by London Casey
“Drive by?” Miller asked.
“Hardly,” Jerry said. “She was in an alley. And according to the ME she was put in the car after the shooting. Bullets hit her from a distance too. Doesn’t make sense either, considering who she is… well, was.”
“And who was that?” Gaige asked.
Jerry smiled. “Rachel Strokner.”
“Don’t know the name,” Gaige said.
“Rachel is the daughter of Bob Strokner…”
“The real estate guy,” Miller said. “Shit.”
“Worried?” Jerry asked.
Miller smiled. “Not at all.”
“Well, let me be clear about this,” Jerry said. He took one last large drag of his cigarette and tossed it to the pavement, scattering embers. “I know that girl probably has some kind of tie to the MC here. How? I don’t know and I don’t give a shit. The junkyard hasn’t been fully investigated yet, but I’m sure that will come in time. I haven’t visited Mr. Strokner yet. He’s flying in from Seattle on a private jet as we speak. When he lands, I’m sure he’s going to want answers about the death of his daughter.”
“I’m sure you’ll point him right to us.” Gaige asked.
“Now, why would I do that?” Jerry asked. “Unless you have something to confess to me right now.”
Miller took a step forward. “Thanks for the information. I’m sorry we can’t help you. It’s a damn shame when other people start pulling triggers without knowing their targets, isn’t it?”
“I take it those bullets were meant for…” Jerry looked at Gaige. “Maybe for you?”
“Bullshit,” Gaige said. “Sorry to hear about a wasted life.”
“Now if I could just do my goddamn job,” Jerry growled.
“You can,” Miller said. “Investigate. Do what you need to do. I can promise you that we didn’t shoot her. You can come take a look around here if you want.”
Jerry shook his head. “I’ll be back if I need anything else. Just a courtesy heads up. Money talks more than the badge, Miller. You know that. If Strokner starts talking backdoor offerings, there’s not much I can do.”
“You just focus on your beautiful wife and baby,” Miller said. “Make sure you give her that gift.”
Jerry looked at the box in his hand. He slowly opened it. He took out a bracelet and held it up. It was a charm bracelet. There was a bottle and a blue ‘B’.
“Thanks,” Jerry said. “I’m sure she’ll love it.”
Gaige pointed to the pack of cigarettes on the hood of the cruiser. “Take those, too. Just don’t get caught with them.”
Gaige and Miller turned and walked away, shoulder to shoulder.
“Strokner a big deal?” Gaige asked.
“Big fucking deal,” Miller said.
“Should we be worried?”
“When aren’t we worried?”
Gaige stopped and Miller kept walking. Gaige looked over his shoulder and saw Jerry lighting another cigarette.
Everyone has a vice… and most were deadly.
twelve.
Emily sat at a long desk, filtering through paperwork while her mind couldn’t stop thinking of Gaige and Rachel. It still didn’t seem possible that her best friend was dead. And yet she couldn’t do anything about it. She couldn’t tell anyone. She couldn’t grieve. She couldn’t stop long enough to miss her friend, collapse into pieces, and then slowly pick herself back up and move on with her life, because Emily knew that if she gave any indication of Rachel being dead it would take her to the scene of the crime.
The pit of her stomach burned all day.
She had three clients that were set for their dates. All three were for the afternoon, which was a bit of a rarity as most of the men enjoyed their dates during the evening hours. A few of the woman who worked there would even go on overnight excursions which cost a lot of money. The men paying though didn’t care. They were rich and they knew what they wanted and they always got it.
It was early afternoon when the office secretary, Janine, came to Emily’s desk. She was in her late fifties and dressed like a grandmother. She had beads dangling from her glasses and wore them on the end of her nose. The funny thing about Janine though was that if she rolled up her sleeves, she was tattooed shoulder to wrist. She had once been an old lady to the VP of a MC that shut down years ago. She could never force herself to leave the life, even if it meant being a secretary for an escort business.
“Someone is coming for you,” Janine said.
