Chapter Twenty-Three
Melissa
February 16, 2025, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
After leaving the Silver Shadows clubhouse in Arkansas, I backtracked through Oklahoma. As I expected, a week after I left, Mindy called to tell me about my office.
The shrill ring of my cell phone early in the morning woke me with a start. I sat up quickly, fumbling for my phone, hoping it hadn’t woken Dani.
“Hello?”
“Oh my God, Melissa. Are you ok?” I heard the fear in Mindy’s voice and I knew immediately why she was calling. I had a part to play.
“Of course I’m ok, Mindy. Are you ok? You sound scared.”
“I came into the office this morning to start getting things ready for the new doctor and the office was trashed.”
Swinging my legs over the end of the bed, I stood up and moved to the bathroom. I needed to sound frightened, and I didn’t want my fake emotions to have an effect on Dani.
Who was I kidding? I was frightened.
Leaving the door slightly ajar in case she woke up, I asked, “What do you mean? What happened?”
“I don’t know. The police are here dusting for prints. Melissa, the cameras were turned off.”
I knew that. I had turned them off and erased the footage. You couldn’t see who it was, anyway. And I didn’t want anyone knowing I had been there and seen what happened.
“How would they get turned off? You have to do that from the inside. How would anyone know where the cameras were?”
“I don’t know. The only people who knew were you, me, and the new doctor.”
I wasn’t proud of what I was about to do. As a psychologist, I had learned to not only read body language, but voice inflection. I knew how to lie without being caught.
And I knew how to manipulate.
It wasn’t something I had realized we would learn in our training, but sometimes you had to coax people to talk.
Especially children.
“Do you think it was the new doctor?” I asked, lowering my voice conspiratorially.
“Why would the new doctor trash their own office?”
“Mindy, there are a lot of valuable things in there. The insurance alone would be over a million. Maybe they had buyer’s remorse? Everything was in perfect condition when I left.”
Yea, I’m a bitch. But in my defense, I have a child to protect.
“I hadn’t thought of that. Dr. Carrion seems like such a nice guy too.”
“Mindy, I’m not saying he did it. But it is something the police can look into.”
I hated manipulating Mindy this way. But she was a conspiracy theorist. Not that I ever blindly believed anything I was told, especially by a patient or their parents. But Mindy went beyond acceptable doubt.
For someone who questioned everything the government said and did, to the point of spending her evenings tunneling down rabbit holes, she was easily convinced by someone she trusted.
And I knew she trusted me.
“The detective wants to talk to you. Since you were the last person to be at the office.”
“Of course. Are they there now?”
“Yes, hang on.” Mindy called out to the detective, and when I heard his name, I groaned. There was a shuffle as Mindy handed her phone to Detective Henderson.
“Dr. Jefferson.”
Sure, this time he got it right because there were people listening.
“Can you tell me the last day you were at your office?”
I quickly thought back and smiled. With the camera footage gone, I had an alibi, and this asshole was it.
“Yes, February 5 th . The day you came to see me at my office.”
I couldn’t see his face, but I grinned as I thought about his smug expression when he asked when I was there last. And I imagined it falling from his face when he realized he was my defense.
“And how long were you there?”
“I had stopped in to pick up a few last-minute personal items and left a few minutes after you did.”
“And you didn’t go back?” he asked.
“No, sir.”
“I will need you to come to the station and fill out a report—”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” I said, cutting off the arrogant bastard. “I am no longer in the state. I am sure you are aware I sold my practice. I moved out of state shortly after.”
“Convenient,” he murmured.
“I assure you; it is not.”
“And why did you sell your practice after, what was it you said, having spent the better part of a decade training?”
This smug son of a bitch really ground my gears.
“Personal reasons,” I answered.
“Hmm. Well, it seems we have no way of proving whether you still owned the business when it was broken into. Since without the camera footage we don’t know exactly what day it happened. There will have to be a full investigation as to who will receive the insurance payout.”
