Savage Love (Back Down Devil MC #7)(89)

“I’m sure you’ll point him right to us.” Gaige asked.

“Now, why would I do that?” Jerry asked. “Unless you have something to confess to me right now.”

Miller took a step forward. “Thanks for the information. I’m sorry we can’t help you. It’s a damn shame when other people start pulling triggers without knowing their targets, isn’t it?”

“I take it those bullets were meant for…” Jerry looked at Gaige. “Maybe for you?”

“Bullshit,” Gaige said. “Sorry to hear about a wasted life.”

“Now if I could just do my goddamn job,” Jerry growled.

“You can,” Miller said. “Investigate. Do what you need to do. I can promise you that we didn’t shoot her. You can come take a look around here if you want.”

Jerry shook his head. “I’ll be back if I need anything else. Just a courtesy heads up. Money talks more than the badge, Miller. You know that. If Strokner starts talking backdoor offerings, there’s not much I can do.”

“You just focus on your beautiful wife and baby,” Miller said. “Make sure you give her that gift.”

Jerry looked at the box in his hand. He slowly opened it. He took out a bracelet and held it up. It was a charm bracelet. There was a bottle and a blue ‘B’.

“Thanks,” Jerry said. “I’m sure she’ll love it.”

Gaige pointed to the pack of cigarettes on the hood of the cruiser. “Take those, too. Just don’t get caught with them.”

Gaige and Miller turned and walked away, shoulder to shoulder.

“Strokner a big deal?” Gaige asked.

“Big f*cking deal,” Miller said.

“Should we be worried?”

“When aren’t we worried?”

Gaige stopped and Miller kept walking. Gaige looked over his shoulder and saw Jerry lighting another cigarette.

Everyone has a vice… and most were deadly.





twelve.



Emily sat at a long desk, filtering through paperwork while her mind couldn’t stop thinking of Gaige and Rachel. It still didn’t seem possible that her best friend was dead. And yet she couldn’t do anything about it. She couldn’t tell anyone. She couldn’t grieve. She couldn’t stop long enough to miss her friend, collapse into pieces, and then slowly pick herself back up and move on with her life, because Emily knew that if she gave any indication of Rachel being dead it would take her to the scene of the crime.

The pit of her stomach burned all day.

She had three clients that were set for their dates. All three were for the afternoon, which was a bit of a rarity as most of the men enjoyed their dates during the evening hours. A few of the woman who worked there would even go on overnight excursions which cost a lot of money. The men paying though didn’t care. They were rich and they knew what they wanted and they always got it.

It was early afternoon when the office secretary, Janine, came to Emily’s desk. She was in her late fifties and dressed like a grandmother. She had beads dangling from her glasses and wore them on the end of her nose. The funny thing about Janine though was that if she rolled up her sleeves, she was tattooed shoulder to wrist. She had once been an old lady to the VP of a MC that shut down years ago. She could never force herself to leave the life, even if it meant being a secretary for an escort business.

“Someone is coming for you,” Janine said.

“For me?” Emily asked. She instantly thought of Gaige. She scrambled to find her phone but there was no message from Gaige.

“They’re in a helicopter,” she said. “Said he landed his jet twenty minutes ago and got in his helicopter.”

“Who would…?”

“Are you working out of office now?” Janine asked and smiled. She put a hand to her chest. “Not that I’m judging. My goodness, Emily, if I had your body, I would be out there working it.”

“I’m not out of office,” Emily said. “Did he leave his name?”

Emily gripped her phone tight, ready to call for Gaige if need be.

“He just said he was Mr. S.”

“Mr. S.? Who…” Emily gasped and lost her breath. “Mr. S.”

“Know him?”

Emily nodded. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay. It’s all okay.”

“Are you sure? You look pale.”

“No,” Emily said. She forced herself to smile. “Just someone I haven’t seen in a while. A family friend.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll let you know when he arrives.”

Emily stood up. “I’ll just wait outside.”

She had to get out of the office. The room suddenly felt too small. As she charged through the office, she hurried into the bathroom for a quick stop. Barely making it to the sink, she threw up everything she had eaten for breakfast back at the clubhouse with Gaige. Her eyes burned and when she looked at herself in the mirror she knew she needed to clean up and act cool.

Mr. S. was coming.

Mr. S. as in Mr. Strokner. Rachel’s father.

What does he know?

It was the question that burned in Emily’s mind as she washed her face, took a deep breath, and left the bathroom. She put her cell to her ear to make it like she was talking so she could get out of the office without anyone bothering her. The moment she stepped outside she heard the sound of the helicopter. She spotted the black dot in the distance and watched as it grew closer and closer until it finally dropped down to the open strip behind the building.