Chapter 7
Shotgun
My day wasn’t going the way I had planned.
In fact, it had all gone to fucking hell.
First, Remington had asked me to wash her fucking hair.
I didn’t do that kind of shit for anybody—ever.
What was going through my head when I agreed to do it?
That was just it. I wasn’t thinking. I’d let my guard down, and I didn’t like it—not one fucking bit.
To make matters worse, Menace had been able to track down Drake and Alfonzo, but they were holed up in some funeral home with too many damn people around for us to get our hands on them.
Hell, we’d waited around for over two hours, and they were still in the building.
Even though I was ready to get my hands on the motherfuckers and find out what they knew, we’d decided to hold off and try again later.
I was pissed by the whole fucking thing and had ended up taking it all out on Remington.
I was too inside my head to think about how hard it might’ve been for her to remember what had happened.
I just wanted the facts—plain and simple.
Even when I went to Viper and shared everything I’d learned from our conversation, I still didn’t think about it.
I was so wound up over what she’d told me and what we’d be doing about it that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind—until I left Viper’s office and headed to my room.
It was well after eleven when I walked by Remington’s room.
I was tired and eager to get to my room, but a muffled whimper had me stopping dead in my tracks.
I thought I was just hearing things, but when I stepped closer to her door, I heard it again—only much louder this time.
My chest tightened after realizing that Remington was crying.
Riddled with guilt, I stood at the door for several minutes listening to the gut-wrenching sounds of her sobbing.
The demons in my head roared for me to leave her be and go on about my way, but there was something buried deep inside that had me reaching for the doorknob.
Before I’d even realized what I was doing, I opened the door and stepped inside.
Remington was on the bed with her head buried in a pillow.
She was so distraught she hadn’t even noticed I’d come in the room until I stepped over to the edge of the bed and whispered, “Remington?”
Without moving, she asked, “What?”
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Anything I can do?”
Remington slowly lifted her head and looked up at me with tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes were red and even more swollen than they were earlier, and her nose sounded stuffy as she answered, “You can let me call my mom.”
“Remington, you know I can’t.”
“Well, you asked what you could do, and I answered.” She sat up with a pained grimace.
“I feel horrible. I hurt all over, and I can’t stop thinking about what they did to me.
I just want to hear her voice. Even if it’s just for a minute.
I just miss her, and my dad too. I should be able to talk to them and tell them I’m okay. ”
“That’s not an option.”
“Please.” Her begging tone tugged at me in a way I couldn’t explain. I found myself wanting to give in, which was something that never happened—not with me. “They won’t tell anyone. I promise.”
“As much as I’d like to believe that, we can’t take a chance.”
“This isn’t fair.” The waterworks started up again. “I feel so alone. I can’t take much more of this.”
“I get that.” I wasn’t one of those feely types who knew how to handle moments like this.
I closed that part of myself off a long time ago, but something about her made me want to try.
I knelt down next to her. “I know it isn’t easy, but for right now, we gotta stay quiet about this. It’s the only way I can keep you safe.”
“I just don’t get it.” Her eyes met mine. “I didn’t do anything to deserve all this.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Then, why is this happening to me?”
“I can’t answer that, Remington.” I shrugged. “Shit happens, and sometimes there’s not a damn thing we can do about it.”
“So, what happens now? I’m just stuck here, hiding away while my parents and friends are out there thinking I’m dead?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Damn. Just my luck.” She shook her head and sighed. “I knew going on a blind date was a bad idea.”
“No way you could’ve known this would happen.”
“Maybe not, but I should’ve never let Madeline talk me into going. She was just so adamant about it. It’s not her fault. She had no way of knowing that Thomas would be involved in all this. I don’t think he even knew. Poor guy seemed just as shocked as I was when those men showed up.”
“I’m sure he was.” I stood up, then sat down on the edge of the bed. “So, why did Madeline think you needed to be set up on a blind date in the first place? I’d figure a girl like you could get any guy you want.”
“What do you mean...a girl like me?” She pointed at the bruises on her face. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough.”
“I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean, but I can tell you this. It’ll be a long time before I even think about going on another date. Actually, after all this, I might just give it up altogether.”