“For me?” Emily asked. She instantly thought of Gaige. She scrambled to find her phone but there was no message from Gaige.
“They’re in a helicopter,” she said. “Said he landed his jet twenty minutes ago and got in his helicopter.”
“Who would…?”
“Are you working out of office now?” Janine asked and smiled. She put a hand to her chest. “Not that I’m judging. My goodness, Emily, if I had your body, I would be out there working it.”
“I’m not out of office,” Emily said. “Did he leave his name?”
Emily gripped her phone tight, ready to call for Gaige if need be.
“He just said he was Mr. S.”
“Mr. S.? Who…” Emily gasped and lost her breath. “Mr. S.”
“Know him?”
Emily nodded. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay. It’s all okay.”
“Are you sure? You look pale.”
“No,” Emily said. She forced herself to smile. “Just someone I haven’t seen in a while. A family friend.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll let you know when he arrives.”
Emily stood up. “I’ll just wait outside.”
She had to get out of the office. The room suddenly felt too small. As she charged through the office, she hurried into the bathroom for a quick stop. Barely making it to the sink, she threw up everything she had eaten for breakfast back at the clubhouse with Gaige. Her eyes burned and when she looked at herself in the mirror she knew she needed to clean up and act cool.
Mr. S. was coming.
Mr. S. as in Mr. Strokner. Rachel’s father.
What does he know?
It was the question that burned in Emily’s mind as she washed her face, took a deep breath, and left the bathroom. She put her cell to her ear to make it like she was talking so she could get out of the office without anyone bothering her. The moment she stepped outside she heard the sound of the helicopter. She spotted the black dot in the distance and watched as it grew closer and closer until it finally dropped down to the open strip behind the building.
The engine was shut off and came to a whining end. The side door opened and out stepped Rachel’s father, the powerful Bob Strokner. He owned real estate across the country and even across the world. He was loaded with a ton of money and a nasty attitude. The second Emily saw him she wished Gaige was there with her. Then again, bikers and Mr. Strokner would be gas and fire, for sure.
Emily held a straight face the best she could as Mr. Strokner approached her.
“Mr. Strokner,” Emily said. “This is a surprise.”
His face was drawn. His eyes intent on Emily. “Haven’t you heard yet?”
“Heard…?”
Emily felt her body sweating. She needed to hold the lie together.
“Oh, Emily,” Mr. Strokner said. He sighed and offered his hand.
Emily took it. “What’s wrong?”
“When was the last time you spoke to Rachel?”
“I, uh, yesterday,” Emily said. “She stopped by my apartment. She, uh… is something wrong?”
Mr. Strokner nodded. “There is.” He looked at the building and swallowed hard. “Did Rachel ever come here with you?”
“Here? No. She actually doesn’t know I work here. It’s not the most flattering job. I told her I was in school. I’m sorry I lied to her. How did you…?”
“I find out everything I need,” Mr. Strokner said. “Emily, I need you to get into the helicopter with me. Please.”
Emily kne
w she shouldn’t go with Mr. Strokner, but what choice did she have? She couldn’t reveal that she knew the fate of Rachel. So Emily walked with Mr. Strokner and got into the helicopter. When Mr. Strokner leaned forward to the pilot she feared he was going to order the helicopter be started. Instead, Mr. Strokner told the pilot to take a break. He exited the helicopter and then Emily was alone with Mr. Strokner.
“I have to tell you something,” Mr. Strokner said.
“Okay,” Emily said.
“Rachel was shot yesterday.”
“Shot?”
“Multiple times. She’s… gone…”
Gone.
Emily shut her eyes and felt the pain swell in her stomach.
“Gone?”
“Murdered.”
Emily’s eyes welled with tears. She was finally able to openly cry for good reason. This only sold the lie more to Rachel’s father. He pulled a small cloth from his suit jacket and handed it to her.
“You know why this happened?” he asked.
“No. She never mentioned any problems to me. How…?”
