Zephyr Chapter 20
The past few days had been calm from the standpoint that there had been no more visits from Reeves at the worksite.
I hadn’t had to worry about him bothering Everlyn.
His arrest on Monday had been epic. And from what we heard, they found more evidence, leading to additional charges against him.
The way it sounded, his trial would have him in prison for years, unless he figured out a way to plea deal, though I didn’t know how he could do that.
Our source of information was Fenrir. And he was ultimately the architect of Reeves’s downfall.
There had been something about how he acted that sat wrong with me.
He struck me as someone worried underneath his bullying.
So, going off a hunch that there was something to hide with him, I asked Fenrir to see if he could dig anything up on him.
And boy did my best friend ever do that.
The money the city thought was spent on regular maintenance by its plant employees, as well as by outsiders, was actually for bigger jobs the employees couldn’t do and had gone into his pocket.
He reported that the repairs and maintenance were completed.
Then, he filed false reports and created fake invoices to make his lie appear true.
On top of that, he had been taking money from the company in other ways.
No wonder he didn’t want anyone paying too much attention to the treatment plant.
And it explained why he was so vocal about Everlyn not being allowed to see it or to replace other pipes.
He thought that if the city followed her plan, it would lead them to look more closely at the plant’s actual workings.
And if they did that, the lack of upkeep would be detected.
Anyone who worked at the plant who questioned him was fired for trumped-up reasons.
However, he made threats that they believed, so no one challenged him openly or went to the city to report anything.
As far as Fenrir had found, this had been happening for the past four years.
It started not long after he started working there.
The best news was that with him out of the way, Everlyn’s team finished the project yesterday.
Today was a fun day of relaxation after a hard job done well.
Allegra was here to celebrate the end of Everlyn’s work with her company and to help with decorating and prep for Christmas, including a big holiday dinner in eight days.
We might not celebrate Christmas, but food was always a hell yeah.
And if it made my shieldmaiden happy, then we would do it.
Since Everlyn and Allegra had no family but each other, they would spend it with us.
No one objected to the dinner, decorating, or Allegra’s presence.
It was getting late, and the sun was thinking about setting.
Allegra had asked to see where we made the caskets.
No one had a problem with it. It wasn’t as if she’d see the guns we would pack into some in two weeks, so we said sure.
Rather than just me taking them to see our shop, the entire club decided to tag along.
The tour had been good. We showed them a couple of custom caskets that were being made for customers.
These would be legit orders shipped out to other states.
They admired the embellishments on them, the custom carving in places, and the glossy finishes being applied.
They were almost ready to go out. Invader, Fenrir, and Berserker gave them a basic overview of the process and showed them other caskets just in the beginning stages.
Both women studied the designs. Allegra, being an artist herself, had made a couple of suggestions that were eagerly noted.
We finished our tour and stood outside the shop as Invader locked up.
The rest of the club were standing around talking and waiting to head back to the clubhouse.
We’d discussed it before Allegra arrived, and after speaking to Everlyn, we thought tonight was the night to show her friend what we had hidden.
It would make things simpler when she arrived in a few days to help prep for the big holiday meal if we could do it all in the clubhouse.
I saw the excitement bubbling up in Everlyn as she waited for the big reveal.
We walked through the inner gate to the shop, so we all turned back toward it to return.
It wasn’t that far of a walk, so it hadn’t warranted riding bikes or taking a car.
I was ahead of the two women as they talked about their menu ideas.
I enjoyed hearing them sound so excited.
Fenrir, Thor, and Sea Rover were with me. Everyone else was ahead of us.
“Man, I can’t wait to have all that food. Do you hear all the stuff they’re talking about making?” Fenrir asked.
“I did, and I can’t wait either. You two, make sure to get them anything they need that we don’t have,” I directed to the prospects.
“No worries, we won’t mess this feast up,” Thor assured me.
“That’s for damn sure,” Sea Rover added.
Suddenly, there was the loud rumble of an engine.
It was coming down the road that led from the main road, Grave Street, past the funeral home.
