Trevor’s expression was stoic. “No. We’re all good.”
“Even with Mr. Kramer harassing your girlfriend?” asked Detective Williams.
He grunted. “Breaker deserved an ass kicking for that. But murder? That’s extreme, even for us.”
“Well, someone sure felt he deserved it,” she replied, studying his face closely.
“I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it,” said Trevor. “He was the scum of the earth. A guy who enjoyed raping women. Now, some of those women he assaulted can sleep better at night.”
“That was the monster who was following you today, Adriana?” asked Vanda, her eyes wide. “A convicted rapist?”
I nodded.
Her eyes were stormy as she turned to the detectives. “When you actually do find out who killed him, call me. I want to thank him personally.”
“For murder?” asked Detective Williams.
“For protecting my daughter and every other girl who caught his eye,” she replied.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
When the two detectives left, Vanda turned to me. “This is your fault,” she said, angrily. “If it wasn’t for you, none of this would have happened.”
Before I could respond, Adriana got between us. “Mom! It’s not his fault. He had nothing to do with this.”
“They’re both in gangs,” she said, waving her hand at my cut. “Obviously, they hung around each other. Didn’t I tell you if you hung around biker scum that you’re just looking for trouble?”
“Wait a second,” I said, now glaring back at her. “You have no right to judge me or any of my crew for that matter, and I think you owe me an apology.”
She snorted. “An apology? Right. What are you even doing in my house?” she said and then looked at Adriana. “Adriana, what’s he doing here? Didn’t we talk about this earlier? You promised you weren’t going to see him again.”
Clenching my jaw, I found myself hoping for the first time ever that a woman I was interested would grow a set of balls.
“I never said that,” she replied. “And he had nothing to do with this. I met him through Krystal…”
“Who’s been kidnapped, God forbid,” she said, making the sign of the cross. “How does Krystal even know any of these people?”
“She’s seeing Tank,” replied Adriana. “Who is in their club. The Gold Vipers.”
Her lips tightened. “And you wonder why this happened? Didn’t I tell you how dangerous these people were?”
“Ma’am, I wouldn’t let anything happen to your daughter. You have my word,” I tried again, hoping she’d give me a break for Adriana’s sake. I could tell how much she loved her mother and I respected that. I didn’t like the shit spewing out of her mouth, but I wasn’t about to make a scene.
Her eyes burned into mine. “I don’t care about your word. It’s the word of the people you hang out with that I have a problem with.”
I clenched my jaw. “My brothers respect women. Most of them.”
“And was this guy, Breaker, one of your brothers?”
“Fuck no. He wasn’t part of our crew.”
“Charming vocabulary you have,” she scoffed.
“I never claimed to be a saint, Mrs. Nikolas.”
“Believe me, no one would never mistake you for one,” she answered.
I grunted.
“Look, we don’t have time to argue about this right now, Mom. We need to get down to the precinct.”
“I’m coming with you,” she replied, picking up her purse.
Adriana raised her hand in the air. “No, actually, I prefer that you stayed home.”
Vanda’s face fell. “Why?”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “Because I don’t need to listen to you rail me about Trevor on the ride out there.”
Vanda looked at me, her eyes full of venom. She turned back to Adriana and raised her chin. “Fine. I will drive separately.”
“You don’t need to come,” said Adriana.
“Of course I do. Someone needs to be there for support,” said Vanda.
“That someone is already going. Me,” I replied.
“If you want to look out for my daughter, you’ll stay out of her life,” she said firmly.
“Mom!”
“I’m sorry, Adriana, but you know how I feel about bikers. I’m not going to pretend I’m happy to find the both of you together in my house.”
“I thought this was my house, too,” said Adriana, now looking almost as angry as me.
“Of course it is. But, you are my daughter and I am just trying to protect you.”
I sighed. “I’m going upstairs to get my jacket,” I said, heading for the steps.
“What is his jacket doing in your bedroom?” said Vanda shrilly.
Shaking my head, I went into her bedroom and grabbed my jacket. As I was turning around, Adriana stepped into the room.
“I’m sorry about my mother,” she said, walking over to the mirror. She ran her fingers through her hair. “She can be a real pain in the ass.”
I walked up behind her. “Yeah, well she’s not afraid to speak her mind. I’ll give that to her.”
“She doesn’t know you, though. So, don’t let it get to you.”
I grabbed her around the waist and smiled at her in the mirror. “The only thing that gets to me, Kitten, is you.”
She smiled.
I kissed the side of her head. “What a nightmare, huh?” I whispered.
Adriana nodded.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, I let her go.
“I wish I would have waited for her to pull out of the parking lot,” she said, looking teary-eyed again. “I feel like it’s my fault.”
“It’s definitely not your fault, babe. Don’t even go there.” I reached inside my jacket for my phone. “And, don’t worry, I’m sure Slammer and Tank will get her back.”
She wiped a tear from under her lash. “What do you think happened?”
I couldn’t tell her about The Judge. She wouldn’t understand. But, I wasn’t going to lie to her either. “Personally? I think it was retaliation. I think the Devil’s Rangers believe we had something to do with Breaker’s murder and took her.”
