by Wilder, L.
As soon as she hung up the phone, I asked, “What’s going on?”
“That was Mr. Evans. He manages my apartment complex, and he thinks someone broke into my apartment.”
I got up and started to get dressed along with her. “Thinks?”
“Well, he said my door was wide open, and it looked like someone had been poking around. Not sure what he meant by that, but he left things the way they were and locked the door. Regardless, I need to get over there and check it out.”
“Absolutely.”
As soon as I grabbed my cut and keys, we were out the door. When we pulled up to her building, Landry jumped out of the truck and raced towards her apartment. I got out of the truck and rushed after her, barely catching up before she got to the door. “Hold up, Landry. Let me and Duchess go in first.”
“Okay.” She stepped out of my way, and after I unlocked the deadbolt, she said, “Be careful.”
I stepped inside, and right away I could see that Evans was right. Someone had definitely been riffling through her shit. Not only were chairs knocked over and drawers opened, her work files were scattered all over the table and floor. It didn’t look like the asshole took anything, so I could only assume he was trying to scare her. I wanted to clean it all up, protect her from the fear this would bring on, but it was too late for that. Without my realizing it, Landry had slipped into the apartment and was standing in the doorway in complete shock. “Oh my god! Why would someone do this?”
“I don’t know, but I have every intention of finding out.”
She reached into her back pocket and took out her phone. When she started dialing a number, I asked, “Who are you calling?”
“The police.”
“Wait ...”
I started, but stopped when she held up her hand and said, “I get why you and your brothers might not want to deal with the cops, but this is me and my place that’s been broken into, so like it or not, I’m calling them.”
Even though I’d never discussed club business with her, Landry had her suspicions, and she was right about the cops. The club never got tangled up with them. It just wasn’t worth the risk. While I didn’t like the idea of her calling them now, I understood why she found it necessary, especially with her line of work. I didn’t say a word as she made the call, and it wasn’t long before two officers showed up at her door. I was unaware that she actually knew one of the cops until she told him, “I bet when you said until next time you weren’t thinking it would be this soon.”
“No, I can honestly say I didn’t.” He took a quick glance around her apartment as he asked, “Do you have any idea who might’ve done this?”
“A few come to mind, I’m sure the same ones that come to your mind, but I really can’t say for sure.”
When he finally made his way over to me, he extended his hand and said, “I’m Officer Daniel Michaels, and who might you be?”
Before I could answer, Landry replied, “This is Clay. Clay Hanson.”
“Oh, so this is the guy you were telling me about.”
A light blush crept over her face as she said, “Yes, this is him.”
“Nice to meet ya, Clay.” As we shook hands, he continued, “I hope you know you’ve got quite a girl here.”
“Yes, I’m fully aware.”
With that, he released my hand and got down to business. He reached into the front pocket of his coat for his notepad and jotted down a few things before asking, “Have you noticed if anything has been taken?”
“Not that I know of.”
“And this is how you found the place when you got home?”
“Yes.”
He asked a few more questions and took several more notes, and once he started wrapping things up, he looked over to Landry and said, “Okay, I’ll get with your security guard and see if he noticed anyone snooping around. If we’re lucky, they’ll have some camera footage that might help us identify who did this.”
“And what should I do until then?”
He glanced over at me as he asked, “I don’t feel good about you staying here. Do you have somewhere you could stay tonight?”
“I could stay—”
“You’re staying with me,” I interrupted. “And don’t even think about trying to argue. This isn’t up for debate.”
“All right then. Now, that that’s settled, we’ll be on our way.” Michaels snickered. “I’ll check with the guard on our way out.”
“Thank you, Danny.”
“No problem.” He glanced over at me as he said, “You be sure to keep a good eye on her. We don’t want anything to happen to our girl.”
I didn’t like the way he called Landry “our girl.” I didn’t like it one fucking bit, but I bit back my displeasure as I replied, “You don’t have to worry about that.”
He and his partner quickly said their goodbyes, and then they were out the door. Once they were gone, I helped Landry gather her files off the floor and pick up the chairs that were strewn in the living room. I could tell she was upset, but knowing she had a lot on her mind, I didn’t push her to talk about it. I knew she’d open up to me when she was ready. After I helped her gather a few of her things, we locked up her apartment and drove back over to the clubhouse. She was still painfully quiet as she undressed and got back into bed. When I crawled in next to her, she curled up beside me, resting her head on my shoulder as she whispered, “Thank you.”
“What exactly are you thanking me for?”
“For everything. I know this has all been a hassle, and I’m really sorry you got dragged into it.”
“Let me make this clear once and for all: I want to be involved in all aspects of your life ... the good and the bad. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to, so don’t ever apologize for that.”
“You sure make it easy to like you. If you aren’t careful, I might end up falling for you.”
“Might?” I scoffed. “Hmmm ... Looks like I’m gonna have to step up my game.”
“Just remember what you’re getting yourself into.”
“I know exactly what I’m getting myself into.” I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good.”
