Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Reagan
I sat between my brother and Lynx at a group of tables they’d pulled together to accommodate the large number of people who had arrived at the diner to chat about… Honestly, I wasn’t sure what this meeting was about, but I knew one thing. I didn’t want to be here.
The introductions had been brief, consisting mostly of first names. Since I knew most everyone at the table, I hadn’t been listening, choosing instead to wipe the condensation from my glass with one finger.
“Wait,” Rhys said. “Your last name is Adorite?”
My brother was talking to the beautiful woman we were introduced to earlier.
Apparently, she was a lawyer, or going to school to be one, but I didn’t quite know what she specialized in, nor did I know how her being here was going to help the situation.
It seemed we needed more guns and fewer people, since this crazy fuck was on a rampage, trying to kill anyone who was even close to Amy.
The woman nodded.
“As in the Southern Boy Mafia?” Rhys questioned. The way he said the words didn’t sound as though he was all that impressed.
“Yes,” she replied flatly.
“And you’re related to Max Adorite, how?”
“He’s my brother.”
“Fuck.” Rhys thrust his hand through his hair.
“What?” Lynx asked. “What does that mean?”
It appeared no one, including me, knew what the hell was going on. No one other than Rhys and this woman. Madison Adorite.
“And you asked her to be here?” Rhys confirmed, his tone suspicious as he glanced over at Travis.
“I did,” Travis confirmed. “Her brother wanted her here.”
I watched the lawyer skeptically. It was obvious she hadn’t been told what was going on until this morning.
Probably not until she had arrived at the diner, I would venture to guess.
She seemed to be eyeing everyone the same way Rhys was eyeing her.
With both curiosity and not a small amount of distrust.
“I need to talk to you,” Madison told Amy, her eyes softening. “I hate to put you through it again, but I need to get the full story. From the beginning.”
Madison Adorite looked confident, despite the fact that she was definitely young. Really young, if I had to guess. Twenty-three, maybe twenty-four. How she was a lawyer at that age was beyond me.
As though she’d read my thoughts, Madison’s tone changed slightly when she added, “I’m here because my brother Victor couldn’t be.
If this is something Max can help with, my brother will take it on.
However, I’ll be feeding them information.
” She peered over at Travis, then back at the group.
“It has been requested that my presence here in Embers Ridge be exploited as much as possible. The consensus seems to be that once this man hears the name Adorite, he’s going to get curious. ”
“Why?” Wolfe asked, leaning back and watching them.
“Because she’s an Adorite,” Rhys mumbled. “As in mafia. No way the chief of police isn’t familiar with the name.”
That seemed to draw Wolfe’s and Lynx’s attention.
“That’s correct. This man”—her voice lowered—“the chief of police, is going to recognize my name for sure. The man is power hungry. If he thinks he can possibly bring down the Adorites, or the Southern Boy Mafia as you so kindly refer to us, then he’ll likely step out of the shadows.
It works twofold. If he can work a case, he’ll have a legitimate reason to be here, and since he wants to be here for other reasons… ”
I still didn’t understand what the point of it all was. Why didn’t someone just call the guy up and challenge him or something?
“And why would he do that?” Wolfe inquired.
“Because it’ll make his career,” Rhys stated, as though that was completely obvious.
“But what sort of criminal activity can he possibly get you on here in Embers Ridge?” Wolfe asked.
“He can’t,” Madison said, her tone a little haughty. “But he doesn’t know that. And the overall objective is to get him here.”
“And how do you propose we get the word out?” Lynx asked.
“If this place is anything like Coyote Ridge, it won’t take much,” Gage noted.
Lynx laughed, apparently amused. “True. I did manage to put together a party in a matter of minutes.”
“More than once,” Rhys grumbled.
“Well, then I’d think it wouldn’t take much,” Travis said.
Lynx leaned back, his arm coming around me, resting on the back of my chair as he stared at Madison.
“Well, I hope you’re ready, ’cause you just inserted yourself in the middle of town, honey.
” He used his free hand to wave around the diner.
“This is it, sweetheart. And as of the second you stepped in the building, all eyes went to you. Shit. There’s prob’ly gossip takin’ place as we speak.
Don’t let the lack of warm bodies in this place fool ya. ”
“Good thing is, most of the town’s at church right now,” Wolfe stated, glancing between Travis, Gage, and Madison. “But that won’t last long, so I suggest you get your grins on and we kick this up a notch.”
Yep, I knew that, come noon, the diner would be flooded.
And by two, everyone would know who Madison Adorite was, and they’d likely have a million different reasons as to why she was in town.
With my bar exploding, everyone was going to want to know what happened, and the fastest way to do that was for the busybodies to congregate in town.
Which reminded me, I'd need to call the insurance company first thing in the morning since I'd been right. When I tried to call earlier, I got a voicemail system.
