“For all the babies he wants, we’re going to need a much bigger house.”
“I’m telling you. Shit, we’re going to need a bigger town with all the kids these men want.” I’m sure Boomer wants his name to carry on, so he’s probably going to keep her knocked up for the foreseeable future.
“I know, right?” Sammie adds, rubbing her invisible bump.
"They are all too damn masculine,”
"Are you complaining?" I ask, secretly loving that I got a beast of a man.
"God, no. I love my intense man. Who doesn't love a man that would move mountains because it would ruin your view? I mean these guys are so everything wonderful that you almost forget all the bad things that come along with being at the top," Crystal says. She's married to the town founder, making him a huge target for the drug world that's ripping through the United States, so she knows better than all of us what lies ahead for her.
"Is anyone else starving?" Penny asks, rubbing her belly too.
"I need some food."
"How about we go somewhere to eat?" Penny suggests.
"Yeah, the guys aren't going to like that idea. Just because they have one guy doesn't mean that we're out of danger.”
"I know, but maybe they could go get us some food instead,” I suggest.
"Damn, why did you have to mention food? I could really go for some pancakes,” Morgan grumbles.
"Let me ask." Crystal sends a message to Boomer.
Ten seconds later, her phone pings back. She reads it then lifts her head with a giddy smile. "My man is a wise one."
"What's up?" I ask.
"He said the food is on the way. He ordered it a while ago."
We're all cheering, which is terrible considering they are probably torturing him in the other room.
My phone rings, and it's William. "Hey, baby." His greeting automatically ruins my panties. The man's voice should be on commercials, in movies, or whatever, but then again, I refuse to share him with anyone.
"What's going on?"
"I've got to take a ride, so I'm going to be out of contact for a little bit. You'll be fine with everyone here." His reassurance right now means absolute dick to me. After everything we've been through, I'm having serious panic attacks when we're apart.
"Um...is everything all right?" I choke out. Damn, I need to get my act together. Breathe, girl. Don’t cry.
"Yeah. I just need to get going, though. I love you. I'll see you in a couple of hours."
"Hours?"
“Sorry, but yes. I love you, Mary."
"I love you, too." And my mood instantly soured. I don't know where he's going, but he didn't come to say goodbye to me.
"Girl, what's wrong?" Roxie asks, seeing that I’m fighting back the tears.
"He has to go somewhere and won't be back for a couple of hours." That’s when the tears run down my cheeks.
"Oh, it's going to be fine.” Morgan brushes off my worry, giving me another hug. “Trust the guys."
"I know, but he didn't do it in person." Even to myself, I sound pathetic, which only makes the tears come out more.
"He's probably covered in blood, sweetie,” Crystal explains, rubbing my arm like it’s commonplace for them to be covered in someone’s blood.
"Yeah, he probably doesn't want to touch you when he's got that bastard's blood on his hands."
"I suppose." I let out a soft sob and then choke it back because I'm being ridiculous. Everything they are saying makes a lot of sense, so I try to change my mood. Straightening my back, I ask, "Did Boomer say what he ordered?"
"Breakfast and lunch options. He said with so many pregnant women, options were a must."
"He really is a smart man," I say.
About ten minutes later, the men come into the secured portion of the clubhouse that's meant for when they want to keep us out of harm's way. The smell of meat hits my nose, and my stomach does somersaults. I'm on my feet to the bathroom as fast as I can.
Roxie, who helped bring in the food, comes in to check on me. "Shit, Mare are you cool?"
"Yeah, it's the whole pregnancy thing."
“Damn, I hope that doesn’t last long.”
“Thanks. You don’t have to stay in here if you’re going to be sick.”
“Come on. Do you think I’m that weak? I’m worried about you. Your face paled, and then you took off. I’m just concerned.”
“You’re a wonderful friend.”
“Thanks, but I’m sure the rest of them would be in here if they could manage to not get sick as well.” I stand and move to the sink and get cleaned up.
The cool water on my face feels so good. “I’m going out there again.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I’m hungry, and I’ve got nothing left in my stomach, so I’ll hold my nose and get some food.” We go out, and everyone asks if I’m okay now. Funny that even though I can smell the meat this time, it doesn’t send me into the bathroom again.
I scoop up some hash browns and bacon and move out to the main area to sit down. I turn the television on, and there’s my husband on the news. I press the volume to hear what they’re saying.
“DA Brandon, it’s great to see you return to work again.”
“Oh, I’m just here for a meeting or two, but then I have to get back to my wife.”
“Do you know who attacked you?”
“I don’t, but I have my suspicions. Once I find out, there will be hell to pay.”
“You know that little scar on your eyebrow adds another sexy element to your persona. The ladies are probably loving this segment.”
“Well, the only lady I care about is my wife. She’s the one whose opinion matters to me.”
“Rumors are that it’s your former assistant who fled the day you nearly died.”
“I can’t say exactly. I’d hate to think that someone that close to me did this, but at this point, it can’t be ruled out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make the most of the time I have while I’m at the office.”
“Thanks again for your time, DA Brandon.” Will heads into his building, and then the same reporter who I saw last time turns to the camera to address his anchor in the studio.
