“Don’t worry. I won’t,” he replied, swaying slightly.
“Fine then. Since you’re hell-bent on drinking yourself to death, make sure you get me the info before you get that far.”
He grunted. “I’ll do my best.”
“Just do it,” I snapped before leaving the apartment.
Chapter 16
It was shortly after two a.m. when I saw a black pickup truck pull into the driveway. Frightened, but determined to confront Justin, I bent down and watched from the window as he shut off the lights and headed toward the house carrying a bag of fast food. When I heard the key turn in the deadbolt, I hid inside the pantry and waited as he entered the house, whistling.
Trying not to lose my courage, I listened as he made his way through the living room and into the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, I raised my gun and stepped out. He had his back to me and was searching in the refrigerator for something.
“Would you like a bite to eat?” he asked in an amused voice. “I ordered a lot of food.”
My heart skipped a beat. “How did you know I was here?”
“Your perfume. I recognized it the moment I entered the living room,” he said, closing the refrigerator. He walked over to the counter and began pulling out food from the bags. The smell of bacon and French fries made my stomach growl.
“I didn’t put any perfume on today.”
Justin unwrapped one of the burgers and licked some ketchup from his finger. “Then it must be your shampoo or something. Whatever it is, it gave you away. Next time you’ll know to be more careful.” He grabbed a French fry and shoved it into his mouth.
Hating the mocking tone, I cocked the gun. “Let go of the food, raise your hands in the air.”
“But, I’m hungry, and believe me, you won’t like me when I’m hungry.”
“I don’t like you now.”
“I’m definitely feeling that vibe, Princess,” he replied, a smile in his voice.
“Call me that again and the only thing you’ll be feeling is a coffin. Now get your fucking hands in the air!”
Sighing, he did what I asked.
“Now, sit down,” I said, nodding toward kitchen table.
“Can I bring my food?”
I stared at him incredulously. I was threatening him with a gun and all he could think about was eating. “Seriously?”
“Of course I’m serious. It’s been hours since I’ve eaten and my food is going to get cold and mushy. I didn’t pay twenty dollars to see all of it go to waste.”
“Oh, well then by all means, don’t let me stop you from stuffing your face.”
“You want a burger?” he said, ignoring my sarcasm. “I have an extra double-cheeseburger with bacon and the works, if you want it.”
“I don’t want anything.”
“Suit yourself.” He grabbed the food and brought it to the kitchen table where he sat down. “To be honest, I’m glad you’re here, although I don’t know how you made it inside. I had extra locks put on all of my doors.”
“Your patio slider was unlocked.”
He sighed. “Dammit.”
“You of all people should know to be more careful,” I said dryly. “Prez.”
He unfolded one of the burgers, which was dripping with grease. “I guess I should. My mind had been on other shit lately.”
“What do you mean, you’re glad I’m here?” I asked, ignoring his comment.
Not answering, he stood back up.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Getting something to drink. You want a beer?”
“No,” I said, watching as he opened up the refrigerator again and pulled out a bottle of light beer. He untwisted the top and took a long swig, then went back over to the table and sat back down.
“Are you going to answer my question, or what?” I asked, getting angrier by the minute. Obviously, he wasn’t at all concerned with my presence.
“Oh. Yeah, sorry. We needed to talk. That’s why I’m glad you’re here. I’m just wondering why you came to me.”
“I’m sure it’s obvious.”
He grunted. “Obvious? No. Nothing a woman does is ‘obvious’.”
“I might not be obvious but you’re certainly typical.”
Justin scowled. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I said, sarcasm dripping from my tongue. “You’re a chauvinistic pig. I guess that seems to be pretty ‘typical’ of guys like you who hang out in biker gangs.”
“I’m not in a biker gang. I belong to a motorcycle club.”
I rolled my eyes. “Funny how you’re only really correcting me on the latter part of my statement.”
His eyes glittered. “I’ll be the first to admit, I think women are at their best in the bedroom, in the kitchen –”
I shook my head. “You’re truly an asshole.”
He raised his hand. “You didn’t let me finish. I was going to add that you’re also great in the laundry room, the grocery store, and… oh yeah. Restaurants. You don’t see very many guys changing diapers in the men’s room.”
“Unbelievable.”
Justin laughed. “You can’t honestly think that I’d admit to feeling that way if I really did?”
I rubbed my temple. “What I’m thinking right now is that I should just shoot you in the mouth so you’ll stop running it.”
“Is that why you’re here? To shoot me?”
“Maybe.”
“No. I don’t think so.” His face became serious as he studied mine. “If you wanted me dead, you’d have done it by now.”
I wasn’t sure what I wanted anymore. “Why were you at Sal’s tonight?” I asked, changing the subject.
“I was looking for you,” he said, biting into his burger.
“And you found me. I guess it’s good that I didn’t accept that date from you. I’d probably be dead by now.”
He finished chewing and answered. “I’m not interested in killing you.”
Right, I thought. “What do you want from me?”
“Information. I need to know where your brother, Cole, is.”
