by KJ Dahlen
Pausing, Teddy studied his face for a moment then walked over to where her pack had been stored. She picked it up, opened it, and began digging through the contents. When she found what she needed, she returned to Grizzly. She held it out to him but before she handed it over, she looked into his eyes and asked, “Promise me, you’ll try to find my dad? Please promise me, you’ll at least try?”
“I’ll try. We all will really try,” Grizzly stated in that low, deep voice of his.
Teddy dropped the flash drive into his hand.
Chapter Seven
Grizzly’s hand closed over the flash drive and he closed his eyes. He prayed that Ethan found something the Marshals missed all those years ago. He knew more today than he did back then, so it might finally be possible to understand why Theo had to die. “Have you seen what’s on here?”
She shook her head. “He only gave that to me after Levi took us all hostage. Reva never knew it because she wasn’t in the same room as Dad and me.” Teddy saw her mother’s purse on the table and went over to it. She opened the bag and dumped the contents out of the table. There was the usual wallet and lipstick tube and when she opened the wallet she didn’t feel the least bit disrespectful. The one thing her mother had insisted all the while she was growing up was that no one was allowed to go into her purse for any reason. Reva didn’t mind going through her husband’s wallet but no one had better go through her own purse or all hell would break out.
But now, it didn’t matter. At least not to Teddy. Opening the wallet, she went through the items. Her mother had credit cards in there and a driver's license. When Teddy took out the license, she noted the address on it. It wasn’t the address she'd shared with Ethan. It was her grandfather's address, down in McAllen. Then she looked at the last name on the license and sure enough, it wasn’t Alexander, it was Riggs and the funny part? It had just been renewed.
Looking further for more stuff in the wallet, she found another license. This one had the name Alexander and the current address on it. Shaking her head, Teddy grabbed both and held them out to Gunner.
Gunner stared at her for a moment, then took the two licenses from her. Studying them carefully, he shook his head and handed them to Grizzly. “That doesn’t make any sense to me. Why would she have two id’s?”
“She needed to hide where she was going," Teddy explained. "I’ll bet if you check with the prison system, you won’t find Reva Alexander on their roll for visiting days, but you might find Reva Riggs.” She shook her head. “She’s been living a double life all along.” A single tear rolled down her face and she didn’t even try to stop it.
She sat down and continued searching through her mother’s wallet. Tucked in with the cash, she found a folded piece of paper. Teddy took it out and unfolded it. Frowning, she read it. Suddenly, she realized what she was looking at. Reva had written out what seemed to be a list of things to do.
*Get things set up so Darren can claim he wasn’t in the area Theo died in.
*Take the evidence to Darren’s lawyers for an appeal
*Take Ethan and Teddy hostage
*Make Teddy think she has to kill a man to save her dad’s life, Yeah right!
*If things don’t go well, fake a beating and leave plenty of blood behind
*Have Levi leave with Ethan for McAllen. If taken, Levi will have to rescue me before he takes the trip to daddy’s. Without me, he knows Daddy will shoot him on sight, because Daddy will know something went wrong.
*If Teddy does her job and kills the man who testified against Darren, we just walk away, leaving her to take the heat. If she doesn’t, then Levi will kill her and Grizzly both, ME? I’ll get to go home and wait for Darren to be released.
*Darren will be so happy to be out of jail, he’ll appreciate me even more. The old fool.
*Have daddy kill Levi for giving me shit all these years. Or convince Darren to kill his own son by lying to him. haha.
Teddy swallowed hard and passed the list to Gunner. Then she laid her forehead on the table. Her hand curled into fists and for the longest time, she couldn’t even speak. The first five items on the list had been crossed off, leaving the last four left to do.
Gunner read the list then snorted as he tossed it to the table. “Did she really think this would work?”
Teddy lifted her head and nodded. “Oh yeah, she really did. No one was supposed to ever find that list. No one was ever allowed to go through her purse, so she wasn’t worried about it.”
Rigger came into the room and looked over at Gunner. “Boss, your prisoner is yelling up a storm. Something about wanting her purse.”
Gunner snorted. “Yeah, I’ll bet she does. Tell her she’s out of luck.”
“Hang on a minute,” Teddy called out. She picked up the bag and felt the inside of it. Shaking her head, she held out her hand to Grizzly and motioned to the knife at his waist.
Grizzly looked at Gunner before he handed her the blade.
Teddy used it to make a tear in the lining, then handed the blade back to Grizzly.
Grizzly took it back and frowned. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Teddy held up a finger as if to say, 'hang on a minute' then she ripped the lining of her mother’s purse and shook her head. Reaching inside, she took something out and held it up in her hand. It was a small blade. When she flipped a switch the blade doubled in size and the blade itself gleamed it was so sharp. The blade itself was small and slim but in the right hands, it could have been a deadly weapon. She looked over at Gunner and told him, “All my life, my mother has hated guns. She always said they were too loud and they made too big a mess but she did tell me once that her dad taught her how to use knives or a blade. She'd said they were smaller and more dangerous than anyone realized.”
Gunner reached over and took the blade from her hand. He studied it for a moment then shook his head. “She would have used this on anyone coming to see what she wanted, wouldn’t she?”
