“We’ll find out,” T said, quietly as if he was in thought. “We’ll find her.”
“But she’s dead!” Brett barked, making me nearly drop the phone. “I saw her body in the morgue myself. It was her.”
“Someone is out to fuck with your mind. Don’t let them.”
“How the hell can this be happening? The trial is tomorrow, and I have a contract out. The price was too high. I should have never agreed. What if—”
“Let’s just see this through and you can be on a plane home tonight and finish business then.”
Brett laughed humorlessly, almost sadly. “Fucking liar.”
“As Emmy would say, I’m being optimistic.”
Brett snorted. “When have you ever been optimistic?”
“Right now.”
“It doesn’t suit you.”
“Got that right.”
Silence.
Lil and I remained silent on our end too. I did not like the conversation I had just heard; it aligned too closely with the texts, putting me on edge. I could tell Lil was on edge too. Who was dead? Who did he see in the morgue? And what contract?
“Mars left a voicemail saying she’d received a creepy text,” Brett said. “You don’t think . . .”
“No. She doesn’t know. It was probably just a wrong number.”
Silence.
“Looks like we’re getting close,” T said. “Pull over so we can watch the house from here.”
“There’s no point. They know we’re coming.”
“Yes, but they don’t know when. Pull over.”
Even though Brett cursed, it sounded as though he was complying. The background noise grew softer.
“Listen, man,” T started, “I know you want to tear into the place, but think about your training first. Don’t make a rookie mistake. You’d be playing right into their plans. They’re expecting you to charge in.”
“I know. I know. This is bigger than me, but why does it keep coming back to just me.”
“If Annie is behind this, you know why.”
“I think it’s bigger than Annie.”
“What do you mean?” T asked.
“At Fenwig’s, Mars had heard a man with a wispy voice. He seemed to be calling the shots, but he was never caught by Mrs. J. and the bikers. The man had told Mars that she had ruined some of his clients, Annie being one of them.”
“But Mars never saw the man, only heard his voice?”
“It was dark at Fenwig’s and he never touched her, only his thugs did. She never saw him.”
“Wispy voice?”
“That’s what she said. His voice gave her the chills.”
“Thank God she never saw him. That’d be the last thing we’d need.”
“But if this is about . . . what if I . . .” Brett cursed.
“What? Spill it.”
“No, nothing. Let’s keep going. I haven’t seen any movement at the house. I bet it’s just a dead-end.”
“Or a trap.”
“I’m not waiting anymore. Let’s just get inside.”
Lil and I were so engrossed into Brett and T’s conversation that we didn’t hear Emily’s footsteps until she was standing in front of us.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice louder than our whispers had been.
“What was that?” Brett asked.
“What was what?” T responded.
“I heard a voice.”
“Must be in your head. I didn’t hear anything.”
“Is that Br—” Emily began but Lil jumped up and clamped her hand over Emily’s mouth. Stunned, Emily’s eyes popped wide open; protests were mumbled under Lil’s hands as she ushered Emily from Brett’s bedroom and down the stairs.
“I could have sworn I heard something,” Brett said.
“It’s your nerves. Let’s get this over with.”
Silence again. I wanted to shake the phone out of T’s pocket so I could see what was going on. Instead, I waited patiently, hoping they would talk again.
“It’s boarded up,” Brett said. “Do you see any way in besides the front door?”
“No, but we can search around back.”
I heard the car doors open, but I never heard them shut. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the rustling sound as T moved, or because they’d left them open. Maybe for a quick getaway.
A getaway from what . . . or who?
“You take that side,” T said. “I’ll meet you around back.”
More rustling, some breathing.
“Shit,” T muttered. “Nothing.”
“It’s sealed tight,” Brett said. “We’ll have to use the front door.”
“This has trap written all over it.”
“We have no choice. I’ll go in first. You cover me.”
“We do have a choice,” T said. “Not that you’d change your mind.”
“Sorry. Not this time.”
“I’ll cover you,” T said, his voice filled with resignation. “Just remember to keep a clear head.”
“I will. Promise.”
“It’s locked.”
“Bust it down.”
I was glued to the phone like a jellyfish to a snorkeler. If I hadn’t known the players involved, I would’ve guessed I was listening in on an action movie. But I did know the players, and they’d just broken into a boarded-up house. My mind swirled like a vortex as they moved through the house; I could only hear rustling and controlled breathing. Their conversation in the car repeated in my swamped brain.
“Clear,” T called minutes later.
“Clear,” Brett responded.
I let out a gusting breath that I had been holding.
“We’ve been through the entire house,” T said. “There’s no one here.”
“Did you see the stained window in the upstairs bedroom? It’s the same as in the picture. She was here. Eve was here.”
Eve? My heart dropped to my toes as I quickly looked around the room. Thankfully, Lil was still downstairs with Emily.
“Yes, but when? This house looks like it’s been boarded up for years.”
“I don’t know. Nothing makes sense.”
“Let’s make one last sweep of the house and see if we can find something that will help. We were led here for a reason.”
“Yeah,” Brett sighed his agreement.
