10
Snow
“Carried Away”—Shinedown
A week after Officer Dickwad Edwards delivered the shitty news to Hailey, all hell broke loose.
“Boss, you better come out here.” Reaper stuck his head in my office door. The expression on his face wasn’t good.
“What’s up?” I warily questioned as I stood.
“Cops are here,” he said with a frown.
“Jesus, now what?” I groaned.
We moved quickly down the hall and out to the common area. Several officers, including Dickhead Edwards, were waiting with their hands resting threateningly on their service weapons.
“To what do I owe this lovely visit?” I sarcastically asked.
“We have a warrant to search the premises,” Edwards all but sneered.
“On what grounds?” I demanded.
“On these grounds,” he replied as he shoved the paperwork in my hand and instructed his cronies to leave nothing unturned. My teeth gritted as I read the bullshit warrant. There was no way.
“That’s absolute shit, and you know it. We had nothing to do with that, and you won’t find any of that,” I argued.
“Well, I guess we’ll see, now won’t we,” he said with a snarky smile. It didn’t last long, because it dropped when he snarled to his fellow officers, “Search them.”
We were all patted down like common criminals and our weapons secured out of our reach.
“Get Ryland on the phone. Now,” I told Vinny.
He nodded and pulled out his phone to call our attorney.
When the first guy opened a knife and made a motion to stab the couch cushion, I stepped forward.
“What the fuck? No way. That’s completely unnecessary.”
Officer Dickwad raised a brow and shot me a triumphant grin. “Are you refusing our search? Trying to impede a police investigation? Because if so, that’s obstruction of justice.”
He knew damn well he had me. “You can’t maliciously destroy our property or your search can be deemed invalid and anything you find can’t be used against us,” I added through gritted teeth.
He stepped up until we were nearly toe-to-toe. “Prove it.”
Rage building in me, I watched with clenched fists as they destroyed the clubhouse. Sliced open the couches and table benches. Turned the furniture over. Broke the liquor bottles when they swiped them off the shelves.
Tash startled and let out a brief shriek at the sound of the glass breaking. Soap wrapped an arm around her as he buried her face in his shoulder.
When they moved down the hall toward our rooms, Soap turned to me, chest heaving. “This is fucking bullshit, Prez.”
“I’m fully aware,” I ground out.
One of the assholes called out for Edwards from down the hall. He sauntered down to see what his crony wanted. Then he turned my way with a sardonic rise of his brow.
“Whose room is this?” he called out as he pointed into one of the doorways.
“Two-Speed, that’s your room, isn’t it?” Apollo said through clenched teeth. He’d about come unglued when they ransacked the infirmary.
“Yeah,” Two-Speed said cautiously with a questioning frown.
Edwards and the other officer approached us with a plastic bag. Within it was what looked like blue fabric.
“What the hell is that?” I asked, but the douchebags ignored me.
Edwards announced they were arresting Two-Speed for the disappearance of Danielle DeSilva, then began reading him his rights and spun him against the wall. The cop slapped cuffs on him as he smashed Two-Speed into the wall.
“That was borderline police brutality. He’s not fighting you,” I growled. Two-Speed shot me a look that was full of anger mixed with a flicker of fear.
“Don’t worry, brother, I’ll deal with this.” As they pushed Two-Speed to get him moving, I turned to Vinny. He was holding on to his temper as tenuously as I was.
“None of you leave town!” Edwards called out with a grin. His chin rose as he gave me a look that screamed “got you.”
When the last asshole in blue exited the building, we began to clean up the mess. “Reaper! Call Hacker! Find out if that shit recorded.”
“Sure as fuck will,” he replied with a curl of his lip.
“Good. Tell him we need it downloaded to give to Ryland.” Reaper nodded and headed to Hacker’s room. It was really nothing more than an office now that he and Kassi had bought a house together.
It wasn’t long before Kent Ryland was walking through the door. His dark gaze swept over the mess we were slowly cleaning up.
“Jesus. What exactly did they think they were going to find here?” he asked as his gaze swept the room. “I hope someone recorded this shit.”
“I’m waiting for Hacker to get here, but I’m sure we got it on video. Come back to my office, and I’ll fill you in,” I said as I handed off the contractor bag I’d been filling to Hollywood. Not waiting to see if Ryland followed me, I stormed to my office.
Vinny and I stood the chairs up, then filled Ryland in on what we knew. Our attorney quietly took notes as he listened to everything we said. He asked us a few questions, made a few notes, then closed his notebook.
“I’ll get on this. You think he’s guilty?” Ryland asked me as he held my gaze.
“Not a chance,” I insisted. Two-Speed was crazy as hell, but not like that. He’d gotten his road name because he only knew two speeds—slow and warp speed.
“You think they planted that shit.” It wasn’t a question. Ryland waited for me to confirm.
“Has to be. Everything is too convenient. They had a warrant specifically for personal items belonging to Danielle DeSilva.”
“The question is why?” Ryland sat back in his chair.
“Why? Because they have a hard-on for us about a mile long. Who better to pin shit on?” I spat in disgust.