“Actually, I had signed off on the practice and everything it included once the offer was approved. So, Dr. Carrion will be the beneficiary. If what Mindy said was true, it sounds like he will need the money to replace everything.”
“That’s very efficient of you, Dr. Jefferson.”
“Is that all, Detective?”
“It is for now. But I will need a phone number to reach you should I have any further questions.”
I rattled off my new number and hung up without a goodbye.
That had been two days ago, and I hadn’t heard back from him. It had been nine days since I left Oklahoma City, and seven days since I had gotten the last note.
Moving back into the main room showed me Dani was still sleeping. Since we had been on the road, she hadn’t had any nightmares. If Danny and Dante made it back to her, I would encourage them to continue co-sleeping until she felt comfortable enough to be alone again.
Having gone a week with no note, I considered my original plan to disappear with Dani. There was no one in my life who would miss me enough to warrant sharing my plans.
My friends were more like acquaintances. People I met with two or three times a month to catch up on our lives and spend an hour or so trying to one up each other with our accomplishments.
My brother hadn’t bothered to tell me he moved away five fucking years ago and further got on with his life without me. I didn’t owe him the courtesy of sharing my plans with him.
The only one I really had was Haizley, and I could talk to her from anywhere. I had texted her my new number, explaining I had lost my phone. Yes, it was a lie. But it couldn’t be helped. Eventually, I would need to tell her about Dani, but I would simply explain I had chosen to adopt.
With no prospects of men on the horizon, adoption made sense. She knew I wanted children one day. I would just invent a story close to the truth about how Dani landed in my lap through my work and I made the decision to be there for her.
Dani woke up with a smile and we got dressed to leave. Decision made, we would once again set off and look for a home. We had only been traveling for less than two weeks. And that had all been in the south.
Maybe heading north would give us an idea of where we could settle down. I grabbed the duffle bag we brought in with us—as there was no sense in bringing all our bags inside each hotel every night—and walked to the office to turn in our key and check out.
When we reached the car, the bag I held in my hand dropped to the ground and my shoulders sagged.
Why now?
Why today?
What had taken whoever this person was so long in between contact? The only answer I could come up with was the way we were zigzagging around.
I placed Dani in her seat and closed the door. Standing by the side of the hood, I contemplated ignoring the note. Every nerve in my body told me to get into the car and drive off. Let the windshield wipers blow it away along the highway.
If I was alone that was exactly what I would do.
However, if I was alone, these notes wouldn’t be here.
I looked at the little girl who had been left in my care. The innocent child I had been trusted to protect.
Reaching over and taking the note, I studied my surroundings for anything out of place. Anyone that might be watching a little too long.
Satisfied no one would jump out of the shadows, I opened the note and read what it said.
She’s mine.
February 19, 2025, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Three days later, we were once again leaving the hotel when I found another fucking note. Frightened was not the emotion I was feeling right then. Anger pulsed through me at the games this person was playing.
Snatching the note from the windshield, I read the words that didn’t make sense.
You stole her from me!
My breath came out heavy as I stared at the words on the paper.
I didn’t fucking steal anyone.
Not for the first time had I considered my earlier assessment. That maybe the notes were from Dante. But if he wanted her back, why wouldn’t he just come to me?
Could they be from Danny? Did something happen to Dante and now Danny was chasing me all over the freaking country trying to scare me into... what? Giving her back?
I wasn’t keeping her from either of them. I was doing what they’d asked me to do. Once Dani and I were in the car, I took a deep breath and tried to think rationally.
Danny wouldn’t play games any more than Dante would. They both had powerful MCs backing them. I was only one woman who had no power whatsoever.
What would they gain by doing this?
Nothing!
That led me to ask the question, who else would want Dani? Who would believe I stole her from them?
As I said before, Danny and Dante both assured me Dani’s mother had died. But what if she hadn’t?
What if she had survived and was looking for her daughter? Dante said Dani had been living in a guarded facility since she was born. If her mother was still alive, how would she know where Dani was? How would she know who had her?
Unless her mother was the reason she was in the facility.
