before the DA grabbed him by the front of his shirt. The two detectives were on their feet and trying to pull Kent off Wheelie.
“Sir, you need to stop this, now!”
He wasn’t letting go, and Wheelie was bracing himself for the punch the other man was about to throw when the door behind him opened. “What the hell is going on in here?” The sound of Angel’s voice surprised him. Dax didn’t usually let her represent the guys. She consulted a lot and so did Harley, but when it came to the actual sleazy jobs like getting up and lying in court, he kept his lady out of it. The sound of her voice seemed to penetrate the anger the DA was feeling, however, and his grip loosened immediately. Wheelie pulled back and stumbled over the chair, almost falling into Angel, who put her hand out to stop him from falling. “Mr. Kent, I’m very sorry about your daughter, but your loss does not give you the right to put your hands on my client.”
He adjusted his tie. His face was bright red, and his breaths were coming in heavy gulps. His green eyes were trained on Wheelie’s face and he looked like he was trying to start him on fire. It took him several long seconds to pull himself together enough to turn and look at Angel. “Cecelia Brady...or I guess it’s Marshall now, isn’t it? Are you married to that thug out there, or just shacking up?”
“That would be none of your business. You can call me Counselor Marshall and you can apologize to my client.”
Kent smiled and said, “Your client can go fuck himself and so can you.”
Angel slammed her briefcase down on the table and said, “I’m filing a motion to get you removed from this case if you don’t recuse yourself right now.”
“Not going to happen. I’m the DA of this county.”
“And you’re too close to this case, so one of your assistants can handle this.” Angel looked at the detectives and said, “I’m taking my client home. If you want to speak to him from here on out, you go through me.” She looked at Wheelie then and said, “Come on.” Happily, Wheelie followed her out of the small room. He didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until they got outside.
“Fuck,” he said, sucking in the fresh, cold air. “That was intense. Thanks. That was great timing.”
“You can thank Dax for the timing. Kent just left the ranch. Darwin is on his way to town, but not here yet. I just happened to be across the street at the courthouse. Dax had a feeling the interview was going to go south as soon as he got here. Kent’s been tearing up the ranch all morning, looking for anything. When his daughter called and told him she found you, he sent the police. But obviously, he didn’t trust them to do this without him. He just fucked up royally, however.”
Wes ran a hand through his long hair before using both hands to pull it back at the nape of his neck. “Well, thank you. I can’t say I blame him for being upset, though. Did he see her?”
She looked sad as she nodded. “Dax said he flipped out. It’s hard not to feel sorry for him. I can’t even imagine losing a child like that. But it’s also hard to like the guy, even before this happened. I’ve known him for years and he’s always been a dick. If this murder happened anywhere but the ranch I might be inclined to think it was some kind of retaliation by someone that he screwed over.”
Wheelie walked Angel to her car. She pulled open the door and said, “Dax said to tell you to head back to the ranch.”
“Okay. Do you know if they found Buzz?”
She shook her head. “Not yet—and just a little warning, my old man is in one of the worst moods I’ve ever seen him in, and that’s saying a lot.”
“I’m sorry.”
Angel smiled at him, softly. “I don’t know you well, Wheelie, but Dax is sure you didn’t do this, and I trust his instincts completely. I’m sorry that you seem to be in the middle of it. I hope we can figure this all out, before....” She sighed and stopped there. “I should get going; I have to meet with a client. Go straight to the ranch.”
He nodded and thanked her again. As he got on his bike he heard her finish what she hadn’t said… “before Kent destroys us all.” If they didn’t find out who killed Pamela, and Bart Kent didn’t get the justice he was looking for, it would likely mean the downfall of the club. Wheelie thought about Dax’s order to stay away from Dorchester. That order was about something else entirely...but if Wes had just followed it, he wouldn’t be sitting outside of the police station now. He was grateful that Dax was helping him at all.
He started the bike and then secured his hair at the base of his neck with an elastic band. He was pulling out of the parking lot when he heard someone saying “Hey” very loudly. He looked around and saw Sabrina Kent standing about six feet away. As she approached him, he turned off the bike. He wondered if she was back to whale on him some more. “Did you talk to the detectives?”
“Yes, for a few minutes before your father came in and assaulted me.”
He wasn’t sure what he expected. Maybe he thought she’d be upset over her father’s behavior. He was surprised when she said, “Good for him.”
Wheelie chuckled slightly. “Not so good,” he said. “My attorney walked in when he was about to sock me.”
She shook her head. “I just mean good for him, showing some emotion. Feelings are hard for my dad. But I guess he’s always been different where Pam was concerned. This is going to devastate him when it really sinks in, and if he gets it in his head that you did this, he will make your life a living hell.” She was saying the words you might expect a daughter to say about her father and his pain, but they were flat and she was as emotionless as she was accusing her father of being.
“I think he already had that in his head,” Wheelie said.
“Where is Buzz?”
