Midnight Wreckage (Kings of Vengeance MC Book 4) Read online

  Zephyr smirked and threw a wink at her. “Wouldn’t you like to know, doll.”

  Oh, hell. Zephyr was trying to get in with Lynn. She may look like someone who Zephyr would be interested in, but something told me Lynn was a whole hell of a lot more than he could handle.

  “Are you two flirting right now?” Kaye asked. “Is that what we’re doing?” She looked at her watch. “I got some other stuff I could be doing.”

  “Sorry,” Lynn laughed. “I get distracted sometimes when I want to figure out why and how something ticks.”

  “Distracted, right,” Kaye mumbled.

  Queenie leaned forward. “Um, I was hoping maybe you knew the answers to some questions I have about Duchess.”

  “Of course. Ask away and I’ll answer what I can.” Lynn smiled wide. “She was one of my favorites. She wanted to get clean and I was just here to give her the tools to do it.”

  “She was newly pregnant when you started seeing her, right?”

  Lynn nodded. “Yes. It was fun to see her come in and watch her growing bump.”

  “Did she ever tell you who the father was? She didn’t put a name on the birth certificate and we think maybe whoever the father is might be connected to Gunner being missing.”

  Lynn sat back. “Well, I don’t think she ever said his name, but she did say he wasn’t around because he got arrested.”

  “For?” Kaye asked.

  Lynn splayed out her hands in front of her. “I don’t know, but it must have been pretty severe because she said he was going to be in there for life. She didn’t seem too upset about it, though.”

  “You didn’t ask for his name?” Zephyr asked.

  “It didn’t seem relevant to her recovery. He wasn’t around and wouldn’t be around so I didn’t push the issue. I’m concerned with who is going to be in her everyday life. The only person she ever mentioned by name was Queenie.”

  “She didn’t mention any friends?” I asked. We already knew the dad was in jail. The problem was there were a shit-ton of people in jail. Even if we had a first name that would help us to figure out who he was, it would be a longshot.

  Lynn shook her head. “Not really, and even if she had, I don’t remember them. I take in-depth notes, but not about irrelevant things.”

  Queenie sighed. “I feel like the worst sister ever. I don’t know anything about her.”

  Lynn reached out and laid her hand on Queenie’s. “I wouldn’t feel that way. I very rarely see an addict fully understand and love the way Duchess did. By the end of our sessions, she took full responsibility and knew she would be dead if it hadn’t been for you.”

  “You mean my checkbook and she relapsed, Lynn. She wasn’t clean in the end.” Queenie laughed drily.

  “No,” Lynn said lowly. “I mean you. Duchess was messed up for a long time, but she came out of it because of you and Gunner. She was clean because she wanted to be the mother and sister you and Gunner deserved.” Lynn bowed her head. “Years of addiction and she came out of it only to be killed randomly on the street for her shoes.”

  “She was using again,” Queenie growled. “She wasn’t clean. She took her baby, my nephew, to a fucking shady as fuck neighborhood to score some fucking meth, and she wound up dead!”

  Lynn frowned. “Recovery and addiction are a hard thing to get your hands around. I was talking to Duchess. She told me what she was going through. We planned to meet that afternoon and get back on track.”

  “What she was going through?” Queenie shouted. “She was living rent-free with me, had no fucking bills, and not a worry in the world. All she had to do was take care of Gunner. That was fucking it, and she couldn’t do that. She wanted to get clean for me and Gunner? She wasn’t! For what, thirteen fucking months she was clean? That’s supposed to erase everything going on now and before? Thirteen fucking months does not bring back my sister and help me find my nephew. I watched her kill herself for years, and there wasn’t anything I could do because, in the end, she had to be the one to save herself. She had to be the one to choose to be clean. She bamboozled you into thinking she cared about me and Gunner. At the end of the fucking day, all she cared about was getting high and where her next score was coming from. Don’t act sorry for Duchess, be fucking sorry to the people she left behind destroyed because she couldn’t handle life.”

  I reached over and laid my hand on Queenie’s leg. I didn’t know the whole story between Queenie and her sister. All I knew was what I had read in the news when everything happened. They hadn’t painted Duchess in the best light, though. What was killing me was Queenie was still dealing with everything. She was suffering through the loss of her sister and now, she might have lost her nephew, too.

  Queenie shot up and leaned toward Lynn. “You’re not dumb. Don’t assume I am by spewing that shit at me. I loved my sister no matter what and all she did was wind up dead. My love didn’t save her. Nothing could have.” Queenie stormed out of the office and down the hallway.

  “Someone should go after her,” Lynn whispered.

  Zephyr clicked his tongue. “Pretty sure you’re the most qualified one for that, Doc, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure she wants to rip your face off right about now.”

  “That was way more exciting than I thought it would be,” Kaye muttered.

  “She’s right on everything she said. Being an addict is hard, but to me, watching someone you love being an addict is even harder.” Lynn sighed and sat back in her chair. “Let me know if you have any other questions, and I’ll try to see if there is anything in her files that might help with finding Gunner.”

  “The name of Gunner’s dad would be good,” I suggested. Lynn was being the devil’s advocate between Duchess and Queenie. She could see the pain they both suffered and didn’t take sides. I bet she was damn good at her job. If Duchess would have made it to that appointment they scheduled, she might have still been here today.