Landry nestled in closer, and it wasn’t long before she drifted off. I looked down at her face, watching her as she slept, and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I was falling for her. She’d opened my eyes to a world of new possibilities—a future, a family—and my chest tightened at the thought of something happening to her. While I had no idea what I could do, I knew I wasn’t just going to lay there and do nothing. I had to find some way to protect her. Being careful not to wake her, I gingerly got out of bed and threw on my clothes. Once I was dressed, I eased the door open and slipped out into the hall. I didn’t want to get the brothers involved, but I’d need their help to get some answers. When I stepped into the bar, I was relieved to see that Rider and Riggs were still here. They were sitting at one of the back tables drinking a beer when I walked up. Rider looked up at me with a smile as he ribbed me. “What’s up, prospect? You needing a job to do?”
“No, I’m needing a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“The kind you might not wanna give, but I’m asking all the same.”
I sat down next to them and explained the situation with Landry. Neither of them spoke as I told them all about the phone conversation I’d overheard, and all of my concerns about what happened at her apartment. When I was done, Rider looked over to me and said, “I get that you want to do something, but it’s not a good idea to get involved.”
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing.” I looked him straight in the eye as I asked, “What would you do if this was August we were talking about?” Then, I turned to Riggs. “Or Reece?”
“I get what you’re saying.” Riggs leaned forward as he continued, “But I don’t get what you’re wanting us to do here?”
“I need some help finding out who’s doing this shit ...
I need to know who I’m supposed to be looking out for, you know?”
“And how do you suppose we find that out?”
“I was hoping you might be able to hack into the social services database and go through her case files. Maybe we could find some answers there.”
“Yeah, I could do that.” Seeming much more open to the idea than I expected, he stood up and said, “I just need a few minutes on my laptop.”
“Thanks, man. I really appreciate.”
Rider and I stood up and followed Riggs out of the bar. We were just about to head into Riggs’s room when Rider reached for my arm, stopping me as he said, “Before we do this, I’m going to need your word on something.”
“Okay.” Curious what that could be, I asked, “What’s that?”
“If you decide to make a move, any move at all, you discuss it with Gus first.”
I wasn’t crazy about the idea. I knew Gus well enough that he wouldn’t want me getting involved in this shit, especially if there was any chance it could blow back on the club, but Rider left me with no chance. If I wanted answers, I had no choice but to agree. I nodded as I told him, “You have my word.”
“Good. I’m going to hold you to that.”
By the time we made it into Riggs’s room, he was already sitting at his desk, typing away at his computer. Rider and I stood behind him, watching in awe as he worked his magic, and it wasn’t long before he’d made his way into Landry’s work database. A few minutes longer and Landry’s name popped up on his screen. After a few more keystrokes, Riggs shook his head and said, “Damn ... she’s got a hell of a case load. There are over thirty active files on here. You got any idea which one we’re looking for?”
“I only know about two. One has to do with a girl who was taken out of the home, and the other is a woman who has a bunch of kids. I think Landry just got her a job or something.”
“Okay, I’ll start with her most recent entries.” Seconds later, a report with a young girl’s face popped up on the screen. Riggs scrolled through it for a moment, then announced, “I think we’ve found the first one. Kid’s name is Katie Coburn. She was taken out of the home a couple of weeks ago, and from the looks of it, they had a hearing earlier this morning.”
“Yeah, that’s her.” I leaned forward to get a better look. “Can you find anything on the father?”
Seconds later, a man’s face appeared on the screen. I was surprised when Rider said, “Wait ... I think I might know that guy. What’s his name?”
“Chris Coburn.”
“The name sounds familiar. I just can’t remember where I’ve seen him,” Rider replied.
“Well, the dude has a hell of a rap-sheet. Looks like he’s had more than a few domestic violence charges, a DUI, and recently got charged with assaulting an officer and resisting arrest.”
“Does it say where the guy is from?”
“He lives here in Memphis now ... not far from downtown, but he used to live in Oakland. Maybe that’s where you know him?”
“Yeah, he was a few years older than Darcy and me.”
Riggs looked over to me as he said, “I’ll print this all off for you so you’ll have it.”
“Thanks, man.”
“And you said we were looking for a lady with several kids?”
I nodded. “Yeah. One’s a little girl that Landry took a liking to... I got the impression she was younger. Four or five, maybe?”
“This might be her. Aniya and Stephen Strayhorn.” Riggs opened another file and quickly started reading. “Looks like they’ve got two kids who are no longer in the home, but two others who still live with them—Fiona and Joseph. Do those names sound familiar?”
“I’m not sure.” I shrugged. “She never told me any names, and the details were vague at best.”
“Gotcha.” Riggs continued reading for several moments, then said, “The mother’s name is Aniya. Says she started working at a coffee shop a couple of weeks ago. Hold up ... Landry just filled a report this afternoon. It’s a full description of the altercation between her and the husband, Stephen Strayhorn. Damn. He didn’t just threaten her, he took a picture of her ... and her license plate.”