Teddy rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, and if they had the cell’s keys, she would be gone so fast, you wouldn’t even know she was here. She would be gone but you can bet she would have left nothing but devastation behind her.”
“That’s just damn cold, baby girl,” Cobra told her. He ignored Grizzly’s growl at the endearment
Teddy looked at him then glanced at Grizzly. “That’s the woman that I’m supposed to call my mother. God, I don’t even want to even acknowledge her by that name anymore.”
“So from this list, we can take the fact that your grandfather Riggs is involved in this plot?” Gunner asked.
“You can take it any way you like.” She shrugged. “But I don’t think he ever liked me that’s for sure. When Reva would go to visit him, she always went alone. And even when she did come back to my father’s house, she was impossible to live with for the first several weeks. I’ve only met the man a half a dozen times in my life and I never liked him much either. He always had secrets and he was cruel, just like his daughter.”
“You still claim Ethan as your dad? Even when you aren’t sure?” Cobra wanted to know.
Teddy slowly turned her head to glare at the man. “Ethan Alexander will always be my father. He held me when I was born, he held me when I was hurt or just needed a hug. He protected me from day one. He took her abuse to protect me when I couldn’t protect myself. He loved me and taught me right from wrong. He is my dad and Theo was my grandfather, whether we share a bloodline or not. I don’t care what that bitch says.”
Cobra nodded. “I hear ya girl.” Then he stared at her for a moment, “And that was why you took that shot this morning. Even when you knew it was wrong, you had to take that shot.”
She ducked her head and looked over at Grizzly. “I’m sorry, but I would do it again, if I had to.”
Grizzly nodded. “I know.”
She let out a heavy sigh. “Still doesn’t make it right.”
“So ok...” Gunner rapped his knuckles down on the table again. “So how do we lure Levi a
nd your dad here?”
“What makes you think my dad is still alive?” she asked.
“Levi isn’t stupid.” Gunner raised a brow at her. “He knows he can’t kill him too soon. If he does, then he’s lost his leverage. And right now, he needs that bargaining chip.”
“He can’t fudge his way through this either,” Boone assured her. “He knows he’ll have to prove he still has your dad at some point. If for some reason, he can’t, then he’s lost and he knows it.”
Grizzly sat forward and took her hand. “I gave your dad’s file to Rigger to make up a hard copy of what he found. We found enough evidence fifteen years ago to convict Darren Nixon and I thought we had a rock solid case. But now, since this clusterfuck began, I have a feeling we might have missed something back then.”
Teddy frowned. “Like what? If you had the evidence and got your conviction what did you miss?”
Grizzly shrugged. “I’m not sure but I think we missed the motive. I mean when you think about it, it does make sense, how and why would a lowlife like Darren Nixon ever think to kill a man like your grandfather? That murder is what started our manhunt back then. Then there was the fact Darren just didn’t want to get arrested. That’s what caused the man to turn on me and my partner. That was when he killed Abe and shot me and when I shot back, I took him down. It was in the aftermath that the original motive was lost and now, he thinks he can use that to get out.”
“You can’t let that happen.” She shook her head.
“I’m not planning on it but as someone pointed out, all this went down fifteen years ago,” he explained. “Memories might not be the same as it was back then, some of the eye witnesses have moved or worse...they died, evidence might be missing. A hell of a lot has happened between then and now, and that might be exactly what Darren Nixon is counting on in order to win his release.”
“That could be the reason my dad did his own private investigation.” She shrugged.
“No, I’m sure your dad just wanted to know the truth.” Grizzly nodded at her. “In his case, we got most of it right but like I said, I think we missed something back then. He just didn’t want us to forget it.”
“What do you suppose he found?” Teddy asked.
“I hope he found we did it the right way," Grizzly replied. "And I hope he found the answers he wanted. But if we did miss something, I hope to hell he found it and lives long enough to give me shit for overlooking the obvious.”
She looked over at Gunner and the others. “What are you going to do with Reva?”
Gunner sat back in his chair and answered, “We got eyes on her all the time. For now, she stays in the cell. She can rant and rave all she wants. We have eyes and ears on her and we can cut the ears if we need to. She isn’t going anywhere and from what we just read on that whacked out list, we just may use her to lure Levi here with your dad, like I said before.”
“Well then, I hope Levi hasn’t been stupid and killed him yet.” She looked upset as she replied.
“That would be foolish on his part,” Gypsy said. “He needs your dad to hide behind, your dad is his ticket, and he knows it.”
She sat back in her chair and leaned against Grizzly. “Then I’ll hang on to that hope that he’s still alive. At least, I have that much.”
“You got more than that, Teddy.” Grizzly met her eyes. “You got me too.”
“You got us as well.” Gunner nodded. “We all got your back and if there’s a way to save your dad, we’ll find it. You aren’t alone in this fight anymore. We’ll find the truth and when we do, we’ll act on it and let the chips fall where they may. It’s the only way, I hope you understand that?”
She nodded. “Yes, I do. I know after all of this, I’ll face a judge for what I did and I’m okay with that. It's something that has to be. After all, no one is above the law. That goes for me as well as anyone.”
