by Faith Gibson
Sinclair often forgot that those who served the Clan had families of their own. He had no doubt Andre loved his wife as much as Rafael loved Kaya. Did Sin love Rocky? He had strong feelings for her that went beyond sex, but he couldn’t be sure if it was love. Not yet. That would come with time as they spent more of it together. “How is Carla?” Sin asked.
“More beautiful than ever. She’s about two weeks from giving me my third son,” the man beamed.
Sin wasn’t aware Andre had two kids already. He felt like a dick for not taking the time to know this man who was available at the Clan’s beck and call. “Andre, congratulations. Why don’t you pour us both a drink and tell me about your family.” Not only could Sin get to know Andre, listening to the man would help keep his mind off Rocky if only for a short while.
Even though he wasn’t hungry, Sin allowed Andre to serve him dinner, but Sin had asked the flight attendant to join him instead of eating in the galley. They both talked about their families – Andre about his wife and two little boys, and Sin about him and his brothers growing up. He kept the conversation away from Rocky, and the human didn’t pry. When it was closing in on midnight, Sin made his way to the cockpit to check in with the pilot. For domestic trips, the Clan employed a human, but for the international flights, they used a Gargoyle in case an emergency arose. Having to turn around at the eleven-hour mark had definitely been an emergency. Since the pilot was a Goyle, there wasn’t the risk of him falling asleep from exhaustion.
Frey had recruited Bryce Stark when the two of them served in the military together. The male had been a Goyle without a country or Clan, and he’d been ecstatic to be offered both. “Everything okay now?” Bryce asked as Sin took the empty seat next to him.
“Not really, Brother. I will not be okay until I see my mate’s beautiful eyes staring back into mine.”
“I take it Andre’s still alive back there?” Bryce asked with a smirk.
“Yes, he still has his head.” Sin leaned his head back and stared out at the starless night. “I meditated the way Frey taught us, and I was able to make contact with Rocky, but she’s barely hanging on. Talking to her dead parents even.”
“No wonder you lost your shit. You know I’m flying as fast as this bird will take us.”
“I know, and I appreciate it.” Sin sat there as long as he could before his beast came alive, begging to make contact with Rocky again. Sin clapped Bryce on the shoulder and made his way to the cabin. Andre had retired to the back to give Sin some space. He took advantage of the quiet and stilled his mind, reaching out for Rocky once more.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Finley and Rett canvased the area around the bar as soon as they left the hospital. Unfortunately, nobody had seen or heard anything out of the ordinary, and none of the security cameras had caught the two people’s faces. Banyan called and informed them Landon got a hit on Rocky’s cell phone at the strip club Blake Stansbury owned. There were several cars in the parking lot, but most of those had probably been left from the night before. One car, an older model Rolls Royce that had seen better days, was parked in a reserved spot. It was well before opening time, and the place was practically empty when Rett and Fin stepped up to the front door. They found the door unlocked, and using their shifter hearing, they both reached out to see who was inside.
Music was coming from down the hallway past the stage and bar area. Laughter floated from inside the room with the music. Fin peered through the crack to find a man snorting a line of coke off a naked woman’s stomach. He sprinkled some of the white powder on each of her nipples before licking it off. That might have been appealing to Finley if he did drugs, but knowing what he did about the effects they had on humans, Finley hated the stuff. Rett rolled his eyes when he caught sight of the couple, but he tilted his head toward the end of the hall, indicating they should move.
The door to what appeared to be the office was ajar, giving Rett and Finley enough room to see Blake Stansbury holding a gun and talking to himself. Rett pulled his service pistol and eased through the door, coming up behind Blake. He held the gun to the back of Blake’s head and said, “Don’t move, motherfucker.”
Blake raised both hands, gun pointed to the ceiling. Finley stepped in and removed the weapon from his hand. Rett twisted Blake’s arms behind his back and secured them with handcuffs. When Rett turned him around, Blake seethed, “Who the fuck are you?”