“Why don’t you pull up the photos on your phone and see if anything looks different. I’ll make another sweep.”
“Yeah,” Brett agreed again. Moments later. “I can’t get on my phone.”
“Dead battery?”
“No, I think someone hacked it. It’s locked.”
“Let me see,” T said. “Oh shit, man. What did you have on here?”
“Just pictures and contacts.”
“No, man. You had something else on here. This is bad. This is really fucking bad.”
“What is?”
“You didn’t install the security block, did you?”
“Shit. No, I didn’t.”
“The gatekeeper found you, man. You know the price.”
“Mars. I have to kill Mars.”
“It’s the price you agreed to,” T said. “You know what you have to do.”
“Yes.”
Stunned, I hung up.
Chapter 9
I had to get out of here. I didn’t understand hardly any of the conversation, but I did hear enough. Brett said he had to kill me. Kill me?
Kill me?
Oh, God, the creepy text was right!
The world, everything, it ceased to make sense. How did this happen? First I’m in love and then I’m a target. By the same man?
Nothing worked. Not my legs. Not my heart. And certainly not my brain. I was stuck in suspended animation on Brett’s bed. If I could have laughed, I might have. Just at the extreme absurdity of it. I was stuck on Brett’s bed. He said he was going to kill me. And I was stuck.
Stuck!
The phone vibrated in the palm of my hand, jarring me b
ack to life. The caller ID stated it was Mrs. Janowski. I knew it wasn’t her. T must have realized that his phone was switched. And I was the last call. If they looked at the call history, they would know I had heard everything.
Brett would come for me.
I dropped the phone to the ground, staring at it as if Brett had materialized.
No, this couldn’t be happening. Brett loved me. He wouldn’t kill me.
And what was the contract? Why was there a contract on me?
I had to get out of this house. I had to think, to plan. But where could I go? I was in Texas with not a friend, car, or money. The only thing I had was credit cards, now paid for by Brett. He could easily track them. Would he track them? God, I was losing my mind. The fringe of my vision was splintering.
Footsteps on the stairs.
“Mars, dear,” Lil said. “I just got a really odd call from Brett. He said to make sure you don’t go anywhere, not even to the trial tomorrow. I tried to make him explain, but he said it was a matter of life or death. What in the world did I miss?”
“Um, nothing. I was disconnected. I don’t know.” Shit!
“Are you feeling okay? You look pale.” She crossed the room to feel my forehead. “You don’t feel warm, but you’re all sweaty. I bet you’re coming down with a bug.”
“Bug. Yes, I must be.”
“Well, just you rest for a while. I’ll make some soup.”
“Soup. Yes, soup.”
The phone buzzed along the floor. Lil bent down to pick it up.
“No!” I shouted, then covered my mouth. “I mean, I’ll get it later.”
“Sure. Of course, dear.” She looked at me as if I’d sprouted a second head.
“I think I’ll just take a nap, if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course,” she repeated and bustled from the room. “Just holler if you need anything.”
As soon as Lil left, I bolted to the door and locked it. I had to get out and yet I was trapped. Oh, God, I had to warn Mrs. Janowski and the others. I had to talk to them. They could make sense of what I’d heard.
I paced the room. Think. Think. Think.
Reaching down, I plucked the phone from the floor and called Kym. I wouldn’t involve them further. I’d just warn them and figure this out on my own.
“Did you get any intel?” Mrs. Janowski’s voice boomed through the phone.
“Mrs. J., you can’t just steal my phone,” I heard Kym say.
“Pshht, I’ll give it back,” she said. “Mars, what did you hear?”
“Too much,” I admitted, my voice cracking. “I don’t even know where to begin. Did Aaron find anything on T’s phone?”
“Nothing. He scrubbed it. We were thinking of trying his computer next, but it will take us some time to break into his office.”
“No. Stay far away from Brett and T. You have to promise me.”
“Why?”
“I — I overheard some things. I’m not sure who they are.”
“Who they are?”
“I don’t know. Oh, Mrs. J., I don’t even believe it.” I stifled the tears stinging the back of my eyes. “Listen, I’m going to be away for a little bit. Just don’t trust Brett or T for now. I’ll be in contact with you. Stay away from them.”
I ended the call and sat back down on the bed, hands shaking. This had to be a mistake, but I also knew what I’d heard. I didn’t just conjure up the conversation in a hallucinatory dream. I heard the words, the tone in which they were said. It happened. It was real. The scary texts confirmed what my heart couldn’t believe.
I wanted to call Brett, to ask him, to demand that he explain. To tell me it was just a nightmare and I’d wake up. But I knew I wouldn’t, not after what I had heard.
I needed more information before I confronted him, which meant I had to leave. I had no friends here. No one could help me. I had to help myself.
How?
I sat on the bed, contemplating until my mind was whirling. Still nothing. And then I heard her. Emily.
“Mars.” Emily knocked on the door, after she had tried to open it. “Are you in there?” The door handle jiggled.
“Go away.”
“Why doesn’t Brett want you to go to the trial?”
“Ask him.”
“He won’t answer his phone.”
