UNDERTAKER

by Nicole James

  “Oh, Lord.” She laughed and extended an arm, indicating the chairs in front of her desk. “Please, sit down. What brings you here today? Just stopping in to say hello?”

  He took a seat, and she moved behind her desk.

  “Actually, I have some good news.”

  “What news?”

  “I got a call from a buddy of mine on the Detroit PD. He’s been keepin’ tabs on Jamal Hill for me.”

  The smile faded from her face, his name bringing a rush of bad memories with it. “Detroit?”

  Williams nodded. “That’s where he’s been the last few years.”

  She absolutely hated the fact that while Gregg lay in his grave, his murderer was walking the earth, carrying on with his life. “Oh, I see. And what’s he been up to?”

  “Drug dealing mostly. Until three days ago, that is. He was found dead. I thought you might want to know. Thought maybe it’d help you to finally put it all to rest.”

  “Dead?”

  He nodded. “He was thrown from the fourth floor of an abandoned building.”

  She frowned. “Why do you think he was thrown?”

  “Because he was duct taped to a chair when he went out the window.”

  “Someone threw him out a window? Who?”

  “He wasn’t a very likable guy. Possibly a drug deal gone bad, or maybe he pissed off the wrong person.” Williams shrugged. “I’m just happy he’s dead. I don’t really care how he got that way, do you?”

  She stared off out the window, her mind going blank and foggy for a moment. She was glad he was dead. Maybe he had a few years more of life than Gregg, but at least he didn’t live a long life. That was something, she guessed. Perhaps now she could finally put it all behind her and move on.

  “You okay?”

  She gave him a smile. “Yes. I’m good. Thank you for coming to tell me.”

  He stood. “I thought you’d want to know.”

  She came around the desk and gave him another hug. “It was good to see you, Joe.”

  “You, too. Take care, honey.” He turned to leave, pausing in the door to give her one last smile. “Be happy, Ms. Carter; it looks good on you.”

  When he was gone, she moved to the window, staring out at the sky. Something about what Williams had said nagged at her brain. Maybe he pissed off the wrong person.

  The timeline jumped out at her. Three days ago. Williams said he’d been found three days ago. Undertaker had been out of town three days ago. She bit her lip. He couldn’t be involved in this, could he?

  She thought back to when she’d told him about the murder of her husband and how the man who’d shot him had gotten away with it. She remembered Undertaker had asked her the shooter’s name.

  And a few days later, the man turns up dead.

  Was it just a coincidence?

  She shook her head. She was being ridiculous. He couldn’t possibly have anything to do with it.

  But try as she might, the suspicion ate at her all day long.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  AJ had just popped the top off a bottle of beer when there was a knock on her door. She moved toward it, knowing who was on the other side before she opened it. She knew because she’d called and asked him to come over.

  Undertaker stood, one hand on her doorframe, a grin on his face. “Hey, angel.”

  She stepped back, and he came inside, leaning to kiss her mouth. She turned her face, offering her cheek instead.

  He pulled back and frowned. “What’s that about?”

  “We need to talk.”

  He tossed his gloves and glasses on the dining table. “Something wrong, babe? I do something to piss you off?”

  “I don’t know, have you?”

  His hands slowed from unsnapping his vest. “AJ, you want to tell me what the hell that’s supposed to mean?”

  She lifted her chin, glaring up at him with brows arched. “Jamal Hill is dead.”

  He blinked. “And?”

  “Did you have something to do with it?”

  “Why would you ask me something like that?”

  “Don’t lie to me. I want the truth. You asked his name. When I told you about Gregg’s murder, you asked his name.”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Then a few days later he’s thrown from a building in Detroit. Three days ago, Derek. Three days ago when you told me you were out of town.” When he stayed silent, she pushed. “Were you in Detroit three days ago?”

  “Babe, you don’t get to know club business.”

  “Was it club business?” When he didn’t reply, she pressed. “It wasn’t, was it?”

