Shelter (Red Rebels MC Book 5)

by C. D. Breadner

  “Holy shit.”

  “Yeah. You talk to her?”

  “Little bit. He attacked her?”

  “Yep. You saw her face?”

  Fritter just nodded, jaw tight.

  “She kicked him in the face. You see the nose?”

  “She damn near put it out the back of his head.”

  “Then she jammed that,” he nodded at the blade, “in his neck. And dragged him in here.”

  “What are we moving him in?”

  “The Suburban out front is his.”

  “Nice. ID?”

  “It’s all on the dresser. I already stripped him of anything important. Unless his name is written inside his underwear.” Knuckles gave a grunt and dropped the man’s legs again. “Jayce is on his way, too.”

  “Bold choice.”

  “Yeah, well.” He stepped over the body and made for the main room. “Buck and Tank have babies at home. I thought I’d keep this relegated to people we’ve known the longest.”

  “You got nothing to worry about, Jo. We’ll get this sorted out,” Fritter assured her, but she didn’t register his words. She sat in that chair, legs tucked in front of her, hugged to her chest with both arms. She looked half her usual size, with none of her usual pep.

  That was the difference; Jolene’s light was all but gone.

  Fritter pulled an extra blanket from the closet, with the logic that the guy disappearing the next day with half the bedding missing might be noticed. Stuff left in the cupboard might go longer before anyone questions where that blanket went.

  They rolled the guy up, and had him tucked in the cover like a fluffy burrito when the next knock on the door came. Jolene checked the peephole then let Jayce in.

  “What happened?” the Prez immediately asked, shutting the door behind him. His eyes skimmed over Jolene, the bruised eye drawing a frown.

  “This guy got a little pushy with Jolene. She took care of it herself but now we got clean up,” Fritter summed up, quite succinctly.

  Jolene returned to her perch in the chair, chewing her thumbnail.

  “Fuck,” Jayce mumbled, stepping over the body to the dresser. He pointed to the scattered items on the dresser. “This is his shit?”

  “Yep,” Knuckles answered, pulling off his hoodie. He was fucking cooking.

  Jayce picked up the wallet, flipping it open.

  “I say we take the stiff right to the truck. It’s right outside the door. Take our chances on someone seeing it. The world’s pretty quiet out there right now.”

  “Yeah,” Knuckles agreed. “Longer we sit here the longer we risk someone else checking into the motel.”

  “Uh, guys.”

  The both turned to the Prez, who was holding up the wallet. It was open, with a nice, shiny shield pinned inside.

  “What the fuck is that?” Fritter breathed. Even Jolene was looking over, unfolding from the chair and standing, moving a few steps closer.

  “This prick is DEA.”

  Knuckles could only stare at that badge, as though scrutiny could change what he was seeing and turn it into a kid’s dime store toy.

  “I didn’t know,” Jolene whispered, her eyes wide, hand to the side of her mouth. “Oh my God, I had no idea.”

  “Check the room for a cell,” Jayce ordered, and they set to scurrying about, moving furniture, tossing the mattress off its platform, looking anywhere and everywhere, but no cell phone turned up.

  “Maybe it’s in the truck.”

  “Did he have any tattoos or anything? Anything that would make him recognizable?”

  Knuckles shrugged and tugged at the blanket covering the body. “I didn’t look for that. I just took his wallet and jewelry. Fuck!”

  They unrolled the blanket, and took to pulling the dead man’s shirt off. No tattoos, nothing marking him as possibly being undercover. Although, walking around with his DEA identification would have been a bad move for an undercover agent.

  “I would like to assume he was passing through. But picking up Jolene is a hell of a coincidence,” Jayce said, softly. “I’m assuming they were trying to get something on her, something to blackmail.”

  “We just tore the place apart,” Fritter pointed out. “There’s nothing here other than a dead guy and a buck-thirteen in change.”

  Jayce’s eyes ran over the walls. “It’d be an easy place to set something up.”

