24. Kiera
KIERA
“Get out of here.” Leo nodded toward the exit as she kept her eye on the mission.
My forehead wrinkled as Spencer moved to the edge of our quiet corner in the raging club. Was Leo really going to stay?
Giving my hand a squeeze, Leo stayed focused. “I’ve got this. I’ll catch you both at the house.”
A part of me wanted to scoff, to laugh. Leo was about to let her best friend face down her shitty brother-in-law alone in the middle of the night. All to sit here and watch these assholes take advantage of vulnerable women.
Clapping Leo on the shoulder, Spencer nodded. “Thanks, Doc.”
There wasn’t any time to question Leo before Spencer was putting her arm around my shoulder and guiding me through the crowd of drunk dancers.
I looked over my shoulder once, Leo still intent on the mission behind us. Didn’t Leo give a shit about helping Spence? It felt rude.
Before I could really fume about it, we were back on the sidewalk — cool air grounding me as my face flushed from frustration and the heat of the bar.
Spencer held my hand as she checked for traffic and got us safely across the street. We loaded onto the blue Suzuki, my arms wrapped around Spencer’s tense body as she revved the engine.
Despite the insane speed, her driving was less reckless than it usually was as we raced toward the storage unit in Valemont.
Resting my helmeted head on her back, I tried to take a few deep breaths. Whatever awaited us at the hospital wouldn’t be good, especially not with Bill there. Spencer had been vague about how bad he was. But I knew it wouldn’t be a fun night.
Once we pulled into the storage lot, Spencer dropping her speed as we approached her unit, I could feel her breathing growing heavier.
She cut the engine quickly, helping me off the bike before grabbing her keys and unlocking the garage door. Letting it fling up, Spencer sighed. “Alright. These are gonna be farther back.”
“Got it.” I nodded as I stepped inside, my heels clicking against the concrete. Looking down at my outfit, I realized how overdressed I was for the hospital.
Grabbing a clear bin, Spencer started sorting through the files. I moved deeper into the unit, toward old bankers boxes with vague labels. Unsure exactly what we were looking for, I knew to look for Caleb’s name and a doctor’s letter head.
Other than that, I was flying blind.
As I thumbed through each box, I looked over at Spencer — her forehead scrunched tight as she hustled through folder after folder. “What are we looking for exactly?”
Spencer groaned. “Well I have his most recent records. But I’m looking for surgery records from when he broke his arm as a kid. Jess was still alive when that happened, so it’s in here somewhere.”
“Copy that.” Grabbing a new box, I dug through those.
But these were even older, dated back to the early 2000s. I wasn’t even sure Caleb would have been born yet. With each page, the dates got older. Suddenly, I was in the early 90s. Now it was clear this was different types of medical paperwork.
Moore, Christina.
I kept moving, trying not to pry. It must have been Spencer’s mother, what remained of her medical records.
All of these files were highly disorganized, jumping from physical appointments to car registrations every other page. We definitely hadn’t gotten to this section during our last cleanup session.
But my fingers stopped on a thick sheet of paper. At the top was an attorney’s name, followed by Christina Moore’s.
And then the name that made me stop in my tracks.
Isaac Dumont.
My blood ran cold, my heart stopped pumping. Everything froze. I tried to blink it away, the name I hadn’t seen in a decade. Hadn’t even heard his name since he kicked us out of his mansion, putting my mother and I on the curb to fend for ourselves.
All I could see was bloody hands, a sinister smile. My heart was racing.
Why was Spencer’s mother suing Isaac? How did they even know each other?
And why were both of those names showing up around me?
“Jackpot!” Spencer pumped her fist as she scooped a folder under her arm.
Jolting, I tried to hide my shock.
Spencer held out her hand for me, trying to guide me back to the front of the storage unit. “That’s uncharted territory.” Nodding toward the boxes I was digging through.
I gave my best chuckle, avoiding her gaze as we walked back toward the bike.
Should’ve taken that file. I could have read through it at home, given myself some idea how the fuck Spencer was connected to my dad’s best friend and business partner. The man that ruined my life.
Like a ghost, Isaac’s name was starting to haunt my entire life. First, Gabe started working with him, and now… Spencer has a personal connection to him.
Spencer held out her arm, looping mine with hers. “Those old files are from some lawsuit my mom was involved in back when I was a kid.”
Looking up into her deep, brown eyes, I tried to read her.
How much does she really know?
Spencer waved me off. “Nothing ever happened. Like most things she promised. I just never bothered to read through any of it, too much going on.”
“What happened that she’d want to sue?” I couldn’t stop the words from leaking out of me. “Lot of money to spend on a lawyer.”
A scoff from Spencer. “True. I don’t know. I think some rich guy rear-ended her or something. She never talked about it really, just got cagey and quiet about it.”
If I knew anything about Isaac Dumont, it was that anything he touched turned to ash. And Christina Moore was most likely another victim of his dark intentions.
I couldn’t stop speculating about it as we hopped back on the bike and Spencer cruised us through the night streets of Valemont. Memories of Isaac’s stern face raced back to my mind as the bike rumbled beneath me.
Maybe I should have been more cautious of Spencer, knowing that she was connected to Isaac in some way. He was a dangerous, powerful man.
But if her reaction to my digging had shown anything, it was that she didn’t know much at all.
Not that these angels were bad liars.
Before I could get too lost in what was real and what was fake, Spencer pulled into an emergency room parking lot. Lit by the neon red sign overhead, the lot was almost entirely empty this time of a night.
Spencer pulled off her helmet and helped me off the bike.
As we walked toward the automatic doors, Spencer grabbed my forearm and sucked her teeth. “I need to warn you.”
“About what?” My forehead wrinkled, her face was riddled with concern.
“My brother-in-law. He’s a complete ass and he might not like that I brought you with me.” Spencer’s eyes were full of concern, clearly worrying that I couldn’t handle being disliked.
With a shrug, I tried to brave my concern. “Jokes on you, I’m used to being unwelcome. I’ve been living with Dom for a while now.”
Nodding, Spencer walked us through the doors.
But with each passing step, I couldn’t help but think this was all a big mistake.