“It’s great to see DA William Brandon back to work after nearly being blown to bits a few weeks back. He’s a determined man, and his wife must be a lucky woman.”
The in-station anchor says, “You sound envious. I know I am. Congratulations to the newly married Mrs. Brandon. You’ve got the cream of the crop.” They go to commercial, and I’m betting it’s because they’re all flustered over my sexy husband.
“Damn, that man was trying to scam on your hubby. I’d fuck his ass up.”
"That's hilarious. That woman in the studio is blushing.”
"I'm going to kick her in the cunt in about a minute. Beast is lucky that bitch was in the studio not outside interviewing him, or I'd fuck them both up."
"Ah come on, he's just doing his job,” Jackson says, taking a seat on the sofa next to me.
I roll my eyes at him and nod. “I'll remind you of that the next time a man comes into Penny's bakery and flirts with her."
Suddenly his expression changed, and he throws his hands up. "Okay. You got me there."
"Damn right. Excuse me, I need some more food,” I say, getting up to head into the kitchen.
"Shit, working in a bar got her a little feisty,” Cyber says, having watched us talking shit.
"Or she just loves her man and almost lost him twice, so fuck off, Cyber." Roxie follows behind me, making me laugh.
"Wow, do you and Cyber have a thing going on?"
"Hell no. He's a nosy ass." She stares at the door as if Cyber can feel her anger from the other side.
"Uh oh, did he like scope out your browsing history or something?"
"Something like that, but I don't want to talk about it." Whoa someone is a little more than testy.
"You know, you and I are super close. You can tell me anything
. I won't tell anyone."
"Yeah, I know."
I can see that she doesn’t want to talk, so I let her be. "Okay. I'll give you some time alone."
Chapter 19
Beast
“It’s been weeks since I saw my assistant. I say it’s time to rectify that,” I state, giving Blade a knowing look. I’ve already decided what I’m doing with him. The guys left him in the room without harming the little fuck because they wanted my say in the matter. He’s on the run from the law on suspicion of attempted murder, so no one is aware we swiped the fucker. After the bomb had been placed in my briefcase, it was easy to figure out who did it.
Boomer opens the door, and sitting in the corner is the squirrely bastard. “You tried to kill me. You tried to kill my wife. You almost killed my baby. Now, what should I do about it?”
“You’ve been starving me for weeks.”
“Now you know that’s not quite true. You’ve been given food. Not that you deserve it. You’ve lived three weeks longer than you should have. I should have strung you up by your balls that same day, but I didn’t understand the depths of your depravity.”
“Wait. Listen. I can give you information on the others.”
“My brothers have informed me about your activities. You gave up your cards last week.” I step closer to him, watching his face contort.
“Not all of them?” He shakes as I continue to approach.
“Oh, really. What makes you think I’m gonna believe anything you have to say now?”
“Because he’s been betraying you this whole time.” A smirk on his face sends my fist into his gut.
I grab his head and jerk his head back. “Who?”
“Spencer.”
“Yeah?” A knot in my stomach forms, but I’m not that gullible. He better have some evidence to back that shit up.
“He sold out to the cartel last year to drugs and money. He’s the one who brought Serrano to your house.”
“Bullshit.” I can’t imagine being that fucking double-crossed.
“You don’t believe me?”
“Not. At. Fucking. All.” Even as I say it, I wonder if it’s possible.
“Don’t you people have cameras? How do you think he got there so fast after the call without knowing where you live? It’s not like the land is marked well or on fucking Google Maps.”
“Francisco, if you’re lying to me, I’m going to take pleasure in torturing you until your heart can’t handle the blood loss, and you die. If you are telling the truth, I’ll give you a fighting chance for survival.”
I watch as a glimmer of hope crosses his face, which sends another wave of doubt washing over me. Fuck, I can’t believe Spencer’s behind it. I step out of the room, leaving him with two guards while I go into the security room to check his accusation. “Cyber, bring up the furthest camera from my house from the day of the attack on Mary.” It’s the camera on the outskirts of Steeleville.
“Why? Is there something we missed?”
“Maybe.”
“It would have taken Serrano about ten minutes to get to my house from where we saw him on the other cameras. Now, if he planned to take her away and make her disappear, he’d have to have a getaway car, but we didn’t see one. I can’t believe I fucking missed it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Who’s the only car you see before any of the Riders show?”
“Detective Spencer’s car,” he says, but we all believed he was there to pick up Mary like she asked.
“Let’s look at the edge of town.” He cues up the footage. He hits play, I’m fucking instantly sick to my stomach. There’s Spencer’s car parked on the outskirts as Serrano walks away from it. Ten minutes later, Spencer’s car begins to move slowly through Steeleville to my home by the time Serrano should have kidnapped Mary, but he failed and was bleeding out, so Spencer came to my gate pretending to be innocently arriving at Mary’s request.
“Fuck. I’m sorry, bro. Maybe we’re mistaken.”
