My fingers itched to reach for the gun tucked into my waistband, but I’d made a promise to Case and Hill that I would play this game by the rules they set out. I was just the bait, not the mousetrap that was supposed to clamp down on the vermin’s neck. However, with the reminder of all this woman had put Presley through swirling through my mind, I was struggling to keep my expression blank.
“Having some trouble?” Each word felt like it sliced across my tongue. I couldn’t recall having the urge to hurt a woman ever before, but for this one, I really wanted to make an exception.
“It just started smoking. I have no idea where I am and the battery on my phone died. I’m so lucky you came by. Can you help me?” Overly done eyelashes fluttered in my direction as she chewed provocatively on her lower lip.
I lifted an eyebrow at her and did my best not to roll my eyes. Her act was highly exaggerated. I wondered if men were really so driven by what was between their legs they couldn’t see that they were being played.
“I can take a look at it.” The smoke was white, so it was a good guess that she’d pulled the radiator hose when she heard my bike coming.
“Oh, the car is a rental. I can just leave it here. Can’t you give me a ride into town? I have a motel room waiting.” The eyelashes flickered beseechingly, and I had to shove my hands into the pockets of my jeans so she couldn’t see them clench into fists. The boys in blue were going to owe me so big for this farce.
“Nope. I’m not headed toward town. I can call Triple-A or the cops for you. I know the sheriff pretty well. I’m sure he’d send a deputy out to give you a lift. Or I can take you to my clubhouse.” And keep her there until Case and Hill showed up to arrest her—that is, if the members didn’t take her apart first.
The woman balked, clearly aghast I hadn’t jumped on the overt invitation to join her in her motel room.
“I can’t go to a motorcycle club in the middle of the night. Do you think I’m stupid?” She smoothed a hand over her skintight shirt and licked her lower lip. “You should come with me instead.”
She wasn’t stupid. She knew enough not to walk into a situation she wasn’t going to be able to walk out of. The clubhouse was pretty much impenetrable and inescapable.
“No thanks.” I barked the word and let out a loud yawn. “Like I said, I can look at it for you or call someone if you don’t want to come to the club. That’s about it.”
She huffed out an irritated breath and crossed her arms over her ample and nearly exposed chest. “Fine. Please take a look at it. It’s late and scary all the way out here.”
She was a damn good actress, but even with the colored contacts in her eyes, I could tell her gaze wasn’t quite right. Even if I didn’t know for a fact she was a murderous psycho, I would’ve kept my distance from her based on the wild look in her eyes alone.
When I bent over the car I made sure she caught sight of the gun at the small of my back. I kept an eye on her as I worked, making sure she didn’t get close enough to touch me in case she was going to try something funny while my hands were occupied. It seemed like Case and Hill were right—she was more interested in seducing me than in hurting me. She chatted endlessly about how glad she was I’d stopped and how lucky she was I could fix the car. She mentioned more than once wanting to get my number so she could thank me properly while she was in town. It galled me to no end that I was going to have to give it to her, and that I couldn’t just end this charade right now.
“Do you have a girlfriend? Or a wife? Wait, you call them ‘old ladies’ when you’re in a motorcycle gang, right?” She giggled, and unlike when Presley did it, the sound made my skin crawl.
I clamped the hose back in place and used the screwdriver on my Leatherman to tighten down the bracket to keep it in place. After telling her the car should be good to go, I straightened up and closed the hood, giving the woman who ruined Presley’s life a considering look.
“I’m involved with someone, but it’s pretty new.” I wiped my hands on my jeans and asked her for her phone. She squealed when she handed it over and clapped as I popped my number into it. “I’m Shot, by the way.”
She nodded, taking the phone back and immediately sending me a text message with a heart emoji so I also had her phone number. “Ashley.”
I couldn’t hold back a snort. “Ashley, huh?” It was as close to Ashby as she could get. The obviousness of her entire ploy was grating and insulting.
“If you’re really sure you don’t want to follow me to the motel tonight, I’ll call you later this week. It was nice to meet you, Shot.”
I grunted when she threw herself at me for an unnecessary hug. She flounced back to the car, wiggling her fingers in my direction as she went.
As soon as she was out of sight, I called Case, not caring that it was almost dawn.
He swore at me before asking me what I wanted.
“It’s started. Ashby just made the first move. You and the Ranger better be ready to end this before I take matters into my own hands.”
Case grumbled and I heard him moving around on the other end. “What did she want?”
“She wanted me to go to a motel with her in town.”
Case swore again. “Did she leave you a way to contact her?”
“She did.”
“Okay. Then you need to reach out and agree to get together with her. Meet her at the motel. Get her to confess. Give me something solid on her so I don’t have to drag Presley through a trial and all this can end quietly and quickly.”
I groaned and dragged my hand down my face. “What if she just wants to fuck and not talk? After all, it’s all about making Presley miserable for her. She’s not gonna want to chitchat.”
