17. Dax #2
Lynx nodded. “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it in the middle of the night, it wasn’t that bad, just uncomfortable.
But I don’t even have an inhaler anymore.
I thought the twenty-four-hour CVS might be able to give me something for it and save myself a trip to the ER.
I don’t think I even made it that far before someone jumped me.
I woke up the next morning in a park with a lump on my head, my phone battery dead, and no money.
Had to walk back here because I was too dizzy to ride, and that’s when I realized what had happened.
I overheard the cops talking about it and knew I’d be the prime suspect.
Had to wait ’til it got dark and Herb fell asleep before I could get back in here to plead my case. I know it looks bad.”
I didn’t believe him. I’d seen the way Lynx blacked out and killed without even really knowing what he was doing.
He was so lost to the violence and whatever the fuck else was going on in his head he hadn’t even realized what he’d done.
Had no recollection of it. Him murdering that man in Scotland would have been like any other Tuesday, if we hadn’t been there to witness it.
The truth was, Lynx was a killer. And we’d let him walk right into our lives.
“You killed my mother,” I accused again, wondering if I said it enough, he might admit to it.
“I didn’t. I need you to believe me. Don’t hand me over to the cops. I can’t go back inside.” He stared at me. “I liked your mom. This wasn’t me. I do have blackouts, but check my clothes. No blood.”
“Wouldn’t be hard to buy a new pair of jeans and a white T-shirt,” one of the Slayers commented suspiciously.
I could see they were all on my side. None of them trusted Lynx either.
But Lynx frowned. “How? While I was covered in blood? I would have been arrested the minute I set foot in the store.”
War sighed heavily. “Look, maybe I believe you. But I’m responsible for the safety of every member here, and all of their families.” He bit his lip. “Lynx, we gotta lock you up.”
The panic in Lynx’s eyes cut through me hard and fast. “What? No!” He pushed his chair back, and it scraped along the floorboards with an ear-piercing squeak.
The Slayers stood in unison, all of them tensed and ready to throw themselves at Lynx if he tried to make a move.
He had to feel like a cornered animal. Part of me, the part that truly hoped he hadn’t done it, felt so fucking sorry for him.
Luca let out a sharp whistle that cut through the tension in the room.
“Hold up. Before you start being judge, jury, and executioner, can we consider the possibility this was a copycat? Someone who knows what happened in that castle in Scotland, who is setting Lynx up? Perhaps maybe my father? He’s kinda pissed at all of us right now.
Nyah for not being the virgin princess he wanted.
Me for apparently knocking up his fiancée.
” He gave Nyah a pointed glare. “Still haven’t forgiven you for that by the way. ”
She rolled her eyes.
Luca turned to me. “He identified you as his enemy the minute he knew you and Nyah had dated. The fighting was just a way of keeping his enemy close. And Lynx, well, we can assume my uncle ratted me out so he knows you and I are…were…”
Lynx raised an eyebrow at him. “He knows we blow each other from time to time?”
There was a trickle of laughter around the room, and Luca shrugged.
“Yeah. That. He’d be mortified if that little secret got out.
But my point is, him killing Virginia hurts all of us.
Dax’s mom. Nyah’s confidante. Me because I was closer to her than he ever wanted me to be.
Getting Lynx thrown in jail in the process by carving up her back with his calling card just hurts us all over again.
Dumping the body in front of the Slayers’ gates brings the heat down on them too, for helping us.
Honestly, this has my father written all over it.
Lynx might not be an angel, but fuck, no one at this table is.
There is no proof he did anything wrong here. ”
Lynx dragged his gaze away from Luca and back to War.
“I’m not running. This club is the family I always wanted.
If you have to lock me up, then I’ll understand.
But, War, I swear to you, what happened to Virginia isn’t on me.
And I really don’t want to be behind bars again.
Not here. Not at the prison. I’m not a danger to anyone you love. I swear it.”
Hawk groaned. “I fucking believe him. You just couldn’t commit a murder like that and stay as clean as he is.
The odds Dax’s mom came out here by herself on foot in the middle of the night seem slim to none.
So the theory Lynx was out roaming around in the woods searching for a victim and just happened to run into her doesn’t vibe either.
More likely than not, she was killed somewhere else and dumped here.
How would Lynx have done that on his bike? We know he left here on it.”
“Could have stolen a car,” I said quietly, but my heart wasn’t really in the accusation.
Because Luca’s argument made more sense than mine, and I wasn’t too big of a man to admit I might have been wrong.
And if I was, I’d just beaten up a guy for absolutely no reason, and that made me feel like shit.
I didn’t want to be a violent thug. It was why I’d gotten out of fighting in the first place. I’d never liked how it made me feel. Not until it had distracted me from the bigger pain of losing Nyah.
Nobody responded to my comment on Lynx stealing a car. It had all just started sounding far-fetched when pitted against Luca’s argument that his father was a more likely suspect, so I let it go.
Hawk glanced over at me. “I know you’re hurting, bro.
But we can’t lock him up. At some point soon, the cops are going to get a warrant to search this place.
You gotta know they’ve placed all their suspicions squarely on our shoulders.
They might not have enough right now to do anything, but at some point, they’ll get a warrant, and they’ll tear the clubhouse apart searching for anything they can stick on us.
We can’t have them walking in and finding us with a captive bound and gagged in the basement. Probably wouldn’t go down real well.”
War nodded. “The evidence is circumstantial. But, Lynx, we’re fucking watching you. You put so much as a toe out of line, I’ll put you in the ground myself. I don’t care if there’s a cop standing at the gate to watch me do it. I’ll do a life sentence to protect my family.”
Lynx looked him square in the eye. “I wouldn’t respect you if you didn’t. But you won’t have to pull your gun for me. I promise you that. The people here mean something to me.” His words clearly came from his heart when he added, “They’re my family too. If you’ll let them be.”