“Did you?” she whispered.
I looked her in the eye. “I can honestly say that none of us killed him.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Okay.”
“Are you two coming?” asked Vanda, standing in the doorway. She was glaring at me again.
“Yes,” said Adriana, grabbing a pair of socks from her dresser.
I looked down and saw Adriana’s dress still lying on the floor next to her bra. When I raised my eyes, I saw that Vanda had noticed it too, and was not happy.
I couldn’t help but to dig into her. “Looks like a bomb went off in here,” I said, grinning.
Vanda’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll wait for you outside,” she said, walking away from the bedroom.
I walked over to the doorway and leaned out. “Since you’re not riding with Adriana, you can certainly ride with me.” I smiled evilly. I just couldn’t help myself. “I don’t bite.”
She grunted. “Hah. I’d rather walk.”
Man, she was brutal. “You sure? Riding on the back of a Harley might just put a smile on your face.”
“Nothing you could do for me would ever put a smile on my face,” she answered, heading down the stairs. “Unless it has to do with leaving my daughter alone.”
I sighed.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
When we reached the station, Trevor and I were ushered into two separate rooms. I reiterated everything that had happened the past two days, only leaving out Jason and the fact that he’d almost date-raped me. They recorded my statements with my mother sitting next to me, holding my hand. When she heard how I’d met Breaker in Griffin’s, she made the sign of the cross and scolded me in front of the detectives. It was embarrassing.
“I didn’t want to go inside there either,” I told her. “But, Krystal i
nsisted.”
“Why did she insist?” asked Detective Stone.
“Because it was her birthday and she needed to talk to Tank.”
They began asking me questions about Krystal and Tank’s relationship.
“I don’t know too much about it,” I said. “I mean, they’ve been dating but she mentioned something tonight about breaking up with Tank.”
Stone suddenly perked up. “She did? What was her reasoning?”
“To be honest, I think she was getting bored. Krystal doesn’t like to stick with one guy too long. Plus, he’s kind of bossy. At least, that’s what she said. I don’t see him enough to know for certain.”
“You don’t think she might have tried to break it off tonight and he became angry?” he asked.
“No. I mean, I guess I don’t know. Um, didn’t you mention that the person who called it in said she was taken by two men wearing masks?”
He nodded. “Yes, she did. But, we need to check every angle. In case Tank is somehow involved.”
“To be honest, I can’t imagine that he is,” I replied. I could tell from the look in Tank’s eyes that he really cared for her.
“You just said you didn’t know him very well,” reminded Stone.
“I know, but…”
“He hangs out with a rough crowd,” said Stone. “They certainly aren’t choir boys.”
“Indeed,” said my mother, sniffing. “Those bikers are all nothing but thugs.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, for the love of God, Mom. You don’t know them so give it a rest.”
“I don’t have to know them. And neither do you.”
Arguing with her was pointless. She was so stubborn. Sighing, I turned back to Stone. “I just can’t see Tank doing something like that. She said that most of the time he was like a big teddy bear toward her.” I left out the part of how she was afraid to break it off with him. I just didn’t believe Tank was the kind of guy who’d kidnap or hurt her.
“Yet, she wants to break up with him?” he said.
“Krystal gets bored. That’s the way she is and always has been. In high school, she used to have a new boyfriend every month. So, wanting to break up with him isn’t a surprise. “
He began asking me about the Gold Vipers.
“Seriously, I don’t know very much about them,” I said. “I just met Trevor yesterday, through Tank. All I know is that they’re a club and it’s like one big family.”
“What’s your relationship with Trevor?” asked Stone.
My mother’s hand tightened on mine.
“We just met. I don’t know, yet.”
“Can I give you some advice?” he said, staring at me hard.
I shrugged.
“Stay away from him and the rest of his gang. We’ve got records on almost everyone associated with the Gold Vipers. Everything from narcotics to arson to theft. You don’t want to be involved with people like that. They’ll bring you down with them if you’re not careful.”
“What about Trevor?” asked my mother, leaning forward. “Does he have a record?”
“No, surprisingly, he doesn’t. That just probably means he’s good at keeping a low profile. He knows how to play that game and not get caught.”
“Or, he’s not playing any game and he’s just a decent human being,” I countered, getting angry.
Stone smirked. “He comes from trash. His father’s in prison for drugs and his mother’s been in and out of jail most of her life. He’s in a gang of hoodlums, which is right, by the way, Ms. Nikolas,” he said, nodding toward my mother. “They are really nothing but a bunch of thugs.”
“See,” she said, waving her finger at me. “I told you.”
I sighed. “Just because they are doesn’t mean Trevor is.”
“Defend him all you want, but ask yourself this – why would he want to be associated with people who continually break the law if he’s such a decent guy?” asked Stone.
“I don’t know, maybe because he has nobody else?” I mumbled, rubbing my forehead. “You know, I thought we were here to talk about finding Krystal and Breaker?”
“We are,” he said, shuffling papers. “Which reminds me –”
Another officer walked through the doorway and motioned for Stone. “We have some information.”