“This wasn’t an accident,” Mr. Strokner said. “I have the report already.”
“She’s really gone?”
“She was shot several times in the back. She was placed into her car. She was in an alley near a junkyard that has a nasty reputation of bikers. Know anything about bikers?”
Emily buried her face in the cloth. She shook her head. “How is she gone? I should have known something was wrong.”
“Emily, clean yourself up and look at me,” Mr. Strokner ordered.
This was getting too serious.
Emily wiped her face and looked at Mr. Strokner.
“What was the last thing you remember about Rachel?” he asked. His eyes were like stone.
“She came by my apartment yesterday with coffee. We talked for an hour. I told her I was studying, but I wanted to just have a night alone and catch up on some sleep. She said she was going out and left.”
“Going out where?”
“I don’t know. Just out.”
“And you didn’t go with her?”
“No.”
The lies were swelling throughout Emily’s body. She could feel herself wanting to crack. This was all going to blow up in her face. She knew it. She just fucking knew it.
“My little girl was shot,” Mr. Strokner said. “Near a junkyard that has a reputation for trouble.”
“I guess we were both lying about our lives then,” Emily said as tears filled her eyes again. “I can’t believe this.”
“Imagine my shock,” Mr. Strokner said. “As far as I knew, Rachel was a good girl. Kept to herself. Stayed out of the trouble.”
“Maybe it was an accident,” Emily said.
Mr. Strokner smiled and stretched an arm out to Emily. “It wasn’t just a random bullet. She was shot at. I want to know who did it and I want to know why.”
“I can’t… I don’t know…”
Mr. Strokner blinked and Emily saw tears. The big bad businessman was starting to cry. “I’ll find the truth. Perhaps you should think really hard about everything too. Just in case she said something that slipped your mind. Maybe she had a new boyfriend. Maybe she was trying to give you hints and didn’t realize.”
“Mr. Strokner…”
“I’m not blaming you,” Mr. Strokner said. “I came to tell you in person before all of this gets released. And in case you were trying to call Rachel and couldn’t find her.”
“I’m sorry,” Emily said. “So sorry.”
“So am I.”
Emily sat for a few more seconds and then left the helicopter. She stood and watched as the pilot got back into the chopper. Within a minute, the helicopter roared to life and lifted off the ground. Mr. Strokner looked at Emily one more time and she got the feeling that he knew she was lying to him. The man wasn’t stupid.
She reached for her cell phone and froze.
What was she going to do? Did this really involve Gaige? He and the MC were already busy enough looking for the shooters. Dragging them into the business of Mr. Strokner would only make things worse.
She could not believe this was happening. It was the exact reason why Emily kept to herself all the time. Why she liked to stay hidden. The second she showed up to a biker fight, her entire life changed.
Yet it wasn’t all bad.
Emily’s body warmed thinking about her and Gaige together the night before. Maybe that was a big mistake and maybe it would ultimately be something she would regret, but she needed it. She succumbed to Gaige not only because he was hot and commanding, but because she wanted that protected feeling again. To be in the arms of someone who could and would kill for her. That meant something.
When Emily returned to the office, she had to hurry back to the bathroom. Her emotions were now winning the battle. She was back at the same sink but this time, she was crying.
One of the stalls opened and she saw the reflection of one of the women adjusting her short skirt. She touched her nose and smiled. She had been getting drugged up before going to work. The woman left the bathroom and a second later, Janine came walking in. Emily tried to wipe her eyes to hide the fact she had been crying, but it was to late.
“Oh, no… what happened?”
“Nothing,” Emily said. “Just nothing.”
“You don’t have to lie to me.”
Emily looked at Janine. Maybe it would do good to get some truth off her chest. “My best friend was murdered yesterday. That was her father who came to see me.”
Janine rushed to Emily and hugged her. Emily lost it again. She cried, finally able to really let it out. She was hugging someone who was, more than anything else, a stranger. Yet it felt good to be hugged like this. To be able to cry.
