Chapter Two
An officer accompanied Kelly back to a holding cell.
She merely tensed when the door slammed behind her.
Still under a tight self control so as to not give anything away.
She moved over to the cot and laid down, staring at the ceiling.
She thought about the tape she’d seen earlier.
She knew she hadn’t killed Ty but who had?
Was there someone else in the house that night?
Someone else Char hadn’t known about? Or had someone come in after they left? So many questions with no answers.
She turned her head and saw that detective standing in the doorway of the cell room area while staring back at her.
Her gaze met his. As she stared at him all she could see in his eyes was a coldness that made her shiver.
She did not know this man and she wondered at his instant hatred.
Finally, she rolled over on the cot, away from his gaze.
She felt his stare for a long time though, then he turned and left the room.
Kelly exhaled softly and opened her eyes again to stare at the ceiling.
She’d been surprised by Char’s call last night.
She never knew what happened to her best friend years ago but when Char finally got a hold of her she hadn’t hesitated to step in.
She and Char were more than best friends, growing up.
They had shared all their dreams with each other.
Dreams they shared with no one else. She closed her eyes and a single tear ran down her face onto her pillow.
Then she shook her head slightly and remembered that dreams were all she had back then.
She watched her mom struggle while working herself to the bone just to afford food and rent.
Kelly had mostly raised herself as her mom worked fourteen hours a day.
But she had made sure when her mom did come home, the apartment was clean and there was a hot meal waiting for her.
Many nights after they had gone to bed, Kelly listened to her mom crying in her room.
It wasn’t until after her mom died that she learned the whole story.
Kelly hadn’t given it a thought about how she came to be or what happened to her mom before she was born.
But reading her mom’s diary after she was gone had opened her eyes.
She’d been so mad she wanted to hunt the man down who hurt her and kill him.
Years later when she ran into Shay, she still wanted to confront her father but by then her earlier rage had dimmed.
Back then she just wanted to tear him down and expose his darkest secrets, but Shay had told her the full story.
Then he told her about Owen’s mother and she watched the trial and learned just how far his mother would push things.
Everything Shay said she would do, she had done.
That’s when Shay brought hell down on her grandmother’s family.
And that left her broke and beaten badly.
Shay had taken her grandmother’s power and her illgotten fortune away and by the time everything came out, her grandmother was stripped of everything she and her family ever owned.
She watched the day her grandmother was led shackled, in an orange jumpsuit to a bus that would take her to a prison for many years.
And now she couldn’t wait for Char and Rosie to see both their grandmother and uncle make that same walk to the bus.
Kelly relaxed a little on the jail cot. She knew Shay was investigating Olivia and Victor and when he was finished, he would know every dirty deal the two of them had ever thought about doing.
Knowing Shay and his team they would bring every single one out into the open and shine the light of justice on those bad deeds.
Shay and the Hell’s Fire Riders would bring both the Barrons into the spotlight of the law.
Their illegal business deals would expose not only them but their contacts as well.
By the time Shay got done, more than just their heads would roll.
She just had to hang on and not say something that could hurt her or Char and Rosie.
That was why she did not react to that video, it would not have helped anything.
Suddenly, she felt a fluttering in her belly and her eyes rounded as she felt it.
Her hands were at her side and she knew she couldn’t touch her belly.
Too many eyes were watching her now and she didn’t want anyone in this place to know she was pregnant.
They could and probably would use that against her. She had the distinct feeling that some here were not just on the case as assigned to them. No, they were too on the case. Detective Burrios in particular.
She closed her eyes but she didn’t sleep. Her mind was too busy and wouldn’t shut down.
The next time she opened her eyes she saw the light from the window and knew her hearing would be coming up soon enough.
She couldn’t wait to see Shay. She needed to feel his arms around her, to put her head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat for a few minutes.
She closed her eyes and trembled as she thought about what she could lose if things went against her.
She could lose the one man made for her.
What she and Shay had was keeping her together, before they met she was lost, just going from one place to another with no anchor holding her down.
Her mom was gone and she had no other family out there.
Her father Owen, her grandfather and Owen’s mother were all in jail for the rest of their natural lives.
But after everything came out in the courts, she felt sure she wasn’t missing out on anything from not knowing them.
The events leading to her birth were horrible enough that she didn’t want to even know her other side.
Even her own mother’s family weren’t worth the time of day.
She had stopped to see them, to tell them her mother was dead and they hadn’t cared one way or the other.