“But at the expense of letting the real perpetrator go free?” Vinny quietly questioned.
“Unless they know who it is and they’re trying to protect them,” I said as I met Ryland’s steady stare.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Ryland said as he put his notebook back into his briefcase and stood. Vinny and I followed suit. “I’m going to get on this. There’s no way they’re getting away with blatant destruction of property. Your boy knows not to say anything to them until I get there, right?”
I nodded.
“Right. Then I’ll head over.” He shook our hands, and we showed him out, dodging the rubble left behind from the search.
Once he was out the door, I called everyone into church. “Twenty minutes. Get Joker here from the tattoo shop. I don’t care if he’s in the middle of tattooing the queen’s ass. Hacker had an install today. Did he answer?” I asked Reaper when I stuck my head in Hacker’s “war room.”
“Yeah, he did.”
“Good. Call him back. See if he’s finished; if not, he can go back tomorrow. I want everyone present.”
“Roger that,” said Reaper as he pulled out his phone.
Vinny and I went into the chapel and began righting the table and chairs. We also checked everything for possible surveillance devices. I’d have Hacker run a bug check when he got back.
“Why the fuck they have to tip over the table? This thing is heavy as fuck,” Vinny grumbled as we lifted it up to its legs.
“Because Edwards is a dick and a half,” I replied.
Reaper walked in and started grabbing chairs with us. “Joker’s on his way. Hacker was already heading back.”
“Good.”
One by one, the members of the Demented Sons filed into the chapel. Each of them took his seat. My eyes traveled the room, taking in my brothers.
Vinny, Cash, Dice, Reaper, Hollywood, Hacker, Joker, Smokey, Soap, and Apollo. “Call Reload in here for this. Hacker, run a check.” I didn’t need to explain further—he knew what I was asking for and immediately complied.
Reload was a prospect, but
I wanted everyone included.
He followed Reaper back into the room and leaned against the wall. Reaper closed the door after he was inside.
“You probably all know, but Two-Speed was arrested.” There was muttering from every member. “Quiet! We all know it’s bullshit. I want to know where every single one of you was during the time that the girl disappeared. Not because I think any of you are guilty, but we need to verify alibis.”
For the next hour, we hashed out where everyone was during the time in question. Everyone had a rock-solid alibi except Dice and Vinny. Theirs were questionable for part of the time but likely not long enough to allow them to look guilty. Then again, it seemed like the cops were trying to set us up for the shit, so who knew what the fuckers would do.
“Ryland will work out Two-Speed’s whereabouts. No one goes anywhere alone. Make sure you can always verify who you were with and where. I’m not sure why they’re trying to pin this shit on us, but we’re gonna find out. We’re also gonna step up our game on finding out what happened with Danielle.” Every brother steadily held my gaze.
“Also, there was another overdose last week. It was down near Graettinger, but that’s still in our radius. Look into the details for me,” I instructed Hacker.
“Roger that,” he replied.
After I banged the gavel, the chairs scraped the floor as everyone stood. They quietly left the room, but I stayed seated. Lost in thought, I didn’t realize anyone was in the room until someone cleared their throat. Pulled out of my head, my gaze darted to where Reaper stood waiting.
“You need something?”
He glanced over his shoulder to ensure we were alone. When he was satisfied we were, he spoke quietly. “I’m not tryin’ to tell you your business, boss, but with all this going on, you might need to give Miss Monroe a heads-up. Before she hears this bullshit from somewhere else.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Well, you’ve been working with her on the fundraiser, and, well, you know… people talk.” He shuffled from one foot to the other.
“About?” I knew, but I wasn’t going to admit it.
“You and her,” he hemmed.
“There is no me and her,” I insisted. Because I knew I’d have to step back until we figured this shit out. There was no way I was dragging her into this mess. She had enough to worry about.
The idea didn’t sit well with my cock, but I needed to think with the right damn head.
He thinned his lips and raised his brows like he didn’t believe me. Then he told me he was out and left.
Nervously tapping my fingers on the dark wood, I procrastinated composing the message I knew I needed to send. The thought of not feeling the silky glide of her skin against mine sucked. Though I knew it was the right thing to do, actually making that move made my chest cramp. Absently, I rubbed it with my knuckles.
Then I got up, grabbed my phone from the basket outside the chapel door, and sat back down. I needed to see her one last time.
11
Hailey
“Prayed For You”—Matt Stell
“Mr. Matthews is here,” Alba announced over my intercom.
“Thank you, Alba. Send him back. If you have everything caught up, feel free to head home. I’ll lock up.” My cheeks heated when I thought I heard her chuckle before she ended the connection.
It had been over three months since Luke had walked into my office and blown my life to smithereens. Three months since we decided to have a no-strings-attached casual sex relationship.
A perfect friends-with-benefits situation.
He was an incredible lover, but I appreciated that he respected my need for space. I was busy, and at twenty-nine, I was proud of what I’d accomplished.
I’d worked hard, sacrificing a lot over the years to get to where I was. While most of my childhood friends had husbands and families, I’d worked sometimes seven days a week. Sure, there were times I had that pang in my chest for something I couldn’t put a name to, but I was essentially happy.
