Darrell stumbled to his feet and a rush of fresh blood oozed out of his wound.
“Why do you hate her? What did she do to you?”
“All in due time.” She slammed the car door shut and slid behind the wheel. “I’m quite excited to finish this once and for all.”
Darrell looked over his shoulder to see the garage disappear into the night. Although he didn’t know what the crazy doctor had in mind, he did know he only had a short time to get out of the handcuffs and save Church.
****
Church’s eyes fluttered open, and for a moment confusion swirled in her head. Why was her body so limp she could barely feel it? She had never slept so deeply in her life, but half a heartbeat later, all the memories of the previous day crashed in her memory and she sat up, looking for Darrell.
Since he wasn’t there, she guessed he must have gone back to across the street, and relief surged through her. Although she would’ve liked to have him with her, it did give her some privacy to decide if she was going to rebuild her walls, or if she was going to embrace the lightness centered in her soul.
She rose and went into the bathroom, showering quickly. When she opened the garage, she noticed Robin waiting with a friend in a small pick-up truck who had driven her to pick up her car. Church waved as Robin hopped out of the cab and walked inside the bay.
“Is it fixed?”
Church could feel the apprehension in Robin’s question.
“Yes,” she replied. “I replaced your timing belt and your spark plugs. Gave her an oil change and cleaned up the pan. I also swapped out your battery because it wasn’t holding a full charge. And I fixed a small hole in your radiator. I’m surprised she didn’t overheat.”
“Wow,” Robin replied, looking a bit stunned. “I wasn’t expecting all that. How much do I owe you?”
“Figured I’d only charge you for parts. Eighty bucks and we’ll call it even.”
Robin blinked. “What? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Why? Too much?”
“No!” Robin shook her head fiercely. “I know how much a battery costs. It’s not enough.”
“I get a discount since I’m a shop owner,” Church said. “I’m not marking it up like other places. Figured you could use some good vibes.”
Tears welled up in Robin’s eyes and all of a sudden she threw her arms around Church and squeezed. “Oh thank you! Thank you so much!”
Before, Church would’ve stiffened up and pulled away, but following the footsteps of last night’s emotional upheaval, she actually hugged Robin back.
“I’m going to tell everyone how amazing you are,” Robin said, pulling back. A big smile was plastered on her face. “Miller was going to rob me blind.”
“Yeah, I saw your estimate. I personally think Miller Goff is an asshole. Had a run-in with him a couple of days ago.”
She absently patted her pocket and realized her knife wasn’t there. Robin paid her in cash, thanked her again, and when she started up her car, it purred smoothly like a properly tuned engine should. Robin waved goodbye and drove off.
Church turned to find her knife but couldn’t locate it. As she picked up her sofa cushions, the phone rang.
“Farlander Garage,” she answered.
“Church!” Carleen Brogan’s relieved voice came through the line. “My car broke down! I need your help.”
She didn’t want to help the bitch. “I suggest calling Miller Goff.”
“No! Please, I … I know I was a bitch. I’m sorry.”
Church really wanted to hang up on her, but the knowledge that a vehicle she worked on sputtered and died irked her.
“Broke down? Was there a noise? Any smoke?”
“I have no idea!” Carleen cried. “It just … sputtered and died.”
“Okay.” Shit. “Where are you?”
“I’m by the cemetery.”
“What are you doing out there?”
“I was just driving around,” Carleen said. “And now it’s creepy. Please hurry.”
“Okay,” Church replied. “I’m on my way.”
Chapter Fourteen
The White Death MC sat in the middle of a cornfield, and Cherry couldn’t help but think of the old horror movie she saw not that long ago, where demonic children terrorized a traveling couple. The similarities made her a bit apprehensive, and she promised never again to be tempted to watch Heart’s film pick on date night.
