by Jamie Begley
As he neared the end of the hallway, Stump noticed the door across from Penni’s was open. However, he didn’t think much of it since Zoey had been disconcerted enough to have left her cell phone. Therefore, it was a no-brainer that she wouldn’t have shut and locked her door.
Stepping into the office, he didn’t immediately notice the yellow flowers sitting on the low table. Instead, his attention was drawn to the purple couch. Then he noticed a white table, the various plants lining the window ledge, a small cabinet set against the wall with a little wishing well fountain that gave a trickling sound as the water flowed. It was so bare that he wondered how long she’d had the office. It looked like she just moved in and hadn’t had the time to decorate.
The office wasn’t like any he had seen before. It was so small and simple that, with one glance around, he should have found the cell phone but didn’t. bare
Going to the couch, Stump ran his hand through the cushions to see if the phone had slipped between them. When he turned back, he saw a small card propped against the flowers. Picking the card up to see if the cell phone was behind it, he caught sight of the handwritten words on the card.
“What the fuck?” he said out loud, reaching for his cell phone in his back pocket.
Ice answered the phone immediately. “What’s taking so long?”
“Bro, you need to get up here. There’s something you need to see.” Stump read the note a second time, wanting a second opinion if he was reading it right.
“I’m on my way.”
Stump looked around for the phone again, making sure he hadn’t missed it. He hadn’t. It wasn’t there.
He went into the small bathroom and was coming out when Ice came through the door.
“What’s up?”
He pointed at the card he left on the table. “Take a look at that and see what you think.”
Ice picked up the card. “I think it’s fucked up,” he said when he was finished. “The last ones died. You should take care, or you will, too.” His eyes lifted from the card. “When did Zoey get the card and flowers?”
“How should I know? I don’t talk to the kook.” He shrugged. “Her phone isn’t here either.”
“You sure?” Ice swept the room with a slow perusal.
“How could I miss it? There isn’t shit here.”
Ice took his phone out.
“Who you calling?”
“Jackal.”
Stump listened as Ice ordered the brother to come to Zoey’s office.
Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the blank wall to wait. “Where’re Penni and Grace?”
Ice looked up from searching the couch cushions as he had. “Penni went in the ambulance with Zoey, and Grace is driving there.”
“One of them may know if the flowers were here before or after the alarm went off. You could text Grace and find out,” Stump suggested.
“And have my old lady worried? No. We can handle this without Grace wanting Zoey to move in because of some creepy-ass note.” Ice nodded toward to the door next to him. “What’s in there?”
“The restroom. I checked it out. Zoey’s phone isn’t in there.”
“Dammit. I didn’t plan on this taking all day. I have a meeting with Creed in a couple of hours.”
“You’re not taking one of us?” Stump dropped his relaxed stance at the information.
“No, Creed wants to keep it private.”
Stump wasn’t happy at Ice going alone. Creed was a brother who kept his contact with the Predators to a minimum. As a lawyer, he did what Ice ordered when and where he needed him, but as a brother, he couldn’t be trusted when shit went flying. Creed always made sure his ass was out of range.
Stump wanted to argue with Ice to at least take Jackal. He respected Ice’s judgment, but it was still hard when he didn’t agree with him.
Jackal came into the office, his scarred face growing dark when he read the note.
“Did Penni mention Zoey getting any flowers to you?” Ice asked.
“No. You want me to text her and ask?”
“No, I want you and Stump to go the hospital and try to ask without them getting suspicious.”
Jackal moved to the trash, nudging the empty can with his boot.
“You find Zoey’s phone?” Ice asked, seeing what Jakal was doing.
“No, it’s not in the trash can. There’s nothing in it.”
“I was looking to see if there were any dead flowers in there. How did the person who sent the note know the other flowers were dead?”
“He could have seen they weren’t in her office.”
“Or the fucker could have taken them.”
“Penni or Grace aren’t going to answer those questions.” Jackal went to the cabinet that had the water fountain on it. He tried to open the two doors but couldn’t. Taking out a small pouch from his back pocket, he removed a small pick to work the door open.
Stump and Ice moved closer to look inside as Jackal pulled it open.
“It’s just a teapot, a burner, and a few cleaning supplies.” Jackal closed the doors and stood. As he did, Stump saw his eyes go to the couch.
“Ice and I both looked in the couch for the phone.”
Jackal went to the couch, bending down to pull an iPad out from underneath.
“She must have dropped it when the alarm went off.” Jackal lay on the floor to look again. “The phone isn’t under there,” he said, getting back to his feet and giving the iPad to Ice.
Ice looked down at it and then placed it on the table. “Let’s go. I need to meet Creed. You and Stump go to the hospital and see what you can find out.”
Going out the door, Jackal shut and locked it.
“Let’s go down the stairs; it’s quicker.” Stump motioned toward the exit sign next to Zoey’s office.
The two men didn’t argue, following him through the door. They had gone down two floors when he saw a cell phone on the landing. It was the same color as the tiles and could have easily been missed if the tip of his boot hadn’t sent it scuttling across the tiles.