“I’ll arrest her either way. We’ll wire the room and put a mic on you. But you can’t let the girls know what’s going on. Presley won’t want you in the line of fire, and Kody will blow her top and demand to know why we didn’t just pick Ashby up on the spot. This is complicated, and the less people with their hands in the mix, the better.”
“Agreeing to meet this woman alone at a motel makes me look bad, Case. If Presley finds out, she’s going to be heartbroken, regardless of the intent.” The last thing I wanted to do was betray her in any way, but I wanted her safe and Ashby Grant behind bars.
Case yawned loudly in my ear. “Didn’t peg you as the type to worry about how you looked, Palmer. Makes me dislike you a little bit less. The good thing about Presley is that she’s far more reasonable than Kody. When she knows the truth, and the reasons why you were alone with the woman who tried to ruin her, she’ll come around. She cares about you. She’s not going to abandon you that easily.”
“I hope you’re right.” If he wasn’t, I’d risked it all for nothing and Ashby Grant would get exactly what she wanted, even if she ended up behind bars. “If this goes bad, it’s gonna go bad for both of us.”
And I knew neither one of us wanted to lose the ground we’d gained when it came to proving to Presley we weren’t going to let her down.
Chapter 18
Presley
Are you sure you’re okay here by yourself if I head home?”
I looked up from the paperwork I was double-checking, knowing full well I was going to triple-check it before sending the findings over to the detective in charge of the case. After all the work Ashby put into tainting my spotless track record, I was hyperaware and extra vigilant, determined that nothing less than perfection would fly in my new position. Until she confessed and admitted that none of the mistakes that had endangered the cases I worked on were made by me, and that she had caused them purposely to cost me the promotion, I was going to feel the unseen shadow of doubt about my abilities hanging over my head. I didn’t care that it meant I needed to put in longer hours and be even more diligent than I’d been before. No mistakes were going to slip through the cracks as long as I had anything to say about it.
I looked up at the young intern who appeared to be ready to fall asleep on her feet. She w
as going to go far in this field. She was detail oriented, calm under pressure, and hadn’t bailed when we’d gotten back-to-back cases that were enough to turn even the seasoned professional’s stomach. Not wanting her to burn out before she even got started, I nodded and replied, “I’m fine. I won’t be much longer.”
It was a lie. I was nitpicking the details of the autopsy findings in front of me. I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but I didn’t want to scare the young woman off unnecessarily. Not everyone who got into this line of work let it take over their entire life the way I had. I was just now learning about balance in all aspects. Mostly because I had people worrying about me and wondering where I was if I disappeared into my work for too long. If Shot didn’t call or text to remind me to eat during the day, and if I didn’t know he was waiting for me to get off work, there was a solid chance I would have slipped right back into being a severe workaholic, especially with my mother being gone.
And even if I didn’t hear from Shot I had Kody checking up on me, reminding me there were people outside the morgue and my office walls who needed me and wanted me around. She’d finally told Hill about the baby and, as expected, he was over the moon. Kody was right in thinking he was going to overreact to the news to the extreme. Hill told her he didn’t want to be on the road all the time with the Rangers if they were going to start a family. He wanted to quit his job, but she wanted him to keep it. It was an argument they couldn’t seem to find middle ground on, and as a result Kody had ended up spending more and more time searching me out to be a sympathetic ear. We grew closer and closer every day, and I could no longer deny she really felt like the little sister I’d never even known I wanted. Now I couldn’t picture my life without her, and my brothers, in it.
I still worked a lot, buried my head in reports and results. Pored over findings and court cases. Read up on all the new technology and advancements in my beloved field, but now, I also made time to take care of myself throughout the day. Thanks to Shot, I was getting better and better at leaving the dead behind when it was time to go home. I wasn’t as consumed as I’d been before. There was balance now, which I hadn’t realized I needed.
There was also a delicate harmony in our relationship. Being with Shot was never predictable or boring. I never knew when he was going to show up or what he was going to have planned for us. There was a level of excitement in my life now that I’d never thought I wanted but had to admit was fun. Being forced to learn how to embrace sudden spontaneity wasn’t as challenging as I imagined it would be, mostly because I felt safe when I was with him, and I knew whatever adventure he pulled me into, he would make sure the experience wouldn’t harm me in any way. It was like I got to run wild for once in my life, but I still had a security blanket protecting me from any damage that might befall me.
The flip side of all that unexpected and unplanned was that whenever Shot came to see me, after a good day or bad, he knew he was walking into a calm, controlled environment and could leave the chaos that was always chasing him behind for a little while. He’d mentioned more than once that he liked that it was quiet when it was just him and me together at night. I could see some of the tension that he always carried with him fade when he settled into my basic and boring routine.
He kept things interesting. I kept them serene and steady. It really felt like we were starting to need each other to keep in perfect balance, rather than just wanting to be around one another as we stumbled our way through dating and that first uncertain flush of falling in love.