“Right now, I’m the man who holds your future in his hands. You tell me what I want to know, and maybe you’ll live.” Rett wasn’t wearing his uniform, so Blake had no idea he was a policeman.
“Fuck you,” Blake spit out.
“Not my type. Now, what do you know about Raquel Cartwright?”
“She used to dance for me.”
“Let me rephrase the question; what do you know about her being attacked outside her bar this afternoon, and the fact her cell phone was here, in your club, less than an hour ago?”
Blake’s eyes enlarged for a second before he schooled his features. “I didn’t have her phone.”
“Then tell me who did, and tell me where to find them.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
Rett grabbed Blake around the neck and picked him up, feet dangling a good ten inches above the ground. “I don’t think you understand what’s happening here, Fuckhead. One more wrong word and I’ll snap your neck as easily as a twig. You are a piece of shit motherfucker who drugs women and rapes them. You sell drugs out of this club that caters to piece of shit motherfuckers just like you. Your life means nothing to me. Now, let’s try this again. What do you know about Rocky?”
“All right, all right,” Blake groaned, his face turning red. Rett dropped him to his feet, and Blake managed to stay upright. He twisted his neck to work out the pain. “Raquel’s cousin and his whore came by here earlier. Said he had a little chat with Raquel, but that’s all he said. Neither one of them mentioned an attack.”
“Does this cousin have a name?” Finley asked.
“Tommy. Tommy Cartwright. He lives at home with his mother.”
Just as Finley turned to step out into the hallway to call Banyan, the man who’d been snorting coke burst into the office. “Blake, you okay?” Finley stepped in front of the man, not allowing him to move farther into the room. Finley wasn’t the largest Gargoyle in the Clan, but he had quite a bit of size on the man before him who was obviously not thinking straight. “You better step off,” he said to Finley, spewing spit and swinging his finger in front of him.
With his back to Blake and Rett, Finley dropped his fangs and hissed at the man. The guy scrambled backwards and took off down the hall. Finley followed him, but only far enough he could use the phone in private. Banyan had already been researching Rocky’s cousin, so Finley called him to get more information.
“Finley, were you successful?” Banyan asked when he answered his phone.
“Stansbury says Tommy Cartwright and a woman came in earlier. The cousin mentioned having a chat with Rocky, but that’s it. Stansbury claims he knows nothing, but I don’t believe him. He did know Cartwright lives at home with his mother. I need that address.”
“I don’t have my notes with me, but I do remember the address being accessible through public records. Hang on a second.”
While Banyan was looking up the address, Finley eased his way toward the front of the building where two men were having a conversation. The guy who threatened him was talking animatedly to another male about what he saw. Before Fin could do anything about them, Banyan returned to the line. “I texted the address to you. It’s in the same direction Rocky’s phone was traveling before we lost the signal.”
“Thanks, Banyan. We will head that way now.”
“What about Stansbury?”
“The club will be closed tonight, because the owner will be tied up until further notice.” Finley hung up and stalked to the front of the club. “Out, now.” Finley pointed to the door, and the man he’d encountered in the office grab
bed his buddy and dragged him out the front door. “Hello? Anyone here?” Finley yelled. The woman who’d been serving as a cocaine tray appeared from behind the stage wearing a see-through robe.
“What can I do for you?” she purred as she walked toward him. When she was close enough, the woman ran a long fingernail down Finley’s chest. He grabbed her wrist before she could go too low.
“Who’s here besides you?”
“A couple of bouncers and the owner. We’re not open yet, but I’m sure the boss wouldn’t mind if I snuck you in a lap dance.”
“Get dressed and get out of here. If there’s anyone else backstage, they need to leave, too. Club’s closed for the night.”
“Who are you?”
“ATF. Your alcohol license has been pulled. Now go on and get out of here.”
The woman took Finley at his word without asking for identification and returned the way she’d come. Once he made sure the club was clear, he locked the front door. Not that it would keep employees with a key out, but at least patrons couldn’t stroll in. When Finley returned to the office, Rett wasn’t there. He listened for movement and found Rett in the basement with Blake. Rett had the unconscious man secured to a pole with a rag in his mouth. “I’ve called for back-up. I want to get over to Cartwright’s house.”
