Lily hesitated for only a moment, she stared daggers at James and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah. I remember the favor.”
“That favor kept Jake from going inside for a long time. And I wanted to help stop that because I always liked you. Always liked him. I put my neck on the line. I got rid of the gun. I'm the reason that he's working the early shift. And I'm asking you, nicely, for a favor. I'm asking you to tell Nightshade what you saw.”
“That'll get me killed, and we both know it. Come on, James, I hung out at the bar. I know how things work when it comes to the Queen. I don't want to die.”
“You won't. I promise. I will keep you safe. You talk to Nightshade and then I'll put you and Jake on a plane to visit Kelly. You enjoy a nice vacation. Come back and everything will be just fine.”
“No.” Lily spoke slowly, shook her head. Before Amelia could really register what was happening, James had his hand wrapped around Lily's throat.
“You're going to talk. This is me telling you, not nicely. You're going to talk or I'll make sure that the gun finds its way to the proper authorities.”
It took most of Amelia's strength to pull his arm back. For a horrifying moment she thought that she wouldn't be able to stop him. He'd kill Lily, right there in the living room, and then they'd have no witness. “Stop. Stop. She needs to be alive to talk.” Her words finally must have gotten through because he took a step back.
Lily gasped for air. “You crazy son of a bitch! I should call the cops on you.”
“Do it,” James suggested. “I'll make sure that they find the gun. And when I get bail, I'll make sure that I find you.”
There was enough menace in his voice to make Amelia's blood run cold. “Lily, please. She killed Fiona and Taylor. She burned down the house. The only way that she's going to get brought to justice is if you talk. Please.”
James took a step towards Lily and she flinched. “Alright. Fine. I'll tell them and then I'm getting on a plane. You're paying for the ticket. First fucking class.”
“Fine.” James growled the word. “A deal is a deal. You back out and maybe I'll do worse than turning the gun in.”
“James, that's enough.” Amelia laid her hand on his arm. “It's time for us to go.”
<#<#<#
It was just after Amelia had eaten dinner, a bag of potato chips and half a bottle of a lovely red wine, that Danny finally came home. She looked up as he entered the bedroom. “Hey.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. Why?” Amelia knew that she had to convince him that everything was fine, but she wasn't sure that she was up to it.
“You called.”
“I know, I'm sorry. I know that I shouldn't have. I guess everything just has me freaking out lately. And you didn't call.”
“Couldn't. The drop got interesting.” Danny took off his boots and stretched his arms over his head. Amelia wanted him to define interesting in minute detail, but she knew that she couldn't ask. “Did you cook?”
“There's some potato chips left.”
“Baby, that is not a meal.” He shook his head, bent down to put his boots back on. “I'll go and get us some pizza.”
“I'm not hungry. I just ate chips. I'll make you something. I think that there's some leftover pot roast. I'll make you a sandwich.”
“I'll just go get something. You want to take the drive with me?”
“I'd rather just make you something. I don't feel like getting dressed.”
“I'll be right back. You sure that you don't want anything?”
“No. Take your time. I'm going to lay down.”
“You sure that everything is okay?” Danny took a step towards the bed.
“Everything is fine with me but you're the one who is seriously anxious to leave when you just got home.”
“I'm just hungry, Amelia, and that pot roast sucked.”
“You ate like three helpings of it.”
“I didn't want to hurt your feelings.” Danny sat down on the edge of the bed.
“I tried something new.” And apparently she wouldn't try that recipe again. So much for combing the internet for interesting flavor combinations. “You should have just told me. I'd have fed it to Chopper.”
“Babe, I tried to give some to Chopper. He looked at me like I was trying to kill him.” Danny reached out and ran his hand over her leg. “Come on, get dressed and come with me. We can go get whatever you want because potato chips aren't dinner.”
“Okay.” Amelia nodded. “We're eating in the car, though, because I'm not getting dressed dressed.”
“Sounds good to me.” He chuckled. “Maybe we can do some making out in the car, too.”