“No. There’s no mistaking that betrayal. Flash drive that shit. We’re not going to kill him. The most fucked up place for a cop isn’t hell—it’s prison.” I crack my knuckles. “Excuse me while I deal with the other piece of shit.”
“Of course.” I go back into where we were keeping Francisco. “Did Spencer set up that meeting with me for you to ambush Mary and blow me up?”
“Yes, of course. He threatened to kill my sister if I didn’t,” he insists, but I’m betting it’s more to do with the scratching he’s been doing since he got here. He’s not a full-blown junkie, but he was on his way. I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for his attack on Mary and his subsequent scratching.
“Oh, really? And you couldn’t get help instead of attacking my family?”
“Spencer’s my ex-brother-in-law.”
“Wow, things are getting more interesting by the minute. You must really want to live.” I wrap his head in a black hood, then drag his ass out to the SUVs and stuff him in the back of one. It’s already dark out when my plan starts to take shape. I’ve no intention of letting him live and the more I think about Spencer the less I care if he suffers. I want him dead.
The middle of the night can be freezing this time of year in the middle of the Arizona desert.
* * *
The next morning, Spencer enters my office, and I play the game according to plan. Shaking his hand and offering him a cup of coffee. “I’m sorry about the shit with your assistant. What the fuck was he thinking?”
“I don’t know. He had to be working with Serrano or someone that hates me. I haven’t found the fucker, but when I do, I’ve no idea what I’m going to do.”
“I have men looking for him, but there are no signs of him anywhere.” His phone rings, but he doesn’t answer it, and I know why. It’s the answer I need. It’s the nail in his coffin.
“Will, I’ve got to go. I have a meeting with my partner. I just came to check in on you.”
“Thanks. I’m glad to call you a friend. Let me know if you find my former assistant.”
“I will.”
We shake hands, and he leaves, looking back twice. A nervous expression passing across his face before quickly being masked. I go back to my office and send out some emails. For the next eight hours, I remain completely at work with limited contact with Mary. As long as the guys have her safe and I’m at work, we can’t be tied to what’s about to go down.
When it’s time to leave, I go straight home where Boomer and Cyber are waiting.
“Hey, give me a minute. Where’s my woman?”
“I’m right here,” Mary hollers, running into the living room and into my arms. Damn, I feel blessed as I kiss her soft lips and taste strawberries. Growling, I grind my dick into her, forgetting we have an audience. Boomer’s throat-clearing reminds us, and I set her on her feet.
“So, everything worked perfectly.”
“Great.” A buzz at my gate catches our attention and stops all talk. I look at the camera and it’s a Dallas police vehicle. I press the intercom. “Can I help you officer?”
“Yes. I’m Detective Lewis and my partner Detective Greenlee. May we speak with you?”
“Come on through.” I press the button, and the guys are prepared.
I look down at Mary and then kiss her lips. “Please go into the kitchen with the girls.”
“Okay. Please be safe.” I wink, and she walks away.
Boomer nods, giving the go-ahead, so I open the door to the detectives. “DA Brandon, thank you for seeing us.” They step inside, spotting both of my guys.
“We didn’t realize you had company.” Suspicion strikes not only me, but it’s written on my friends and brother’s faces.
“It’s fine. I have to have security around me at all times because of this bullshit.”
“Well, that’s good. We hate to say this, but we believe something happened to Detective Spencer.”
“What do you mean something happened to Spencer?”
> “He’s missing,” Lewis says.
“Missing? I saw him this morning at my office.” It’s true. Although I know he’s not missing. He’s in the middle of the desert with Francisco.
“Yes, that’s why we are here. You were the last person known to have seen him.” That’s fair.
“Well, I don’t know if I can be of any help. He left quickly. He said he had to meet with…who did he say again…give me a second to…ah yes. Spencer said he was meeting his partner, whoever that is.” His last partner had been killed in a car accident wholly unrelated to being a cop, so I don’t know who they added to replace him.
“What? That’s me,” Detective Greenlee states, looking completely surprised.
“He received a call on his phone that he let go to voicemail and then excused himself less than a minute later.” Lewis makes a note, but Greenlee seems dismayed.
“He didn’t talk to me all day,” he exclaims, appearing guilty. If I didn’t know the truth about Spencer, I’d wonder.
“I’m sorry, but that’s what he said. I hoped he’d come to bring me good news about my former assistant. Unfortunately, he didn’t and made his visit much shorter than usual.”
“Damn. I hate to say it to you, DA Brandon, but we have to inform you that Detective Spencer may be a part of the attack on you and Ms. Stark.” He’s nervous, apparently reading the rage on my face. Even though I already knew that thinking about it easily infuriates me.
“What?” I jump up. “Spencer’s my friend.”
“Sorry, but we have found evidence that he and your assistant were once brothers-in-law.”
I run my hands through my hair. “Son of a bitch. I had no idea." I pace the room, clenching and unclenching my fists. Stopping, I ask, “Do you think he’s helping Francisco hide?”
“I don’t know. His phone records have been pulled, but all we know is he received a call that came from Francisco’s phone. He should have informed us.” I pretend to be surprised.
Beast: A Steele Riders MC Novel Page 10
