Cade didn’t say anything, his hand was still tight on my thigh, fury seemed to pulse through the cabin of the truck.
“Aren’t we going to call the police?” I asked. “I mean, I don’t think you guys will get in trouble for shooting those men, it was self defense and all,” I added quickly, but I knew the chances of the club letting law enforcement know they had killed three rival gang member’s was slim to none. I didn’t know how to get right with that, even though these men were evil. I was struggling because at the same time, a small part of me was glad they were dead after what they had done to Laurie, and most likely other women.
“Already called them,” Cade replied and I blinked.
“Really?”
“Yeah, babe, really. Called Crawford the second I found out you were gone. Wanted every available man looking for you.” He glanced at me. “You’re the most precious thing in my world. I love the club, but there’s no competition. Your safety is everything to me. After today boys will be questioning the way we do business. We aren’t losing another woman.” His tone was determined.
I squeezed his hand. “You haven’t lost me. I’m right here.”
He brought our intertwined hands together and kissed mine.
“What do I tell the police though?” I asked.
I was very conflicted about lying to the police. Those men were evil, there was no doubt about that, but I couldn’t get right with the fact they were dead. Things were spiraling, I really hoped this wouldn’t be my life, lying to the police, covering up murders. And I was a terrible liar, I could never tell a lie, my family would always see right through it. So would the police for that matter. When I was fifteen, I got caught by the cops drinking by the river. When they had asked my name and age I had replied, “Jane Miller, twenty years old.” I had also managed to blather on about how I was here on holiday from Australia, all the time talking in a terrible accent. They didn’t buy it, maybe because my accent sucked, or maybe because one of the cops was my Dad’s friend and had known me since I was five. I had been a little too tipsy to realize that. I bought myself a month’s grounding with that lie. I feared the consequences could be much worse if I was to lie badly this time around.
“Fuck baby. I would never ask this of you unless I had to, I hate dragging you into this shit. I promise I’ll fix everything. This isn’t going to be your life, I’ll make sure of it.” His eyes were blazing on mine, silently apologetic.
“Okay, just tell me what I need to say. I’ll try my best not to put on an accent,” I mumbled.
“I was going out the back to put the money in the safe when I saw the back door was open. I knew something wasn’t right so I started to yell, but he was there. He was bald, had a spider tattoo crawling up his neck and a scar underneath his eye. His whole face was tattooed actually. He touched me with something, a Taser I guess, cos then it all went black.”
Cade was stiff beside me as I recounted what happened. My voice was unusually strong, I think it had something to do with the man who had refused to let me go since we had arrived home. Luke was already there waiting for us; Cade insisted on paramedics checking me out before I said a word. There was nothing seriously wrong with me apart from the fact I was going to have one hell of a shiner for the next couple of days. And I would have an uncomfortable mid-section for a couple of weeks until my ribs healed.
“I woke up tied to the ceiling, I don’t remember getting there. All I remember is seeing that man and then everything goes black,” I explained to Luke who was sitting in my living room with a tight expression on his face, writing this down on a notepad.
The sheriff, whom I had only just met was sitting beside him. He was an older man who looked tired and jaded. His grey hair was thinning, and he had a slight paunch hanging over his belt. His eyes were kind though.
“When I woke up, he was there with two other men.” I paused. “He said something about Laurie,” I continued and I heard Cade’s sharp intake of breath. Luke’s face turned stormy, I tell them what he said quickly, the energy in the room electric.
“That’s when I kneed the bastard in the nuts.” This earned a kiss on the head from Cade, a tender look from Luke and a smirk from the Sheriff.
“He had some pliers and was going to pull my teeth out, I must’ve fainted then I guess. The next thing I remember is Cade pulling me down.” I smiled up at him, his eyes intense on mine. “I knew you would come for me,” I whispered and his face changed to a fiercely possessive expression, which made my body tingle, despite the circumstances.
He didn’t say a word, just cupped my face in his hands. His lips lightly touched mine, carefully brushing over my split lip.
I turned my head back to Luke, who had a blank expression on his face.
“And how did you know where Gwen was?” he asked Cade, voice professional but tight.
I glanced back at Cade, realizing I hadn’t even asked him this myself.
“Had a friend keeping an eye on neighborhoods where the Spiders frequented. Spotted them carrying Gwen into a house, got lucky.” Cade’s reply was terse.
Luke’s face threatened to change from the blank expression he was wearing. “And why didn’t you call us the second you found out where Gwen was?” His voice was definitely not professional now, there was no disguising the anger in his tone.
“I wasn’t real keen on wasting time, considering I knew what these guys could be doing to Gwen.” Cade’s voice was hard, but he ran his hand down my cheek and lightly across my bruised skin.