14. Mad Dog
MAD DOG
There’s a gun sitting in the middle of the table. An ugly slab of cheap metal with the numbers filed off, if they were ever really there in the first place. We pulled it out of Melody’s bag last night.
Quickshot, our resident firearms guy, picks up the gun, examining it closely.
“Look, this isn’t fucking CSI or whatever.
I can tell you that it’s been fired recently and there’s three rounds missing.
From what Doc found in the medical notes, the bullets match the one they pulled out of Lightning.
Kind of an unusual off-brand ammo, but not unique enough to give us a clear answer on its own. ”
“She was at the rally. Is there any chance she carries for self-defense?” I have to ask.
Shadow snorts. “Really? I get why you want to defend her, but she’s up to her eyeballs in this shit.”
As if on cue, Rebel opens the door and guides Melody in. She’s wearing the same clothes she’s been using since we met, and there’s dark circles under her eyes to match her bruises. Rebel doesn’t look much better.
Shadow takes it all in, watching her with thinly veiled anger.
“Uh… hi.” She shrinks under Shadow’s glower, and when her eyes land on the gun, she looks more resigned than surprised.
“Hey.” I pull out a chair. “You want coffee?”
She nods. “Yes, please.”
“I got it.” Rebel grabs a couple mugs and pours from the carafe on the table.
“Melody, this is Shadow. He’s one of Harper’s old men, and he’s an officer, so he can make calls we can’t,” I explain.
“You’re fucking lucky it’s me in here and not Thunder,” he says under his breath.
“How many old men…”
“Four. It’s not important right now.”
She nods, gathering herself a little. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but on one condition.”
“You’re not the one calling the shots here,” Shadow snarls. “My old lady slept in a fucking chair last night while one of us has a breathing tube down his throat.”
She flinches. “I know, okay? I know. But it’s not that simple.”
“Then make it simple,” Shadow snaps. He’s normally very level-headed, but today he’s on his last nerve and the scar on his jaw stands out starkly against his overgrown stubble.
I get it. Hell, if Melody was our old lady, we’d be acting the same. “We can’t promise anything until we know more. What’s your condition, Melody?”
“I need your word that you won’t hurt my father.”
Shadow, Rebel and I exchange a loaded glance.
Rebel leans forward over the table. “Is he involved?”
“I don’t know.” Her back is straight and her head is high, but her knuckles are white around the mug. “I know—there are things I know that I probably should’ve told you, but I really don’t know what happened. I want to help, but I don’t want to be the reason he gets hurt.”
Shadow takes a deep breath. “I appreciate your loyalty, but if your father shot Lightning, we will kill him. What I will swear to is that if you hold up your end of the bargain and tell us everything, and he isn’t the shooter, then we’ll keep you safe from whatever fallout comes from helping us, and the Eagles won’t make a move on him unless he forces our hand. Agreed?”
She must feel so fucking alone, trapped here with us after spending last night locked up. And Shadow isn’t pulling any punches.
“Melody? Look at me. Do you trust me?” It’s a risk, but there’s an edge of desperation in her eyes. She needs someone on her side.
It takes longer than I like before she answers. “Yeah, I do.”
“Take the deal.”
“Okay.”
Shadow puts his phone on the table where we can all see it, and hits record. “Tell us the full story, Melody. Start from the beginning.”
She does.
Most of it we already know. That the guy who took her to the rally was the same one who turned up dead next to Lightning is nearly as new to her as it is to us. After the attack at her house and knowing about the gun, it feels much less likely that she was targeted because she was seen with us.
“So where did the gun come from?” Shadow asks.
“I’m not sure.” Melody must see his suspicion.
“It’s true! There’s a gun safe in the top of the linen closet at the house because Dad insisted we have it, but that’s not the one we have at home.
” She points to the gun on the table. “Like I just told you, I ran into Dad after we split up. He told me to run, and to wait for him to contact me. He could’ve slipped it into my bag, but I was also knocked out right after. It just as easily could’ve been them.”
“You said your father’s name is Joker?”
She nods. “That’s what Mom and Uncle Clutch always called him.”
Shadow’s eye twitches. “Clutch is the Vice President of the Devil’s Brigade. Her father is their Sergeant at Arms. He’s got a bit of a reputation.”
Fuck. Coming from Shadow, that says a lot.
“What does that mean?” Melody looks at Shadow, confused. “He told me he was an enforcer.”
“He was probably downplaying it to keep you in the dark. Enforcer isn’t wrong exactly, but he’s a high-ranking member,” Rebel explains.