The sentry waved them on so Heart throttled through the gate and along the winding road that ended at a large farmhouse. A long garage rested off to one side and smaller houses were scattered around the perimeter. Heart parked in an area where other silent motorcycles rested and they dismounted. Almost immediately, the main door on the farmhouse opened and Kix, the president of the club, walked toward them. As he stepped closer, he held out his hand and Heart shook it in greeting.
“Thanks for having us,” Heart murmured. “This is my wife, Cherry.”
“I remember,” Kix murmured. “Wasn’t that long ago we feared you, Cherry Wayne.”
“It’s a tangled web, isn’t it?” she said.
“It sure is,” he agreed. “There’s also no shortage of assholes gunning for the women of the Forgotten Rebels. Including my own.”
“Speaking of which, how is Piper?”
“I’m sure she’ll be along in a minute,” Kix replied, waving at the farmhouse. “She’s got a new project, taking on the club girls and Ole’ Ladies to make sure they get an education.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Cherry enthused.
Kix gave a one-shoulder shrug. “If it makes her happy, I’m happy. In the meantime, let’s get you to your room, freshen up a bit, and then we can get down to business. Mac’s got some information for you.”
He led Heart and Cherry into the farmhouse, up the staircase, and into a large corner bedroom. Curtains had been thrown wide, allowing the sunlight to stream through the window pane. Scattered patterns danced over the floorboards, changing shape with the refracted beams. The wrought-iron bedframe supported a queen mattress that squeaked a little when Heart threw his saddlebag on it.
“You’ve got your own bathroom,” Kix said, pointing to a closed door. “Meet me in half an hour in Mac’s trailer. Do you remember which one it is?”
“Yep,” Heart replied. “Not hard to miss.”
Cherry gave a little wave as Kix left them alone, the door shutting with a click. Floorboards creaked as he made his way down the hall, growing fainter until they disappeared. Heart sat on the bed and bounced, causing the springs to squeak in protest.
“Well, angel, our neighbors are gonna know when the bed’s a-rockin’, don’t come knockin’”
She rolled her eyes. “My turn in the bathroom first, because I know you’ll stink it up.”
“You know me so well,” he teased, winking.
Cherry giggled and went to freshen up first. Twenty minutes later, they made their way down the staircase.
“Hey, trouble!” came a husky, feminine laugh.
Heart and Cherry turned. Heart moved forward and hugged the beautiful, voluptuous woman, and jealousy bit Cherry hard. She made to yank her man away from the lust-inspiring siren, but at that moment, the woman pulled back and immediately embraced Cherry.
“I’m so happy for you both,” the woman said, seemingly mindless of Cherry’s stiff body. “Heart’s one of my best friends, so when he told me about you, I felt like I’d already fallen in love with you.”
Confused, Cherry pulled away. “Excuse me?”
The woman smacked her forehead. “I’m sorry! I’m Piper Edwards. It’s so nice to finally meet you! Especially after Mac tracked you down. I’ve never seen Heart so emotionally wrecked.”
“Ah,” Cherry said, smiling. She held out her hand. “Heart’s talked a lot about you. So nice to meet you.”
Piper pulled her into a hug. “I’m so happy Heart found you. He’s one of my best friends, you know.”
Cherry quickly hugged he
r back. “I feel like I’m the lucky one. Thanks so much for helping us out, although I think my sister is a little off on pinning anything on Masterson.”
“No harm in making sure.” Kix motioned with his hand for them to follow. “Come on, Mac’s got everything set up to go over what he found out about the good doctor.”
They followed him out of the farmhouse to a large trailer that had several large air conditioning systems running. Kix led them up a few steps and when he opened the door, a blast of cold air enveloped in them like a hug.
“I should’ve warned you to bring a coat,” Piper told Cherry.
“Why is it so cold?” she asked as she hugged herself in an effort to conserve body heat.
“That would be my massively huge computer system that allows me to be the biggest badass gamer in the universe,” said an amused voice from a large bank of monitors.
“And he’s not conceited at all,” Kix said dryly. “Cherry, this is Mac.”