“Maybe, if you play your cards right.” Amelia got off of the bed with a lighter feeling inside than she'd had before. Danny might not have liked what she made but he wasn't questioning her call or what was really going on with her. She'd take it, and she'd take his good mood.
It was the moments like this, when they were happy and easy with one another, that made all of the other moments work it. “Maybe? If I'm buying you dinner, you're putting out.”
Amelia's laughter stopped when the doorbell rang. “Are you expecting anyone?”
“No.” Danny started for the door and Amelia was right behind him. They took the stairs two at a time.
James had got to the door first. “It's Royal and Train.” He opened the door, a smile on his face. Amelia screamed as Royal punched James in the face and he went stumbling backwards.
“What the fuck?” Amelia tried to surge forward but Danny held her back.
“Easy, Love.” Danny spoke low in her ear. “But yeah, Royal, what the fuck is going on here? You come into my house throwing punches?”
“Lily Beck showed up at the bar tonight.” Train moved forward, grabbed James and yanked him to his feet. “Seems she saw more the night that my family was killed than she let on.”
“Yeah, she did.” Amelia cleared her throat. “So why are you hitting James?”
“What do you mean, yeah, she did?” Danny demanded.
“You knew?” Royal turned to face Amelia. “You knew that this son of a bitch killed them and you've been spending every day with him?”
“Whoa, slow down. James didn't kill them. James wouldn't have hurt them any more than you or I would have. He loved them.”
“Exactly. He was always making puppy dog eyes at Fiona. She wasn't interested. She made it clear. Is that why you did it? Because she rejected you.”
“He didn't do it,” Amelia protested. “He's not the one that Lily saw. She's only saying that to be spiteful because we told her that we'd get her husband locked up if she didn't tell the truth. I don't even know how to say it, Royal.”
“How about you just say it?” Danny suggested. Amelia risked a glance at him and saw only anger on his face. “We'll talk later about the secrets you've obviously been keeping.”
“It was Missy.” Amelia blurted out the words. “Lily saw her coming to the house that night and Rosa saw her at the stash house the night it burned. And she's got plenty of the acetone used to set that house and my house on fire.”
Royal stared at her for a moment. “You're insane. Missy is not capable of murder or arson. Lily told us the truth, she stood there and swore it to me. What possible reason does she have to lie?” He looked over at Train. “Take him.”
“Take me? What the fuck?”
“Don't make me shoot you to get you to cooperate,” Train warned.
“No. Fuck that, no.” Amelia struggled but Danny held on to her.
“Relax Amelia, we're just going to talk to him. Right, Royal?”
“That's right,” Royal replied and Amelia knew that he was lying. She knew that he believed James was the one who'd killed Fiona and Taylor, and he was ready to extract his pound of flesh, maybe even literally.
“Bullshit. You're going to kill him. He's not the one, Royal.”
“And you expect me to believe that my wife is? I
know that Missy is a handful at times but she...”
“She's a diabolical bitch.” Amelia cut him off. “She enjoys terrorizing anyone she deems below her and that's mostly everyone. She's a monster and you created her. She fucking knew about you and Fiona. I saw it on her face. She didn't even react when Harris told her.”
“Get him out of here,” Royal told Train. “I know that you and Missy have never seen eye to eye. I know that you're emotional right now.” He turned to Amelia. “But you're going to want to shut your mouth when it comes to my wife.”
“She killed them. She cut them with Train's fucking knife. She'd have had access to it and to the safe where the gun that shot Earl was found.”
“Jesus Christ, you're sick Amelia.” Royal's expression hardened. “Delusional.”
“You'd better watch it, Royal. You're talking about my old lady.” Danny's words seemed to vibrate against her back, he was holding her so close. “And she might not be crazy. If Rosa actually saw more than she admitted that night, let's hear what she has to say.”
