“It's mine.” Train spoke up with a sigh. “I broke the strap on my sheath a few weeks ago. Stuck the knife in my dresser and had Ace order me another one online. When the sheath came, I went looking for it. Wasn't there.”
“And you didn't mention this?” Royal's voice rose.
“Didn't seem important at the time. And we were all a little preoccupied.” Train looked as calm as he sounded.
Deep down in his gut, Danny knew that the knife had to have been used in the murders. It was the only logical explanation of why Detective Harris was so interested in it. The knife could tie Nightshade to the murders like a present on Christmas morning.
“Is it just me or is all this a little too coincidental?” Buster tapped his fingers against the table. “A stash house no one knew about goes up in flames. Your daughter and her mother disappear only to be found dead, and now the cops are showing you Train's knife?” He shook his head. “There couldn't be a worse time to lose our pet cop.”
“What do we know about this Detective Harris?”
“She's young, thirty-two on her last birthday.” Ace spoke without taking his eyes from the laptop screen in front of him. “Made a name for herself working in Washington, the nation's capital not the state. There aren't many female cops there, especially in the drug and gang task forces. She worked with both. Her last assignment was the gang unit.”
“She leaves all that to come to Detroit? Why?” Royal demanded.
“Still looking.”
“Find as much as you can. Focus on her family and friends. I want everything there is to know on her within the next twelve hours. James, is there still anyone on the inside that you trust?”
“There are a few.” James pushed away from the wall. “Not sure that they'll talk to me, but I'll reach out.”
“All the other knives need to go into the safe.” Royal looked around the table. “Best that our new friend doesn't find us with them, since we're denying the link. I want everyone to see Ace, get new phones. We'll keep swapping them out to be on the safe side. This is high alert time.”
Danny shifted in the chair. High alert meant that they were near lockdown conditions. No business, any business, would be discussed outside the walls of this room. They'd change phones, switch up routines and keep anything illegal to a minimum, which was going to be an issue. They had another shipment from The Millers due to arrive in just a few days.
“What about the next shipment?” Train questioned.
“It's got to go off without a hitch, or we can kiss our alliance with The Millers goodbye.” Royal let out a sigh. “They've been pretty clear that they won't tolerate any more complications, and we all know that there are other people they could choose to work with.”
“And if that happens, we might as well bend over and spread 'em.” Buster pointed out. “They'll go to the Street Kings, and Manuel will jump at the chance to be the first to fuck us up the ass.”
“There won't be any hitches. There can't be. I need everyone focused, at the top of their game.” Royal replied. “Now, everyone leave their knives and get out. I need some time to think.”
Danny took his knife out, left it on the table with a little hesitation. He'd carried it every day since he earned his patch, except of course for when he was locked up. It was as much a symbol of the brotherhood he'd made his family as his cut.
Thinking of family made him think of Amelia. He'd really screwed the pooch earlier when he'd been so wrapped up in talking to Royal he hadn't realized she'd gone to see Fiona and Taylor on her own. She hadn't said much once they'd arrived at the bar, not that he'd been with her long. He'd come straight downstairs for the meeting.
Danny found the bar full of friends of the club who must have just gotten off of work. There wasn't an overabundance of places to drink in Detroit these days. He said hello to several people as he scanned the crowd for Amelia. There was no sign of her, but he did see Allison behind the bar. He crossed over to her. “You seen my wife?”
“I saw your ex-wife.” She leaned against the bar, no doubt to maximize the cleavage that she was already showing. They were nice tits, but he didn't give them a second glance.
“Where is she?”
“I'm not her babysitter. You look a little tense. I could help you out with that.” Allison purred the offer.
“No thanks.” Danny turned away from the bar. He should have known that she wouldn't have been any help. There weren't a lot of places to go in the bar. He checked them all, felt a flare of panic when she wasn't in any of them.
He went outside on the off chance she'd decided to smoke, and that was when he knew where she'd gone. Mrs. Washburn had lived next to the bar for as long as he could remember, she'd died about two years back. Amelia had always been fond of the woman and vice versa. She'd often spent time in the garden with the woman, helping her with the more physical tasks.
She was sitting on the back porch, her face streaked with tears, but she didn't seem to be actively crying. Danny approached her slowly. “Hey, Baby, what are you doing?”
“I just needed to get out of there before I rearranged Allison's face.”
“She said something?” Danny would turn around and throw her out of the bar on her ear if she had. In fact, he half hoped she had just so he could do something, because he was starting to feel pretty useless.
“She was trying to make small talk with me. Bitch.” Anger sparked in her eyes.
“I'll make it clear she stays away from you.” Danny sat down next to her.
“No, that gives her too much power. She'll like that.” She sighed heavily. “How did the meeting go? Or should I not ask?”
“It went. We're gonna keep our eyes and ears open, see what this detective has up her sleeve.” Danny left out the information about The Millers and the next make it or break it shipment, because she didn't need anything else to worry about.
“Did you figure out where the knife was from?”
“Train's knife went missing. We're assuming that it's his they found, not that we know how it got there.”