“Yeah. That has to be the guy she was talking about on the phone this afternoon. I bet that’s how he found out where she lives. ”
“Maybe, if he knows someone who could run her tags,” Rider replied.
When Riggs pulled up his picture and I saw the menacing expression on the asshole’s face, my blood ran cold. I wanted to kill that motherfucker for threatening Landry like he had, and from the looks of him, he was more than capable of breaking into her apartment. “So, this guy lives there with the mom and the two kids?”
“I’d say so, but I’d have to read through all these reports to be sure.” Riggs grumbled, “I gotta say, your girl is thorough. There’s a mountain of paperwork here.”
He started typing once again, then seconds later the printer started shooting out one page after the next. Once it was done, Riggs grabbed them and handed them over to me. “This should be enough to get you started. If you need something more, just let me know.”
“Thanks, Riggs. I owe you one.”
“No problem.”
“I guess I better get back to the room before Landry realizes I’m gone.”
“Let her know we’re here if she needs anything,” Rider told me as I started for the door. “And don’t forget. You gave your word that you’d talk to Gus before you made any moves on this.”
“I know, I will.”
I stepped into the hall, and as I headed back to my room, I scanned through all the papers Riggs had given me. I stopped when I got to the photograph of Stephen Strayhorn. I thought back to the phone call and the state of Landry’s apartment, and it was all I could do to keep myself from hunting him down. I knew that wasn’t an option, not yet, but I found solace in knowing that I was one step closer to getting this guy. When I made it back to my room, I shoved the papers in my top drawer under my clothes, then quickly undressed before easing back into bed with Landry. She was exhausted and didn’t even notice when I settled in next to her. Even though I was just as beat, I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was Strayhorn, and I kept imagining all the different ways I could find him and take him down.
I was still lying there thinking it all over hours later. Realizing sleep wasn’t gonna come, I rose out of bed and got dressed. After taking the papers out of my dresser drawer, I left Landry a quick note, letting her know that I had something to take care of, then headed for the door. Twenty minutes later, I was sitting in a chair on Gus’s front porch, watching the sunrise. I don’t know how long I’d been perched there when he finally opened the door and said, “What are you doing here, son? Something wrong?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” As he walked over and sat down in the chair next to me, I told him, “I have something I need to discuss with you.”
“All right, let’s hear it.”
He listened intently as I told him everything that had taken place with Landry, including the fact that Riggs had hacked into her database. He didn’t say a word. He just sat there listening to me with a blank expression. Once I was done, he leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “Looks like Hyde might be back.”
“Maybe, but I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I love her, Prez.” Hoping he’d get my need to protect her, I looked at him and asked, “If this was Samantha, what you would you do?”
“I’d probably go after the guy,” Gus admitted. “But I’ll be honest with you, son. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to get involved in this, especially with the cops investigating it.”
“You and I both know the cops aren’t going to do shit. Hell, she’d have to get her ass killed before they even consider taking these threats seriously.” I growled in frustration. “I just want this guy to leave Landry alone.”
“Fine. Do what you gotta do.” Gus stood, and his voice was full of warning as
he ordered, “Just make damn sure that whatever you do, it doesn’t blowback on my club.”
“You have my word.”
I’d gotten what I’d come for, so I stood up and headed back out to the truck. I pulled out the papers that Riggs had given me, checking the address one last time, and once I’d figured out exactly where I was going, I started the engine and pulled out of Gus’s driveway. Half an hour later, I pulled up to an old, shabby blue house with white columns on the front porch that were more chips of paint than anything else. The floor boards and steps leading up to the front door were sagging, barely holding together, and there was an old, beat-up truck and an even older Nissan car parked in the driveway. I eased up to the curb, parking close enough to see who was coming and going, and killed the engine. Since it was still early, I was hoping I’d get a glimpse of the guy taking his kids to school or something, so I just sat back and waited.
Just as I hoped, around seven fifteen, the front door opened and two kids came rushing out. One of them was a cute little girl who looked to be about four or five. Her curls bounced right along with her as she raced in front of her big brother. It was easy to see why Landry had taken to her. As they got closer, I noticed several dark discolorations around her left wrist. I leaned forward and tried to get a better look, but I already knew that they were bruises. I was so focused on the little girl that I hadn’t noticed their mother had come outside along with them. She didn’t catch my attention until I heard, “Fiona! Let’s go, sweetie. Momma can’t be late today.”
“Okay, Momma. I’m coming.”
The little girl rushed over to the car where her mother was standing, and my stomach turned when I noticed that the woman not only had a fierce black eye and busted lip, but there were also bruises covering her wrists and arms, much like the ones her daughter had. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions and assume that the husband had been the one to beat her, but the cards were stacking up against him, especially after he came barging out of the house like a mad man. He was a big guy, muscled up with various tattoos and an earring. The veins in his neck pulsed as he stepped off the porch and shouted angrily, “Fiona!”