I waved the intern off after reminding her to make sure nothing was amiss in the workroom before she headed out. No one could come into this part of the building without an ID card, which had to be scanned in order for the doors to open, so there was nothing to lock behind her. There was also an armed guard who patrolled the building and made sure to stop in and check on me every hour or so. Plus, it wasn’t unheard of for a uniformed policeman or a detective to pop in unannounced. A night receiving clerk was also working in an office on the other side of the building. I was as secure as could be, tucked away in my office. Not to mention I still had a leather-clad shadow following my every move. I didn’t think twice about being alone in a place that would generally give most people the heebie-jeebies.
I was just finishing my second scan of the report and gearing up to start the third when an odd knocking sound caught my attention. I rubbed my tired eyes and looked toward the darkened morgue. All the doors were closed and the interior lights off, so it looked as it was supposed to. There were any number of electronic devices that could be rattling in the room, so I didn’t go investigate. But I decided I needed a cup of coffee to help me power through the next couple of hours, so I pushed away from my desk and made my way over to my Keurig. I pushed the start button and paced while I waited, my white lab coat fluttering around my legs. My steps faltered when the knocking sound got louder.
I frowned and walked to the door so I could stick my head out in the hallway and see if anyone was around. It was empty, but the sound persisted. A sharp chill shot up my spine, and a shiver of unease started to make my hands shake.
Patting the pockets of my coat I found my cell and tried to call Shot. I was sure I was just overreacting and the sound was nothing, but no one could blame me for being overly cautious considering the current state of my life. I held the phone to my ear, listening to it ring and ring, surprised Shot didn’t immediately answer. I knew he wasn’t always going to be available when I called him, but this was the first time he didn’t pick up when I really did need him to. Even if he was busy, he usually answered and let me know he would call back as soon as he could. This total silence was a first, and I didn’t enjoy it one bit.
I fired off a text letting him know I was creeped out. All I wanted was to hear him say, “Everything is all right.” It wasn’t until this very moment that I realized exactly how much I’d started to lean on the burly biker, how much I’d started to trust him to have my back and be there for me when I needed him.
Sucking in a breath and holding my phone even tighter in my hand, I took a step into the hallway and followed the loud, tinny sound. I tried to call Shot again and was immediately sent to voice mail. I scowled at the device in my hand and looked around for the armed guard. Every instinct I had was telling me to go back into my office and call for help, but I couldn’t seem to keep my feet from moving forward.
Without realizing what I was doing, my fingers pressed another contact on my phone. This time a deep, gruff voice answered immediately when the call went through.
“Presley?” Case’s voice sounded both curious and concerned. Kody was usually the Lawton I reached out to, but in this instance, for some reason, Case was the one I wanted if I couldn’t have Shot.
“I’m sorry to bother you so late.” I kept my voice a low whisper as I tiptoed down the hallway.
“I can barely hear you. Is everything all right?” I could hear him shifting around as he muttered something to Aspen. “Where are you?”
“I’m at my office in Ivy. I’m working late.” As I got further down the hallway the sound got louder. It seemed like it was coming from the night clerk’s office. “There’s a weird sound coming from one of the offices and I don’t see the night patrol guy anywhere. I was just a little freaked out and didn’t want to go investigate without someone knowing what was going on.” I frowned as I paused outside of the other office door. “I called Shot but he didn’t answer. I guess I could go outside and grab his buddy who he has watching me and have him check it out, but I’d feel stupid if it turns out to be nothing.”
I tentatively reached for the doorknob as Case swore softly in my ear. “I’m assuming the building is pretty secure?”
I nodded, then realized he couldn’t see me. “It is. Normally I feel safer here than I do at my apartment.”
“How hard would it be to call the night guard to check out the sound instead of you doing it?” There was the sound of clothes rustling as Case asked the perfectly
logical question.
“Umm…I’m already in front of the door. I’m going in.” I felt like I had to so I could prove to myself that there was nothing to be afraid of. This place was my sanctuary, or it had been before Ashby corrupted it. I was slowly taking it back, and opening the door in front of me was part of that.
“Stay on the phone with me, Presley. No matter what, don’t hang up.” Case’s order was strong and demanding in my ear. Again I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. His raspy drawl was reassuring and so was his presence on the other end of the line.
Taking a deep breath I twisted the knob and pushed the door open.
The startled night clerk looked up from his desk. He let out a little shriek and dropped the jar of pickles he had in his hands. The lid of the jar was dented and deformed from where he’d been pounding on the edge of the metal desk. He tossed his hands up in the air and asked, “What are you doing, Dr. Baskin? I didn’t even know you were still here. I thought everyone checked out for the day.” He put a hand to his chest as he glared at me. “You scared the life out of me. Why didn’t you knock?”
I exhaled slowly and couldn’t stop the nearly hysterical laugh that bubbled up my throat. “I’m sorry. I heard the banging and wondered what on Earth it was. I didn’t see the night guard anywhere, so I figured I’d go and investigate myself. I apologize for intruding.”
Case’s low laugh in my ear calmed the rest of my frazzled nerves. I apologized again and told the clerk I would be leaving within the next hour or so. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to concentrate enough to finish what I started. The files would be there in the morning when my mind wasn’t spinning and my heart rate had returned to normal.
Blacklisted Page 19
