“Is that your business?” Emily asked.
Gaige lifted Emily to the sink and looked at her. “It is my fucking business. If you’re going to be out running around with horny businessmen, I’m going to need to get some protection for you. Can’t have anyone else getting shot. If you stay put inside then I’m not so worried.”
“You’re worried about me?”
Gaige touched her chin and smiled. “I can’t imagine that pussy being passed around. I want it all for myself. So… do I owe you for last night, beautiful?”
“No,” Emily said. “I work between the two parties. I’m in the office and that’s it. It’s easy money because I’m good at it.”
“I can live with that,” Gaige said. “Come on, there’s breakfast waiting.”
As they ate, Blaine came walking out, holding himself. He looked uncomfortable.
“Get that taken care of?” Gaige asked.
“Fuck yeah,” Blaine said. “But it came back.”
“What came back?” Emily asked.
“My hard on. I can’t get rid of it. I think one of those whores slipped me a pill or some shit.” Blaine smiled. “I should find out what it is…”
“Hurry up and eat,” Gaige waved him off.
They ate and left the clubhouse. Gaige gave Emily his helmet and then they were off. The motorcycle roaring, the road flying by, and Gaige with the chance to think as he rode. He thought about all the places to check for Eight Under. They could just go down and bust into their shithole clubhouse but that could end up starting a bullet for bullet war. As much as Back Down Devil MC controlled the town of Frelen, they didn’t want to bring blood and violence right onto the main streets.
The situation needed to be handled carefully… and as painful as honesty came, it didn’t make it any easier to have Emily involved. She was an outsider and maybe that’s where she should have stayed. But when Gaige licked his lips, he still tasted her. He wanted her. And goddammit, he needed her.
At the edge of town, there was a long, plain building. No logos. The parking lot was empty, telling Gaige that there was a second parking lot in the back. There was a clearing behind the building, a genius move because it probably meant rich men were able to drop their helicopters down and pick up their dates. Money and sex. What else mattered in life?
Gaige stopped the motorcycle and climbed off. Emily handed him the helmet and he grabbed her wrist. “Want me to walk you in?”
“No,” Emily said. “There are no problems here.”
“I want to go in,” Blaine said.
“You’d go broke,” Emily said.
Gaige laughed. “Plus, these women don’t do what Blaine wants.”
“Ah, fuck you two then,” Blaine said. He peeled around and took off back down the road.
“I have to go,” Gaige said. “Give me your phone.” Emily listened and Gaige programmed his number into it. “You call me if you need anything. I’ll be right here when you’re done. Give me a heads up on your hours. If anything feels off, you fucking call me. Got it?”
“What would…”
“Fuck, beautiful,” Gaige growled. “You saw what you saw yesterday, okay? No fucking around.”
“Okay. I won’t. I’ll text you.”
“Now fucking kiss me.”
Emily fell into him and he groaned as he kissed her, wishing he could just make a team of guys deal with the Eight Under problem. Then he could take Emily back to his bed and have her all day.
Gaige gently pushed Emily away and nodded to the building. He waited until she was inside before getting back on his motorcycle and leaving. He shook his head. It was clear, Emily was going to probably cause more harm than good… but in the end, she’d be worth it all.
eleven.
Gaige turned into the compound and saw the police cruiser. His grip on the handlebars increased and he curled his lip. He fucking hated dealing with the local police. They were such dicks with everything, never understanding what Back Down Devil MC did or what it meant to the town. The badge governed the police under a much different set of laws than the MC.
There was balance between the two, but it was a very loose and unstable balance.
Gaige slowed as he passed by the cruiser. He saw the chief sitting behind the wheel. Barely closing in on forty. He was tough and generally a complete asshole to the MC, but the last year they began to find common grounds. It was simple… as long as Back Down Devil didn’t warrant the attention, the chief wouldn’t give it to them.