My eyes widened. “My brother? Why?”
“He can lead me to the person who killed my old man. Did he tell you anything about the shooter?”
My heart pounded loudly in my chest. I was sure he could hear it. “I… no. He didn’t.”
“Look, because I like you and Sal has enough shit to worry about, I’ll let Cole live if he gives up the name of the shooter. So call him or give me an address for the little shit.”
He didn’t know it was me. Otherwise, I’d be dead right now.
“Sal has enough shit to worry about?” I repeated. “What do you know about Sal’s problems?”
“I ran into him tonight. He mentioned a few things during the conversation.”
“I didn’t know you were friends.”
“We aren’t. So, are you going to answer my question? Where’s your brother?”
I let out a ragged breath. It was time to get this over with. “You don’t need Cole to tell you who killed Slammer.”
His eyes narrowed. “You know who it was?”
Before I could confess and let him know why I’d killed his old man, we heard the rumble of several motorcycles approaching.
Fuck!
“You expecting someone?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean anything,” he said, standing up. “My brothers are always showing up all hours of the night.”
I backed toward the door leading to the living room. I needed to get out of there.
“Relax and put the gun down. Nobody has to know that you were here threatening me.”
As I was about to answer, gunfire broke out in front of the house. Swearing, Justin flew toward me and the next thing I knew, we were on the ground, his body covering mine.
“Stay down,” he ordered, grabbing the gun out of my hand with little effort.
More shots. This time, through the wall above us.
/> “Fucking assholes,” he growled next to my ear as the sound of motorcycles faded into the distance.
“Are they leaving?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who do you think they were?”
“Probably the Devil’s Rangers.”
“Oh.” For some reason, I felt oddly comforted by that knowledge and wondered if Cole had called them.
We heard voices outside.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered, suddenly terrified.
“Get under the table,” he whispered, pushing me toward it.
I crawled underneath and turned to watch him get into a crouched position. “What are you going to do?”
“Beat someone’s ass if I get the chance,” he replied, pulling another gun from an ankle holster. “Don’t leave the kitchen.”
“Wait. Give me my gun,” I said, holding out my hand.
Justin hesitated. “Just don’t aim the damn thing at me, woman,” he replied, handing it to me.
“Don’t do anything that will make me want to aim it at you, mister,” I replied, grabbing it from him.
Smirking, he slipped out of the kitchen.
Trying to remain calm, I let out a shaky breath and then waited for several seconds before attempting to make my own escape. When I thought it might be safe, I scooted out from under the table and stood up, still half expecting to be shot through the wall. Saying a prayer, I walked toward the back door of the house just as police sirens began to blare in the distance.
“It was actually the neighbors we heard talking outside. They called the cops,” said Justin from behind me.
I turned around quickly. “Did anyone get hurt?”
“No, but I’ve got a few windows to replace, including the ones in my truck. When I find out who did this, believe me, someone will get hurt.”
“Did anyone see who they were?”
“One of my neighbors, Will, said he couldn’t see the patches clearly, but it was definitely a motorcycle club. I’m sure it was the Devil’s Rangers. They’re the only ones who do this kind of shit.”
“Really?” I sneered, unable to believe the shit he was flinging. “Your crew doesn’t do drive-bys?”
“Hell no,” he replied, looking disgusted. “We usually stand and fight our enemies. Face-to-face. Drive-bys are for pussies.”
The blood rushed to my head. “Cole said your club was responsible for the one in Davenport a couple weeks ago. A party that the Devil’s Rangers had hosted.”
“Yeah, well he’s wrong. Sure, they tried pinning that on us, but, it’s not how we operate. Believe me, they know it wasn’t us, either.”
A cold fist seemed to close around my heart. I began to break out in a cold sweat as the impact of what he was saying really started to sink in.
“Are you okay? You look like you’re going to faint,” Justin remarked. The concern on his face made everything that much worse. The man seemed genuinely worried and had no idea of what I’d done.
“I’m fine. I have to go,” I said, my voice hoarse.
“At least wait until the cops leave,” he replied as the doorbell rang. “They have it out for me and I could use a witness.”
“Sure.” It was the least that I could do. Everything was my fault. Everything. Unless he was putting me on? But, why would he? “Can I use your bathroom?” I asked as he began to walk away.
Justin half-turned and waved his thumb. “Yeah. It’s the first door on the left.”
I rushed inside and barely made it to the toilet before I threw up.
Chapter 17
Raina was quiet and unusually pale when the police asked us questions about the shootings.
“No, I have no idea who shot at my house,” I told them, wanting to handle the matter myself.
“Is that right?” answered one of the cops, Mike Tolbert, with a cool smile. “It’s funny how you’re drawing a complete blank. As usual...”
“I’m sorry, have we met?” I asked, glaring at the man. His attitude pissed me off and I was already in a pissy mood. “Because you seem to think you know a lot about me when I’ve never seen you before in my life. Hell, maybe you know something about tonight’s shooting?”