That’s because his phone was hacked, I wanted to say. Was it Aaron who hacked it? He seemed almost frightened when he shut his laptop, but even if he did hack the phone, there wasn’t time for him to do anything to it. What did Aaron see? The contract? No, he’s a quick kid, but no one could read and comprehend a contract within a fraction of a second. So, what was it?
“Mars,” Emily whined. “Did he say when he was coming back?”
“No. Why don’t you go pester Rand?”
Rand! He was the one person who might help, if for no other reason than to piss off Brett.
“Why don’t you pester Rand,” Emily said smugly. “After all, he came up here to visit you earlier.”
Crossing over to the door, I whipped it open. “What are you up to?”
Her seemingly innocent surprised expression didn’t fool me.
“Nothing,” she gasped, hand fluttering to her chest as if she was playacting a Southern belle. “But I have eyes. I can see there is something going on between you.”
“Something going on between Rand and . . .” And there it was. My ticket out of here. I’d run away with Rand. Scary, rude, condescending, manipulative but very handsome-even-while-puffing-on-a-nasty-cigarette Rand.
Emily solved my problem.
“You might be right,” I said slowly, pondering.
Her eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe I was agreeing.
“It’s something to think about while I take a nap,” I said, shutting the door and locking it once again.
I heard her delighted squeal on the other side of the door. Her happy footsteps bounded down the stairs. If Brett’s room faced the backyard, I bet I’d see those giddy feet running straight over to Rand’s to tell him the good news.
Good news.
There was nothing good about this.
I sat on the bed again, wondering if I’d be able to twist Rand’s arm. His dislike of me was obvious. Whatever attention he displayed was because of Emily’s manipulation, which I still didn’t fully understand. If her one-track mind had anything to do with it, it was to remove me from Brett so she could get him back.
She could check that item off her list.
But where do I go from here? Brett would know I’d head back to Wisconsin. My whole life was there. No, I had to go somewhere unexpected. Maybe Rand would know of a place I could stay.
I grimaced. The universe was conspiring against me if Rand was going to be my savior.
Walking to the window, I looked down at the ground and then at the tree. With everyone assuming I was taking a nap, it was my only way out undetected. And I wanted to keep the ruse up for as long as possible. If Brett called again, they could honestly say I was still in the room sleeping. The locked door would deter them from checking, at least for a little while.
I slid the window open and sat on the edge. Traversing through windows was never a talent of mine—not that I had known that until the Fenwig fiasco, which now seemed a lifetime ago.
A tree branch below me looked sturdy, but it also looked really far away.
“Come on,” I whispered to myself. “It’s only a two-story drop. If you die, then Brett won’t have to kill you.” A chunk of my heart withered.
I heard the vibration of my phone on the bed. Should I take it with me? Brett might track it. But it also had all my contacts on it. I teetered on the decision until finally breaking down and swiping it off the bed. Powering it off, I jammed it into my pocket and made my way carefully out the window.
* * *
“No, Emily!” Rand yelled, slamming his beer on the side table. “I’m done with your bullshit. I’m not going to fuck Mars just so you can get Brett. D
on’t you dare ask me again.”
“You said you’d think about it,” she argued. “And you don’t have to do anything with her. Just make it look like you did so Brett dumps her. I already talked with her and she’s agreeable.”
I pressed along the side of Rand’s tiny cabin behind the fence, listening in on Emily and Rand’s conversation. With Emily’s meddling, Rand was not going to be receptive to my request.
“Agreeable?” he questioned.
“I hinted that there might be something going on between you two, and she agreed.”
He muttered a curse. “There’s nothing going on between us and there never will be. Get out!”
“Won’t you do it for me?” she pleaded.
“No! Out!”
“Fine! But don’t think you’ll ever get lucky with me again. Last night was a mistake.”
“Damn right it was.”
Emily burst out of the door with a huff and ran back to the main house, leaving Rand’s door wide open.
I knew what I had to do, but I couldn’t seem to detach myself from the siding. Courage, Mars, I commanded. I peeled myself away, then headed over to the open door to rap on it. Rand was sitting in a chair beside the window I had been listening at. His eyes shot over to me.
He cursed again. “Do not tell me Emily got into your head.”
“No, but can I come in?” Keep calm, pretend there’s nothing wrong. Pretend you didn’t just hear the love of your life say he was going to kill you. Half of my confused brain said it was a mistake, to just stay and wait for Brett. The other half was what propelled me. It wanted facts. It wanted safety. It wanted to be anywhere but Texas.
“Fine, come in,” he said, “but get me a beer.”
I quickly crossed over to the refrigerator on the other side of the room. While the cabin was small, it seemed much larger from the inside. The living room and kitchen were joined, separated by a breakfast counter. A short hallway led to two doors that I assumed were the bedroom and bathroom.
“Are you eyeing my place to move in?” he asked drolly.
“No, just curious.” Just looking for a place to hide. I retrieved a beer and walked it over to him. “I need your help.”
“No.”
“You didn’t even hear what I need.”
“I don’t have to.” He popped the cap off on the side table. “My answer will be the same.”
Biker Brigade Page 9