“She's gone. The house is cleared out.” Amelia hated to admit it, but there was no way to hide it. She watched helplessly as Train muscled James out the front door. “He didn't do this, Royal. I know that you don't want to see it, but you have to. Enough innocent blood has been spilled. Please.”
“I promised you that the person who was responsible for taking them from us would die, and I keep my word. I'm afraid that this has all been too much for your mind to take, Amelia. I'm sorry for that. I really am.” Amelia knew that there was a but coming, and she knew that some way, some how it would end up in a choice for Danny between her and Nightshade. It had been stupid of her to think that Royal would ever see reason when it came to Missy. Her throat tightened as she realized that she was about to lose more than just James. “I've already lost one child, I can't risk losing another.”
“She wouldn't hurt a child.” Danny spoke up. Amelia could feel the anger rising inside of him.
“But I believe that she would hurt Missy.” Royal cleared his throat. “I know that you love her, Danny, but I can't take the risk. Keep her away for real this time. Nightshade no longer recognizes her as your old lady.”
“You can't do that.”
“I can and I did. Now, let's go. We've got some work to do.” Royal turned and walked away without another word. Amelia realized that Missy wasn't the only one drunk on power.
“He can't do this.” Danny spoke in a soft voice. “I'm going to fix this, Amelia. I promise. I'm going to make this right.”Amelia simply nodded. She was incapable of words. Incapable of being anything but numb. The moment Danny released her she simply sat down. “I'll be back as soon as I can. I'm going to make it right.”
Chapter Fifteen
The bar light was off. No one besides Nightshade would be there, but Danny saw only the SUV that Train and Royal had driven away in. Something wasn't right. It felt a little bit like being a tattletale, but he pulled out his phone and dialed Buster. He answered on the first ring. “Hey, it's Danny. Why aren't you at the bar?”
“Everyone was having a quiet night. What's up?”
“That's a loaded question.” As quickly as he could Danny recapped the night. His announcement was met with silence. “Are you still there?”
“I'll be at the bar in ten minutes. I'll call Ace. Get in there and make sure that Royal doesn't kill James. Jesus Christ.” Buster ended the call.
Danny had to use his keys to get inside. He headed straight down to the basement and into a room that Nightshade had rarely used. It had once been a storage room. Now it was something else. The scent of blood was the first thing he noticed when he pushed the door open. The second was James suspended from the ceiling by his wrists.
“Took you long enough.” Royal had a bloody knife in his hand.
“Where are Buster and Ace?”
“Don't need them.”
“If this is club business, the club should be here.” Danny moved over to James, reached out and checked his pulse because he wasn't sure that the stripped-down man was even still breathing. There was a pulse, but it wasn't exactly strong. He wasn't even sure that James knew he was standing there. This was fucked beyond repair.
“I said I don't need them. Last time I looked, the President patch was on my chest, not yours,” Royal replied.
“Last time I checked, we voted on things. Took issues to the table.” Danny looked over to Train. “We're a brotherhood, not a monarchy.”
“The son of a bitch who killed my family isn't going to keep breathing.” Royal turned towards James, knife raised, and Danny knew that it would be a killing blow. Danny stepped in front of James. “You'll put your life on the line for his?”
“I'll put my life on the line for what's right. This isn't right. Has be confessed? Have you even listened to a word he said? This isn't justice.” Danny truly believed that he could talk Royal down, even with the crazed look in his eye, but he was wrong. The knife entered his shoulder, a searing pain that was like being burned.
Danny saw the edges of his vision going black and gritted his teeth. “What the fuck are you doing?” Train shouted, the calm he'd been wrapped in only a moment earlier gone. “You just stabbed Danny.”
“He'll live,” Royal replied.
“You crossed a line, man. You crossed a line that can't be uncrossed. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Shut your mouth and just get a bag ready for this fuck.”
“No. No, thank you, I will not,” Train stated. “I'm going to need you to move back, Royal. Give Danny some room.”
“Or what?” Royal demanded. “What are you going to do, Train? You going to shoot me?”