“I’m so sorry, Emily,” Janine said. “You should go home. You shouldn’t be here like this. Do you have someone to call?”
Emily nodded. “I do.”
“Good.”
Janine looked at Emily and handed her a paper towel to wipe her eyes. Emily took a deep breath. She washed her face, again, and took out her cell. She sent a text to Gaige to come get her.
“Okay, are you good now?” Janine asked.
“Yeah, I think so. Why?”
“There’s a client out there looking for you. He’s here to pick up Belle. But he wants to see you first thank you for setting up his meeting.”
Emily took a breath and nodded. “Okay. That’s fine.”
“Are you sure? I could go lie to him…”
“No. I don’t want to hurt business.” Emily wiped her face. “I can do this. It’s okay.”
“Let me take you home,” Janine offered. “We’ll sneak out the back. I’ll use my lunch break. Okay?”
“Thank you but I don’t need that.”
Emily sucked in a breath. She left the bathroom and went to her desk. When Janine walked by, she nodded. Emily then went back to work, waiting for the client. There was a need of discretion and secrecy to make the business work and to keep clients happy. Quite often, these were married men who wanted something on the side. It also meant leaving a lot of moral and ethic beliefs at the door.
As Emily worked, she heard Janine direct the client to her desk. When she heard the words, “Thank you, love”, Emily froze. She sat straight up and watched as the client walked toward her desk. She blinked a few times, waiting for the image to change. But it didn’t change.
He was here.
“Emily, look at you.”
Emily was so cold she started to shiver.
“Speechless, I’m sure.”
Belle came walking from the back, her long legs strutting to perfection. He looked at her and took Belle’s hand.
“As beautiful as I thought,” he whispered. “Let’s get out of here, love.”
Emily slowly stood, her mouth dry.
He looked at her and smiled. “Don’t worry, this is just for fun. Just to take the edge off. I’ll be back… for you. For what
you took.”
He winked and walked out of the office.
Emily grabbed her bag and her cell. She hadn’t blinked yet even though her mind was screaming at her.
He was here… Max found her…
And Emily hadn’t forgotten his last promise to her years ago.
“I’ll find you and I’ll fucking kill you.”
thirteen.
Gaige got the text while sitting on a pool table next to Nate. They were sharing a joint because Gaige needed to really clear his mind. They had run recon on Eight Under, going toward the junkyard but not getting too close. They were officially in hiding, which was expected for the moment. Being the pussies they were, they’d hide for a day or two, celebrate their little victory in ambushing a fight, but soon they would need their fix for money, pussy, and drugs. That’s when Back Down Devil would be waiting.
Within minutes Gaige was on his motorcycle speeding toward the building. He couldn’t wait to get Emily back in his arms. She was still in a state of shock, even if she wouldn’t admit it. Gaige knew the feeling Emily had rolling through her body. She needed to toughen up though and realize death was at everyone’s door.
Thinking about death made Gaige ride faster. He lived as though death was chasing him and all he could do was use the two wheels and throttle to keep ahead of it.
As he turned up the road to get to the escort service, a black car came flying in his direction. Gaige cut to the side and threw the middle finger at the driver. The car sped right out onto the main street without looking. The tires squealed and then the car was gone. It gave Gaige an uneasy feeling.
Before he could think another thought, he saw Emily standing outside, hugging herself, tears streaming down her cheeks. Gaige looked back, knowing that black car had something to do with it.
He rushed to Emily and wrapped his arms around her. “What happened?”
“I have… there’s…”
Gaige held Emily while she cried. He kissed the top of her head and kept his eyes moving. Just in case.
“It’s okay, beautiful. I’m right here. I’m going to protect you.”
“Take me away from here,” Emily said.
“Okay.”
Gaige gave Emily his helmet and they were off again. Back down the secret road and then back into town and to the clubhouse. Gaige pulled to the side of the road near the clubhouse and killed the engine.