  “Well, they didn’t move in and help the fucker out,” Knuckles said, pointing to the body. “How long have we been here? And he was already dead. Jolene even dragged him into the bathroom.”

  Jolene nodded. “It’s been over an hour since I stuck him.”

  “So, they’re not live monitoring. But if there’s a recording device somewhere—”

  “We should get Spaz here,” Fritter cut in. “He’s got that scanner thing.”

  “No more people,” Jolene whispered, sounding like a desperate plea.

  “If there’s something here sending a signal Spaz can find it. Maybe follow it. Get us anything that might have been sent out.” Jayce’s tone softened even further, taking her hand. “Jolene, you killed a DEA agent. I just want to make sure there’s no blowback. We can get rid of the stiff, it’ll never be found. But if this was set up, they had to be ready to get something. Anything.”

  After a moment, she nodded, and Jayce gave Knuckles the same signal.

  They rolled up Agent Taylor Hemmings in the blanket again, then pulled him to the door. Fritter stepped outside, got the back doors of the Suburban open, then he and Knuckles got the body in the back of the truck and shut up tight.

  “Spaz is on his way,” Jayce informed them. “I’ll take Jolene to the clubhouse. Leave this place for Spaz to scan. You two get rid of the body and the truck. Call me, I’ll come and get you wherever you leave that thing.”

  “On it,” Knuckles promised, heading for the driver’s door.

  “Why do you get to drive?” Fritter mumbled as he hauled his ass into the passenger seat.

  “I’m not a bitch, so I don’t ride bitch,” he shot back, relieved when Fritter laughed. That felt almost normal.

  -oOo-

  Knuckles could have gone back to his own place, but letting himself in the back door of the Prince’s, he knew this was the right call. The second he stepped inside the kitchen, even darkened at this early morning hour, he already felt the lightness of the home of a happy family.

  Moving silently, which he was good at, Knuckles shut himself in the main bedroom’s private bath and stepped into the shower, then turned on the water, full hot. His hands were caked with dirt, and he took to scrubbing the blood from around his nailbeds immediately. He and Fritter had disposed of the body north of Bakersfield, under a sad patch of trees not far off a secondary road leading out to a municipal dump. The truck they parked in a mall parking lot in Bakersfield, one without camera surveillance, and Jayce came to collect them. He dropped Knuckles and Fritter at the motel to take their vehicles back home. Well, that is, Knuckles drove Tiny’s truck back to his place.

  As he was drying off the bathroom door opened and he felt bad for waking her. Danielle blinked against the light, and he frowned at the fact she’d put on a nightshirt.

  “Sorry, Momma,” he said around a yawn, kissing her temple as she stepped into the bathroom with him. “Had to go help a friend.”

  She nodded, wrapping her arms around him, instantly trusting. There was some guilt, but just from her being this close and in his arms the buzzing along his neck died off. He loved that peace.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. She just gets herself in trouble sometimes.”

  Danielle stiffened, then backed up. Her eyes were suspicious and she was fully awake.

  He couldn’t stop his grin. “Momma.”

  “Is she okay?” She was trying to sound concerned. It was kind of adorable.

  “She’s fine. She got in a pinch but she pretty much got herself out of it. Just needed a ride.”

  Danielle’s
eyebrow raised. “A ride? That was almost four hours ago.”

  “Well, the pinch needed a lot of unpinching. So, I helped. That’s it.”

  She nodded, eyes dropping to his chest where her hands were resting.

  Maybe it was because he was an asshole, but he really liked that she was jealous. He’d been surrounded by women happy to be used for so long, he honestly didn’t think he’d have anyone entirely to himself. Much less a woman who wanted him all to herself. But Danielle Prince did.

  “Did your friend get hurt?”

  He shook his head, pulling her body closer, his cock stirring as her legs brushed against his. “Nah. She’s fine. She can handle herself. A guy just didn’t mind his manners with her.”

  “Oh.” She looked up again, one side of her mouth curling up as his erection strained upward into her stomach. “What’s that?”

  “That’s for you.”

  “Is it?”

  “Of course it is. Just remembering earlier tonight.”

