Chapter 26
Kat
My finger hovered over the nine as I paused. “Um, what?”
“Your mom doesn’t like this kind of thing.
That’s why she hid my guns. But I found this one in the closet this morning, in my suit jacket.
” He held up the small gray gun. If I hadn’t known that he’d just shot somebody, I’d have thought it was a toy.
Which is probably why no one realized he had it on him earlier.
Self-defense was one thing, but if Dad was having an episode when he shot the guy… Fuck, was he even a burglar? Or was he the meter reader caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? My heart pounded as I studied the man on the floor. Who was he?
I searched the room, taking a deep breath as I tried to put together what could have happened.
There wasn’t any broken glass, and I’m sure Mav would have locked up before he left.
How did the man get in? There’d been no alert on my phone, so the alarm hadn’t gone off.
Although Dad had gotten really good at disabling the thing so that didn’t mean much.
The security app only showed live footage.
I hadn’t liked idea of our video history being stored on a server somewhere, but I was seeing the folly of that decision now.
My finger hovered over the contacts button.
There was no other choice. I dialed the number and hoped I wasn’t making a big mistake.
“Kat?” Mav’s voice was surprised, which I guess made sense. At least he didn’t sound like he was in the middle of a sexcapade. “Didn’t expect to—”
“Can you come over?”
“Um sure, just let me finish—”
“No, I mean like right now. Like drop everything and come this second.” I gazed back at the body.
The puddle had grown. “We have a… situation. I should probably call the police, but I don’t think…
We just need your help.” I looked back at my dad, who was calmly cleaning his gun.
My voice cracked as I pleaded. “And I need you.”
“I’m on my way.” His voice was steel.
I let out a deep breath. Just knowing he’d be next to me in a few minutes made me feel better. Movement rustled on his end.
“Do you think you could, um, bring the medic guy?” What had Ivy said her man’s name was? “Stitches?”
He swore and I heard mumbling from the other side of the phone. “Bear’s calling Stitch. Are you hurt? Is Larry? What happened?” His breathing picked up, and was he running?
“No, I’m fine. Just um…” Burglar man certainly didn’t need a medic, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to confirm that he was gone. “Hurry.” I hung up, not wanting to say more over the phone. “Dad, Mav and the guys are on the way.”
He nodded. “Good, they’ll take care of the mess and keep your mom from finding out. You can keep this a secret, can’t you? I hate to ask, Katie, but me and your mama are on real thin ice. She wants to leave me, and this might be the last straw.”
I sat next to him at the table and squeezed his hand. “Yeah, no problem. I promise not to talk about this to another soul, outside of whoever shows up tonight.”
We enjoyed a few moments of silence before Noodle started up again. The back door crashed open and Mav stepped inside, his eyes darting until they found mine. He must have used the four-wheeler.
“Kitty Kat, what’s—” He stepped forward, right into the body. “Oh, shit.” He looked down, his eyes widening.
“Yep,” I said, popping the p.
The sound of a diesel truck filtered into the kitchen before promptly cutting off.
Mav looked up. “That’s us.”
I nodded. “Front door is still open.”
Heavy footsteps sounded down the hall.
“Oh, shit.” Bear walked in first, followed by Blade and a military looking guy I assumed was Stitch.
“Blade, check the perimeter,” Mav ordered. Blade nodded and backed out of the house.
“Sooo, what happened?” Stitch asked, looking from the body to me before settling on my dad. He had a military vibe with buzz cut and a solid build.
Without thinking, I sat up in my chair. “It was me! I was, um, cleaning and found a gun in that drawer. I was trying to move it to the safe, but then it fell on the floor and went off. And that, uh, guy was, um… Well he sort of…”
Mav crossed his hands over his chest and raised an eyebrow. “Sort of what?”
“Um, well, there was gravity, and a ricochet, which then led to…” I looked up at the ceiling, desperately trying to think of something.
“Don’t stop now, baby,” Mav continued, the look of disbelief not wavering.
I waved my hand in the air. “Physics.”
“Physics,” Mav repeated.
“Yes.” I nodded. “A lot of physics happened.“ I looked back at Bear and Stitch, who didn’t look any more convinced than Mav. But they did look confused, which was something.
Dad snickered. “Thanks for trying, hon. That was cute.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I walked home with Noodle and the back door was unlocked. And since I knew damn well Mav and I hadn’t left it unlocked, I pulled out my little gray raider—“
Mav cleared his throat. “I thought all the guns were in the safe.”
Dad grinned and shrugged. “Anyway, I found this guy standing in my kitchen. I told him to get out of my house. He pulled a knife and said shit was taking too long and he was here to ‘escalate the timeline.’ Whatever the hell that meant. Noodle was growling, about to take a chunk out of his leg when he turned his knife on her. I shot him before he could hurt my baby.”
As if she understood, Noodle walked over to dad and laid her head in his lap. “That’s right, you’re my sweet girl. But I appreciate you boys coming over, and if we could get this taken care of before Rhonda finds out, I’d be much obliged.”
“Rhonda?” Bear asked.
I cleared my throat. “Uh yeah, that’s my mom. Dad doesn’t want her to find out because she’s been threatening to leave him.”
Mav nodded once and wiped his hand over his mouth. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do.” He walked over to the pantry and came back with a trash bag. “Larry, go take a shower and put your clothes in here.”
Dad looked down, noticing the spots of blood for the first time. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Thanks.” He grabbed the trash bag and walked to his room. When he was out of earshot, Mav nodded at Stitch. “Check the body.” Then he turned to me. “What happened after you left the club?”