  “Don’t push me on this.”

  “You’ve got to the bottom of this beer to explain.” She began chugging the beer, her eyes pinning him.

  He reached up and grabbed the bottle from her. “I don’t like ultimatums, AJ.”

  “I don’t either, but I have to know. Don’t you see?”

  “I see you’re gettin’ upset over something you don’t need to be upset about. The man was human garbage. The world’s better off without him. He’s dead. Doesn’t matter how or why.”

  “But it does.”

  “No, babe, it doesn’t.” He stepped closer, taking her face in his hands. “AJ, the man deserved to be gone from this earth. You don’t ever have to think of him again.”

  “You did do it, didn’t you?” she whispered, stunned.

  He searched her eyes, admitting nothing.

  A tear ran slowly down her cheek. “This can’t be happening. Tell me you didn’t do this.”

  His thumb swept across her cheek, brushing the wetness away. Still he didn’t deny it.

  “Oh, God.” Her eyes slid closed, and she sobbed.

  He tilted her head up, his voice firm. “AJ, look at me.”

  Her lids opened, her glassy eyes stared up at him.

  His expression was hardened, giving nothing away. “Understand this. We aren’t going to talk about this again. The man got what he deserved. Case closed.”

  “You did it for me, didn’t you?”

  “You need to understand something about me. No one hurts someone I love and gets away with it.”

  “Someone you love?”

  His jaw tightened as if he’d said too much, as if he wanted to take it back, or maybe he was waiting for her to say it back.

  “What you did was wrong, Derek. Surely you can see that.”

  He looked pissed—or maybe irritated—with her, with the conversation, with everything.

  “Maybe I should go,” he bit out, grabbing up his gloves and glasses.

  “Maybe you should.”

  He yanked the door open but whirled to look at her. “You’re afraid you’ve made a mistake with me, afraid to take a chance on me. I know it’s scary, babe, but in the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.”

  “Maybe I’m not prepared to take those chances anymore.”

  “You’ve always known what kind of man I am. Never hid that from you. Never pretended to be somethin’ I’m not. Never.” His eyes were sad as he continued. “From the very beginning I wanted to treat you right, show you how important you are, how much I respect you, admire what you do, the kind of person you are.”

  She felt her heart breaking in two, and her lip trembled. “You did.”

  “I’ve been upfront from the start. Christ, you know more about my past—about me—than any other woman.” He ran his hand through his hair, shaking his head. “Hell, maybe it’s not enough. Maybe I was crazy to think I’d ever be enough for you. But, baby, don’t think for a minute I’d let someone who hurt you, someone who destroyed your dream life, someone who took from you what he took, go on breathing for one more day. He already had four years he never should have had. You deserve to be happy, to have the dream life you wanted. Maybe I can’t ever give you back what you lost, but I could have damn well tried to make you happy.”

  The door slammed, and he was gone, and her house felt empty again.

&nbs
p; She turned her back to the wood and slid to the floor, letting the tears flow free as she sobbed with the pain of losing another chance at happiness and love.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Undertaker sat behind his desk, staring at the bottle of Jack in front of him and contemplating finishing the whole damn thing. The shot glass sat next to it, empty, unused. He knew if he poured himself one, he wouldn’t stop; he’d polish off the entire bottle.

  But he knew there would be no solace for him at the bottom. It wouldn’t ease his pain or get his woman back, and that’s who she had become—his woman.

  Had he screwed up? Had he made a mistake in going after that scumbag? Everything inside him screamed, hell no! The man was a coldblooded murderer and deserved to die. He deserved everything they’d done to him.

  But knowing that didn’t get him AJ back, and apparently it wasn’t a good enough reason for her. So where did that leave him?

  For two days now she’d refused to take his calls.

  He ran a hand down his face, then in a fit of anger, picked up the bottle and heaved it across the room to shatter against the wall.