“Well, we have one problem solved,” Stump said, picking it up.
“How did she drop it here on the top of the stairs instead of the one below when she fell?” Jackal asked from behind him as they continued down the two more flights of stairs.
“She probably dropped it before she fell, trying to hurry, instead of after she fell.”
Stump didn’t think it was a big deal until they went down the last flight coming to the door and it wouldn’t open when he pushed on the handle.
“What’s the holdup?” Ice tried to reach around him to open the door himself.
“It’s locked.” Stump moved aside so Ice could try. “It shouldn’t be locked. I saw one of the firefighters coming out of it as we were walking to where Penni, Grace, and Zoey were sitting.”
“You remember what he looked like?” Jackal asked when he couldn’t open it either.
“No, he had the helmet over his face and was carrying a sledgehammer.”
“I think….” The enforcer’s scar became more prominent as he exchanged glances with Ice.
“I’m thinking the same thing. The fire alarm was set to lure Zoey out of her office. I have another question I want answered by her.”
“How she fell?”
“Exactly.” Ice went to the door that led into the lobby. “I’m going to be late meeting Creed. Before you go to the hospital, call the owner of the building and tell him you want a copy of the security footage that the fire department would have asked for.”
“I already did that. It should be in my email when I get back to the club.”
“When you watch it, I want to be there. After I finish with Creed, I’ll meet you there.”
The three men got on their bikes that now stood alone. Ice had ordered the other brothers back to the clubhouse once he had realized it was a false alarm.
Stump rode next to Jackal to the hospital, while Ice went in the other direction to me
et Creed.
At the hospital, Jackal asked for Zoey at the front desk, and they were informed she was still being treated in the emergency room. Going through the maze of corridors, they found Penni and Grace sitting off to the side.
Jackal took a seat next to Penni, and Stump took the one next to Grace so he could hear the conversation going on between the couple.
“How’s Zoey?”
“They haven’t told us yet. They’re x-raying her now. They said they’d let one of us go in with her when she’s finished. Did you find Zoey’s cell phone?”
“Yes.” Jackal didn’t make any movement to hand it to her.
“Aren’t you going to give it to me?” Penni held her hand out for the phone.
“Stump wants to give it to her.”
Penni and Grace turned to look at him.
With Jackal giving him a warning glare, it took a second to think of an excuse.
“I want to apologize to her. I figured now would be as good a time as any.”
“Give it to me. The last thing she needs right now is to see you.” Grace held out her hand, then narrowed her eyes at him when he didn’t budge. “Okay, what aren’t you guys telling us?”
“Look, after Ice found out she didn’t want to leave the building until she knew you were safe, he told me to make nice with her, okay? Jesus, when Max does something nice, do you question him the way you girls do me?”
“No, but you aren’t Max.” Grace twirled her fingers to let him know she wanted the phone. “I’m not letting you near Zoey. She’s pretending she’s not in pain with us, but if you’re there, she would let them cut her leg off and still not complain.”
“That hurts, Grace. It really does,” he mocked, still trying to derail her from demanding the phone.
“Bullshit. Either tell us why you want to see Zoey or give us the darn phone.” Penni leaned forward so she could pin him down with a discerning gaze that had him shifting in his seat.
“Jackal?” Stump threw the brother under the bus.
The girls’ heads turned toward him. “Tell us.”
“Ice won’t be happy if we tell them,” Jackal warned.
“I’ll take care of Ice. So, why do you want Stump to talk to Zoey?” Grace dropped her hand to her lap, giving up on getting the phone.
Jackal told them about the flowers and note but didn’t mention the locked emergency exit.
Penni’s and Grace’s faces went pale when Jackal repeated what the note said.
Penni’s brows furrowed in thought. “I didn’t see Zoey this morning, so I don’t know if she got new flowers today, but I saw the flowers she got the other day, and they weren’t dead. They were wilting a little bit.”
“The ones we saw in Zoey’s office weren’t wilting. They looked fresh.” Stump stuck his legs out so an older man wouldn’t sit in the chair next to him and eavesdrop.
“I saw Zoey this morning when she came in to talk to you, Penni. She didn’t mention getting new flowers.” Grace looked just as puzzled.
“Maybe the note wasn’t referring to the flowers. He could be talking about other women that he’s stalked.”
“Don’t know. We won’t know unless someone asks,” Jackal stated.
“I’ll ask her when I’m allowed back.”
“Let Stump find out. He can mention the flowers and watch her reaction.”
“I can do that, too.” Penni shook her head, still refusing to let him be the one to go inside.
“If you’re as close as you say you are, she might not tell you the truth, too worried about getting you upset,” Stump tried again, seeing Jackal wasn’t getting anywhere.
“He’s right, Penni. You know how private she is. She won’t confide in us. But, I’m warning you, if you upset Zoey, Ice will be sleeping at the clubhouse,” Grace threatened as a nurse called out for a family member for Zoey.
Stump rose, going to the nurse.
“Are you a family member?”
“I’m her brother,” he lied.
“Follow me.”
