Chapter Seventeen #2
I wake with a jolt, the sheets beside me cold. My hand drags over the empty space where she should be, the panic hitting before I can think.
“Remi?”
Silence.
I’m halfway out of bed, ready to tear the place apart, when the door creaks open.
She slips inside, eyes red, face pale, shoulders hunched.
Relief slams through me, but it’s drowned just as quick by suspicion.
She looks wrecked. Before I can get a word out, she mutters something about being tired and heads straight for the bathroom.
My chest tightens. Something’s wrong.
I’m moving towards her when a heavy banging rattles the door. “Shadow,” Grizz calls.
“What?” I bark, yanking it open.
He jerks his thumb down the hall, his expression grim. “Axel wants you. Now.”
I grit my teeth, glancing back at the closed bathroom door. Whatever’s eating her, I’ll get it out of her later. Right now, the President calls.
Axel sits behind the desk, leaning back in his chair, his fingers steepled. Grizz stands to one side, his arms folded and his expression carved from stone.
“Sit,” Axel says.
I drop into the chair opposite, jaw clenched. “What’s this about?”
Axel’s gaze flicks to Grizz then back to me. “The takings from Chaos and Angels. Money’s missing.”
A cold weight drops in my gut. “She wouldn’t,” I mutter.
“That’s why we insisted you take her, brother, so you’d know once and for all if she was trustworthy,” Grizz says, his tone flat.
“Which, clearly, she isn’t,” Axel adds without hesitation. “She failed the test . . . again.”
My jaw grinds. “What about the cloakroom kid? Lee. Could’ve been him.”
Axel’s mouth twists into a humourless smirk. “Already covered. He’s in the basement, tied up nice and neat. If he took it, he’ll fold quick. Kid nearly pissed himself when Grizz dragged him down there.”
I scrub a hand down my face, the fight bleeding out in a heavy sigh. “She’s been out,” I admit, forcing the words. “Came back looking rattled, Pres. Harassed. Maybe . . .” I groan, shoulders sagging. “Maybe she’s in trouble.”
“Maybe,” Axel agrees, leaning back in his chair. Then his voice hardens. “But she didn’t come and ask for help, brother. She dipped her hand in our pocket. Twice.”
“What’s the plan?” asks Grizz.
“I do my job,” I say bluntly, pushing to my feet.
“Shadow, we don’t expect you to—” Grizz begins.
“And let Fletch do it?” I snap, cutting him off. Just the thought of our other Enforcer hurting her . . . I shake my head. “I’ll deal with it.” I stomp from the room and head back upstairs.
Remi lies sprawled across the mattress, her damp hair fanned over the pillow and the sheets tucked tight under her chin like armour. Her eyes track me as I round the bed, tugging my shirt over my head and tossing it onto the chair.
“Where were you?” I ask.
“Huh?”
“When I woke up, you weren’t here.”
“I . . . needed air.”
“The window opens,” I counter, sliding into bed behind her. My arm hooks around her waist as I bury my face into her neck. “I told you not to leave my sight.”
“Christ, Logan, I stepped out for a minute,” she snaps, shrugging me off. She exhales hard then rolls to face me, though her eyes skitter past mine. “Sorry. I’m just tired.”
“Well, as much as I’d like to lie here all afternoon, Axel’s got me running errands,” I say, pushing up. “The kid at Chaos and Angels . . . what did you think of him?”
Her face tightens. “Not this again. I didn’t do anything with Lee. He was just talking to me.”
“Think maybe he was keeping you distracted?” I ask casually, pulling my drawer open.
Her eyes narrow. “Why would he do that?”
I shrug, taking out a black tee and pulling it on. “Weird, isn’t it? He dragged you into the back, kept you talking.”
“He was showing me his office,” she mutters.
I bark out a laugh. “Jesus, it’s a broom cupboard. What’s there to show?”
“He was proud of it,” she insists, voice low. “I think,” her shoulders slump, “he was just proud.”
I snort out another laugh. “Well, his employment’s about to be terminated.”
Her head snaps up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” I deflect, lacing my boots. “I’ve already said too much. Axel’ll kill me.”
She studies me for a long beat then frowns. “Why are you dressed like that?”
I glance down. “What do you mean?”
“All in black. Usually, it’s white tee and jeans. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear anything else.”
I smile, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “I’ve got work, babe. Get some sleep.”
But she doesn’t lie back down, just like I knew she wouldn’t. She perches on the edge of the bed, torn, suspicion warring with hesitation. “Why don’t I come?” she blurts.
I shake my head. “It’s club business, darlin’.”
“Involving Lee?” she presses.
I nod once. “Stay out of trouble while I’m gone.”
She leans forward suddenly, desperation flashing in her eyes. “Shouldn’t I know the truth? About your life? About what you do? If you want me to stick around, shouldn’t I know what I’m getting into?”
“Axel would have my balls,” I say flatly.
“I won’t tell him.”
I laugh under my breath. “Nah, but once you see what I do, you might run for the hills.”
“Colin killed my mum,” she blurts, and I freeze. My head jerks towards her. She nods quickly, like she has to force the words out before she loses her nerve. “I knew the second they told me she died. And then he admitted it to me. That’s why he’s desperate to find me.”
I step closer, my voice low. “He wants to shut you up?”
She nods again, her chin trembling. “He likes to be in control of me. I think he’s relaxed a little now because I haven’t told anyone. Not until now. But my point is,” she swallows hard, “I can keep quiet.”
Her words hang between us, heavy.
I want to push, to demand details, but the clock in my head is already ticking down.
Axel’s waiting, Lee’s tied in the basement, and I need her to follow me.
If she’s guilty, she’ll confess the second she sees me laying into Lee.
Women like her, they have empathy. She won’t let him take the blame if she’s guilty.
I crouch in front of her, cupping her knee. “We’ll talk later,” I say firmly. “I’ve gotta go.”
She searches my face, eyes shimmering, and she nods slowly. I kiss her temple and force myself out the door before I change my mind.
Axel doesn’t look up from the papers spread across his desk as I enter. Grizz is just as occupied, his head buried in the laptop balanced on his knee.
“He confess?” Axel asks without looking up.
I sink into the chair opposite, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “It’s not about Lee, Pres. It’s about Remi.”
His eyes flick up, sharp, his attention on me. “She confessed?”
“She told me . . .” I hesitate. “She told me her stepdad killed her mum. He admitted it to her. That’s why he’s hunting her down.”
Axel leans back slow, measuring me with that look that sees more than I want him to.
“I want to know if it’s true,” I press. “We can get someone to dig into it. Old reports, hospital files, whatever. If she’s right, it explains everything. And if she’s not,” I shrug, frustration biting, “at least I’ll know what kind of story I’m dealing with.”
“What exactly would it explain?” Grizz asks.
I shrug. “That she’s desperate.”
“We’re all desperate, Shadow,” he says, his tone harsh. “But if she thought anything of you, she’d have told you the truth before now.”
“It’s not club business, brother,” Axel adds.
My jaw tightens. “It’s her business, which makes it mine.”
“It doesn’t make it ours,” Axel snaps, his voice final. “We don’t spend money and time digging into some girl’s past. Especially one who’s already stolen from us.”
Heat rises in my chest, my fists clenching on the arms of the chair.
“Pres, maybe he’s blackmailing her.”
Axel cuts me off with a glare that could freeze hell over.
“She ain’t our problem. Unless you’re claiming her?
” He waits a beat, but when I don’t answer, he leans closer.
“Exactly. Who the fuck would claim a thief? Now, you can waste more time questioning the kid in the basement, or you can go right to the source of our problem and cut it out. End of discussion.”