My parents had come for a visit, and I’d had to sneak out in the night to meet up with him in my backyard. Going without him for a week was a hard pass. Not that my parents were prudes, but I wasn’t ready to discuss my sex life with them. Luke and I had christened my gazebo like rock stars.
A smile curled my lips at the memory.
“Must be a pretty good thought.” His voice rumbled from the door.
“Very,” I replied with a saucy grin.
He came in and closed the door. Then he leaned over my desk to kiss me. It was sultry and full of promise. When the thought that it was very couple-ish hit me, I broke away, licked my lips, and cleared my throat.
“The guys have almost everything assembled for tomorrow.” We had decided to advertise not only on social media but in a larger radius to maximize attendance. Luke’s club donated all the labor for setup and the funds for the prizes. We were doing a carnival theme this year. The club had also footed the bill for a few carnival rides.
“Thank you. I still can’t get over how much you guys donate to keeping this tradition in place. It’s pretty impressive.”
“We love doing it,” he said with a smile, but the mischievous light in his eyes dimmed a little, stoking my curiosity.
“Everything okay?” I asked, suddenly sobered.
“Yeah. It’s just rough sometimes.”
“Because of your brother?” I questioned.
“Yeah.”
“I get it,” I offered.
“Is that why you got into adolescent drug rehab?” he asked as he sat on the edge of my desk and rested his hands on his thigh.
My heart clenched a little, and I sighed. “Yes. It is.”
Sensing my need to gather my feelings, he didn’t ask anything further. Then again, maybe he was dealing with corralling his own demons about his brother. It was hell losing someone close to you to drugs or the life path it leads you down.
“Not only the awful situation with Danielle; did you hear there was another overdose from that crazy-ass drug?” I asked him in an attempt to divert the subject. If his expression had dimmed before, it damn near raged at that. I was instantly sorry I brought it up.
“Yes, and the people responsible keep slipping through the cracks,” he ground out. “I heard one of the kids was using that before he entered the program here. The police talked to him about where he’d gotten it, but buying drugs has entered the digital age. They don’t know any names, it’s all electronic transfer of funds with no proof of what the transaction was for. Pickup is sometimes in person, sometimes via a middleman, sometimes in a gym locker.”
His expression quickly shut down.
“How do you know what the police found out?” I frowned. I hadn’t heard all of that.
He shrugged. “They published some of it in the news and on their social media page.”
The wheels in my head spun as I thought about the biker show I’d watched. Though Luke had laughingly said they were nothing like that, I had to wonder. Wouldn’t a criminal deny everything they did?
Deciding to let it lie, I pulled up the projections to go over with him. “It looks like the number of advance tickets purchased this year is exceeding the past two years by about 20 percent. That’s pretty amazing.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear that.”
We went over a few last-minute details before I locked up my office and he walked me to my car. Upon reaching my door, I spun to face him.
“You know that everyone thinks there’s something going on between us,” I said.
He chuckled. “Well, there is. It’s a small town; I figured it was no secret.”
“That doesn’t bother you?”
“Should it?”
“Well, I’m worried about what people will say.” I’d really thought we could keep it a secret, but I’d screwed up and fallen asleep at his house that morning. When I’d snuck out in my walk of shame the next morning, his neighbor—Alba’s mother—was outside wi
th her yappy little dog.
Since the fateful neighbor day, I was sure she’d run her mouth to more than Justine. I’d been getting lots of sidelong glances—some judging and some jealous. Not that it had stopped me from hooking up with him. I had no self-control when it came to the gorgeous, broody biker.
Which made me wonder if I’d actually stayed as detached as I’d insisted I would.
“You mean what they’re already saying? Come on, Hailey, you can’t be that naive. You have to know that they’re already saying what they’re gonna say. Are you trying to tell me you want to call this off? Because of a little gossip?” Disbelief colored his gaze before he winced.
Burying my face in my hands, I groaned. “I don’t knowwwww.”
When he didn’t say anything, I peeked between my fingers. He appeared thoughtful and slightly irritated. “You know what? You’re right. This is a bad idea. If there’s anything else you need before tomorrow, let me know.”
I dropped my hands to watch him walk over to his bike. Not once did he give me a backward glance before he roared out of the parking lot.
“Dammit.”
The sound of carnival music and laughter filled the air. Ticket sales had far exceeded our expectations, and people were still buying them the day of the event. The scent of carnival food teased me, and my stomach rumbled.
It was late, and I hadn’t eaten all day.
“This appears to be a huge hit,” Polly said from behind me. Surprise had me spinning in her direction. I hadn’t been expecting her to come, since she was still recuperating from her second hip surgery.
“Thank you. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to do the Leon justice, with it being my first year.” A relieved smile spread over my face.
“I knew you’d do just fine.” She returned my smile, then appeared contemplative. “So what’s the scoop with you and Luke Matthews?”
My heart hammered at the mention of his name. I’d seen him arrive with his club brothers earlier, but he hadn’t sought me out once.
Twisted Steel: An MC Anthology: Second Edition Page 7