Stump trailed after the nurse, going through a metal door when she placed her ID under the scanner. She then led him to a curtained off bed in the middle of a room.
When he saw Zoey, the protective instincts that usually only applied to the Predators rose up in him, pumping through his body and forcing him to take a good look at the woman on the bed.
She was in a hospital gown with a white sheet pulled over her and a purple knee exposed. A pillow was tucked underneath it. But it wasn’t her knee that had him wanting to scoop her into his arms. It was the black mascara that had smeared when she cried. The tears hadn’t done any damage to the rest of her makeup—she wasn’t wearing any. He never noticed it before, but thinking back to the few times he had seen her, she hadn’t worn any then either.
When he saw Zoey at the office building after the fire alarm, she hadn’t looked hurt. Neither had she acted like she was in any pain. When she asked that wuss to take her to the ambulance, Stump thought it was to make him feel better. He had been mistaken. She’d been hurt badly and had hidden the extent of her injury.
Her eyes widened when he walked into the curtained-off room. Then she lifted an arm and covered her eyes.
“Go away.”
“Is that any way to talk to your brother?” he joked, trying to lessen the tight restriction in his chest.
He turned to see the nurse had retreated, leaving them alone, and then caught Zoey sneaking a look at him from under her arm when he turned back.
“You’re not my brother.”
“No shit. I just said that so I could return your phone.” Moving closer to the side of her bed, he inexplicably reached for a thin blanket sitting at the foot of the bed and spread it over her, being careful not cover her exposed leg.
She removed her arm to watch him in confusion. “Are you sure you don’t need to be the one seeing a doctor?”
His lips twitched. “You’re covered in goosebumps. I always freeze my ass off when I’m in the ER.”
“Does it happen often?”
“What? Freeze my ass off or go to the ER?” He leaned down so he wasn’t towering over her, resting his arms on the metal bars at the side of her bed.
“Both… I guess.”
Stump could see she was trying to shift under the thin blanket to make herself more comfortable, not missing the flash of pain in her eyes as she did.
He brought his hand to her shoulder, pressing down. “Stay still. You’re hurting yourself.”
“We both know you don’t care, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t pretend.” Raising her arm, she held her hand out to him. “Can I please have my phone so you can put us both out of our miseries and leave?”
Stump straightened but didn’t reach for the phone. “There’re a few questions I want answered before I give it back. Then I’ll leave you so that Penni or Grace can come back.”
“What questions?” Zoey lifted up onto her elbows, her face going ashen as her eyes darted around the room as if afraid someone would jump out from behind the curtains.
The unusual reaction had him wanting to ask even more questions, but he wanted to find out the immediate answers first before delving deeper.
“Did you get flowers this morning before the fire alarm went off?”
“No. Why do you ask?”
Stump reached into his pocket, but not for the cell phone. Taking the note out, he handed it her. “I found that in your office with fresh yellow roses.”
“You must be mistaken. The roses in my office weren’t fresh.” Zoey took the note in her hand but didn’t lift it to be able to read the message.
“I know the difference between wilted and fresh.”
Zoey kept shaking her head. “I changed the water this morning and would have noticed the difference.”
“Not if someone changed them when you left the office during the fire alarm,” Stump pointed out.
Zoey kept shaking her head. “There’s no way. I locked the door a
nd had the key, which I gave to Grace to get my phone.”
“The door was unlocked when I got there.”
“That’s impossible. You’re wrong. Maybe the firefighters opened it with a master key to check for a fire?”
Stump could tell she was grasping at straws to explain the fresh roses away.
“I have another question for you.”
“What?”
Stump watched as she licked her lips nervously. “Why aren’t you reading the note?”
10
Mom,
I dreamed of you last night. Do you remember when you gave me Rabbit? I know I was too young to remember, but I dreamt it last night. You were so pretty, Mom. I think I look like you, but sadly, I look more like him. Do you think I look like you or Dad?
He said you were so pretty that he stared at you all night when you met. Did you fall in love with him as fast? Dad said no man would ever love me; that I’m too ugly. I don’t think I’m ugly. Do you? If you do, it’s okay; you won’t hurt my feelings.
I’m sending my school picture. You can’t see a lot of my face because it was a sample. Dad didn’t want to buy the pictures, so it’s the only one I have.
I was hoping you could come for a visit and show me how to wear makeup and which colors I should choose, but Dad said you weren’t feeling well this summer and can’t. I hope you are feeling better. If you can’t come, can you give me an idea of which colors to use? I like blue, but Dad and Marlene laughed and said I looked silly.
I hear the mailman coming. Write me back.
xoxoxoxxo
Love,
Your daughter, Zoey
Zoey looked down at the card. “I’m in pain; that’s why.” She didn’t want to read it. From his watchful attitude, it was a sympathy card.
“I can read it for you.”
He wasn’t leaving.
Giving in, she picked up the card, holding it over her face to hide her expression. Reading the note, she tightened her fingers to keep them from shaking. Composing herself, she then set the card back down.
“I’ve read it. Now can I have my phone?” She was proud of herself for remaining calm under his scrutiny.