Shaking my head, I dismissed that line of thinking. If Dani’s mother was still alive, she would still be a young woman without resources.
What about the woman who forced Dante to have sex with Dani’s mother? Could she know where Dani was? Was she the one that had kept her held in a building alone where she had no one to love her? Does she somehow believe she had some claim over Dani?
From what Dante said, that woman was someone who liked to play games. A predator who liked to play with her food. Is that what she was doing with me?
Was she playing games for her own enjoyment? Getting off on the fear she instilled in someone once they learned they were being followed? Is that why the notes were so far apart? A constant reminder that I was being watched?
Sitting in the car in the hotel parking lot wouldn’t garner me any answers. Dani was hungry, and we both needed to eat. With our meager belongings once again packed into the back of my new car, we set off in search of sustenance.
A little diner on the outskirts of Las Vegas caught my eye, and I pulled in. I tried to stay inside the large cities, but I needed a breather. A quiet little place where I could gather my thoughts.
Sitting at the table with Dani, I perused the menu, looking for anything Dani hadn’t experienced yet. I was surprised by the offerings available, and when I saw the Eggs Benedict, I knew that was what I was getting.
I ordered the backup fruit and a small pancake for Dani. She seemed to like pancakes a lot. Who didn’t? But while she needed the fat to fill out her tiny body, the sugar content was worrisome.
So, I ordered things I wanted her to try and kept the things I knew she loved as a backup. Sometimes it meant the pancake got wasted, but I didn’t care. Dani’s willingness to try new things more than made up for a few dollars.
“Good morning. What a beautiful little girl.”
Looking up at the voice, I was struck dumb at the pixie that stood at our table, smiling at Dani. Pixie was the only way to describe the tiny woman with the pink hair, leather jacket, and combat boots. If I wasn’t mistaken, she stood less than five feet tall, but the smile she wore contradicted her diminutive size.
She was young, maybe early twenties, and she had a presence about her that had me smiling back. I tried to avoid strangers when I could, not wanting to draw attention to Dani. There was no ignoring this woman, though.
“Thank you.”
“I’m Kytten.” She held her hand out, and I felt obligated to take it in mine. She sat without an invitation and stared at me without a word.
Picking up on the tension I was sure poured off me in waves, Dani called out to me.
“Mama.”
Ignoring the woman next to me, I pulled Dani from the highchair and set her in my lap. Tears filled my eyes as I thought about everything Danika had had to endure, and everything we were still dealing with.
Holding her close to me, I closed my eyes, and a tear slipped down my cheek. A small hand covered mine, and the softly whispered words pierced my heart.
“I can help.”
My eyes popped open as I looked at the small woman. She may have only been a few years younger than me, but she had the appearance of a girl.
Until you looked into her eyes.
Her eyes gave away her trauma. Something had happened to this woman. Something awful. Looking down at Dani, I thought about the Trick Pony and everything I had heard from Dr. Scott and everything I had learned from Dante.
The urgency to keep her secret had me denying the situation I found myself in.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, acting confused by her offer.
“Whatever you’re running from. I can help. It’s what we do.” She looked over to the corner booth, and I saw three more women sitting and watching us.
“I’m not running,” I insisted, shaking my head to emphasize my lie.
She nodded.
“Here,” she said, sliding a card across the table. “If you need help, call. We’ll come. Anywhere you are.”
She vacated the chair she’d invaded and walked back to her friends. Looking at the card she gave me, I wanted to laugh. The irony of who was willing to help was not lost on me.
Nyght Nymphs MC
It appeared as though I was destined to be surrounded by bikers. I had never heard of a female MC, but I guess you learned new things every day.
I slipped the card in my purse, ignoring the woman and her friends, as I looked down at Dani.
Kytten thought my tears were from fear. And while I was afraid, and had no way of knowing what the future had in store for me and Dani, these tears were filled with joy and sadness.
Every time I heard her call me mama, my heart tightened in my chest. A feeling of love warmed me, while dread chilled me at the same time.
How was I ever going to let this little girl go?