by Debra Kayn
If he'd learned one thing in his life, problems always came back for a visit.
Two hours later, he pulled off of the interstate into St. John's. He reached over and rubbed Lena's cheek.
"Wake up, babe. We're almost to your house." He flipped on the turn signal and came to a stop.
Checking for traffic, he turned right.
"Lena? Wake up." He glanced over at her.
She blinked awake, frowned, and quickly relaxed her face. "Sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"You needed the rest." He turned onto Lena's street. "It rained the whole way until we hit Portland."
"I bet you hate when it rains, because of riding the—"
"Fuck," he blurted, reaching for the latch of his seatbelt.
Lena startled, grabbing his arm. "What's wrong?"
"Look at your house." He pulled up to the curb instead of pulling in the driveway. "Don't get out."
"Oh, my God. Who did that?" She scrambled out of the seatbelt and leaned over him to look out the driver's side window.
He dug in his jacket pocket and took out his phone. First, he texted Wayne and told him to gather the others and get over to Lena's house. Then, he put a call into 911.
DIE, BITCH was spray painted on Lena's front door.
Chapter 22
Lieutenant Gomez shut the door of the conference room at the police station and nodded toward Detective Mooney. Lena glanced at Yvonne trying to read the emotions sweeping through the room. The lieutenant had called her, Yvonne, Shannon, and Gabi to the station after doing a thorough sweep of her house after Wayne called 911. She hadn't had time to talk to any of her co-workers upon arrival.
"Thanks for coming in. We thought it would be easier to talk to you all together, considering we now believe you've all been subjected to a crime instigated by a local gang called Tigres." Detective Mooney leafed through the papers in his hand. "All four of you had the same message, Die Bitch, spray painted on your front doors between the hours of thirteen hundred and fifteen hundred."
Yvonne reached over and grabbed Lena's arm and leaned toward her. "You did, too?"
Lena nodded. "We weren't home when it happened."
"Either was I." Gabi stood on the other side of Yvonne with her husband, Mark. "We were only a block away doing our grocery shopping."
"I was at my parents' house," said Yvonne.
"My boyfriend and I went for a walk on the trail near our house." Shannon's mouth tightened. "To think we could've run into them painting that message scares me."
Up to date on what brought them all together today on their day off, Lena looked over her shoulder at Thad. He'd agreed to come with her when she'd asked. After the day they'd had at her mom's house, she didn't feel as if she could give her whole attention to a criminal matter.
"This is good, babe. With so many people marked by Tigres, committing a crime this time, the police involvement will be heavier, and they can stop thinking this has to do with territories. Plus, the S.J.P.D. consider all three of you one of their own. They'll make sure you're protected.," he whispered.
She nodded. The comradery between the police and firefighters brought even the dispatchers into picking sides, making them all feel like one big work family.
"While we initially believed the bandanas you all received on your cars and at your houses were not personal but marking Tigres territory or their plans to go to war for new territory. Gabi, while originally getting a bandana at the police station tied to her car, doesn't live within the city limits and they found her home tonight." Detective Mooney sat down at the table. "I have to ask if any of you have a relative or neighbor, maybe an acquaintance, that is a member or you suspect could be a member of Tigres?"
Lena shook her head and looked at the others, who also shook their head. Thad wrapped his arms around her ribs from behind, and she leaned against him. It was hard to understand why they'd be targeted.
"No boyfriend who is a member?" asked the detective.
Yvonne snorted. "No."
Lieutenant Gomez walked across the room and sat at the table. "Why don't you all take a seat and I'll go through what I have so far. Maybe something I say with spark a thought, and we can find something else to go on."
Thad walked Lena to a chair. She sat and reached for his hand, pulling him down beside her on the vacant seat. The bandana on the stop sign had made her more nervous, but she'd trusted that nothing would happen to her. For some reason, she couldn't wrap her thoughts around the vandalism at her house.
"All of you ladies are dispatchers who usually work the same shift." The lieutenant looked up. "Am I correct?"
Gabi folded her arms and laid them on the table. "Probably ninety percent of the time unless we're covering for someone on vacation, yeah. We work rotating shifts. They switch from days to nights to swing shift. Were any of the homes of the other dispatchers hit?"
"No," injected Detective Mooney. "Do you three hang out after work during non-working hours?"
"We wish." Yvonne rubbed her arms. "We're always planning to get together, but working twelve-hour days and with everyone's outside obligations, we've only managed to get together on each of our birthdays. Mine was early last month, and before that was Lena's...about six months ago, right?"
"In March," said Lena.
Detective Mooney looked at Thad and Gabi's husband before looking at the women. "Often times when women are targeted together like this where they all work at the same place or belong to the same gym, the perpetrator will only stalk women with blonde hair or who are a certain size. He becomes fixated on a specific type."
Lena frowned. "We all look different."
She was white and had dark brownish-black hair. Yvonne was African American and dyed her hair red. Gabi was blonde, married, and almost six feet tall. Shannon was barely five feet tall, chubby, and had tattoos up and down her body. There was nothing similar about them.
Gabi sighed. "Is this about stalking? Is that what someone is doing to all of us?"
