One of her neighbors to the right came out and walked down the sidewalk to the car parked in front of their house. “I get that you don’t know us, but would it be possible for us to come inside? It’s better for both of us if nobody overhears what I need to talk to you about.”
She searched my face for a moment before nodding. “I guess so.”
Dom stayed behind me as we walked past her. After the door shut behind us, Paisley moved into the living room and dropped onto the chair to the right of the couch where Dom and I got settled with me on the end closest to her. Gripping his hand, I decided it was best to just dive right in. “My neighbor was killed almost two weeks ago. She was dating David Clark, and I can place him at the scene right before the time of death.”
She gasped, her hand moving up to cover her mouth as any hint of color drained from her face. “He killed someone?”
I nodded. “And from what we’ve found, his father is working hard to cover it up.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she wiped them away before dropping her arm and staring down. “I’m sure he is.”
I leaned forward, pressing my palm on top of her trembling hands as they twisted together. “We know what he did to you. Facing it all on your own had to have been terrifying, but you don’t need to be scared anymore. The Silver Saints are ready to take your back if you’re willing to help me get out of this jam. David went beyond assault this time. He’s facing a murder conviction if I come forward, and he and his dad have already proven they’re willing to do whatever it takes to keep him out of jail on lesser charges.”
“They’re ruthless,” she whispered.
“They’re chicken shits who’ve never had to go up against anyone who could take them on.” Dom leaned forward and waited for Paisley to look up again. “Bullies back down when they’re forced to face off against someone who can fight back, and the Silver Saints never back down from a good fight. With your help, I’m confident we’ll be able to get them to back off from Lucy and continue to leave you alone.”
“I’m scared.” Her shoulders slumped as she heaved a deep sigh. “But I don’t know if I can live with myself knowing that I could’ve stopped him before he killed your neighbor.”
“It’s not your fault,” I hissed, squeezing her hand. “David is the one who did this, and his father is responsible for letting his behavior go unchecked all this time. You and I are just innocent bystanders caught up in a mess they created. If you’d come forward before now, you might be dead too.”
She gave us a jerky nod. “What do you need me to do?”
Dom explained the plan to confront David. Paisley didn’t seem convinced that everything would work out in the end, but she still agreed to play her part. She gave Dom all the details of what had gone down with her, David, and his dad so he could use them as proof of what the Silver Saints had been able to dig up in such a short amount of time. After she was done and was walking us out, Dom instructed, “Get out your cell. I want to give you some numbers to call if you run into any trouble. And we’ll text you as soon as we have a time and place for the meet.”
Standing in her open doorway, she paused to pull her phone out of her pocket. It beeped with an incoming text notification, and her brow wrinkled as she peered at the screen. “It’s an unknown number. Some guy named Hack says he’s my point of contact going forward and to reach out for anything I need.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Dom muttered with a shake of his head.
I gave Paisley a quick hug, grinning. “Don’t hesitate to use that number. You won’t regret it.”
10
Dom
With Lucy’s hand in mine, we walked back to the truck where Hack was still staring intently out the windshield at the door to Paisley’s apartment. I opened the passenger door and helped Lucy in, which seemed to startle him out of his trance.
He sat back and glanced at his phone, frowning at what he saw. Once I’d climbed into the driver’s seat, he grumbled, “Didn’t she get my text?”
“Yeah,” I responded as I turned over the engine and began to back out of the spot.
“Why hasn’t she replied?”
I shrugged. “Probably didn’t think she needed to confirm since we were right there when it came in.” Hack grunted and shoved his phone in his vest pocket before setting his computer on his lap again and clicking away.