Her abrupt change of topic threw Wheelie for a second. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since last night.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you lying?”
“No, Sabrina, I’m not lying. I don’t know where he is. Did you ask your friend? They seemed pretty tight last night at the party.”
“Yeah,” she said, looking thoughtful. “How well do you know him?”
Wheelie shrugged. “I don’t know—well enough, I guess.”
“Well enough to know if he’s a killer?”
“Yeah, that well. Buzz didn’t kill your sister.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because he wasn’t even there, on the ranch.”
“You know this because you were there?”
Shit. “No. I know because...Why the fuck am I explaining myself? I just know. He wasn’t there and neither was I.”
“Someone on that ranch killed my sister. She didn’t fuck herself and slash her own throat.” Wheelie was slightly taken aback by the crude statement coming out of such a pretty mouth. But sadly, she was right. Someone on the ranch did kill that girl and it wasn’t him. He didn’t believe it was Buzz either...but where the fuck is he?
“I’m sure the police will figure it out.”
“Bullshit. You and I both know that Dax Marshall will block this investigation at every turn. He is legendary for protecting his crew.”
“He’d never protect someone that would do...what was done to Pamela. Trust me, I know this.”
“Get me on the ranch.”
“Excuse me?”
“I need to see where she was killed. My father wouldn’t let me go today. Buzz has taken Diane out there lots of times. Tell them I’m just
some slut you picked up in a bar....”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because the sooner we find the guy that really killed my sister, the sooner you’re off the hook.”
“Does this mean you believe I didn’t have anything to do with her death?”
“No. I haven’t ruled you out yet. But, besides Buzz, you’re the only one I know with access to that compound and those people. Do you have siblings?”
Wes thought about Christopher and said, “One. A brother.”
“Then you should know how I feel. What if your brother was murdered, viciously? Wouldn’t you turn over every rock until you found the scumbag that killed him?”
Would I? Maybe. He loved his brother, but Christopher made it almost impossible to like him. “I can’t take you to the ranch. By now they’re on high alert if not locked down. You look just like your father. I’d get my ass kicked for taking you out there. Dax will figure this out.”
“Blind faith...nice,” she said, sarcastically. “I want to believe you didn’t kill my sister.”
“Why?”
“Why? Do you want me to believe you killed her?”
“Of course not. But, you don’t know me. Why would you not want to believe it was me? I’d be the easy choice.”
“Right. Too easy. I’m usually a pretty good judge of people and I just don’t see you as a killer...especially after you let me beat the shit out of you earlier.” There was something else in her eyes, but she didn’t seem to want to share it with him.
He rolled his eyes and said, “You hardly ‘beat the shit’ out of me.”
“Whatever, tough guy. My point is, I doubt you would have let me whale on you if you were a killer.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Is that an apology?”
“No. I’m not apologizing. You might not have killed her, but I still don’t believe you didn’t take her there.”
Wheelie sighed. “I have to get going. What is it you want from me?”
“Get me on the ranch.”
“I told you, that’s not an option.”
She folded her arms and set her pretty, full lips in a pout. It probably usually got her what she wanted, and Wheelie had to admit that he wanted to give her what she wanted. But in this case, it wasn’t even possible. “Fine. Help me find Buzz then.”
“He’s being looked for.”
“I can’t sit around and do nothing. I’ll look for him myself then. You’re no fucking help at all.” She turned around to storm off and Wheelie said:
“I don’t think Buzz had anything to do with killing your sister.”
She whirled around and before he could blink, she was in his face. “Do you know that he was arrested...twice...for sexual assault as a teenager?”
“What? Where did you hear that?”
“I didn’t hear it anywhere, I saw his record. I saw yours too. You were kind of a mess there for a while. You should probably stop drinking.”
“Hey!”
She rolled her eyes again. “Whatever. I don’t care if you get naked in public. What I care about is that there’s a murderer out there somewhere. A man that took my sister from me and my family. She was brilliant, did you know that? She was a little wild. We both were. It was a rebellious thing because our father is such a controlling asshole sometimes. But she had a good heart. She was going to be a lawyer and work for the Justice Project. She donated her time to women’s shelters. She took in every stray cat that came calling. She...” Wheelie put up his palms.
“Okay, okay. I give.”
Her face brightened up. “You’ll help me get on the ranch?”
“No.” She frowned at him. “But I’ll help you find Buzz.”
She shrugged. “Okay, better than nothing.”
“On one condition.”
“What’s that?” she asked, suspiciously.
“You don’t tell your father that we’re working together, and you don’t tell him where to find Buzz without my okay.”
“Are you kidding? Tell my father we’re working together? No fucking way. We’ll see about the other.”
“No. You agree to my conditions or find him on your own.”
She sighed. “Fine. I was hoping he’d be as easy to find as you. You were hella easy to find for a biker.”
“Since you had my name I guess it was easy enough to use some computer program to find me...but how is it that you have access to Buzz’s juvenile records? Wouldn’t those be sealed...if they existed?”