  Her cheeks went pink under her freckles.

  “But you need sleep. You got work in the morning.”

  She shrugged one shoulder, hand playing down to his nipple. “I don’t know if I’m feeling sleepy.”

  His cock twitched and he groaned, eyes closing, but he stayed put.

  “Unless, of course, you’re too tired,” she breathed, right before kissing his chest.

  “I’d never be that tired, Momma,” he growled, crushing his mouth down on hers. Then he fucked her against the bathroom wall, and later fell asleep in a sweaty, happy heap of arms and limbs in a clean, warm bed.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Hey, Dani?”

  She looked up from the computer screen, surprised to see Chad McTavish at her office door. “Chad! Isn’t today one of your days off?”

  “I got called in.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah. We’re wanted up in the conference room. You got a minute?”

  She pushed away from the desk and reached for her bag. “Sure. New case?”

  “No, no. Nothing like that. They’re being really tight-lipped.”

  They took the walk upstairs together, and try as she might, Chad wouldn’t disclose a single detail. It made her believe he actually had no idea what was going on.

  They were all instructed to assemble around the large table. Sometimes the room was used for press conferences, but that hadn’t happened in the entire time Danielle had been living in Markham.

  She took a seat next to Chad and one of the sheriff’s dispatch operators. Danielle was pretty sure her name was Sylvia. They shared that smile people had when they were just acknowledging that they did know each other, but didn’t have a lot to say to each other. Officer Martin and Deputy Troy filed in next, and Danielle tried to judge by their faces what was going on. Strangely enough, Martin looked shell-shocked, but Troy was fighting a smile. He caught her eye and looked away, lips twitching.

  Very curious.

  Next, two deputies entered that Danielle didn’t recognize. The uniforms were similar to Markham’s, but the crest on the arm was different. She couldn’t make out what it said.

  “Is this everyone?” one of them asked Troy, setting a folder he’d been holding on the table top.

  Troy nodded. “Yes, this is the entire employee body of the Markham County local Sheriff’s and the medical examiner’s office.” He said that as he nodded at her and Chad.

  “Excellent.”

  Well, that was weird. The Sheriff wasn’t here, so how this could be “everyone” she was unsure. But with curiosity piqued, she sat forward at the table, elbows on the edge.

  “My name is Deputy Sheriff Driver. I’ve been in the employ of the Kings Country Sheriff’s department for twenty-two years.” He motioned smoothly to the other deputy. “This is Deputy Sheriff Payton. We’ve been sent here with some news, and depending on your position, it could be good news. Could be bad.”

  Deputy Troy looked at his feet.

  “As you know, Kern County is investigating the actions of Officer Unger in the shooting death of a man just last December. As of this morning, Unger is officially no longer an employee of the Markham County Sheriff’s Office, and indeed, he is no longer a law enforcement officer. But that’s not the reason a Kings County Sheriff’s Deputy is standing here.” He sighed and flipped the folder open, looking over his notes, it would appear.

  “Effective immediately, Kings County Sheriff’s Department will be taking over the Markham County Sheriff’s. Sheriff Archie Turnbull has been relieved of his title.”

  She shot a look to Troy, and she could see he was fighting to keep from busting a gut.

  “Deputy Kerry Troy will remain in this office, and he will be the ranking officer for the county. The office in Hazeldale will also remain in service, with all positions staying at their current rank. The only difference for Markham County is that your Sheriff is now Sheriff Paul Warner in Hanford.”

  Danielle let out a breath. This was huge. Markham County was small, she knew that. But this seemed like a trend. She’d been wondering when it would start.

  “Chad McTavish, you will serve out the remainder of time as planned before your retirement. And you’re Danielle Prince?”

  She nodded, calm, caught in his green-eyed stare.