By the sound of it, it was coming through on Odin Blvd, which ran through the middle of the cemetery, past the shop and crematorium, before entering the main gate to our homes.
Regular traffic had no reason to come onto Odin Boulevard. Sometimes, people came to check out the cemetery even though it was posted as closed to the public and private property. Anyone dead and buried in it had long ceased to have living relatives who would visit their graves.
When the vehicle, an SUV, appeared, what struck me first was that it had no headlights on, though at this time of the evening they should have been.
The second thing was the way the engine revved rather than slowed down.
Alarm hit me. I started to run toward the two women.
I screamed as Fenrir and the prospects joined me in running.
“Get down!”
I saw Everlyn look over her shoulder, then whip back to face me. She went to the ground. However, Allegra stood frozen as the SUV skidded sideways, and the windows rolled down as if in slow motion. Even in the dusk, I clearly saw the handguns pointed out of the windows.
“Allegra, drop!” I yelled.
We were close, but not close enough to tackle her.
Then, I saw Everlyn come to her feet. She dove onto her best friend as bullets began to fly.
I hadn’t even noticed I’d pulled my gun, but my three companions had done the same, and with both women on the ground, we opened fire on the vehicle.
As I shot, we walked toward it. I heard the yells of our brothers and sisters and the thunder of their feet and guns.
When I reached the two women, I heard Allegra repeating over and over, “Oh my God.”
Everlyn wasn’t saying a word. But she had her best friend smashed flat, and her body covered hers like a shield. I stopped firing and dropped to my knees next to them.
“Are you alright? Are either of you hurt?” I asked urgently.
My voice seemed to snap Allegra out of her shock because she answered me.
“N-no, I don’t think so. I can’t tell. Ever, roll off me. You’re squishing me,” she said.
The sound of gunfire had stopped. I knew that meant whoever was in the vehicle was dead or would wish very soon they were.
“Evie, here, let me help you,” I said, figuring she was probably still stunned.
I grasped her shoulder to roll her. I barely moved her when a loud moan came out of her.
When it did, everything inside of me clenched.
I knew that sound. It was the one someone made after being seriously hurt.
It wasn’t a “I sprained my ankle or scraped myself up” sound. That was real, deep pain. Panic hit me.
“Evie, tell me. Where does it hurt?” I asked sharply.
This caught Fenrir's and the prospects’ attention. They scrambled over to us.
When Everlyn didn’t answer, I began to pat her body gently.
My hand found the warm wetness moments later.
It was on her back. That’s when she began to breathe heavily.
Without waiting, I lifted her off of Allegra.
Thor and Sea Rover helped Allegra up. Fen stuck to my side.
Looking at my hand, I saw the blood as a black stain.
“Everlyn has been shot!” I hollered.
My words stirred up a loud commotion in my club family. There was swearing and loud thumps.
“What do you need me to do?” Fenrir asked.
“I need to get her to the clubhouse. Look after Allegra.”
“She’s been shot! Oh God, no! No, I can’t. I can’t lose her,” Allegra cried.
I didn’t have time to comfort her, so I left that job to Fenrir.
I scooped Everlyn up into my arms, trying not to jar her, which was impossible, especially with what I was about to do.
Without a word, I took off running through the inner gate, then past Raider’s house, before I ducked behind it and ran to the mausoleum’s doors. I wrenched one open and rushed inside.
My hand shook as I placed it on the handle of the stone door. It was a relief when it let me open it. I raced down the steps to the bottom, and slapped my palm on the scanner.
“Come on, come on,” I muttered, like that would make it work faster. When a green light showed on the screen and the door gave, I yanked it open and shot into the clubhouse.
I dodged the tables that stood between me and the room I was looking for.
It was on this end of the building, but on the other side of the large room where we held Thing.
I heard the babble of voices as I careened inside the room I needed.
The lights came on automatically. I took Everlyn to a hospital gurney that was in the room.
I laid her down on her left side. I needed to see if she was bleeding anywhere else.
Had the bullet gone all the way through? Was she shot anywhere else?