A tear slipped from my eye. “Dad walked and I drove, so he arrived about five minutes before me. I was hanging up my jacket when I heard the gunshot. And after that, well, you know as much as I do.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why not call the police? Or an ambulance?”
I snorted. “I don’t have to be a doctor to know dead when I see it.
As far as the police… Well, you heard him.
He thinks my mom is coming home.” I threw my hands into the air.
“Even if this guy had been in the middle of robbing us, I don’t know how self-defense works if the guy shooting doesn’t know he’s been divorced for twenty years.
” I sighed. “Plus, I was worried that guy’s family might try pressing charges for wrongful death or something.
They probably have a whole law firm on retainer that could take Dad for everything. ”
Mav’s face pinched. “That’s quite the imagination you have, but you did the right thing calling us regardless.”
“What do you mean, imagination? Please tell me what part of this isn’t real. Seriously, that would make me feel so much better.”
Mav walked over to me and pulled me up from the chair. He wrapped his arms around me and the tension eased from my body. “I wish I could, but it’s going to be okay, Kat. I just meant the part about the rich family.”
I leaned back and took a calming breath. “Oh, he definitely came from money. Which, come to think of it, makes it unlikely he was a burglar.” Or the meter reader. So who was he?
“You went through his wallet? I have to say, Kitty Kat. I am impressed.”
I rolled my eyes and pointed to his feet. “He’s wearing Pradas.”
Bear sucked in a breath. “Oh yeah. Good point.”
Stitch turned his head from the body to look at Bear. “‘Good point?’ What the fuck do know about Pradas?”
Bear huffed. “I know that they’re at least $900 a pair.” He cocked his head toward the man’s feet. “Those were probably $1250.”
I nodded, agreeing with his assessment.
Mav turned to Bear. “And how the hell would you know that?”
Bear shrugged. “Pixie likes shoes. I’m learning.”
Well damn, if that wasn’t the sweetest thing I’d ever heard. If I weren’t in the middle of a crime scene, I’d melt into a puddle on the floor.
Stitch turned back to his examination. “Well, he’s definitely dead, most likely within a few minutes of impact. And I’d say he’s connected to what we spoke about earlier.” He lifted the man’s arm to display several tattoos.
“Fuck,” Mav swore.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means…” His jaw tightened and he let a slow exhale.
“It means, that guy is affiliated with something you want no part of. Your dad did good, probably saved both of your lives. But there will be fallout, making you and Larry a target. You did the right thing, calling us instead of the police. We’ll handle it. ”
“Larry can go to Tracker’s,” Bear said. “He’s been holed up in his house too long and needs to feel useful.”
Mav nodded. “Good thinking. If anybody asks, we can say Larry needed a place to stay with Kat leaving town and Tracker needed some help around the house.”
“Kat leaving town?” I asked. “Since when?”
“Since an hour ago.” Mav cocked an eyebrow. “Didn’t you tell me you were headed back to Maryland?”
“Well, yeah, but—“ I hadn’t decided yet, not really.
“So pack a bag and leave. Tonight.”
I swallowed hard. Maybe this was for the best, after all. “Yeah, okay.”
He kissed me softly and leaned his forehead against mine. “What you saw earlier wasn’t what it looked like.” His brows raised, and I knew he was talking about that redhead.
“Okay,” I said, nodding.
“Okay?” he asked.
I forced a smile. “Least of my worries right now.” How did the saying go? You can’t lose something you never truly had?
He frowned slightly, and I started toward the stairs to escape his stare. “Kat,” he called out. “If anyone asks, you were at the salon all afternoon, then left to go back to Maryland.”
“I’ll make sure Ivy knows,” Stitch said. “If someone asks, but I doubt they will.”
Mav nodded. “Perfect. If you leave now, the time on the tolls will be close enough if anyone has questions. And without a body, the timing doesn’t need to be close.”
“Without a body?” I stopped, turning to look back at the six-foot-three man on the floor. “Are you going to bury him?”
Bear laughed. “Not exactly.”
“What the fuck is this?” Stitch stood up next to the body, holding a silver key attached to a small plastic pig.
“My spare key!” Dad stepped back into the kitchen wearing a bathrobe and holding a full garbage bag. “I’d wondered where that got to.” He reached down and swiped it from Stitch’s hand. “Where’d you find it?”
“In the dead guy’s pocket,” Stitch deadpanned.
Dad’s brows shot up. “Huh, I guess that explains how he got in here.” He ran a hand over his jaw. “Not sure how he got the key in the first place. But that’s a thief for you.” He walked over to the drawer with the plastic bags and dropped the key inside.
I looked at Mav. “What the fuck?” I mouthed.
He shook his head and rubbed his temples.
“Oh, and here’s this.” Dad held up the trash bag full of clothes. “Thought you guys might need this before I finished my shower.” He looked over at the dead man and shook his head. “I reckon Miss Patsy and Leroy are going to eat good tonight.”
I took in a deep breath and exhaled through my nose. “Dad, what do your pigs have to do with anything?”
Bear spun around to face the wall, but his shoulders were shaking with… laughter? My gaze shifted to Mav. His arms were crossed and he was looking up at the ceiling. What the hell was going on?
“I reckon if this keeps up, I’ll need to get another pig.” Dad turned and went back toward his room.
“Seriously, what do hungry pigs have to do with any of this?” I looked around the room, and now all three men were trying to hold back their laughter. And then it hit me. “Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me.”
Stitch raised his hands.
“Really?” I turned back to Mav.
He flashed a crooked grin. “Club business.”
I rolled my eyes. “If it involves my dad’s pigs, then it’s also my business. But in this case,” I raised a hand, “ignorance is bliss. I’ll go pack.”