  “You’ll remain on as the medical examiner for this region. Your new boss, other than Sheriff Greene, is Chief Deputy Coroner Tracy Cooper in Hanford. With all the space we cover, it’s been decided that the facilities will stay in place to serve the constituents of Markham County, but we’ll be amalgamating some administrative services. Mostly paperwork, payroll, but dispatch will stay in place for the time being.” Now the man looked around the room, meeting each person’s gaze straight on. “I think it’s obvious that eventually Markham County itself will be absorbed into Kings County. You’ve already lost the county seat to Kings, and now the Sheriff’s position. But it’s not all a cutback of services. We’ll be supplying Markham with two more full-time officers and Deputy Payton. That leaves Markham with three deputies; two here in Markham and Deputy Sheriff Joseph Greene in Hazeldale.”

  She shared a look with McTavish, and there was a weird glint in his eyes as well. He was loving this.

  “Now, for the time being this might take getting used to. But before long it’ll be business as usual, I’m sure.” He nodded to Deputy Payton. “Deputy Payton will work closely with Deputy Troy to get up to speed, and Deputy Troy will show the new guy the ropes around the county. That’ll take, what, one afternoon?”

  There were chuckles around the room.

  “And please, until there’s an official statement, this news needs to stay with the employees of the county. Since no one here is losing their jobs, I trust that will be easy to do. An official announcement will be forthcoming in a few days, with a press conference and official statement from the Kings County Executive, Alfred Bane.”

  Danielle noted again Troy’s mirth at this news. It didn’t mean a jump in rank or pay scale to him, but losing Sheriff Turnbull was a positive that even she could see the benefits of.

  “Ms. Prince?”

  Danielle met Deputy Driver’s gaze, startled out that thought. “Yes?”

  “At some point next week, Chief Deputy Coroner Cooper would like a meeting with you, their office will be in contact to arrange something. As long as you’re able to get away, of course.”

  She nodded. “Of course. Yes, absolutely.”

  “Good. Unless anyone has any further questions, I’d say we’re done.”

  Again, glances were shared around and across the table. It was a bit soon to even think of a question to ask. Danielle was sure everyone else was just as surprised as she was.

  “Thank you again for your time, and your discretion until this can all become public knowledge.”

  With that informal dismissal everyone rose, but stayed silent. She and McTavish stayed quiet until they were headed to the stairs back to the basement, then he stopped
. She waited, leaning on the wall, expecting he wanted a word.

  “Well, that’s long overdue,” Chad muttered.

  “Yeah?”

  “Most definitely. The county was already underfunded, but we’re being thrown into another basket at least. A bigger basket, but…it was bound to happen.”

  Danielle studied the toes of her shoes. “But, my job is safe, right?”

  “They’ve got a coroner in Corcoran. It’s about the same size as Markham. You’ll be fine. The area you’ll cover might get a bit bigger, but until those lines are drawn up definitively it’s hard to say how far a drive it might be. But yeah, they’ll keep you here.”

  She nodded, feeling guilty for even asking that. If Markham County were to truly be absorbed by Kings, a few town administration positions would definitely be cut.

  “Got any plans for the weekend?”

  The change in direction surprised her, but she smiled. “Yeah. We’ve been invited to a barbecue at a friend’s place.”

  McTavish sniffed. “This wouldn’t be the anniversary barbecue for the Red Rebels, would it?”

  Caught off guard yet again, she just nodded.

  “I’ve been hearing things about you and your neighbor. News travels fast in Markham, especially when it has anything to do with that club.”

  Danielle’s smile slipped. “What are people saying about me?”

  “Just that you’re close with that one, the one they call Knuckles.”

  She scratched at the back of her neck, wondering how the hell an admitted hermit like McTavish could possible know this. “Umm, well—”

  “Not my place to say, how someone spends their spare time. And I don’t have to tell you about the importance of raising your two daughters—”

  Then why are you bringing it up? she mused internally, but kept her lip buttoned.

  “—but those men are their own branch of this town. Their main priority is themselves, as a group. They call themselves a club, but it’s gang mentality just the same. Club first, above all else. There will be no better family than the brotherhood, standard brainwashing.”

  Danielle just nodded, unsure how he expected her to react. Maybe he was forgetting the fact she’d taken criminology.