The door opened and the bells overhead jingled. Almost instantly, Lynx sat up, a grin on his handsome face.
“Well, congratulations, ma’am!” he hollered, his tone exuberant. “Hey, Donna! How ’bout we get some more coffee over here? We’ve got a real live lawyer-to-be in our presence. Madison Adorite is in the house.”
Rhys and Wolfe both chuckled, as did Travis and Gage.
However, Madison didn’t appear to be fazed by the announcement.
Then again, if her family was really mafia, as Rhys had said, she probably wasn’t fazed by much of anything.
Lynx
By the time we were finished chatting it up at the diner, I was more confused than when I'd arrived. I had no clue what Travis’s intentions were with this whole Adorite-in-town thing.
Were they looking to draw this asshole out?
By dangling the mafia in his face? How the hell was that supposed to help?
There seemed to be some serious holes in this plan, but I wasn’t sure how to voice my concerns. It was as though everyone else was trying to wrap their brains around it, too.
While Rhys and Wolfe remained with Travis, Gage, and Madison, I excused myself.
I had sensed Reagan’s discomfort when we first arrived, and I knew she was ready to bolt.
Personally, I wasn’t all that interested in sitting around and shooting the shit right now.
I had things to do, starting with getting in touch with some people who owed me some favors.
“Would you mind takin’ me to get my truck?” Reagan asked when we stepped outside.
“Sure.” I'd known this was coming, knew I couldn’t keep her at my side indefinitely. However, I couldn’t deny that I'd enjoyed spending the morning with her, sitting by her side, putting my arm around her.
“Thanks.”
I walked Reagan to the passenger-side door, opened it, then waited for her to get inside. As I was heading around to the driver’s side, my cousin appeared.
“Hey, man,” Wolfe called out.
I tilted my chin in question. “S’up?”
“We’re gonna head back to the house so Amy can talk to Madison, tell her the story. Was wonderin’ if maybe you could stop by there. She’s takin’ this really hard. It’s killin’ her that Reagan was hurt last night.” Wolfe glanced over at Reagan. “Think maybe you could talk her into comin’, too?”
“Absolutely. I’ll be wherever you need me, and I’ll tell Reagan. I’m sure she’ll wanna be there.”
“Thanks, man.” Wolfe clapped me on the shoulder. “This shit’s gonna be over with soon. Then we can all get back to normal.”
I wasn’t even sure what normal was anymore. Not for me anyway. However, I was looking forward to this shit going down once and for all.
“See ya in a few.” After a quick knuckle bump, Wolfe turned and headed back inside the diner while I sauntered to the driver’s-side door of my truck.
Once inside, I turned to Reagan.
“Wolfe asked us to come out to his place. Thought Amy would appreciate it. She’s gonna talk to that lawyer chick.”
“Of course,” Reagan said quickly. “Amy’s my friend.”
“And he said Amy’s takin’ it hard.” I nodded toward her. “The fact that you got hurt last night.”
“This ain’t her fault,” Reagan declared.
No, it wasn’t. We both knew that. But guilt could be an evil bitch, not always making sense.
“Let’s get your truck,” I told her, starting the engine.
Neither of us spoke on the short ride over to the sheriff’s department. However, there was a lot to be said once we pulled into the small lot.
“Holy shit,” Reagan hissed. “My … truck.”
Yeah. Holy shit was right. Rhys had said he’d taken Reagan’s truck over to the station, but he hadn’t bothered to mention that he’d had to have the damn thing towed.
I glanced over at Reagan. She looked on the verge of tears, but once again, the woman held them back. She was tough, always had been. It was one of the things I loved about her. One of the many things.
“Hey,” I said, pulling her attention over to me. “You can take my truck until we can get yours…” I let that drift off because the charred front end of her truck didn’t look as though it was going to be repairable.
“No,” she insisted. “I can’t do that, Lynx. What’ll you drive?”
“My old man’s truck,” I told her quickly. “Ain’t like he’s usin’ it.” I grinned, trying to ease some of the tension. “Trust me, it’s no hardship. I happen to be quite fond of that truck.”
She took a deep breath, met my eyes, then nodded slightly. “For a few days, maybe. I’d really appreciate it.”
I wanted to tell her I'd do any-damn-thing for her.
“Let’s head to Wolfe’s then,” I said, backing out of the parking lot. “And I’ll have Wolfe run me over to get it.”
Reagan didn’t say anything and I wasn’t expecting her to, so when she unbuckled her seat belt and shifted over to the middle seat, I found myself holding my breath.
And when she reached over and took my hand, linking our fingers together, I forgot how to breathe altogether. It got even worse when she leaned her head over and rested it on my shoulder.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For bein’ my friend.”
Friend.
Right.
I didn’t bother to tell her that being her friend was only the beginning.