CHAPTER FIVE
Eight days later
– XANE –
“The fucker has been nestling himself inside this town for months without anyone knowing.” Roux shoves the laptop in my direction. “I just found two more properties he bought in the last week; the money is on hold...or so the seller thinks, but it’s already gone.”
I shove my chair back and start to pace. “My father must have known something was up. Hell, with the club property in debt? I’m sure Neron made my father an offer.”
“Agreed. Almost half the properties Neron bought were in debt, or the owners were scared due to the crime going up. Everyone uses the same bank. I’m guessing someone has been feeding him information.” Roux closes his laptop.
Throwing a glance at the window covered with blinds, I grumble, “This would be so much easier if I knew who to trust.”
“Fawkes is...” Roux starts, but I won’t let him finish his sentence.
“The only other brother we can trust because he’s from the NJ chapter too. He’s been following Neron for the past five days. Another dead end because the fucker doesn’t do anything illegal.”
“Nothing we haven’t been able to prove yet,” Roux murmurs. “Though, everything seems like they are trying to scam people out of their money.”
I release a deep sigh. “You ran a full background check on Stellan, Fenrin, Neo, Jaw, Malic, and Lass, right?”
Roux nods. “Balta too, but he’s still a prospect. I don’t think any of the club brothers are working with Neron or are linked to your father’s death. Some people can be good actors, but these guys have been in mourning.”
Dropping my ass back in my chair, I take my head in my hands and release another deep sigh. “We might need to start trusting these fuckers and let them in on some of the details.”
A knock on my office door draws our attention, and Roux quickly says, “Agreed.”
“Come in,” I rumble.
Fenrin steps into my office. “Some of us are heading to the diner for a burger and fries. We were wondering if you two wanted to join us.”
I glance at Roux and he slightly dips his chin. With what we just discussed? It’s a good way to take a step forward and see if it’ll get us something.
“Why not? I’m fucking hungry,” I state and get to my feet.
It’s late afternoon when all eight of us ride to the diner. The parking lot is next to the clinic, and the diner is across from it, so we leave our bikes there.
Angie is closing the clinic, and I check the time before I state, “Closing early, Angie?”
She jumps slightly and whirls around. “Oh, hey, Xane. Sorry, I didn’t see you there. Yes. Unfortunately, we don’t have a doctor available at the moment.”
“No doctor? Are they all sick?” Malic asks with a slight chuckle.
A few of the others laugh, and I feel my mouth twitch too until I catch Angie’s expression. “What’s wrong?”
The laughter stops when Angie sighs. “I was going to swing by for a visit, so I might as well ask you for a favor now...it’s about Zora.”
Surprise hits me which quickly flips to concern. I’ve been busy with researching shit, and wanted to stop by the clinic to catch up, even if she didn’t want to see me. But after a week I haven’t been able to get around to it.
“What about her?” I grit and take a step forward.
Shock hits me when Angie states, “She quit yesterday.”
“Quit? What the fuck? She’s wanted to be a doctor in this town ever since she was nine and couldn’t stop yapping about it.” I can feel the club brother’s eyes on me, but I keep staring at Angie.
She nods and tells me, “I know, it doesn’t make sense.
Zora had a week of vacation scheduled and the day she should have been back, she called to say she quit.
When I asked why, she hung up on me. I went by her house after my shift, but she wasn’t home.
There were two bags of groceries on her porch, and they looked like she just left them there a few days ago.
I have a bad feeling, you know? And I feel a bit guilty. ”
Neo steps forward. “Zora wouldn’t quit, Prez.”
I glare at Neo and wonder why the hell he would think so. “How do you know Zora?”
He takes a step back due to the anger in my voice. “She’s my doctor, Prez. Shit, man. I can guarantee she hasn’t been to the clubhouse, she’s not like that. Hell, she blushed when I had to show her my dick because I had a weird rash.”
I pinch my nose and close my eyes. Fucking hell, I really didn’t need to know that shit.