“Welcome to the frozen city of Macville,” Mac said. “I am founder and ruler supreme. All bow to the mighty Mac. All seeing, all knowing—”
“I can and will kick your ass if you don’t shut up,” Kix warned.
“Shutting up now,” Mac said.
Piper lightly smacked Kix’s shoulder. “Go on, Mac. Show us what you have on this doctor person.”
The tall thin man got to work typing like a mad-man on his keyboard. A second later, a DMV picture of Carleen Brogan popped up. “On the surface, she’s exactly as she describes herself. Graduated from the University of Chicago, did her residency at Chicago General. Owns a condo, has a school loan she’s never defaulted on. Drives a sensible SUV—”
“No, she drives a Mercedes,” Cherry said, interrupting him. “In fact, Church had to replace the alternator on it.”
“Yeah, I did see a recent DMV registration for a Mercedes, but it’s still being processed.”
Cherry frowned. “That makes no sense. That doesn’t match what she told Church.”
“On the outside, this woman is the picture perfect definition of boring, but no one is this perfect. So I delved deeper into her finances and I hit jackpot.”
“It always comes down to money,” Piper murmured.
“I used a backdoor to find a bank account that has a shitload of assets, in excess of a few million dollars.”
“What the fuck?” Heart said, a bit astonished. “How did she amass that much?”
“Extortion,” Kix replied. “Just as Wick guessed.”
“Can you do a transfer?” Cherry asked.
Mac raised an eyebrow. “Transfer to where?”
“Into another account,” she said. “That money is from scams, right? We can at least take it and funnel it into a serious venture for what it was donated toward. A center for veterans to obtain the help they need when they transition out of the military.”
“A rehab?” Heart asked.
She nodded. “And more. Just think, it could be a counseling center, a PTSD center … a support group that many may need but not able to find.”
“So … stealing her money?” Kix asked, one eyebrow raised.
“Stealing from the rich and giving back to the community, just as how the donors of that money intended,” Cherry said. “Like Robin Hood.”
Heart pulled her into his side. “I never realized how devious you are.”
“Not devious,” she replied. “But I worked for a company that hurt people, so I know how to spot the signs. She’s a predator, who uses a fake story to lure in her victims.”
“May not be a total story,” Mac said. “I did find an obit with her name in it.”
He typed something and next to the monitor that had Carleen’s picture on it, another image popped up.
“Oh my God!” Cherry whispered, shock draining the color from her face. “It’s Ricky.”
“What?” Heart demanded. “Are you sure?”
Cherry nodded. “Positive.”
“Who’s Ricky?” Kix asked.
“My sister and I were raised by our grandfather,” Cherry replied. “When we were teenagers, he brought home a runaway. Ricky Latorre. I thought he was our brother but he… He was a horrible person. He raped Church.”
“Oh my God,” Piper said.
“What?” Heart asked, sounding stunned.
“I just found out myself,” she said. “He was an addict and ended up dying from it. But my sister is permanently scarred from him.”
“It explains a lot,” Heart muttered.
“Don’t bring it up to her,” Cherry stressed. “I wish she would see a therapist but Church has to deal with it as she sees fit.”
“Why is her name different than her brother’s?” Kix asked.
Mac typed something on his keyboard.
“Looks like Carleen Brogan’s mother remarried when Carleen was younger,” Mac said. “So I’m guessing this Ricky dude was her half-brother. Both end up in foster care, however, when their parents died in a car accident. What are the chances, eh? Both brother and sister end up knowing you and your sister.”
“I never liked coincidences,” Kix said. “So was it or was it not Lee Masterson that hurt your club brother? Or was this doctor involved?”
“I don’t know,” Cherry said. “But I do find it odd that Ricky’s sister ended up in Stevens.”
“Nothing odd about it,” Heart said, folding his arms across his chest. “That woman is up to no good, only question is why. We need to warn Church and Wick until we understand her motives for being here.”