The detective shook his head. "I don't believe so, but I want to cover all our bases. In the meantime, I want to concentrate on the similarities, which is where you all work. Have you received any strange 911 calls or any calls that were out of the ordinary?"
Lena rubbed her face. She couldn't even remember half the calls from Friday. Emergencies had become routine to her. There were always people getting into accidents, having chest pain, and hearing noises in the dark. She disassociated herself from other people's emotions because it was the only way she could keep coming into work and handling the job stress.
"Two weeks ago, there was a full moon. Lots of hang-up calls. The wreck on Sixteenth and Wardner Street. A female thinking she was going into anaphylactic shock after eating coconut on a brownie. A lost toddler that was later found in the backyard." Yvonne looked at the others and wrinkled her nose. "I always pay attention at work when there's a full moon, but the other days and nights...I couldn't tell you what kind of calls I answered."
Lieutenant Gomez passed a paper to Detective Mooney. "Let's put one of the officers at the desk to look up all gang-related calls in the last six months and link them to which dispatcher was the operator."
"Do you think we did something wrong?" asked Lena.
"Absolutely not. We're looking for a reason behind why Tigres would target you ladies." Lieutenant Gomez leaned forward and gave the women his full attention. "In the meantime, I'm going to have one extra patrol car in each of the areas that you live. It's not much, but with the budget we're running on, it's something. If anything else happens or anyone suspicious is around your house—a car that has circled the block, a walker who passes your place twice, or you have a bad feeling, I want you to call 911. Don't call the in-house number. Treat this as an emergency so we can get someone there as fast as possible."
"This sucks." Yvonne groaned. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm going to stay at my parents' house. No way am I staying alone."
"What's their address
?" asked Lieutenant Gomez. "We'll want to make sure we're patrolling the right place."
Thad leaned over to Lena and whispered, "You'll stay at my house again until this is solved."
She nodded, more than willing to stay with him. The thought of going home, knowing someone else could be watching her, made her uncomfortable.
Thad stood and stepped over to talk to the lieutenant. Lena leaned forward in her seat and looked at Gabi and Yvonne. "Are you guys okay?"
"No." Yvonne shivered. "I'm thinking of using some of my vacation time. Maybe I'll call in and see if I can take this week off."
Gabi whispered, "I think you should work. If someone is watching us, we'll be safer together, surrounded by cops. I'm going to have Mark take me to work and pick me up, though. Do you want us to swing by your parents' house and give you a ride too, so you don't have to worry about being alone?"
Yvonne blew out her breath. "I'll think about it when I get to my parents' house and call you in the morning if I decide to work Tuesday."
"How about you, Lena?" asked Gabi.
She shook her head. "I’m going to stay with Thad. Beyond that, I don't know what I'll do, probably drive myself."
"Then, call me before you leave every morning." Yvonne raised her brows. "From now on, we keep better track of each other."
Her body trembled, and she nodded. Her mind was wide awake, and her body couldn't take any more news today.
After saying goodbye to everyone and promising to stay in contact before coming into work, she walked out of the police department with Thad. At her car, Wayne, Chuck, and Glen sat on their motorcycles.
She looked at Thad. "Did you call them?"
"Yeah." He put his arm around her shoulders. "My bike is at your house. I need to take it home with us, and I want you escorted across town when you're in the car by yourself."
The toe of her sneaker scuffed the asphalt. Thad caught her before she could fall to her knees. Until that moment, she hadn't believed she was in danger. The bandanas hadn't scared her. Staying with Thad had distracted her. But, that painted message on her house irritated her after a long, stressful day with her mother and dealing with Thad's reaction to her family. The Notus Motorcycle Club rallying around her finally made her realize how serious of a situation she was in.
Chapter 23
Thad's balls tightened in pleasure, and he stretched his legs, coming in Lena's mouth. A shudder ran through him. He'd barely stirred awake when he felt Lena's warm, soft mouth taking his cock under the blanket.
He raised his head off the pillow, gazed down his overheated body, and whipped the covers off Lena's head, catching her in the act of wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand.
"You look like a cat who licked the cream, babe," he murmured, eliciting a soft laugh from her.
She raised up on her hands and knees, jumping from the bed. A few minutes later, the shower came on. He stayed in bed and closed his eyes. He could get used to starting his day off with her giving him head.
The alarm sounded on Lena's side of the bed. He rolled and reached, shutting off the scheduled wake-up call on her cell phone for her to get ready for work. Because he planned on taking her to the police department, he got up and put on his clothes.
Downstairs in the kitchen, he started the coffee pot and popped some bread in the toaster. He stood in front of the open refrigerator staring at the contents. His parents bought shit for Lena a couple of weeks ago that was already going bad. Even if the cucumbers and different meats and cheeses were still good, he had no idea what to do with them, except slap them on a plate and hand to Lena.
"Everything okay?" asked Lena, behind him.
He looked over his shoulder and swung the fridge door shut. "I don't know what to give you for breakfast."
She smiled softly and walked up to him, slipping her arms around his waist. "You were standing there so still, I thought maybe you fell asleep on your feet. You didn't have to get up early for me."