Gunner nodded slowly. “You’ll face a tribunal when this is done then. That’s MC law.”
Teddy nodded. She could only hope that by the time she faced this tribunal, the secrets would be out and the people involved in this mess were finally brought to real justice.
Chapter Eight
Grizzly had all the evidence later that day.
When it came in, the officer who delivered it asked, “What did you need all this stuff for? This case is fifteen years in the past.”
“I know but it's become warm again,” Grizzly replied. “I want to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
The officer snorted. “Kind of a high profile case to mess up on, don’t ya think?”
Grizzly leaned back in his chair and stared at the officer. He glanced at the name tag on his uniform and took note of his name. “You’re Justin Marlow, aren’t you?”
“Yes sir, I am,” Justin admitted.
“Do you know anything about this case?” Grizzly wanted to know.
“Everyone knows this case,” Justin stated. “It isn’t everyday a man like Theo Alexander gets shot down like a dog in the street. What was it you missed the first time around anyway? You got the man who killed him.”
Grizzly frowned slightly. There was something in the young officer's voice that told him he knew more about this case than he was letting on about, but he couldn’t pin it down. He glanced over at Gunner and gave him a look.
Gunner nodded slightly but didn’t say anything.
Grizzly looked back over at Justin and nodded, “Thanks for bringing this stuff over to me. I’ll make sure it gets back to the Marshals when I’m done with it.”
Justin shrugged. “I can stay and help if you like.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Grizzly shook his head. “There’s probably nothing here that was missed fifteen years ago but I just wanted to double check everything. Like you said after all, it's been fifteen years.”
“Well if you find something, I would be happy to volunteer to work with you in the reexamination of the case if you could use another hand,” Justin offered.
“I’ll keep that in mind if it comes to that.” Grizzly nodded. “But for now, I’ve got what I need, thanks.”
Justin nodded back and then held out a paper for him to sign.
Grizzly studied the paper and took note of the number of boxes Justin delivered. Then he glanced at the boxes. Grizzly frowned as he counted them again. “Excuse me, there are two boxes missing.”
Justin frowned. “Really? I thought I brought them all in.” He turned to leave the room, “Let me check the car again.”
Grizzly and Gunner both got to their feet.
Grizzly said, “We’ll walk with you.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Justin insisted.
“Not a problem kid,” Grizzly assured him.
Justin shrugged and walked a little faster. He reached the car before Grizzly and Gunner did and went to get into the driver’s seat.
Gunner motioned for the guard at the gate to close things up.
Justin watched as the gate closed up and he knew he was caught. He looked up as a shadow blocked the sunlight to his left.
It was Grizzly. “What’s going on here, kid?”
Justin shrugged. “It was an honest mistake man.”
“Why don’t I believe that?” Grizzly growled. “Oh yeah, it might be the fact that you just tried to run.” He reached down and grabbed the young man’s collar. “Come on, you got some questions to answer.”
Meanwhile, Gunner and Boone brought in the two boxes Justin coincidentally forgot in the car.
Grizzly marched Justin inside. He pushed him in the chair and asked him flat out, “Now, tell me what the hell is going on here?”
“Like you said before this case is fifteen years old, the bad guy is in jail and that’s all,” Justin grumbled.
“So why were you all so fired up and ready to try and keep part of the evidence?” Grizzly demanded.
“Hey man, why bother to look back into a fifteen year old case?” Justin argued. “The facts have already been debated in
a court of law, like I said. Darren Nixon isn’t getting out of jail anytime soon and looking into it again, isn’t going to change the fact. Theo Alexander will still be rotting in the ground and you can’t change that.” Shaking his head, he added, “You’re wasting your time here, man.”
“It’s my time to waste.” Grizzly shrugged. “and you are in no position to hold back evidence because you simply have a different opinion!”
“Some of us are thinking you should just let sleeping dogs lie,” Justin warned.
“Who the fuck are ‘some of us?’ And that’s shit’s not up to you or them, now is it?” Grizzly growled.
“It might be, you never know,” Justin told him.
“Is that a threat?” Gunner glared at him.
Justin just glared back.
Gunner looked over at Grizzly. Then he nodded at Boone and said, “Show our guest to a cell.”
Boone looked over at Gunner and asked, “You want I should search him for weapons first?”
Gunner nodded.
When Boone got close to him, Justin got to his feet and snarled at the man, “You have no right to search me or lock me up! I’m a fucking Marshal not a thug.”
“Except I outrank you and you just threatened my life,” Grizzly reminded him.
“You gave up your badge, so you no longer outrank me,” Justin claimed.
“I am so surprised a punk like you is so ill informed.” Grizzly nodded. “The Captain wouldn’t accept it until this case is over. So I’m still a Marshal.”
“That’s just bullshit!” Justin screamed.
Grizzly shrugged. “I don’t care if you believe it or not, it's true.” He leaned closer. “So I have every right to arrest and detain you, if for nothing else, for insubordination. Plus, you fucked up when you crossed the front gate. This is MC territory and their rules are enforced here. So you’re screwed either way.” He motioned his head over at Gunner and Boone, “They make the MC rules here, and they enforce them too.”