Before they left, Fin found a piece of paper and wrote “Closed Until Further Notice” on it and taped it to the front door. He and Rett exited through the back and drove across town to the address Banyan had given. Tension was mounting in both Goyles as they neared Tommy’s home. Finley asked Rett if he was going to do things by the book. “No, Brother. This is a mate we’re talking about. I’m doing things by the Clan’s book.”
“Won’t you get in trouble?”
“Don’t much care if I do. I’ve been in Cali long enough that if I need to move, I can. I like it here, but I’m about ready for a change of scenery. We’ll get to the bottom of what happened with Rocky. If there’s fallout, I’ll disappear, but not before we make this motherfucker pay for what he did to his cousin.” Finley appreciated the Goyle’s loyalty to Sinclair over his job.
The house Tommy lived in with his mother was rather large but also fairly rundown. This was the house Rocky grew up in after her parents died. An older model car sat in the driveway, and the house was dark. Fin and Rett parked a few houses down and walked silently to the Cartwright place. They circled the house in different directions and met on the other side.
“I have voices coming from down below,” Rett said.
Rett checked the back door and found it unlocked. They eased their way inside using their shifter sight to navigate in the dark. The kitchen was cluttered. The sink was overflowing with dishes that hadn’t been washed in days. Finley did his best not to gag on the smell of rotting meat coming from the garbage can. He didn’t want to imagine Rocky having to live in this when she was growing up. Rett slapped his hand over his nose and shook his head. Fin followed the cop until they came to a stairway leading down to the basement. The voices downstairs were getting louder, and the woman’s voice was getting higher pitched.
“Stop it, Tommy. Why don’t you go fuck your cousin? Oh, that’s right, you can’t, because you tried to fucking kill her! I never agreed to that shit.”
“I wasn’t killing her; I was teaching the bitch a lesson. Don’t go getting all high and mighty on me now. You hated her just as much as I did.”
“Not enough to go to jail for murder. God, you’re so stupid!”
“What the fuck did you say?”
“Ow! Stop it. You’re hurting me!”
Rett didn’t need to hear anymore. He eased his way down the stairs quietly but quickly with Fin right behind. When they reached the bottom step, Tommy Cartwright ripped his girlfriend’s shirt off as she tried to get away from him.
“You have nowhere to run, you stupid cunt,” he seethed as he grabbed a handful of hair, jerking her backwards.
“Actually, she does,” Rett said calmly.
Tommy whirled on them. “Who the fuck are you?” he asked while looking around.
Finley held up Tommy’s pistol. “Looking for this?”
Tommy pulled Shelby to his front, using her as a shield. “I don’t have any money. Here, take her,” he said, pushing his girlfriend in their direction. She gasped and did her best to skirt around Finley, but he stepped in her way.
“Not so fast. Just because he’s a piece of shit and treats you like one doesn’t mean you’re without guilt. Sit down,” Fin roared. Shelby scrambled backwards to what once was an overstuffed chair. Now it was flat and covered in stains. Fin didn’t want to even begin to think about what those were from.
Rett closed the distance between him and Tommy. “What did you give Rocky?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, man.”
With his back to Shelby, Rett let his fangs drop. “Bull fucking shit. You just admitted to trying to teach her a lesson. I want to know what the fuck you injected into her system. You have one chance to answer, and it better be the truth, because I swear to the gods, I will gut you where you fucking stand if you lie to me.”
“Wha… what are you?” Tommy whispered as piss ran down his leg.
“I’m your fucking judge, jury, and executioner. Tell me what you gave her!” Rett roared.
Shelby pulled her knees to her chest, closed her eyes, and covered her ears.
“I don’t know what was in it. I swear to Christ! I was doing a job for someone. He gave me the drugs, man. I swear!” Tommy was shaking and snot was rolling down his upper lip. He wiped at his nose with the back of his hand.