“So someone put it there. Someone wanted to connect Nightshade to the murders.” Amelia pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. “Royal's wrong, someone else knew about him and Fiona. Someone killed them because of it. There's no way to tell if it was personal against him or business.”
“We'll find out who did it and they'll pay.”
“That won't bring them back. Nothing will. Nothing can.” She didn't meet his eyes, she just kept staring out into the overgrown backyard. “I bet that Mrs. Washburn is rolling in her grave. She'd have hated things being all out of order back here, even if it's not a planting season.”
“You're right about that. The prospects keep the grass cut during the summer. Missy keeps in touch with her family. She's got a daughter who is supposed to move back once she finishes law school.” Danny struggled to remember more details but he couldn't. Truth was he tended to tune Missy out when she spoke.
“I hope she likes to garden. I used to love this place. It was always so peaceful even when the neighborhood was noisy. The smell of the plants and the grass, even the dirt, it was all just so comfortable. So safe.”
Danny knew how important feeling safe was to her. He didn't entirely understand where it came from and wasn't sure that he ever would. He also knew that if she was bringing it up she didn't feel safe, not even with him. “Where do you feel safe now?”
She hesitated before she answered. “At your house. Not at home. That's not home anymore.”
“My house is your house. It's home.” Danny put his arm around her, pulled her close. “You ready to go? You've got to be hungry by now.”
“I'm not hungry but we can go. I'm tired. I'd like to lie down. I'm feeling kind of weird actually.”
“You okay to ride?”
“I'm.... I'm not sure actually.” She leaned against him. “I can't believe that I'm going to say this but maybe we could just go back to the bar, crash in one of
the bedrooms? You'll stay with me, right?”
“Try and get me to leave.”
<#<#<#
Joseph and Mark Miller were either brothers or cousins; no one knew for sure, and they weren't exactly talkative, so no one had ever asked. One thing was obvious, or at least it was obvious to Danny, the two men thought that they were better than the bikers they were dealing with.
“Recent events are problematic, Royal.” Joseph usually did most of the talking.
“We're on top of things.” Royal replied. “You haven't lost anything dealing with us. We paid what the last shipment was worth because of what happened. The fire was unfortunate, but it seems to be an isolated event. In fact, we've got reason to suspect the house was hit by mistake and the neighbors were the target.”
That was news to Danny, but he didn't let any surprise register on his face. He hadn't expected Royal to outright lie to The Millers, but the move made sense. Several moments of tense silence followed, and he saw Train go into what he thought of as stone killer mode. If The Millers made a move, this meet was going to turn into a bloodbath.
Finally, Mark Miller spoke up. “That's good to hear, especially as we've got something extra we need moved during this shipment.”
“Whatever you need,” Royal replied without missing a beat.
“Aren't you going to ask what it is?” Mark questioned. Danny didn't like the look on the other man's face or the change in the normal status quo of Joseph doing the talking while Mark stood back. In fact, the whole meet was starting to give him a knot in his stomach.
“Doesn't matter. We'll move it.”
“Good man,” Mark smiled. “I've got it right here.” He motioned to the briefcase he'd set down on the floor.
“You're going to want to move slow and easy.” Train spoke up as Mark bent down.
“Stand down, Train.” Royal gave him a look that would have killed him where he stood if that were possible. “We're all friends here.”
“You've got some very loyal men, Royal, which speaks to your skill as a leader.” Mark opened the briefcase and turned it to face the rest of the room. Danny was surprised to see that it was basically empty except for a small silver box in the center. “This may not look like much, Gentlemen, but I assure you, it is more valuable than you can even imagine.”
“It'll get where it needs to go.”
“If it doesn't, if there are any more hiccups, it will not end well for Nightshade. You will become a cautionary tale.” Danny didn't doubt that every word of that was true. There was a darkness to Mark Miller he hadn't noticed before. It was apparent he wasn't the only one noticing now. Even Joseph seemed a little taken aback.
“The merchandise, all of the merchandise, must be at the drop location in two days.” Joseph took control back. “There is a truck out back, as per our usual agreement.” And with that The Millers were gone as quickly as they'd come.
“Train, take the truck. Get the merchandise off and to the location. Danny, I want you to take the case. I'm sure that you can find a safe spot until it's time for us to move. The rest of you, head home. We'll meet in the morning, go over the final details.”
Danny saw he wasn't the only one surprised by the announcement. They'd always taken care of the shipment with at least two men, more often three or four just to be sure that everything went as smoothly as it could.
Royal must have noticed their hesitation. “Is there a fucking problem?” No one replied. “Get your asses moving.”
There was no way that Danny was going to take the briefcase home with him. No, he had another spot in mind, the same spot where he'd hidden Royal's package from the stash house. So instead of going home he went to the Mason house.
Much to his surprise, he wasn't the only one there. Amelia's battered Jeep was parked in the driveway, and she hadn't been back there since they'd found the bloody sheets. “Fuck.” Danny got off of the bike, took the briefcase out of the storage area and walked around to the back of the house. As quietly as he could he entered the toolshed and added the briefcase already there with a sigh.
