Chapter Twenty #2
Grant finally moved the clip forward, and he got to see as the two worked.
Out in the parking lot, neither of the girls realized what was about to happen.
A car pulled up, and one man, wearing a ski mask and holding a baseball bat, came across the parking lot.
He didn’t even go in the front, which suggested this man had stalked the place out.
Also, Pat noticed the guy immediately wore the ski mask.
He couldn’t help but look toward Rip. The other brother wasn’t showing any sign, only his hands clenched at his sides.
“Rip, man, you don’t have to watch this.”
“I wasn’t there,” Rip said. “I didn’t warn her. She needed me.”
Grant had paused it. “Look, guys, I’m not going to lie, it’s brutal. We saw Lauren’s body, and he beat the crap out of her. There was no way anyone was going to survive.”
Rip gritted his teeth. “I need to see this.”
And after a second’s pause, they all watched. Lauren asked Ava to go to the fridge to grab some more butter. That was when it happened.
The man mumbled something and then they saw Lauren get hit across the face. The moment she did, she threw herself into the fridge, shoving the door closed.
“Did none of you fucking hear that?” Grant asked.
Pat was shocked as Grant rewound the video and then turned up the sound.
“Ava?”
He rewound it again.
“Ava?”
And then he paused it. “Lauren responded to the name Ava,” Grant said. “The guy was going after Ava.” And then, he played the video again.
They watched as Lauren literally pushed the fridge door closed, and he even saw her securing it. The attack didn’t stop, and Pat glanced to Rip.
It was over in a short time, and throughout it all, the man wore a ski mask.
He heard the sound of Ava from the fridge, screaming to let her out. The guy looked toward it, but it was like he had come for the person he had, and then left.
The room was silent, and they watched Ava from the fridge as she pressed against the door, slamming her body against it.
She kicked and shoved, then she started to rummage around the stacks, finally breaking one of the trolleys and using it to pry the door.
The fridge must have had some kind of timer, as she slammed it against the fridge, and without a word, it opened.
Then, Pat saw what had covered Ava in blood. She went straight to Lauren, trying to do CPR, trying to stop the bleeding, only Lauren had died.
This was heartbreaking to see, as Ava came to realize what had happened.
In the blood were some keys, and they watched as Ava scrambled out of the kitchen, falling through the blood, and then stumbling out toward the car.
It was then that Pat knew Ava had been the target, and the only thing that had saved her was her raven hair. The dye that seemed to be taking forever to wash out.
“We need to get Ava’s family here and now,” Pat said. “Someone is going after the club, and he’s targeting the people we know.”
“Go get them,” Bull said. “Now.”
****
A va woke up, stared up at the ceiling, and felt empty. Everything from the previous night came rushing back to her. Lauren, the attack, the blood.
“She’s awake,” Violet said.
She quickly turned to see her mother and sister inside Pat’s bedroom in the Chaos and Carnage MC clubhouse.
“Mom? Violet.”
“We’re here, darling,” Hazel said.
“What’s going on?”
“Pat explained everything,” Violet said. “He told us what happened. What you saw, what you had to deal with.” Violet was sitting on one side of the bed, and her mother had moved around the bed to her other side.
Ava tried not to cry, but it was impossible.
“I should have gone to the police,” Ava said.
“No,” Hazel said, surprising her. “You can’t go to the police like this. For one, Dylan is in the hospital. He was attacked. And second, this is MC business.”
“Mom?”
“I know. I know. I have always told you girls to do the right thing, and yes, if this has nothing to do with the club, then going to the police is the right thing. You did the right thing, because the only people I would trust right now are Pat and the club,” Hazel said.
“Do you mean that?”
“Yes,” Hazel said. “I would not lie to you, honey. You know this.”
There was a whimper.
“It’s Bernice,” Violet said. “I don’t think she was happy at being moved.”
Ava laughed, although she didn’t feel happy. She felt ... raw.
Violet lifted Bernice onto the bed, and Ava welcomed the loving kisses from her dog.
She wrapped her arms around Bernice and pressed her face against her dog’s neck, breathing her in.
It was probably strange, but she did love the smell of her dog.
She knew it sounded completely crazy, but it was true.
She loved her dog so much. Kissing her snout, Bernice gave her a lick and settled on her lap.
“What are you doing here?”
“Pat came to get us last night,” Hazel said. “He told us what happened, what you had to deal with, and he told us we’re at risk.”
Violet sighed. “We’re trying not to freak out in case the shop gets attacked. Between the garage and the sheriff’s place, we’re trying not to freak out, you know.”
“Do you think they’re going to do something to it?” Ava asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve told Pat about my concerns, and he said he would take care of it.”
“If Pat said he is going to take care of it, I trust him,” Ava said.
“How are you?” Violet asked.
“I’m ... I don’t know. Lauren is dead. I tried to save her, but she was gone,” Ava said.
“I think she attempted to save me. I was in the fridge, and I heard something. I thought it was my name, and I was about to answer, then the fridge closed and I heard Lauren scream.” She pressed her lips together.
“The person who did it,” Pat said, startling her, “will pay for what he did. The club is going to take care of Lauren’s funeral. She didn’t have any immediate family, and we’ve already looked into it. It would seem she had placed you as her next of kin,” Pat said.
“How can you know that?” Ava asked.
“We have people who can figure this stuff out. Lauren had trusted everything to you.”
“But I don’t have a clue how to bake or what to do.”
“Until you’re ready to figure out what you want to do with the place, it will be closed.”
“I can’t believe this happened,” Ava said. “She was so happy.” She sniffled. “Bad things shouldn’t happen to good people and Lauren was so good.”
Violet cleared her throat. “I think now would be a good time for us to go and ... I don’t know, do something else.”
“Yes, we’ll take Bernice out,” Hazel said, reaching for her dog.
Ava watched them go, and she didn’t say a word, just saw them leave. She turned toward Pat, not knowing what to say.
“Do you know who did it?”
“Not yet, but we’re going to figure it out, and when that happens, I’ll take care of it.” He moved toward the bed, sitting down, and held his hand out to her.
Ava didn’t even hesitate and placed her hand in his.
“I will understand, Ava, if this is a deal-breaker for you,” Pat said.
“What do you mean?”
“Whoever attacked Lauren, they were ... you were their target.”
“I was?” Ava asked, shocked.
“Yes, you were the target, and they wanted to kill you, and I have a feeling it was because of me.”
“You?”
“Yes. The club. We’re going through a rough patch right now, trying to deal with an external threat that is attempting to take control of the town.”
“And you don’t know where this threat is?” Ava asked.
“We know who is controlling this threat, but that is the point, they’re using civili—” Pat stopped and frowned.
“Pat, what is it?”
“Nothing,” he said, but that frown was still in place. Suddenly, he shook his head and looked toward her. “I will understand if you don’t want to see me anymore.”
“I do,” Ava said. “You didn’t cause this. You didn’t kill Lauren.” She glanced at her hair and felt sick to her stomach. “My hair did.”
Pat reached out, cupping her hair. “No, it didn’t.”
“Lauren is blonde, I’m usually blonde, and she’s not dead because whoever attacked thought they were hitting me.” Ava hated this feeling.
“No. None of this is your fault. Look at me, Ava. I am going to fix this. You understand me? I am going to fix this, and then you and your family are going to be safe.” He pulled her in close and kissed her.
Ava wanted to tell him she loved him, and there was no way she was backing down or leaving, but she didn’t get the chance, as in the next breath, he was gone.