Liar (Madison Kate #2)(5)

I wrinkled my nose and exhaled the smoke. "Long story," I muttered, "but I'd... forgotten lots of things. Until recently, anyway."

He nodded, not pushing me for more information. "Pretty normal when you experience such extreme trauma as an adolescent. They diagnosed you with PTSD, didn't they?"

I frowned slightly, unsure how he'd know that. "Not formally, but my shrink alluded to it. The only thing on my record is claustrophobia."

He grunted. "I can see that. When I found you in that closet..." He broke off with a shudder, no doubt reliving that night like I'd been doing every damn night for a week.

"Anyway. I remembered some stuff. My mom was being stalked. Like I am, now. I think it's the same person." I took another deep drag on my cigarette, finishing it off, then dropping it to the ground to stomp out. I was in my favorite over-the-knee, black leather boots with a flat sole. It put me at a significant height disadvantage around all these big guys, but at least I could run in them if I needed to.

"Tell me everything," Zane ordered, dropping his own butt and folding his leather jacket–clad arms. "Start from the beginning and don't leave shit out, understood?" His voice crackled with authority, and I shivered. That supreme alpha-male bullshit must have been a genetic trait.

I glanced over at our silent guard again, suddenly aware of his presence, and he stared back at me with expressionless eyes. He was a tall guy, taller than Zane, and from what I could see, he was covered in ink. All the way up his neck, his fingers—he even had a few small tattoos on his scary fucking face. This guy... he was one terrifying motherfucker.

"Don't worry about Cass," Zane told me, answering my unspoken concerns. "He's my second."

I arched a brow. I had no idea what that meant in gang terms, but apparently it was supposed to inspire confidence in me. Somehow. Also, why the fuck was such a scary ass guy called Cass?

Whatever. I sucked in a deep breath and started giving Zane my story. It wasn't what I'd intended to do. My plan had been to burst into his clubhouse and demand answers from him. He was, after my father, the only lead I had. And that spoke to how I felt about Samuel Danvers that I'd rather walk into this viper’s nest than pick up the phone.

I kept it as brief as possible, just the facts. It helped me to stay detached from the emotions of the whole fucked up mess, but when I finished, Zane's brow was furrowed in a deep frown. Hell, even the mysterious Cass looked disturbed.

"Something doesn't add up here, boss," the scary dude said, his voice like gravel.

Zane nodded, still scowling.

"I'm not fucking lying about any of it," I snapped, folding my arms defensively.

"We didn't say you were," Zane replied with a note of annoyance. "But Cass is right." He paced the alley a few moments, clearly thinking as he lit up yet another cigarette.

"There was definitely more than one person trying to kill you at the Clown?" His question caught me off guard. I'd thought he would be more interested in the similarities between my mom's stalker and mine...

"Yeah," I confirmed, shrugging. "There had to be. He couldn't have been in two places at once."

Zane nodded, seeming to agree with my assessment there. "So. You have a stalker that sounds disturbingly similar to Deb's. He could have been stalking you for years if your piece-of-shit father hasn't been reporting the incidents."

"He possibly transferred his obsession from Deb to her daughter after she died," Cass commented. "Standard stalker behavior."

Zane grunted a sound of agreement. "So then the question is, who is trying to kill you?" His cool blue eyes flashed with something, and I suspected he already had ideas.

"You don't think they're one and the same?" I asked, even though I was already thinking a similar thought. "You don't think that was my stalker at the Laughing Clown?"

"I don't," Zane replied. "Neither do you. Someone is trying to kill you, but it's totally unrelated to your stalker. So, why? What does someone gain if you're dead? Remembering, of course, they tried to kill you last year too."

My brows shot up. "That girl who died on Riot Night?" There had been lots of deaths that night, but I knew he was talking about the girl who'd initially been identified as me. "You think that really was an attempt to kill me?"

Zane gave me a look, like I was being na?ve, and Cass huffed a small laugh.

"Look, kid. I know you don't remember everything from before your mom died, and that's normal. But Deb meant a lot to me, and I'll do what I can to help you out on this." Zane sounded almost... normal. Why had I spent so many years terrified of him?

"But mark my words, Madison Kate. You step foot on my turf uninvited again? I'll send you back to my brother in worse condition than he left Skunk. We clear?"

Ah, yep. There it was.

"You got a ride home? Best you don't hang around here much longer." The leader of the Shadow Grove Reapers was back, and a deep shiver of fear passed through me.

I shook my head. "I'll grab an Uber."

Zane flicked his fingers. "Cass will drive you."

"You don't have to—" I started to protest, but Zane cut me off.

"Someone finds value in your death, Madison Kate, which means there's money involved and probably a lot of it. Watch your fucking back, girl, and don't be an idiot. Stick close to my brother and his friends. They're fucking psychopaths, but they like you." He jerked his head to Cass, then disappeared back into the bar without a second glance my way.