“If he doesn't, I will.” Buster spoke from the doorway. Danny saw that he wasn't alone. He had the rest of Nightshade with him. How long had they been standing there? Long enough, apparently, that both Buster and Ace had their weapons out. “Stand down, Brother.”
Royal held up his hands, took a step back. “You're going to regret this. I'll have your patch for this.”
“You wouldn't have the votes,” Buster said bluntly.
Danny turned away from the two of them staring each other down as James let out a moan of pain. “Hang in there, Monroe. You hear me? Rock and Edge, help me get him down. He's going to need a doctor.”
“No one take him down,” Royal shouted. “That's a fucking order. I am your President, in case you all forgot that.”
“Take him down. Edge, call your sister. She's the closest thing that we've got to a doctor with all that shit you said your father taught her.” Buster told him. Edge hesitated, looked over at Royal, but then took out his phone as James began to cough. “Train, take Royal next door and keep him there until we can sit down at the table.”
Danny pressed a tee shirt to his shoulder and watched as Ace and Rock lowered James down. “Get him upstairs. Careful.” He felt his head go light again. He was not going to pass out. He applied more pressure to his shoulder and the pain made him stumble, but he kept on his feet.
“They've got him,” Buster assured him. “Train's got Royal.”
“You sure that's smart? Royal's always had Train's ear.” Danny demanded.
“Train believes in Nightshade. Royal stabbed you for no good reason. You're either stupid or brave. He could have killed you.”
“I promised Amelia that I wouldn't let anything happen to James. She's lost enough, too much.”
“I won't argue with that, but what she's saying is a little out there. Missy's a cunt, but I don't know if she's a killer.”
“She wouldn't say it lightly. I believe that Lily flipped her story.” Danny sighed.
“Alright, we'll figure it out. I want Jillian to take a look at you, too. Should I call Amelia? You want her here?”
“I want her safe. I'm not sure that she's safe around Royal. If he could stab me... I don't even want to think what he could do to her.” Danny sighed. He also didn't want to talk to her until he could
tell her for sure that James was going to be okay.
<#<#<#
There had never been such a tense meeting at the Nightshade table. Sure, they'd all had issues before, but this surpassed anything that they'd experienced. Danny waited for someone to speak once Royal called the meeting to order. It didn't surprise him that Buster was the one who spoke up. “I want to call a vote. A vote for the President patch. I don't think that Royal's head is in the right place to lead us, not when every single one of our moves counts right now.”
“Don't embarrass yourself, Buster. No one is going to second you.” Royal sounded so sure of himself. The craziness from earlier was gone from his eyes and voice; now he just sounded cocky.
“I second the vote.” Danny sat up straighter and met Royal's eyes. “I think Buster's got a point.”
“You're only doing this because I don't want bat shit crazy Amelia around.”
“She's not bat shit crazy.” Danny resisted the urge to pound the table. He needed to stay composed and make this about Nightshade and not his personal life. “You fucking stabbed me. You took it upon yourself to be judge, jury and executioner for Monroe. That's not supposed to be how Nightshade works.”
“He killed Fiona and Taylor.”
“No, he didn't.” Ace spoke up. “I did some quick digging. Got into his bank account. He used his debit card to pay for a room at Greektown. Took out five hundred dollars from an ATM, too.”
“Just because someone paid for a room, doesn't mean that he's actually there. That could be an alibi. There is an eyewitness,” Royal pointed out triumphantly as if Lily Beck's word was worth it's weight in gold. “Lily Beck saw him there that night.”
“Yeah well, Lily Beck isn't exactly a star witness,” Buster interjected. “She's a wishy washy little bitch. And she's shit scared of Missy. Remember the night Missy ran her off? Condemning a man on her word doesn't sit right with me. Doing it behind our backs doesn't sit right with me, either. It's not what a President should do, and deep down, you know that. We could skip the vote if you do the right thing and resign it. Go back to being a Brother without the stress of being a leader.”
Make It Right Page 21