  His door opened, and Bug ducked, afraid his president wasn’t finished throwing things. The kid glanced at the wall, amber liquor running down it in rivulets as the smell of good whiskey filled the room. He whistled.

  “What?” Undertaker barked.

  Bug twisted to look at him. “Been monitoring the police scanners like I always do. Some news came across that you might want to hear.”

  Undertaker ran a tired hand down his face. What now? The last thing he needed was another police raid. They’d been hassling the club since Blood’s father had disappeared and his place had burned to the ground. Well, they’d never find Black Jack Boudreaux’s body, because it was gator food. He glared at Bug. “Spill it.”

  “There was a fire on Orchard Hill Drive.”

  “Orchard Hill?” Undertaker straightened in his chair, the tiredness instantly vanishing. AJ lived on Orchard Hill.

  Bug nodded. “325 Orchard Hill. One victim was taken to North Shore Regional.”

  God, let her be okay. Undertaker was out of his chair and moving toward the door as an unbearable tightness squeezed his chest like a Boa constrictor. If he didn’t stop for red lights, he figured he could make it to the hospital in five minutes. As he pushed past Bug, he ordered, “Have someone clean up that mess!”

  Bug stared after his President’s retreating back. “You’re welcome!”

  ***

  AJ lay in the emergency room bay. Amy, Kelsey, and Bella were gathered around the gurney. She stared up at them. “I’m fine. I promise.”

  Another coughing fit made a liar out of her.

  “That’s not what the doctor said. He said you have smoke inhalation,” Amy corrected, looking back at her with a worried expression.

  Kelsey added, “You have shortness of breath and your voice is hoarse. You’re not fine.”

  “We can’t just ever have a nice girl’s lunch, can we? There’s always gotta be drama,” Bella teased, trying to lighten the mood and cheer her up.

  AJ tried to laugh and ended up coughing again.

  Kelsey elbowed Bella. “Stop making her laugh.”

  “What? I was being serious.”

  Kelsey rolled her eyes.

  Amy looked down at AJ. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Next time we drop you off at your house and it’s on fire, you don’t run in to save your damn cat.”

  “I had to!” she rasped out. “I couldn’t let Moxie burn to death. Where is she? Is she okay?”

  Amy patted her knee. “The cute fireman gave her oxygen from his mask while the paramedics treated you. Your neighbor, Stacy, took her. Said she’d take good care of her for you.”

  “My house. Is it a total loss?” AJ started coughing again.

  “I’m afraid so, honey,” Bella said. “What the fire didn’t get, the water and smoke damage probably did.”

  AJ’s eyes slid closed. She’d just lost everything she owned. “At least I got Moxie out. I’ve had her since…”

  Her voice faded off, but her girlfriends all knew how long she’d had Moxie. Not long after Gregg’s funeral, Amy had given her the kitten to try to cheer her up. The sweet little ball of fur and affection had gotten her through the miscarriage and the depression that followed.

  “Everything’s going to be fine, honey. You have insurance, and you’ll come stay with me until you find another place.”

  “But I loved that house.”

  They got quiet, knowing they couldn’t fix this or make it better.

  “Do you want us to call that man you’ve been seeing? What did you say his name was?”

  “Derek.” She shook her head. “No, I don’t want you to call him.”

  “But why? I thought you two were getting close. You seemed so happy.”

  Her throat closed up at the pain of ending it with him, and a coughing fit took her.

  “Get her some water,” Kelsey said, gesturing for Bella to hand over the cup and straw the nurse had brought in.

  A different nurse pushed aside the drawn curtain. She was dressed in green scrubs. “How are you doing, Ms. Carter?”

  “I’m all right,” she rasped. “When can I go home?”

  “The doctor is going over your blood work. He’ll let you know.” The nurse checked the reading from the probe they’d attached to her finger. “Your oxygen level is good. Much better than it was when they brought you in. That’s good.”

  “Can I take this tube out of my nose?”

