Chapter 35 #2
“Nothing. And he didn’t believe her, not really. But he wouldn’t take that risk, especially when there was another person in play—the mystery man who forked out a quarter of a million dollars to bail Josh out. She said it was him who planted the bomb.”
The room goes wired for a different reason now. I look around and shake my head, my lips twitching at the irony. “You know who it is, and you’re not going to tell me, huh?”
None of them says anything. I chuckle, daring them to pull me up again.
“Whatever. Instead of Theo running to safety, he was forced to return. That meant I had to adapt. I hid in Theo’s room when I heard them get back and listened in while Diane admitted a shit-ton of stuff that made me sick to my stomach.
He ended up storming into his room, which is where he found me.
He filled me in on what I just told you.
I made him leave, promising to call Havoc to tell him about the bomb before tossing the phone in the river. ”
“I sent Con to pick him up and had Powers sweep the shop. I didn’t know you were at the trailer or that Theo had been hurt until he turned up here.” Havoc sighs.
“I know. He couldn’t tell you. The only reason I had him call you at all was because of the danger a possible bomb threat posed.
I knew Theo wouldn’t mention you to the cops.
He was careful in his wording, stating he made his way to the clubhouse, where he knew he’d be safe, mentioning nothing about Havoc, or Con picking him up, so they wouldn’t be questioned. ”
Mac frowns. “Why would that matter though?”
“Because they might then ask for his phone to confirm his story. The phone Theo was using was a cloned phone. His actual phone I had all along.”
G blinks at me, but it’s Toot that whistles. “You sent yourself the message, pretending to be Diane, to give yourself a reason to be there.”
I nod. “And then I placed the phone on her pillow, knowing she’d pick it up, thus putting her prints on it.
The message Theo sent me about tea was sent using the cloned phone, so it didn’t show up in the real phone at all.
It was just a random, out-of-the-blue message from Diane that seemed too friendly to ignore. ”
“And if the phone was collected as evidence at the trailer, cops would have been suspicious if Theo said he’d called Havoc after he left.” G nods in understanding. “I’m not sure if I should be worried or impressed by your evil genius.”
“Well, I’m not done yet, so maybe wait to decide.” I rub my hand over my face, my arm throbbing with a dull ache.
“Wait, so you went expecting Theo not to be there?” Toot confirms.
“I didn’t want to do anything in front of Theo. That would make him more of an accessory than he already is, and I had to be sure Diane was complicit in shit before I acted.”
“All that shit about her accusing you of having an affair with Josh?” Kruger asks.
“The jealous ramblings of a woman tripping. And also, a complete lie.” I lean my elbows on the table, looking around before I admit, “I heard what they said, what they planned. And when I outright asked Diane if Josh had ever touched Theo or planned to, she looked away and told me no.”
A growl tears from Kruger’s throat. I reach over and grab his hand. “That’s Theo’s to tell us when and if he’s ready.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Midas says softly. Up until now, he hasn’t said a word.
I look at him and tilt my head, a look of knowing passing between us. I swallow before nodding. “Okay, thank you.”
I look back at the brothers who glance from Midas to me. Havoc’s jaw tightens, and G tenses. They say nothing, but they’ve figured it out too. Not wanting someone to say something because Midas might bolt, I jump back in.
“I shot Josh twice. Once in the chest, once in the face. He never woke up. Was never a threat to me. But every breath he took made him a threat to Theo, so I killed him. Ask me if I’m sorry.”
I’m shaking, waiting for their anger or disbelief, but Kruger wraps his arm around me and pulls me closer, careful not to bump my arm. I settle when he kisses my temple, a sharp wave of relief washing over me. I look up and speak the next part directly to him.
“I gave Diane a choice. I could shoot her, or she could shoot up and chase her next high. She didn’t take even a second to think it over.
I gave her the stuff and watched as she pumped the fentanyl-laced heroin into her arm.
Once I was sure she was no threat to me, I placed the gun in her hand, covered my hand with hers, and shot myself in the arm.
I dropped the gun, grabbed a towel, and called the cops. ”
Havoc rubs his jaw. “I have so many fucking questions.”
“You told the cops you weren’t armed,” Toot reminds me.
“Which I wasn’t. Not any longer.”
“The gun was the one Theo pulled on you,” Kruger surmises.
“I think I knew even back then I’d need it, so I kept it hidden at the shop.
I cleaned it thoroughly, ensuring there were no prints on it, and then wore gloves when handling it.
I peeled the gloves off just before I called 911, wanting my bloody fingerprints on my cell phone.
I hid the gloves in the lining of my bag and got rid of them once I was discharged from the hospital. ”
“Where did Theo get the gun, though?” Midas questions.
“It was Josh’s. Registered to him and everything.”
Midas snorts. “Handy.”
“I thought so too.”
“So you had a valid reason for being there, left no prints, and arranged for Diane to OD, making her less than a credible witness if she does pull through. Add in that she aided in breaking the law by allowing Josh back, and a lawyer would tear her account of events to pieces. So why bother shooting yourself at all?” Circus frowns.
“Because it makes her a victim, which changes the mindset of the police when they investigate. When they walked in and saw me and Kruger, they immediately saw our cuts and thought of us as suspects. Delphi was lying in a pool of blood and vomit. It never crossed their minds that it was intentional,” Toot answers for me.
“Exactly. Also, I kinda threw up when the adrenaline crash came. I’m not sure if it was the shock of killing someone or the shock of not feeling bad about it, but that’s why I was sick.