“Oh. Good.” He smiled at us and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
“You heard what that man said about this gang,” said Vanda, after he left. “They are nothing but trouble.”
“I know what he said, but Trevor is a good guy.”
“How do you know?” she said angrily. “You keep defending someone you don’t know, Adriana.”
“Because sometimes, you just do,” I replied angrily.
“You’ve only known him for two days.”
“Yeah, so? It’s not like we’re getting married.”
“You may as well after what went on in your bedroom,” she mumbled, looking at me out of the corner of her eye.
I sighed. “So what? I’m twenty-one years old. I’m not a child.”
“I know, but –”
“Mom, you have to learn to trust me,” I said, grabbing her hand. “I know Trevor is part of this gang, but he’s much more than that. I can feel it. I can also feel that he would never do anything to hurt me.”
“You’ve just met. How do you really know?” she asked, looking weary.
“I don’t know. It’s something in my gut, I guess.”
She sighed. “You’re all I have, Adriana. If anything happened to you, I… I don’t know what I’d do.”
I squeezed her hand. “I know, Mom. But, you don’t have to worry about me.”
“I will always worry about you,” she replied, blinking back tears.
“I know, but learn to trust me. Okay?”
She let out ragged sigh. “I do trust you. It’s him I don’t trust.”
“Try? For me?”
“I will try, but if he hurts you, so help me…”
The door opened up and Stone walked in. The look on his face was grave.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
He sat down across from me. “I have some troubling news.”
My heart stopped. “What is it?”
Stone put his hand over mine. “We found your friend, Krystal. She’s been murdered.”
“What?!” I shrieked, pulling my hand away. I covered my mouth. “She’s been murdered?” I began to cry. “No! This has to be a mistake!”
“Krystal’s mother has already confirmed that it’s her,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
“Where did they find her?” asked my mother, who had her arm around me as I sobbed.
“She was found in the parking lot of Griffin’s. She was… rolled up in a blanket.”
“Oh, my God,” I cried, picturing it. “Those bastards!”
“It gets worse. From what it sounds like, whoever left her there was sending a message. In fact,” he sighed, “I probably shouldn’t even tell you this, but I want you to know what kind of people we are dealing with.”
“Tell me what?” I said hoarsely, waiting for him to continue.
“Someone carved the words ‘Revenge Is Sweet’ on her stomach,” he said, his eyes hardening.
“What does that mean?” asked my mother.
“I believe this was payback for Breaker’s murder. Look,” he said, pinning me with his eyes. “This could have just as easily been you. Hell, maybe it was supposed to be, since Breaker was obviously obsessed with you.”
“What?” cried my mother. “You think they were trying to target Adriana and got Krystal, instead?”
“It’s possible. There’s obviously a war going on between these two gangs and an innocent girl was murdered.”
“That’s it!” cried Vanda. “You are never seeing that man again. Krystal is dead and I’m not losing you, Adriana. Promise me you won’t see Trevor again. Promise me!”
Stone handed me a box of tissues. “I’d have to agree with your mother. Es
pecially now that there’s a murder investigation going on. You need to stay as far away from this character as you can.”
The pain in my heart seemed unbearable as I pictured Krystal’s beautiful, smiling face. We’d been best friends for so many years. Now she was gone, and for what? Revenge? Because of me?
“Fine… I promise,” I mumbled, wiping my tears. “I won’t go near any of them.”
“You’re making a wise choice,” said Stone. “You know that, don’t you?”
The only thing I did know was that my best friend was dead… and nothing else mattered.
Chapter Thirty
Krystal’s funeral was two weeks later, after the autopsy. It was revealed that she’d been raped and then strangled. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough evidence to arrest anyone, so the investigation was still open.
Trevor and Tank both attended the funeral, even though Krystal’s mother had tried banning anyone associated with the Gold Vipers. She blamed them directly for her daughter’s murder. When the time came, however, she allowed them to attend, too grief-stricken to care about anything else other than the fact that she was burying her daughter.
When it was time for me to speak during the eulogy, my eyes met Trevor’s for a brief second. He nodded, but I looked away, my heart heavy for everything I’d lost in the last two weeks.
“I met Krystal in the sixth grade,” I said, reading from the piece of paper in front of me. I knew the words by heart, but I couldn’t look at anyone. I knew I’d start to cry. “I was new in school and very nervous. After the teacher introduced me in class, I went to go take a seat when a boy stuck out his foot. I tripped, landing on my face, dropping my books and everything else. Of course, everyone laughed. Well, everyone but the teacher and Krystal, I guess.” I smiled through my tears and went on. “She beat him up after school that day. Actually punched out one of his teeth, because of the way he’d tried to humiliate me. The funny thing was, they were going steady.”
Some people chuckled.
“That was Krystal, though. She had a heart and she’d stick up for you, no matter what.” I sniffled. “If you were her friend, you’d be one for life. If you were a guy in her life, well, you didn’t want to piss her off or you might have ended up with dentures.”
Taming The Biker (MC Biker / Bad Boy Romance) Page 29
