Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“ Y ou knuckleheads, stop!” Viper roared, pulling Shade off him.
Moon lay on the ground, blinking up at sky, not knowing how he had fallen. Lowering his eyes downward, he found Reaper standing over him. “I’m going to kill you,” Moon groaned, trying to move into a sitting position. It took a second before he was able to comprehend Reaper had a foot on his chest. “Get off me, you ugly bast—”
“Reaper, I’m not going to tell you fuckers to stop again.”
Thankfully, Viper shoved his brother off him.
He sat up with a groan, holding his ribs. Moon glared vengefully at the three brothers staring down at him, also vengefully.
“You want some more?” he egged them on, using his free hand on the ground to boost his ass up. “Let’s go. Which one of you sons of a bitches wants to make a widow out of your wife? Don’t worry; I’ll make sure they won’t get lonely.”
The backyard turned into a free-for-all. Razer, Viper, and Nickel had to hold Shade back, while he and Reaper went in for the kill …
L arissa heard shouts as she approached the back of The Last Riders’ clubhouse. The backyard was filled with men having a massive brawl. Gaping at the viciousness taking place in front of her, she didn’t know whether to run away or wait until it ended to help those who needed medical aid.
Seeing Moon pop up in the men gave her such a start that she took a backward step. Hearing the words he shouted out about making widows of his friends’ wives and saying he would make sure they wouldn’t be lonely was reprehensible to her.
This was the father of her child? The man who, if she told him that he was going to be a father, would have a part in his life? Hell no. There was no way she would let a child of hers be anywhere near this type of environment.
Disappointed, she watched Train grab Moon, put him a headlock, and from the way he was holding Moon, he seemed to be purposely trying to break his neck.
She was battling with herself about whether to call 911 now or wait until Moon was dead, then made the call. If anyone had the nerve to say she didn’t go above and beyond for her clients, she would tell them about this situation. Train couldn’t be his wife’s birthing partner if he was locked behind bars.
As she reluctantly made the call, she watched the fight become more vicious when Train and Shade ganged up on Moon, all three of them stumbling into the gazebo behind them. The gazebo crumbled on top of them. From the shaking wood on top, Larissa guessed the fighting hadn’t stopped.
“What’s your emergency?” a male voice answered the call.
“I’d like to report a fight in the backyard of The Last Riders’ clubhouse. Do you know where that is?”
“Yes. Who’s involved in the fight?”
“Who isn’t? They all are. You need to send ambulances, too.”
“What is the injury?”
“I can’t see from where I’m standing. They’re under a gazebo.”
“You can’t see under the gazebo?” the calm male voice asked.
“No, I can’t. The gazebo collapsed on top of them.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Please hurry. One of the men was trying to strangle Moon before the gazebo went down. I don’t know if he succeeded.”
“Who was strangling Moon?”
“I have no clue who it was,” she lied. Killyama, you owe me one . “His back was turned. I couldn’t see his face.”
“What’s your name?”
“I prefer to remain anonymous.” God, did she ever.
“You know I’m equipped with caller ID, right?”
“Then why did you ask?” she snapped.
“To see if you would tell me.”
Larissa pulled the cell phone away from her ear to glare at the object. Did she hear humor in his voice?
“I don’t find this funny,” she said once she had put the phone back to her ear.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh.”
Whoever it was didn’t sound sorry.
“Who am I speaking with?” she asked sharply. She was going to report the operator to the responding officer.
“I’m the sheriff.”
“Oh … that’s good, then.” Larissa wanted to smack her forehead at how lame she sounded. “I’m going to leave now,” she told them.
“Good idea.”
She ended the call, then took a last look at the fight. It had calmed down somewhat. They were still fighting, but they were moving slower. Turning, she hurried back to Killyama’s house.
She gave a quick knock before she entered the house, seeing Killyama had moved from the bedroom to the living room.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, at least I didn’t throw up for the last thirty minutes.” Her eyes went behind her. “You didn’t find Train?”
“No, I couldn’t find him.”
Killyama frowned. “You knock on the back door like I told you and tell them Train wasn’t answering his messages?”
“I couldn’t make it to the back door. Everyone was fighting.”
Interest piqued in her eyes. “What were they fighting over?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you ask one of them?”
“I couldn’t. They were all fighting. It wasn’t safe for me to get too close.”
“You mean, they were physically fighting or arguing fighting?”
“I mean they were physically fighting, with their fists,” she elaborated.
“Damn, and I missed it.” Killyama picked up her cell phone. Larissa assumed she was texting to find out what was going on.
Larissa looked at her own cell phone. “I hate to leave you alone. Is there someone else you can call besides Train? I have another appointment in thirty minutes.”