I didn’t seize or pass out, but wanted to use it as an excuse.
It made me look weak. I wasn’t expecting you guys, obviously, but I knew the paramedics would see my medical ID bracelet and make the assumption.
I couldn’t tell you that at the time, though.
I’m sorry.” I wince when I look at Kruger’s face.
“That’s what you’re sorry about?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t tell you, Kruger. You’d have stopped me. I also needed you to go about your day as normal. I knew you had a meeting, so you’d be in a place where there were cameras.”
“You were giving him an alibi,” G guesses.
“I had to cover him just in case the cops started looking outside of Diane for a person with a motive.”
Kruger gets up and starts pacing. “What does Theo know?”
“Nothing concrete, but I suspect he knows I killed Josh. As for the rest, I didn’t force that needle into Diane’s arm.
She did that to herself. She had more choices than Theo the whole way through this thing, and she fucked up at every turn.
The bag of drugs might have been the loaded gun I passed to her, but she turned it on herself and pulled the trigger. ”
Kruger looks at Havoc. I lean back and watch as they have a silent conversation with each other, keeping my mouth shut even though it’s pissing me off.
“Tell me about Blade’s involvement.”
I sigh, not wanting to bring anything down on the man, but trusting that he can handle it.
“He came to the shop the day after it opened.”
I should be floating on cloud nine, but all I can think about is Theo.
Putting on an act and pretending everything’s okay is one thing, but trying to pretend I’m blissfully happy is another thing altogether, and Kruger deserves that.
I don’t want him to think for a single second that I don’t want him anymore.
I look up from the counter when the door opens and freeze when I see Blade standing in the doorway. We haven’t spoken since the truth came out at the clubhouse. Part of it is because he has his hands full with the kids and Conan, but I know part of it is him avoiding me.
“Mindy, can you take care of things for me for a little while?”
“Sure, no problem, Delphi.”
I walk around the counter and wait for Blade to move closer before turning and heading toward my office. I sense him following me, but I don’t say anything. I unlock the door, walk inside, and take a seat, putting the desk between us.
He steps inside, looking around briefly before his eyes land on me. “Do you want me to leave the door open?” he asks softly.
Something flutters in my chest. I stand up. The look of guilt and defeat in his eyes softens the edges of my lingering anger, like throwing a blanket over barbed wire.
I move past him and close the door myself before stepping up to him. “I’m not afraid of you, Blade.”
And it’s true. Somewhere along the way, the bogeyman under my bed became the comforting presence of a stuffed toy.
“You protected me the only way you knew how. I still don’t know how to deal with it all, but I’m working through it. Everything is this confusing mass of feelings I’ve spent years burying.”
“I know the feeling. I told my family what happened. Sunshine thought I should have told you to start with. King agrees that it would have been too dangerous, not knowing all the players who were involved.”
“Two things can be true at the same time,” I remind him before sighing.
“Part of me is adamant you should have told me from the start. But the truth is, looking back, I see how fragile I was. Lord knows I have the scars to prove it. I’m not sure…
No, I know I wasn’t mentally strong enough to hear or heal from that revelation.
Thank you for looking after me when I couldn’t look after myself. ”
“I could have done better. Could have found a different way—”
“Maybe,” I concede, cutting him off. “But you did the best you could with the hand you were dealt. Hindsight is a cruel bastard. Please stop torturing yourself with should have, would have, could haves. I do that enough for both of us.”
He lets out a strangled chuckle but nods. “I’ll try.”
“If you’re looking for absolution, Blade, you’ve come to the wrong place. There is nothing to absolve.”
“I wish it were that easy.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “Me too.” My eyes move to my desk, where I have a framed photo of me and Theo that Kruger took. “What about atonement?”
He frowns. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s not me that needs to forgive, Blade. It’s you that needs to forgive yourself. And as you’re a man of actions, what if you do something to balance the scales?”
“You want me to do something for you that would make up for what I did?”
I don’t answer. I’ve already forgiven him. This is something he needs to do to feel like he’s actively paid some kind of restitution for the pain and suffering inflicted on me.
“Tell me what you need, Delphi.”
I don’t hesitate. “I need a cloned cellphone, something to knock out a grown man that would be hard to detect if you weren’t actively looking for it, and something else. Something a drug addict would find impossible to resist.”
“Something that will get them high?”
“Something that will get them dead in the right doses.”
“Done.”
“Just like that? No questions asked?”
“You’re trusting me. I’m trusting you. And Delphi, you’re one of the smartest, strongest, and kind-hearted women I know. If you need these things from me, there’s a reason for it. All I ask is that you call on me if things go tits up.”
“Deal.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Kruger snarls when I finish telling him what happened that day. “Where the fuck would he even get…King.”
“Well, she’s right about one thing. If Blade and King got the shit, it won’t be traced back to her or us. They are way too smart for that.” Havoc nods.
“I’m still gonna kill him,” Kruger snaps.
Havoc grunts. “Gonna have to wait in line. I think I need to remind the old man who the fucking president is.”
My watch pings, making everyone look at me. “What? You said no phone, not no watch.” I glance down at my screen and swallow as I read the text.
“What is it?”
“Can I go now? I need to talk to Theo.”
“There are still things to go over—” Havoc starts.
I nod and get to my feet. “I know, and we will. I just need to talk to Theo before he hears it from someone else.”
“Hears what?”
“That his mom just died.”