They hadn’t even cared that their daughter had been raped and beaten, all they cared was that she was bringing shame to their door.
They had called Kelly a bastard that day and shown her the door.
She had her group as friends and they supported her for a few years now.
She felt lucky to have them. She hoped that they weren’t too upset by her being in jail.
Shay was her life now. And she carried Shay’s baby.
A baby that would make them a family and she knew she wasn’t going to put that in jeopardy.
She just had to figure out who really killed Ty and bring down grandma dearest.
She closed her eyes and imagined a prayer in her mind. Then she whispered a prayer to protect her, Char and Rosie..
Just then she saw Detective Burrios approaching the cell door. “It's time for your arraignment.”
Kelly swung her legs over the side of the bed and when she stood she gave him a nod. “I’m ready.”
The detective unlocked the door and ushered her out.
He put handcuffs on her wrists but in front of her body instead of pulling her hands behind her back.
He walked her down the hall, then to an elevator.
They rode down in absolute silence. Then finally he escorted her and into a waiting room in the courthouse.
She sat waiting quietly for a while then when her name was called, Detective Burrios grabbed her arm and pulled her into the courtroom.
She saw Tomas at the defendant’s table but she also saw Shay and half the members of the Hell’s Fire Riders MC in the public seating area.
Kelly didn’t look at anyone directly, especially Shay. She needed to not fall apart here. So she sat down and looked ahead to where the judge sat.
No one said a word.
Finally, the judge looked up from his iPad and stared at Kelly. “Mrs. Montross, do you understand the charges against you? Assault and murder charges.”
Kelly rose to her feet. “I do your Honor, but I didn’t kill Ty Regis.” Her voice didn’t waver.
The Judge shook his head. “This isn’t a trial, Mrs. Montross, this is just a bail hearing.
” The judge looked beyond her table at the members of the MC.
“I understand you have ties to the MC in the area. I also understand that they are putting their hard fought for reputations on the line here as well.”
“Your Honor,” Kelly spoke up. “I didn’t kill Mr. Regis. So I’m not going to run away from this.”
Tomas interrupted her. “Your Honor, Mrs. Montross has ties to the area. She also isn’t going to disappear. She wants the truth to come out and to clear her name.”
The Judge nodded. Then he spoke, “Bail is set at 250 thousand. I suggest you stay in town, Mrs. Montross. We’ll get the trial onto the calendar soon.”
Shay stood as did the other Riders.
The judge nodded at Pappy then called in the next case.
Detective Burrios stepped over and grasped Kelly’s arm to haul her to the police department part of the courthouse. He didn’t say a word as he led her to another waiting room. She would be there until bail was paid and her attorney came for her.
An hour later...
Tomas came around to collect her and led her out of the waiting room to the outside door. They both knew Detective Burrios and another officer were watching them.
When they stepped outside, Tomas stopped her and asked, “What seems to be that Detective’s problem?”
Kelly shook her head. “I have no clue but I don’t trust him.”
Suddenly, Shay was there and grabbed her up, then he just held her for several minutes.
Now, Kelly relaxed for the first time since the police dragged her out of her home. She simply clung to him like he had just caught her from a long hard fall off of a cliff. In essence that was what all this felt like.
“Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” he whispered in her ear.
Kelly shook her head. Then she looked up at him and whispered back, “The detective seemed to judge me guilty even before we got a chance to speak. The Chief put him back in his place but the resentment is still there and it seems to be growing by the minute.”
“But he didn’t touch you last night?” Shay asked her.
More Hell’s Fire Riders came closer. Pappy and Dewey at the front of the group.
Kelly shook her head as she answered Shay, “Not after he put me in the holding cell. But he came by the cell during the night and he didn’t look happy. In fact, I think if the bars weren’t between us he would have taken advantage of the fact.”
Shay growled low.
Pappy looked at the men around him then at Dewey.
“I want Trudy to check this Burrios guy out. I want a complete background done on him. If he’s got something to hide I want to know what that secret is.
If he’s got ties to the Barron’s I want to know before we go back to court.
I have a feeling this case is going to be rushed and we need to know what we’re dealing with here. ”
Dewey nodded then texted his wife.
Pappy looked over at Kelly and his expression changed to concern. “Come on, let’s get you home. Your friends are very worried about you.”
Kelly nodded then wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, and I need a hot shower with some industrial soap.”
Shay chuckled and held her tight. “Come on baby, let’s go home.”