“What about Rocco? Ever heard of him?” Shadow asks.
Melody starts to shake her head, then stops. “Maybe? I don’t think I know him, but I’ve heard Dad mention his name when he was talking to Mom and Clutch sometimes. I’m starting to think that she was keeping a lot more from me than I thought.”
“When did you notice you had the gun?” I ask. In my head, I’m going over all the time we spent with her and wondering how much of it was right next to us, with the gun that likely put my brother in the hospital only an arm’s reach away.
“After I got to Emily’s that first night.
I feel like an idiot, but I had a water bottle and a bunch of other stuff in there.
The extra weight didn’t really register.
” She takes a sip of coffee. Her nose wrinkles.
I bet it’s cold by now. “It was right before I talked to Eagle-eye. I knew I should say something, but it was all happening so fast, and I thought…” She sighs.
“I thought I’d be gone in the morning. I wanted to help you, I really did, but I promised I would keep my head down, and if I said something it could’ve gotten my father hurt.
I told myself it wasn’t a big deal because I didn’t know the truth anyway. ”
As much as I hate to admit it, I can understand her decision. “Do you have a way to contact your father?”
“He told me to wait for him to contact me, but that was before I was attacked and someone broke into the house. I have his private number, but I want to be there.” She looks down, speaking to her lap. “I want him to know I didn’t turn on him.”
Shadow speaks slowly, like he’s having to forcefully keep his anger in check.
“You can be there when we call. I think that’s for the best anyway.
If I were him, I’d want to know you were safe.
” He stops the recording. “Okay. I’ll update Outlaw and then he and Riptide can chat with our new friend.
I’ll let you know when we’re ready to try to make contact. ”
“What’s going to happen to me? I turned on my own father. If I have to go back to the Pit, does that at least earn me a shower?” There’s more than a little snark in her voice. Even vulnerable, Melody’s got spirit.
“Put your claws in, girl,” Shadow snaps, unamused.
“Mad Dog, Rebel? It’s up to you. If you boys are willing to take responsibility for her, she’s free to stay in the compound under supervision.
We’ll be hanging onto her phone and wallet.
Wild Child and the others don’t want her in their house, so either find her an open room, or keep her with one of you.
Otherwise”—his grin is feral—“there’s plenty of room in the Pit. ”
“We’ll watch her,” Rebel agrees quickly.
“Melody,” Shadow calls quietly. He rounds the table to stand by her chair.
“I’m giving you a lot of fucking grace right now because you’re young and Joker kept you way too fucking ignorant.
You might not be responsible for what happened to Lightning, but you keeping your secrets could’ve killed Rebel, Mad Dog or Riptide yesterday. Responsibility goes both ways.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Shadow, it’s fine.”
Melody’s lips are slightly parted. She looks shaken. Once he’s out of the room, the tension drains away, leaving a different sort of discomfort. The fucked-up thing is, even though he was right, there’s still a pull between us. At least for me, and I’m pretty fucking sure I’m not the only one.
“Well, that went well,” she says to no one in particular.
“Coulda gone worse,” I venture.
“Oh, yeah. It’s fine. Emily, the nicest person I’ve ever met, probably hates me.
Her husbands think I’m a threat and they might be right.
You guys should probably hate me, too.” She continues before I can break in.
“My father might never forgive me, and I still don’t know if I did the right thing. Ever. This whole time.”
Melody drops her forehead onto her arm and groans. “And I kinda smell,” she says in a sad little muffled voice.
“I can help with the last part, at least. Hey, Rebel? Why don’t you figure out where her shit went and bring us back lunch from somewhere.”
He looks at me and nods before squatting down to be on level with her hidden face. He puts a hand on her back, rubbing in small circles. “I promised we’d get you out of this, right?”
“Even though you think I’m here to destroy your club?” she mumbles into her arm.
Rebel sighs. “Shit. I don’t think any of us really think that. Lightning is stable for now, and the Screaming Eagles have been through a hell of a lot more than this. In a month this will all be water under the bridge.”
“And I’ll be long gone.” She sounds almost wistful.
“Or not.” I pull her up out of the chair. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up. You can borrow something from me until Rebel brings your bag.”
She stands, and her mouth turns up a little at the corner. “You have a lot of clothes in my size?”
“I have a lot of clothes you’ll fit into. I didn’t say anything about fitting well.” Though the idea of her wandering around in one of my shirts with the collar hanging open to show some skin… I don’t hate it. “We’ll make it work.”