“The rash turned out to be due to my underwear. I’m allergic to...”
I hold up my hand. “Seriously don’t want to know what your dick is allergic to, Neo.”
“Neo is right, though. The doc is the quiet, shy and sweet type. I asked her out on a date and she turned me down. She’s career driven, doesn’t date.” Stellan shrugs.
I’m getting royally pissed at the thought of all these fuckers knowing my woman.
A red haze enters my vision when I think about them dropping their pants to show her their dicks.
Even if it’s for medical purposes. Shit.
I don’t need those thoughts, and why am I this affected?
It’s been a little over a decade since we were one another’s first.
Not that there’s ever been a woman who sparked my interest or made me want to whip my cock out. I became as career driven as Zora, it’s the only focus that kept me sane.
I rub a hand over my face when I hear Angie say, “She told me she went on a date about a month ago. It was weird, though...his father showing up the day she took her vacation.”
My interest is peaked, and so is everyone else’s because Jaw steps closer and asks, “Whose father showed up?”
“Ramiro’s father, Helmer Neron,” Angie announces. “He threw money around to clear the waiting room because he wanted a few minutes alone with Zora. He told me he wanted to ask her about a special thing since she was dating his son.”
I whip my head in Roux’s direction and see him curse. This is fucking bad. We couldn’t find anything on Helmer Neron when we did a thorough background check. Ramiro, though? He’s been arrested for assault and has three restraining orders filed against him by women in two different states.
“Thanks for letting me know, Angie. We’ll pay her a visit and find out what’s going on,” I promise her.
She bobs her head. “Good, good. I just know Zora wouldn’t leave the clinic without a doctor. You see, it’s been busy and Joe hired a new doctor, but the doctor never showed. It’s a mess, and we really need her.”
Neo pats her shoulder. “We’ll get back to you as soon as we know something.”
Six club members and a prospect were the only young guys left when I took the gavel.
The older members all left after my father’s funeral.
They never gave a reason, other than saying it was time for them to move on.
Neo is the son of the former VP. All the members standing here with me have concern written all over their faces.
It’s time for me to trust them and for fuck’s sake, what other choice do I have? While I’ve been looking into Neron he or his son did something to Zora? What the actual fuck? Angie leaves and I glance at the diner.
We definitely need to talk things through, and we came here to eat. Might as well combine the two so we don’t jump into things without a damn plan.
“Come on, there are a few things I need to tell you guys about Neron.” I point at the diner. “Let’s grab a burger and decide our next move.”
It’s hard to get those words out. I want nothing more than to jump on my bike and swing by her place. Shit. I would have to ask Roux to run her name and get me her damn address. My fingers curl into fists. I should have returned to see her days go, just like I told her I would.
Instead, I focused on the case and lost track of time.
I should have made time to go see her. Fuck.
She’s not mine to take care of, and yet she’s connected to me through my past. She’s not just a woman or an acquaintance.
Seeing her for the first time in over a decade flared up feelings inside me I only experienced with her.
Roux opens the door of the diner and holds it open for me to pass.
My gaze slides around the place and I instantly notice the couple sitting in a booth in the back. My first instinct is to walk right up to them.
Yet, I turn and whisper to my club brothers, “In the back on the right. Don’t look, don’t interact. We’ll observe only.”
Quickly moving along, I take place at a long table on the other side of the room. This gives me a direct view of Ramiro sitting right next to Zora. Anyone who looks at them might see two people sharing a meal and keeping to themselves.
Me? I recognize something I’ve seen in cases while working for the government. The domestic violent kind. Zora is cornered by Ramiro, her head is down, and her hands are under the table. Shoulders turned in, and she’s making herself as fucking small as possible.
Never have I fucking seen her act like this and everything inside me is screaming at me to go to her.
Lunge across the room to rip the fucker away from the booth so she can get out of her seat...
because she looks beaten and broken...like a little damn bird needing to fly away from a fat cat pressing his damn claw on her neck.