Finally, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Amelia's number. He didn't want to spook her by just walking inside. But she didn't answer, not even her voice mail; there was just a recording telling him the number wasn't in service?
Danny drew his gun, held it at his side as he used his key on the back door. He stepped around the part of the floor he knew creaked and did a quick search of the first floor. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or worried that she wasn't down there. There was no avoiding the creaking of the stairs, and by the time that he reached the top Amelia was already in the hallway, gun in hand. He'd taught her the two handed grip and felt a sense of pride that she was using it.
She lowered the gun at the sight of him. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” Danny holstered his own gun and moved towards her.
“I was just looking for the jewelry that Fiona had of my mother's. Some of it was really nice.”
“You want to bury her wearing it?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I need to sell it to pay for the funeral, well funerals. Nothing fancy, Fiona wouldn't have wanted a big thing, but something for the people she worked with, her friends and of course Nightshade. Mahone's can do a memorial on Tuesday and they'll handle the cremation as well.”
“Tuesday's not going to work for Nightshade. We've got a thing.”
“A thing?” Understanding dawned over her face. “Oh, club business.”
“Yes.” Danny stepped closer. “I'll call Mahone, get them to reschedule it for Thursday.”
“They're booked for the rest of the week. It's Tuesday or it's no service.”
“Baby...”
“Don't.” She shook her head. “They're going to have a service. They deserve a service. I'm going to get back to looking.”
“You want a hand?” Danny asked, almost sure that she was going to refuse him. It pissed him off that she was shutting him out. It pissed him off that he was giving her reasons to. Missing the memorial, having her there by herself was only going to make her feel more alone and push him away harder.
“Thanks. I'd appreciate that.”
“Looks like you've been boxing things up too.”
“The church that Fiona went to is having a clothing drive. They sent a notice in the mail. I thought that... well, they're not my style and I can't see myself wearing them, so I might as well box them up. Someone should get some use out of them. She'd like that.”
“I think that she would, too,” Danny agreed. “Alright, Baby, put me to work.”
They packed up the entire room that night and then moved on to Taylor's. Amelia was a woman with a mission. Danny was along for the ride. She didn't say much of anything. He didn't push. When she was ready, she'd talk.
“Fuck.” Amelia turned away from the dresser. “I need a break.”
“Are you hungry? I could run out for something.”
“I want a drink. And there should be a couple of frozen pizzas in the freezer.”
“A couple? You really are hungry.”
“Please, you know that you can eat a whole pizza with no effort.” A smile spread across her face. Danny realized that it was the first time he'd seen her smile, really smile, since they found the bodies.
“So can you if you really put your mind to it.” He smiled back at her, held out his hand. “Come on, let's see what there is in the liquor cabinet.”
“I really hope there's tequila. I need all the tequila in the world to get through this.” She took his hand and he felt himself relax some.
“I'll make sure you have it. Whatever you need.” He brought her hand to his mouth, pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “You know that, right?” Danny didn't wait for an answer. “I know that everything is all fucked up right now, but it's going to get better. We're going to figure everything out.”
“Will we?” She didn't release his hand, but the look in h
er eyes told him that she didn't believe him, which pissed him off more than he liked to admit, even to himself. “Let's just not do this right now. I can't.”
“Let's go and get that drink. Make some pizza.” Danny kept his grip on her hand. She needed space. He'd give her space. He'd let her do her quiet thing, work through whatever was on her mind and when she was ready, she'd talk to him. It wasn't the easiest thing to do but he'd do it.
<#<#<#
“I know what you're going to say.” Royal looked weary. “But I need you on the run. I need everyone on the run.”
Danny hadn't expected any different, but still hearing it pissed him off. He'd spent the night before at the Mason house with Amelia after she'd gotten so drunk she couldn't stand and certainly couldn't ride. “She can't do the memorial on her own.”
“Jackie's going to be there with her.” Royal paused. “And Missy.”
“For fuck's sake, tell me that you're not serious. You're sending your wife to help out at your second families memorial?” Danny saw anger flash over Royal's face but he just couldn't bring himself to give a fuck.
“I didn't tell her to go. She offered. What was I supposed to say?”
“Anything but yes. Jesus.” Danny felt the beginning of a headache starting or maybe it was a stroke. “Look, I'm trying not to be disrespectful, but you need to tell Missy to stay away. How much do you think Amelia can take?”
“And when she asks why, what am I supposed to tell her? Certainly can't go with the truth. This is a fucked up situation but your old lady is strong, stronger than you're giving her credit for.”
“Yeah, she's strong but this is fucking impossible.” Asking Amelia to stand next to Missy at the memorial just seemed wrong on every level. “She's having a hard time.” And that was an understatement. They'd never found the box of jewelry she was looking for, and Danny had watched her cry until he thought that his heart would break. Even when he'd offered her the money she needed, she'd just cried harder and refused. It would have been an argument but she was really drunk and ended up passing out. He'd gotten a hold of Mahone and told him in no uncertain terms the memorial would happen and he would pay but even his influence over the man could not make a different time slot for the memorial happen.
Make It Right (Nightshade MC Book 1) Page 7