Outlaw Revenge (Back Down Devil MC #1)(23)

“She’s really gone?”

“She was shot several times in the back. She was placed into her car. She was in an alley near a junkyard that has a nasty reputation of bikers. Know anything about bikers?”

Emily buried her face in the cloth. She shook her head. “How is she gone? I should have known something was wrong.”

“Emily, clean yourself up and look at me,” Mr. Strokner ordered.

This was getting too serious.

Emily wiped her face and looked at Mr. Strokner.

“What was the last thing you remember about Rachel?” he asked. His eyes were like stone.

“She came by my apartment yesterday with coffee. We talked for an hour. I told her I was studying, but I wanted to just have a night alone and catch up on some sleep. She said she was going out and left.”

“Going out where?”

“I don’t know. Just out.”

“And you didn’t go with her?”

“No.”

The lies were swelling throughout Emily’s body. She could feel herself wanting to crack. This was all going to blow up in her face. She knew it. She just f*cking knew it.

“My little girl was shot,” Mr. Strokner said. “Near a junkyard that has a reputation for trouble.”

“I guess we were both lying about our lives then,” Emily said as tears filled her eyes again. “I can’t believe this.”

“Imagine my shock,” Mr. Strokner said. “As far as I knew, Rachel was a good girl. Kept to herself. Stayed out of the trouble.”

“Maybe it was an accident,” Emily said.

Mr. Strokner smiled and stretched an arm out to Emily. “It wasn’t just a random bullet. She was shot at. I want to know who did it and I want to know why.”

“I can’t… I don’t know…”

Mr. Strokner blinked and Emily saw tears. The big bad businessman was starting to cry. “I’ll find the truth. Perhaps you should think really hard about everything too. Just in case she said something that slipped your mind. Maybe she had a new boyfriend. Maybe she was trying to give you hints and didn’t realize.”

“Mr. Strokner…”

“I’m not blaming you,” Mr. Strokner said. “I came to tell you in person before all of this gets released. And in case you were trying to call Rachel and couldn’t find her.”

“I’m sorry,” Emily said. “So sorry.”

“So am I.”

Emily sat for a few more seconds and then left the helicopter. She stood and watched as the pilot got back into the chopper. Within a minute, the helicopter roared to life and lifted off the ground. Mr. Strokner looked at Emily one more time and she got the feeling that he knew she was lying to him. The man wasn’t stupid.

She reached for her cell phone and froze.

What was she going to do? Did this really involve Gaige? He and the MC were already busy enough looking for the shooters. Dragging them into the business of Mr. Strokner would only make things worse.

She could not believe this was happening. It was the exact reason why Emily kept to herself all the time. Why she liked to stay hidden. The second she showed up to a biker fight, her entire life changed.

Yet it wasn’t all bad.

Emily’s body warmed thinking about her and Gaige together the night before. Maybe that was a big mistake and maybe it would ultimately be something she would regret, but she needed it. She succumbed to Gaige not only because he was hot and commanding, but because she wanted that protected feeling again. To be in the arms of someone who could and would kill for her. That meant something.

When Emily returned to the office, she had to hurry back to the bathroom. Her emotions were now winning the battle. She was back at the same sink but this time, she was crying.

One of the stalls opened and she saw the reflection of one of the women adjusting her short skirt. She touched her nose and smiled. She had been getting drugged up before going to work. The woman left the bathroom and a second later, Janine came walking in. Emily tried to wipe her eyes to hide the fact she had been crying, but it was to late.

“Oh, no… what happened?”

“Nothing,” Emily said. “Just nothing.”

“You don’t have to lie to me.”

Emily looked at Janine. Maybe it would do good to get some truth off her chest. “My best friend was murdered yesterday. That was her father who came to see me.”

Janine rushed to Emily and hugged her. Emily lost it again. She cried, finally able to really let it out. She was hugging someone who was, more than anything else, a stranger. Yet it felt good to be hugged like this. To be able to cry.

“I’m so sorry, Emily,” Janine said. “You should go home. You shouldn’t be here like this. Do you have someone to call?”

Emily nodded. “I do.”

“Good.”

Janine looked at Emily and handed her a paper towel to wipe her eyes. Emily took a deep breath. She washed her face, again, and took out her cell. She sent a text to Gaige to come get her.

“Okay, are you good now?” Janine asked.

“Yeah, I think so. Why?”

“There’s a client out there looking for you. He’s here to pick up Belle. But he wants to see you first thank you for setting up his meeting.”

Emily took a breath and nodded. “Okay. That’s fine.”