“You and I both know that it has something to do with club rivalry. If you don’t want to do any follow-up on this, or press charges, that’s your right, but don’t think for a second that if someone from the Devil’s Rangers goes missing or turns up dead, we won’t be back,” answered Tolbert.
“Suit yourself, but I’ve got no beef with the Devil’s Rangers,” I lied.
The two cops looked at each other.
“He’s right,” said Raina. “My brother is part of that club and it’s all good.”
Grateful that she was helping, I hid my surprise. “See, I told you. Everything is all warm and fuzzy between us now.”
“Right,” said the other cop, Bill Shaw. “Well, then. I guess since we have both of your statements, our business is done here.”
“I agree,” I said, opening the door for them. “Have a good night.”
“You too, Mr. Fleming,” said Shaw, walking outside.
“Let us know if you remember anything about the shooters,” said Tolbert, talking to Raina.
“I didn’t see them,” she replied.
“Okay, if you heard anything besides the sound of their engines. A voice or anything that could help,” Tolbert said in a condescending tone. Like she was just some bubble-head.
“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll be the first person I’ll call,” she said tightly.
Tolbert looked at me. “We’ll be watching you and the rest of your gang.”
“Funny, I was just a victim of a drive-by and you’re treating me like a felon,” I said with a cold smile.
“Don’t act like you’re some kind of saint. This wasn’t a random act and nobody else in the neighborhood had their windows blown out. You’re on somebody’s shit list and now they’re back on yours. I should just arrest you now before you order a hit on the people who did this, Prez.”
“More assumptions,” I said sharply. “Instead of giving me the third degree, maybe you should be out looking for the guys who did this.”
“We all know who did this but you don’t want to press charges. Isn’t that right, Mr. Fleming?”
“Even if I knew, I sure as hell wouldn’t have called you.”
“You didn’t call us anyway,” he replied.
“Why would I when you treat victims like criminals?”
He looked at Raina. “Don’t let him fool you, Miss. This guy isn’t just a criminal, he’s a murderer. You should really keep better company.”
“If Justin is a criminal, why hasn’t he been arrested?” she asked, crossing her arms under her chest.
“Because he’s full of shit. I should sue you for slander,” replied Justin before Tolbert could answer.
“Go ahead. See where that gets you,” replied the cop. He looked back at Raina. “I’m not trying to upset you. Just looking out for your best interests, Miss Davis.”
She nodded curtly.
“You too, Mr. Fleming. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other real soon.”
I didn’t answer him.
Mumbling something under his breath, he left, closing the door behind him.
“I have to go,” said Raina, quickly.
“Not yet. We still haven’t some unfinished business,” I said, taking out my phone.
“Please. I shouldn’t have come here. It was a mistake.”
“What was?” I asked, texting Raptor about what had happened.
“To ask that you leave Cole alone.”
I looked up from my phone. “I will if he gives me the name of the shooter. I already told you that.”
“And…what are you going to do when you find out who did it?” she asked, looking pale again.
“It’s not your concern.”
“Are you going to kill her?”
“Probably not. I have bigger fish to fry, and unlike your brot
her’s club, we don’t kill women. Call him. Please. Try and talk some sense into the kid.”
Sighing, Raina pulled out her own phone and turned it on.
“You turned your phone off?”
“Yes. I didn’t want to be disturbed. Good thing, too, because I missed a few calls. Speaking of which…” she said, just as her phone began to ring.
“Who is it? Your brother?”
“No. It’s my sister-in-law, Joanna. It must be important if she’s calling in the middle of the night.”
I sighed.
Raina answered the phone and it was obvious from the conversation they were having that the woman on the other end was both excited and upset. Raina tried calming her down but then a look of shock flashed across her face.
Chapter 18
“What…what did you just say?” I asked Joanna, who wasn’t making any sense.
“I saw Billy. He’s alive,” she repeated and then gasped. “Oh, my God. It’s Phillip. He’s home. He must have seen me.”
Stunned that I’d heard her right, my heart began to pound. “Wait. What do you mean that Billy is alive?”
“Phillip was at the cabin. I thought he was cheating on me, so I drove up there. I peeked into the window and saw him up there, with your son,” she whispered quickly.
“That’s impossible,” I said in a husky voice. I’d seen my son’s lifeless body in the hospital before they’d wheeled him away. His ashes were now in the urn, sitting in my living room.
“I know but… I also know what I saw. I have to go. He’s hollering for me.” Joanna hung up.
I slipped the phone into my purse, my mind still trying to wrap around what she’d just told me. My level-headed, successful, lawyer sister-in-law had just claimed that she’d seen my son alive. It sounded crazy but I could tell from her voice that whatever she’d seen had rattled the hell out of her.
“What’s going on?” asked Justin.
I forced a smile. “I don’t know. I think my sister-in-law is losing her mind.”
“You asked her about Billy. Was that your son?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling suddenly exhausted.
Breaking The Biker (The Biker Series) - An MC Gold Vipers Motorcycle Club Biker Romance Novel Page 7