“I’ll call T.A. She lives about ten minutes away. You can go ahead and go.”
“I’ll wait until you make sure T.A. can come,” she said firmly.
Ignoring the irritated stare-down, Larissa folded her arms over her chest stubbornly.
“You’re a pain in my ass,” Killyama told her.
“I will be for the next several months, so get used to it.”
“I must be crazy …” Killyama broke off. “Bitch, get your ass over here. Larissa won’t leave until someone is with me.” Killyama listened to what T.A. was saying, her expression turning more irritated. “Bitch, I don’t know where that fucker is, but when he comes home, I’m going to give him a piece of advice his ass will never forget. You coming or not?”
Nodding, she ended the call without a goodbye. “She’s on her way.”
Relieved, Larissa took a seat on an armchair across from where Killyama was sitting.
“Do you mind getting my nail file from my bedroom? It’s on my nightstand. I meant to bring it out here with me and forgot.”
“Perhaps it’s better off in the bedroom.”
Killyama laughed. “You think I’m going to use it to hurt Train?”
“Of course not,” she denied, but that was exactly what she thought. You didn’t get a nickname like hers without a damn good reason. “I just don’t believe in putting temptation within reach.”
“I’m not going to hurt my man, as mad as I am at him. I broke a nail.”
“Let me see.”
Killyama hit the arm of the couch she laughed so hard. When she finally stopped, she gave her an admiring look. “I like you.”
Larissa smiled. “I like you, too. Would you like some toast?”
“Dab some peanut butter on that bitch—I’m hungry.”
She went to the kitchen, made Killyama the toast, and poured her some water from the refrigerator.
She had settled a tray over Killyama’s lap when T.A. walked through the front door without knocking.
“The cavalry has arrived,” she said jokingly.
Slinging the bag she carried with her equipment onto her shoulder, Larissa told the women goodbye.
When she didn’t hear any shouts, she assumed the sheriff had broken up the fight, as his squad car was still in the parking lot. Getting in her car, she hurried to put the key in the ignition. She didn’t want to be here in case the sheriff wanted to talk to her about witnessing the fight. If he came looking for her, she planned to lie like hell. There was no way she was going to get dragged into court as a witness.
Her first plan of action when she got back to the office was to make plans to get out of Treepoint. The second was to forget how she had conceived her baby.
A fter she saw her client out the door, Larissa immediately went to Priss’ office.
“Are you busy?”
Priss looked up from her computer. “I’m free. What’s up?”
“I’m going back to Bowling Green.”
Her sister’s jaw dropped. “Why?”
Larissa told her what she had seen at The Last Riders’. “I can’t raise a child with that man. He’s too violent.”
“Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. They’re all friends. They could have been roughhousing. We didn’t grow up with brothers, so of course it looks scary.”
“There was blood, Priss. Train was trying to break Moon’s neck.”
“You can’t leave.” Priss began to look panicked. “What about your clients?”
“Lana can take over for those who don’t want to use your services. I can’t stay, and I have to leave before I start showing.”
“Are you still going to tell him you had sex with him that night?”
Larissa started chewing on her bottom lip. “I don’t know. I told Winter I would. If I leave without telling him, Moon might be angry enough to find me. I certainly don’t want him finding me after I start showing. I want to go back to Bowling Green. Mom is there. I should have never left. I don’t want to live my life on the run, afraid he’ll find me if I don’t. I think it would best to go ahead and tell him then move away. I can tell my clients that Mom has become ill.”
Press rolled her eyes at her. “The same mom we’re constantly bragging about acting like she’s twenty years younger than her age?”
“I’ll come up with some excuse. We can talk about it tonight and decide which would be the best way to go.”
“Okay …”
Priss’ cell phone ringing had her lifting it from the desk.
“Hi. Are you ready for me to bring your lunch?” Priss’ mouth snapped closed. Then she laid the cell phone back on her desk, and Lana’s voice came over the speakerphone.
“I won’t have time to eat it. The emergency room is full. There was a huge fight. I’ll be lucky to get off by midnight. I’ll grab something from the cafeteria. Moon’s here with a dislocated shoulder and cracked ribs. He looks like he’s been put through a meat grinder. We had to call in extra security. They’re still trying to kill him.”
Larissa and Priss stared at each other as Lana filled them in, unaware that Larissa had seen it firsthand.
“What started the fight?”
“From the little I’ve heard, he hit Ginny. He must have done something to Lily and Killyama, too, because their husbands are the ones I had to call security on. Anyway, I just don’t want you wasting your time bringing me lunch. Bye.”
After the call ended, they sat in silence, taking in what Lana had told them.
Priss’ expression became determined. “Run.”