  The nurse smiled, understanding she hated it. “The doctor wants you on oxygen for now. He’ll be in to see you in a couple of minutes, and he’ll make that determination.”

  AJ nodded.

  The curtain was pulled aside, and they all turned, expecting the doctor.

  AJ’s eyes widened when she saw Derek standing there.

  The nurse took in his leather vest before turning to AJ. “Is this a friend of yours?”

  She nodded, not about to put the nurse in the position of asking him to leave. She knew he wouldn’t do it, and there’d be a scene, probably ending up with Undertaker being hauled off by security and whatever army they had to call in to assist.

  Her eyes swept over him. He looked shaken. His eyes barely spared a glance for her friends as he moved to her side and demanded, “Are you all right?”

  Was that fear she saw in his eyes?

  “I’m fine,” she rasped. “What are you doing here?”

  “Where else would I be when you need me?” He brushed his hand over her hair. “Were you burned? They said your house was on fire.”

  She frowned, wondering how he knew. “Who said?”

  “The police on the scanners. Never mind that. Are you burned?”

  “I’m okay.” She started coughing again.

  Derek turned back to the nurse. “Where’s the doctor, damn it?”

  AJ clutched at his arm as the nurse retreated. “Don’t swear at her.”

  His head swiveled. “You scared me half to death.”

  She searched his eyes. “You came.”

  “Of course I did, babe. I love you. I prayed all the way over here that you’d be okay.”

  She laughed, happiness flooding through her.

  “What are you laughing at? The thought of me praying or that I just told you I loved you?”

  “No. The fact that the first time you say it to me, I’m lying on a hospital gurney, looking like crap.”

  He brushed the hair back again. “You look beautiful. Gorgeous. And I said I loved you before.”

  “No, you didn’t. You said, ‘No one hurts someone you love.’ That’s not the same as saying, I love you.”

  “You gonna argue with me like this all the time?”

  “Probably.”

  There was a giggle behind them, and he turned. “These your friends?”

  Amy extended her hand. “Are you Derek?”

  His eyes moved back to AJ,
realizing she’d told her friends about him. Judging by the smile on his face, that made him happy. “Told your friends about me, huh?”

  “Maybe. This is Amy, Bella, and Kelsey.

  He shook all their hands.

  The curtain moved again, and the doctor walked in. “We’ve got quite a crowd in here. You must have a lot of people that care about you, Ms. Carter.” He moved to the other side of the gurney from Undertaker. “I’ve got the results from your tests. Do you want them to stay?”

  “Yes, they can stay.”

  “I’ve gone over your arterial blood gas, your metabolic profile, and all your levels look good. At this time I don’t think a chest x-ray or bronchoscopy is necessary, but I want you to follow up with your regular physician. Call them tomorrow and make an appointment. If you experience any increased respiratory distress, I want you to take it seriously and get back in here.”

  “What’s a bronchoscopy?” Derek asked.

  “A procedure where we’d sedate her and insert a bronchoscope to examine her air passages.” He looked back at AJ, smiling down at her. “I’m going to discharge you. If the condition worsens or doesn't improve, I want you to return immediately to the emergency department. Understand?”

  “Yes, doctor.”

  “I’m going to prescribe you some pain medications for your sore throat and an inhaler to help with your shortness of breath. And I want you to stay away from any and all breathing irritants such as cigarette smoke.” His gaze flicked up to Derek when he said that, and AJ smiled at the look on Derek’s face.

  “Any questions?”

  “No, doctor.”

  He patted her hand. “The nurse will be in with your release papers and the prescriptions. Take care of yourself, young lady. You were very lucky.”

  “Thank you, doctor.”

  They were all quiet for a moment before Kelsey said, “We’ll be in the waiting room; give you two some time alone.”

  Undertaker turned to her. “I’ve got it from here, ladies. No need for you to hang around. Thank you for all you did for her.”

  They all looked to AJ to see if that was what she wanted.

  “It’s all right,” she assured them.