Chapter Fifteen
Church pulled the truck to a halt at the entrance gate to the local cemetery. Older gravestones stood prominently in the front, with names and dates obscured by age and weathering. As she looked around, she saw Carleen’s Mercedes parked all the way toward the back, half-concealed by a large oak tree. Turning into the cemetery, she drove down the single lane.
Carleen wasn’t at the car, so Church turned off her engine and got out of the cab. “Carleen?”
A moan came from the other side of the large tree. Thinking Carleen might have hurt herself, Church hurried to help her, but it wasn’t the doctor lying on the ground, it was Darrell.
“Darrell!” Church cried, rushing toward him. She came to a skidding halt and fell to her knees beside him. It took a long moment to realize he had handcuffs on and the dark stuff caking his shirt was blood. “Jesus! What happened?”
“It’s a trap,” he said in a pain-filled voice. “Carleen is waiting for you. Get out of here.”
“Not without you,” she said. “Come on, I’ll help you.”
As she struggled to get to her feet with Darrell’s hands still handcuffed, a voice came from behind.
“It was your fault, you know.”
Church stopped what she was doing and rose. She spun around, placing herself in front of Darrell to protect him. Carleen Brogan, dressed in black, stared at her with cold, hateful eyes.
“What are you doing, Carleen?” Church demanded.
“It’s your fault he’s dead.”
“Darrell isn’t dead.”
“I’m not talking about him. He’s just the bait to keep you here.”
Carleen brandished a knife, staring at her with pure hatred, and Church realized it was her missing blade. Although she figured she could take the cunt, she decided to err to caution since the bitch wielding the weapon was an unknown level of crazy.
“That belongs to me,” she said calmly, holding her hands up a little.
“I know. I stole it the last time I was in your garage.”
“I don’t understand, Carleen. Did you hurt Darrell? Why would you do that?”
“Because you killed my brother,” Carleen said shrilly, her voice going up a notch.
Everything inside her stilled. Her first thought was that Darrell must have said something, but she remembered how the doctor had tried to divide them before. She decided to maintain her cluelessness. “You’re not making a lick of sense. I’ve never k
illed anyone in my life.”
“You killed Richard! I know you did!”
Her heart stuttered. “You’re Ricky’s sister?”
“You know he had a family! Me!”
“I knew he had someone leftover from his past life, but he never really talked about you. I figured you were lost in the system, like he was.”
Carleen lowered the knife fractionally, although she didn’t let it go entirely. “Our parents died in a car accident. We were taken in by the state. I was two years older but … I lost track of where he was. Of who he was with. And when I finally found him … years later … I learned he was dead. By you.”
Church shook her head. “No, Carleen. You’re wrong—”
“Liar!” Carleen took a step toward her, bringing the knife back up and waving it threateningly. “You didn’t want him to have your grandfather’s money, so you killed him.”
“My grandfather didn’t have money,” Church clarified, speaking slowly. “He divided up his assets between the three of us. Me, Cherry, and Ricky. The only reason I cared that he got my grandfather’s cabin was because he was a drug abuser and a rapist. He raped me, over and over, abusing the trust my grandfather put in him. Abusing the idea that we were a family. He certainly wasn’t someone to exact revenge over, believe me!”
For a moment, the doctor stared at her like she was the one crazy. Then pure rage descended over her face.
“You killed him!”
Church knew there was a line she shouldn’t cross. She had vowed to herself that what happened would never pass her lips, but she couldn’t stomach the thought that Carleen Brogan wanted to kill her over a lie.
“He needed to be stopped,” she said softly. “He wanted to hurt my sister and I couldn’t allow that to happen.”
“So you killed him!”
“No. He died of an overdose.”
“No, he didn’t! His blood sugar was too low. I read his autopsy. I know—”
“He had a seizure, Carleen,” Church said softly, maintaining the lie. “There was no premeditated murder, not by me or anyone else.”
“I don’t believe you,” Carleen whispered. “He wasn’t diabetic. How does a normal, healthy man die of hypoglycemia?”
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