Gaige parked his motorcycle and by the time he got off his bike, Blaine was walking toward him, obviously pissed off.
“What the fuck is this about?” Blaine asked.
“What do you think? Shooting. Bodies. A dead girl. Your fingerprints all over the dead girl.”
“Ah, fuck,” Blaine said.
“Call Miller,” Gaige said. “Get him here and then stay inside.”
“Okay, bro,” Blaine said.
Gaige took off his helmet and rubbed his face. He looked around to make sure there wasn’t some kind of sting going on. There wasn’t. There was no need for it. The business Miller ran was completely clean. The guys who handled the legitimate business had nothing to do with the MC and never would. Miller never mixed business and pleasure. The business money was legit. The MC money stayed within the MC.
Walking to the cruiser, Gaige smiled. He reached into his leather cut for a smoke knowing he’d get the chief’s attention damn fast.
The chief threw open his door and jumped out, drawing his gun.
“Put your fucking hands up,” he bellowed.
“Jerry,” Gaige laughed. He showed the pack of cigarettes. “Just having a smoke.”
Jerry lowered his gun and tucked it away. “Fucking prick.”
“Aren’t we all?” Gaige asked.
“I have some questions,” Jerry said as he slammed the cruiser door.
“You know we generally don’t have answers,” Gaige said. “We try to keep to ourselves. It’s a MC thing, you wouldn’t get it. We don’t snoop into everyone’s business.”
“Yeah, where’s your boss?”
“I don’t have a boss,” Gaige said. “I only ever had one boss actually. My first job when I was sixteen. Stocked shelves over at Arnie’s. The old man’s kid told me I needed a haircut so I put a box cutter to this throat.”
“Take it you were fired?”
“Well, I didn’t get employee of the month that month,” Gaige said. He pulled out a smoke and lit it. He offered the pack to Jerry.
“No,” the chief said. “I quit after Anne got pregnant.”
“Oh, that’s right. Big daddy Jerry. Come on, man, have a smoke. She’ll never know. Has to be hard at night with a newborn. And a miserable wife.”
Jerry clamped his hand over Gaige’s. The chief had a fierce grip. He ripped the pack of smokes from Gaige, took one out, and put it between his lips. Gaige tossed his metal lighter to the chief. He lit the cigarette and took a deep drag.
“Damn,” Jerry whispered.
“Good stuff, I know,” Gaige said.
Jerry leaned against his cruiser while Gaige stood with a defiant stance.
In the distance Gaige heard the rumble of Miller’s motorcycle.
“Anything you want to tell me about yesterday?” Jerry asked.
“What was yesterday?”
“Don’t piss on my boots,” Jerry said.
Gaige gripped between his legs. “I don’t have to piss.”
Miller’s bike came barreling into the compound. He sped up and blew by the chief and Gaige. He backed his motorcycle in and then took a slow walk toward them. He was smiling and once close enough, he offered a hand to Jerry.
“Just wanted to say congrats,” Miller said.
Jerry took his hand and they stared each other down.
“I’m not here to celebrate,” Jerry said.
“Well, life is worth celebrating,” Miller said. “We wanted to give you something.”
; Miller reached into his pocket. The chief reached for his gun again and Gaige put a hand to the chief’s wrist.
“You fucking touch me like that again and I’ll shoot you,” Jerry warned.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” Miller said. He looked at Gaige. “That’s the fatherly instincts kicking in.”
Miller pulled out a long jewelry box and handed it to Jerry.
“What’s this?” Jerry asked.
“To celebrate life,” Miller said. “From all of us here. Congrats on your baby.”
Jerry tapped the jewelry box against his hand. “Speaking of life… anything you would know about the shooting at the junkyard yesterday? All the way down near Riverside?”
Miller shook his head. “Shooting?”
“Don’t,” Jerry said. “We found a young woman in a car. Shot several times in her back.”
“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 hear
d 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 knew 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.”
SAVAGE LOVE (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) Page 26