“Who hired you to do this job?” Finley asked. His quiet voice contradicted the anger building deep inside. His shifter was ready to tear this miscreant apart with his claws.
“Blake Stansbury. He was pissed that Rocky quit dancing. He was trying to get her hooked on drugs again so he’d have a shot at her.”
“How much was he paying you?”
“Paying me?” Tommy asked, confused.
“Yeah, to drug Rocky. How much was he paying you? The way I see it, it must have been a helluva lot of money for you to hurt your own cousin. Your own family. Where I come from, family means something. Family means everything. So how much was betraying your family worth?” Rett took a step closer, pulling up to his full height. He had retracted his fangs, but when he got right up in Tommy’s space, Rett let his claws loose and gripped Tommy’s face. “Tell me what that was worth to you,” Rett whispered. Fin made sure he was between Shelby and Rett, but even if he hadn’t been shielding the Goyle, Shelby still had her face buried against her legs.
“Answer me!” Rett roared again.
“Money and women,” Tommy answered.
Shelby lifted her head at his admission. “Women? You’ve been cheating on me?”
“You stupid bitch. I met you in a titty bar. Did you honestly think you were the only one I was fucking?” The crack of Rett’s fist on Tommy’s face shut him up.
“I can’t stay here,” Shelby cried.
“You’re not going anywhere until we establish your role in what happened to Rocky today. While Tommy gets his shit together, why don’t you tell me what you did to Rocky and why. I don’t think it was for the women.”
“I swear I didn’t…”
“Stop,” Finley warned. “We have you on video running away from the bar. You need to think long and hard on whether or not he’s worth your loyalty.” Finley thumbed behind him, indicating Tommy. “Let’s you and I go upstairs where we can talk in private.” He wrapped his hand around her bicep and not so gently led Shelby up the stairs.
Tommy called after her, “Don’t you open your fucking mou…” Another loud crack echoed up the steps.
“Sit,” Finley ordered. Shelby sat down at the kitchen table, her hands clasped in front of her. “Now, if you don’t want to go to jail for murder, I suggest you tell me what I want to know.”
“Murder? But we didn’t kill h
er. Tommy only cut her…” Shelby clapped a hand over her mouth when she realized what she’d said.
“Tommy only cut her what? Deep enough to make it look like suicide? Well I have news for you. He cut her deeper than that.”
Shelby jumped up from her chair, but Finley growled, “Sit your ass down.” The woman did as he said. “You need to listen and listen good. You need to tell me, right fucking now, every godsdamn thing you know, everything you’ve done, everything Tommy’s said or done, and everything you know about Blake Stansbury. You get one shot at this, and if you lie, if you omit any pertinent information, you can kiss your freedom goodbye. Do you understand?”
The woman shook her head up and down, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she looked toward the door leading down the steps. “Don’t worry about Tommy. He won’t be able to hurt you.” Finley had kept his ears open for what was going on down in the basement. Tommy Cartwright was singing like the little bitch he was, spilling his guts to Rett. In the end, it wouldn’t matter that Rett showed his true self to the bastard, because Sin wouldn’t allow him to live… not after what he’d done to Rocky. “Now talk.”
Shelby twisted her hands together as she began, “I met Tommy at the club. He was one of the regulars, even when shit got bad. He and Blake became real chummy when Tommy convinced him he had a way to keep the club going. Said he had this cousin who’d just come into some real estate. If Blake could get in with her, he could take over her bar and have another source of income. Plus he said she was a looker, and if Blake could convince her to dance, she’d be able to bring back some of the lost crowd.”
“They talked about this in front of you?”
“They were doing coke shots off my tits. They either didn’t think I was listening or didn’t care.”
“How did you play into all this?”
“I was working at RC’s at the time. I wasn’t making shit at the club, so I had to have steady income from somewhere.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’d go along with ruining someone’s life.”
“I didn’t agree to hurting her, but the bitch fired me as soon as she took over the bar. I needed money, and Tommy wasn’t providing it.”