"I’m taking you to work." He grabbed a bag of white cheese sticks and held them up. "Do you eat these?"
"Yep." She plucked the bag out of his hand. "I can get lunch at work out of the vending machines or call and have something delivered."
She tore open the bag and ripped off one of the sticks, setting it on the counter. He ran his hands through his hair. On the surface, she seemed to handle the stress of staying with him again. But, he'd watched her toss and turn last night, and cry out in her sleep. He suspected the restlessness had to do with dealing with her mom, more than the situation with Tigres.
Lena walked out of the room and returned with her purse, putting the cheese inside. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms watching her. She took an empty water bottle out of her bag and stepped over to the faucet.
"Are you okay with going to work and dealing with the questions surrounding the vandalism and threats yourself?" he asked.
She glanced at him. "Sure."
"If something comes up and you need me, you have my digits on your phone." He rolled his shoulders, working out the tension. "I'll be at work, but I'll come to you."
"You can't do that." She tightened the cap on the bottle. "You'll get in trouble with your foreman."
"I can take a few hours off with no-pay for personal time if needed."
She shook her head. "I'll be okay. I'm surrounded by policemen when I'm there. Save that time for when a child goes missing, and you need to search."
"Right," he said.
Lena double looked at him. "What's going on?"
"You seem...okay about everything."
She laughed. "Nothing has happened. Yes, Tigres are after me, but they're after three other women besides me. Nobody has been harmed. It's a bandana and paint. It's juvenile, at best. Probably a couple twenty-year-olds wanting to be members and this is their initiation. You know how that is. You probably had to do something—swear your loyalty, circle jerk, or sleep with twenty women in one night— to belong to Notus, right?"
He stared speechless at her.
"I'm joking." She stopped smiling and leaned against him. "Bend down, so I can kiss you."
He held himself stiff when she looped her arms around his neck and refused to lower himself. "I grew up with every member of Notus. I've known them since I was six years old. Our loyalty has been tested, given, and used our whole lives. We've lost my sister. We've lost another member, Rich, when he couldn't handle losing my sister—who he loved. We've had a serial killer kidnap Gracie, an ex-boyfriend beat the shit out of Ingrid, and almost lost Glen when he was shot multiple times. We've found hundreds of missing persons, and lost just as many, who we never got to meet. We've each done things that we should be sitting in prison for, but we're walking around with a free conscious because our job is necessary. There are things I've done that would make you walk out of my house right now and not look back. We never have, not once, circle jerked."
She inhaled deeply and dropped her gaze to his chest. His pulse ran steady, determined. Notus Motorcycle Club was not a gang. She got it.
"Tigres members don't have loyalty, babe. They'd kill their own brother if they even suspect someone stepping outside the territories. They don't wait for proof. You need to take what's happening seriously," he said.
She raised her gaze and nodded.
He palmed her cheek and softened his words. "I know you're dealing with shit regarding your mom, and it's hard to prioritize what's important right now, but you have to do it, Lena."
She stretched to her full height. "I am, in my own way."
From the moment he'd met her, she gave off the vibe that she had her life under control. Unflappable, she had her game on.
He knew differently.
He could see beyond the strong female she portrayed.
No one, man or woman, could detach themselves from the emotional toll of family. She denied the impact a little too much. She pushed boundaries a little too hard. She was 'fine' a little too often.
Most of al
l, she loved on him too much to back up the statement that she had no feelings. They were there, hidden behind a wall barricaded higher than anything he'd ever seen or had to scale, but he was in good shape. He'd climb the fucking wall.
"Do you have money for lunch?" he asked.
Lena's body relaxed. "Yep. Though I hope this all ends within the next day or so because I didn't bring enough clothes with me, again. Tomorrow's outfit isn't going to fly...not that we have a dress code, but I grabbed the Seahawks hoodie instead of the Old Navy hoodie—they're both blue. If I wear the football one, I'll start World War III between the cops and firemen and have to listen to football talk all day."
"Big world problems, babe," he muttered, letting her go back to a topic that meant nothing compared to what she was dealing with. "I'll figure out what we're doing for dinner before I pick you up at six o'clock."
She stepped over and kissed him. "You're too good to me. You know that?"
"No, I'm—"
"Oh." She walked backward away from him. "I better hurry and get my shoes on. I'll be ready in five minutes."
He watched her hurry out of the room. She was wound up tighter than a fork spring on his motorcycle. If they had more time, he'd take her upstairs and relax her.
Taking out his phone, he texted his mom. She'd be up making his dad breakfast by now, and he could depend on her to help him out. He sent and received an okay in reply to his request she pick up some food for the house when Lena peeked around the corner of the wall.
"Ready?" she asked.
He dipped his chin and checked out the window again to make sure it wasn't raining. Then, he took her to work on his motorcycle.
She hopped off his Harley outside the police station, and he walked her to the door. The station wouldn't open to the public until eight o'clock.
Lena pushed the after-hour button on the side of the door and waved through the window at the front desk clerk. The door lock clicked open. Lena braced her hands on Thad's stomach and stretched up to say goodbye. He wrapped his arm around her and palmed her lower back, holding her against him as he kissed her.