“Hmm...I didn’t take you as the quittin’ type.”
“Oh, really? And what type do you think I am?”
“You gotta have some fight in ya, ’cause there’re not many people who could’ve gone through what you did and live to tell about it.” I shrugged with indifference. “But I’m not one to talk. Don’t do the whole dating thing either.”
“Really? Why not?”
“I’ve got my reasons.” We were starting to delve into a conversation I didn’t intend on having, so I stood up and stepped away from the bedside. “You gonna be all right?”
“Don’t really have a choice in the matter, but yes, I’ll be fine.”
“Good.” As I made my way to the door, I told her, “I’ll be across the hall if you need anything.”
“Okay. Thanks, Shotgun.”
I nodded, then walked out of the room and closed the door behind me.
As I entered my room and started to take off my clothes, it hit me.
That short conversation I’d just had with Remington was the most I’d talked to a woman in years.
I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I was too tired to think about it, so I blew it off as a job that needed to be done.
Remington was upset, and I simply did what I could to set her mind at ease.
I had too many other things on my mind to dwell on it, so I dropped down on the bed and let my exhaustion take over.
It felt like I’d just closed my eyes when I heard someone pounding on my door. “Shotgun!”
“Yeah?”
I was still rubbing the sleep from my eyes when Axel shouted, “We got trouble!”
“Fuck.” I threw on my jeans and rushed over to open the door. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Viper’s waiting for you in his office. He’ll explain everything.”
On my way out the door, I grabbed a t-shirt, then followed Axel down the hall.
When we got down to Viper’s office, Hawk and Menace were already there waiting on us.
Viper was sitting behind his desk, and it was clear from his expression that he was fucking pissed.
As soon as he saw we were all there, he announced, “I just got a call from Tate Morgan. He’s one of the cops who came to the strip club the other night.
He just got wind to the fact some detective is working on getting a warrant to search the strip club and the clubhouse. ”
“How much time do we have?”
“Can’t say for sure. A couple of hours at best.”
“Fuck!” Anger marked Hawk’s face as he asked, “This got something to do with the girl?”
“Apparently, so.” Viper grumbled curses under his breath. “Cops are trying to make some connection to her disappearance and the anonymous tip that was called in about a woman being tossed at Stilettos.”
“Someone’s pushing pretty hard to make that kind of connection.”
“Right now, none of that matters. We’ve gotta get moving.
” This wasn’t the first time the cops had tried to take down the Sinners.
For a while, it seemed like they were always snooping around, but this was the first time they’d gone after both the strip club and the clubhouse at the same time.
With the amount of product we had at Stilettos and the artillery we had at the clubhouse, it would take some time to get everything moved.
Knowing we didn’t have a minute to waste, I looked over to Menace and ordered, “Get with Country, Rafe, and Widow. You guys get things cleared out at Stilettos while we handle things here.”
“You got it,” Menace replied as he bolted out of the room. I was about to follow when Axel asked, “What about the girl? We can’t let the cops find her here.”
“No, we can’t. We’ll have to move her.” Viper looked over to me as he said, “Get the boys started with clearing things out, and then deal with the girl. You can leave her at the locker with Ada May.”
“On it.”
As soon as Hawk and I left Viper’s office, we got busy rounding up all the prospects and putting them to work.
We didn’t want the cops coming across anything they might be able to hold against us, so we had them load up all the weapons, blow, and cash on hand into the SUVs.
It was a lot to contend with, but it had to be done.
Knowing I could trust Hawk to make sure the job was done right, I left them and headed down the hall to get Remington.
When I reached her room, I knocked on her door, then slowly eased it open.
It was still pretty early, so I wasn’t surprised to find her still asleep.
I quietly stepped over to the bed and placed my hand on her arm, gently shaking her as I whispered, “Remington. Hey, Remington, you need to wake up.”
With a fearful gasp, her eyes flew open. “What’s wrong?”
“The cops are coming. We’ve gotta move you to the locker.”
“The what?”
“You’ll see when we get there.” I motioned for her to get up. “We need to get going.”