“They do exist...and they’re confidential, not sealed. They can only be sealed if you go to court and request for them to be sealed, which Buzz never did.”
“Okay...but they are ‘confidential,’ so how did you access them? Through your dad’s job?”
“No. Through my own.”
“And what is it that you do?”
She smiled. “I’m a juvenile probation officer. Oh, and I also have special training in gang activity.”
7
“God, baby, your muscles are so tight.” Dax was sitting on the couch while Angel stood behind him and massaged his shoulders. His body was always hard, but tonight his shoulders felt like they were made of unbreakable steel.
“Where is he, Angel? How the fuck did he just disappear?”
Angel let go of his shoulders and came around and sat next to him on the couch. She hated seeing him like this, taking on the responsibility for his crew like they were his children and suffering for every minute of it. Sometimes she wished that he’d give it up and they could all move away and start over. But she knew the club, the ranch, and all the people there were a part of him, and separating him from them would be like severing one of his limbs. She didn’t always understand it, but she’d signed on for it, knowing full well what she was getting into.
“You think he killed her?”
“Who else? We both know Wheelie doesn’t have that in him. Is the kid a fuck-up? Yeah, hell, yeah. But a murderer, no fucking way. Even that night when he pulled out his gun in that bar...it was just him being a drunk, stupid kid. I don’t think he would have ever taken it out if he’d stopped and thought it through. Whoever murdered that woman, they thought that shit through.” Dax had seen plenty of shit in his life, Angel knew. She also knew he’d caused more than some of it. But the abuse of a child or a woman was one thing he didn’t tolerate, and the sight of that mutilated woman had touched him deeply. “Wheelie was out of his mind this morning when we got up there to that room, and he still turned green this afternoon when he was talking about finding that girl. I wanted to see him again after he had all day to think about things, but his story didn’t change at all. He’s genuinely sick over this. That’s not the reaction of someone that could slit a woman’s throat. I could be wrong, but I don’t even see him capable of forcing a woman to do anything against her will. I believe him when he says she came back here willingly and the sex was consensual. I’ve seen him with a lot of women around here, but I’ve never heard of him disrespecting one. Buzz on the other hand...”
“Did you have concerns about Buzz before this? I mean, I know about the thing with Hurricane, but I thought that was an isolated incident and everyone kind of seemed to make a joke out of it when it was over...”
He had his hands fisted and pressed into his thighs. The veins in the side of his neck were bulging. It had been a long time since she’d seen him so tense. “No,” he said, cutting her off. “But that’s the problem, isn’t it? If he killed this girl, Angel, I have to take some of the responsibility for that. I mean, none of the club girls like him. He has to go off the ranch to find a woman that wants to fuck him. Why didn’t any of that add up...?”
“Oh, baby, you can’t do this to yourself. You have over fifty guys on your crew now. There are twenty-seven teenagers living in the teen center. You have me and Susie. You have twelve fulltime club girls that live on the ranch and another eighteen old ladies. How in the world would you ever know everything there is to know about every one of them? Besides, what
he did that night with Kat proved he was an asshole with little respect for women...and the fact that the girls don’t like him probably just speaks to that as well. But none of that would make anyone jump straight to murderer, so you can’t blame yourself for not being a mind reader. Besides, there’s still the possibility that he saw something and got scared and ran off...or even that something happened to him. We won’t know for sure until we find him.”
She was rubbing Dax’s arm as she talked, and she could feel his muscles relaxing slightly. He leaned back into the couch, put his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her back into him. She felt him bury his face in her hair and inhale. “What would I do without you, baby?”
“You’d probably be running this operation from prison.”
She felt his body shake with a laugh. “I can always count on you for the hard truth, for sure.”
“It’s part of my job description as your old lady,” she said, nuzzling into him. “The other part is to take care of your basic needs. Now that I force-fed you dinner, I’m going to insist you go to bed and at least get a few hours sleep. I know you’re taking off early to go look for Buzz, but it’s been a long-ass day and you need to get some sleep.”
“You know what I need more?” She felt his hand slide under her arm and run up her side. Laughing, she said:
“Aren’t you too tired for that?”
He chuckled. “Never. Making love to you gives me energy, baby. It’s where I get my strength.”
“Hmm, so sex with me gives you your strength? Where did you get it before we met?”
She felt his lips travel down the side of her face to her neck. He smiled into her flesh and she shivered as the vibrations of his voice traveled all the way to her core. “I ate right and exercised.”
Angel laughed. “Good answer, baby.”
She felt him smile again, right before he sucked a piece of sensitive flesh in between his lips. God, she loved when he did that. She tipped her head back and gave him access to the rest of her neck. Just the way he brushed his fingers against her skin when he pushed her hair back sent shivers down her spine. No matter how many times he touched her, it was always like the first. With his mouth still pressed into her he said, “You know what else gives me strength?”
