Chapter 10 #4
The smile Keys gave her was full of confidence, his gray-blue eyes alight with mirth. He brought his face down to hers, but did not kiss her. Instead, he brushed his lips ever so gently over hers, leaving her completely breathless and needy.
“Tell me you’re not swooning now,” he whispered against her mouth.
Rose started to sag heavily against his thigh, his grip on her hands above her head keeping her upright. “I… I…” She felt dizzy, not able to remember his question, let alone answer it. His breath on her skin was intoxicating, and holy fuck, what was she supposed to be saying?
Chuckling darkly, Keys leaned in, closing the distance between their mouths—but just before his lips touched hers, a loud, ear-piercing alarm blared.
* * *
Keys leapt back from Rose, his heart thundered in his chest even louder than the alarm sounding overhead.
After the attacks on the club as well as the town prior to Melanie’s murder, Keys had increased security around the club property, as well as their businesses.
A customer couldn’t fart in one of their stores without him knowing about it.
That alarm wasn’t for this building, but for the club.
Fear gripped him. Melanie’s death still haunted him, even a year later.
He knew that her murder wasn’t his fault.
Even with all his security measures, Keys wasn’t God.
He couldn’t know everything and be everywhere.
Melanie had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she’d paid the ultimate price.
Not even Keys standing beside her that night could have prevented her death.
It was a sad, twisted reality that he’d had to face, though it didn’t stop the guilt.
In the few, precious seconds it took for Keys to make it back inside his computer lab and over to his computer, endless scenarios played out in his head of what had gone wrong, who had gotten hurt, and which of his family he was going to have to bury next.
Had he brought this to town? Had Tyson Kennedy or another of Rose’s enemies tracked her to Mount Grove?
Was the club paying the price of Keys’ arrogance?
Immediately, his system identified what had happened and where.
Holy fuck! The bar. Something had happened at Demons on the Rocks, the club bar that Ghost and Ranger co-managed.
It was an inferno. Keys couldn’t make out much inside, but the cameras outside on neighboring buildings and street lamps showed a horrific sight.
Half the building had caved in, and the other half was burning brightly against the darkening sky.
It was business hours. People would be inside. His family would be inside! Ghost, Ranger, prospects, maybe even some of his club brothers… Who was alive? Could anyone have even survived that?
Keys needed to stop panicking. Thinking the worst would not solve anything. He had to work the problem. Carlos would need answers, need to know who had been inside at the time of the… A quick rewind of the security tapes showed it had been an explosion. Jesus Christ.
Keys pulled up the emergency broadcast and knew the fire department was on their way. But they still needed to know how many people, including customers, had been inside.
“Oh, my God!” came from behind him.
Fuck! Rose! He’d forgotten about her. “Go get Oscar,” he ordered her, harsher than intended.
But he didn’t have time for niceties. “I don’t care if he’s covered in paint.
Bring him here, grab headphones and his tablet.
We need to keep him occupied while you and I tackle this.
” As he spoke, Keys sent out a message to the Riley brothers, ordering them to his lab.
Thorne would know to wait until Oscar was secure to come.
“Rose,” he snapped when she didn’t move.
“I am going to need your help, but we can’t leave Oscar alone. Go get him and then get back here!”
She swallowed hard. “Was this us? Did we do this?” Her voice shook with fear.
Keys felt like a boulder was sitting on his chest as he answered honestly, “I don’t know. But that’s what I need you to find out. My club is going to need me, and I am going to need you here. So go get Oscar.”
Nodding stiffly, Rose left the computer lab. She passed Grimm and Goose on the way out. Both arming themselves as they walked.
“What’s going on, Boss?” Goose asked, his voice grave.
“Rose is going to get Oscar,” he told them without looking behind himself. “I need the three of you to guard the club kids. Until I know exactly what is happening, they are your priority.”
Cursing came from behind him as both brothers saw the images on Keys’ computer screens.
“Are we thinking this was Kennedy?” Grimm asked, holstering his gun at his side.
“I’m not thinking anything until I have more information,” Keys stated, though he wasn’t sure if that was a lie or not.
“Ghost might murder me for telling you this, but you need to know.” On the monitor to his left, he pulled up a schematic of the clubhouse.
“Under the floorboards of the main room is a hidden cellar. It’s where the club does their…
less than nice interrogations. It’s soundproof, and if there is an attack on the club property, it is the safest place for you to bring the ol’ ladies and the club kids. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Boss,” they both answered. A second later, Thorne came running into the room.
“Coms,” Keys ordered them. “It’s going to be a long night. Be prepared for anything, and should the worst happen, you have my permission to shoot to kill.”
It was several hours later before Rose realized she never input the code to stop her dead man’s message to her sister.