  Lynn shook her head sadly. “As I said, I didn’t press her for one, but maybe I can piece something together from the file. I have some journal entries from her. She might have mentioned something in there.”

  “I’m gonna head back to the station and try to find out who was in court around the time Queenie got pregnant. Maybe I can narrow down the list of who Gunner’s dad could be.” Kaye pushed off the wall and pulled a card out of her pocket. “Give me a call if you come up with anything.” She handed it to Lynn with a sad smile. “The more time that goes by, the less likely we are to find Gunner.”

  Zephyr glanced at me. We both had more information that might help, but neither of us was going to open our mouths without running it past Quinn first. He seemed pretty adamant last night that we weren’t going to tell the cops about Core being hired by C.

  Lynn grabbed the card. “You got it.” She glanced at me. “Maybe don’t tell Queenie this right now, but if she ever wants to talk, I’m always willing to listen and help her get through what she’s feeling.”

  “Uh, I’ll tell her that next week.”

  Lynn laughed. “Good idea.”

  We filed out of the office and back onto the street.

  Kaye headed off toward her car to get back to the station to cross-check people who were sentenced while Duchess was pregnant.

  Queenie was down the street a ways, leaning against her car.

  “Well, at least she didn’t leave you here to ride bitch with me.” Zephyr pulled his keys out of his pocket.

  “Yeah, I would have walked back to Queenie’s before that would ever happen.” I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes. “Also, I have the keys.”

  “Smart.” Zephyr looked back at the office.

  “You got the hots for the shrink or something?”

  A sly smile spread across his lips. “Kind of hard not to see how hot she is.”

  I shook my head and pulled the car keys out of my pocket. “She’s out of your league, brother.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “I’m gonna head back to the clubhouse and talk to Qu
inn.”

  “As much as I hate to say it, I think we need to tell the cops about Core and C,” I admitted.

  “You think that might get us into some hot water?”

  “For what?”

  Zephyr shrugged. “I don’t know. It just might open a can of worms we’re not able to get the lid back on.”

  “If telling the cops about C and Core gets us in trouble, but it helps to find Gunner, then fucking lock me up right now.” Gunner’s life was worth a whole hell of a lot more than mine. The kid was an innocent and didn’t deserve any of this happening to him.

  “Well, I think Quinn is going to be the final deciding factor on that. I’ll see ya around.” Zephyr headed into the direction of the parking garage and I turned to look at Queenie.

  She was another one who was innocent in all of this. For years, she had tried to help her sister and just do what was right. Now, her sister was dead; she had been shot multiple times, and her nephew was missing.

  I leisurely made my way down the street to her. She watched me walk, her gaze never leaving me.

  “You good?” I asked.

  Her eyes were red and her cheeks were tear-stained. “I could use a drink and a pain pill.” She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “Though all I want to do is find Gunner. Each minute that goes by and he’s not with me, I don’t think it’ll happen.”

  “Zephyr and I talked. We think we need to clue the cops in on what happened with Core. Might get him and us in some kind of trouble, but it also might help to find Gunner.”

  “The Kings of Vengeance are going to sacrifice themselves for Gunner?” she scoffed. “I sat at that table last night, Sledge. No one wants that.”

  “I’m beyond the point of caring what anyone wants.”

  She was right. It was possibly going to be a hard sell to the rest of the club, but I didn’t think there was any other way. I could already tell that Detective Kaye thought we weren’t telling her everything.

  “Well, whatever. Who knows if we’re even on the right trail for Gunner. We’re grasping for straws at this point. I don’t even think Duchess knew who Gunner’s dad was.”

  I glanced down the street and saw a neon sign in the window of a bar. “I didn’t bring your pain pills, but I think we can do something about that drink.” I nodded to the bar. “You earned yourself a drink.”

  “It’s only two in the afternoon, Sledge.”

  I reached out and grabbed her hand. “Remember when you girls called us badass bikers?”

  She nodded and stepped toward me.

  “Badass bikers don’t care what time of day it is. If we wanna drink, we drink.”

  *

  Chapter Eight

  The badass biker way…

  Queenie

  “I quite enjoy the badass biker way.”

  Sledge clinked his glass against mine. “I thought it might be just what you needed.”

  I was enjoying my third Malibu Sunset and the throbbing in my shoulder was almost non-existent. “What is in here?” I lifted my glass and peered at the light pink mixture.

  Sledge and I were the only two in the bar and I might have been talking a little louder than I thought.

  “Malibu, pineapple, and grenadine,” the bartender called.

  “And cherries,” I hiccupped. Three, to be exact.

  “That, too,” she laughed.

  “I would like probably,” I waved my hand in the air, “seven more?”

  “Whoa there,” Sledge laughed. “I’m gonna have to carry you to the car if you drink that many.”

  “I would not be completely against that.” I glanced at the bartender. “He looks like a jerk, but he has a sweet side at the most right but sometimes not right times.”

  “I think you’re talking about seventy-five percent of men out there, honey.”

  “Her,” I drawled. “I like her.”

  Sledge chuckled.

  “Robyn. My name is Robyn.”

  “Robyn the bartender is super dee duper cool, Sledge. I should tell Petra and the girls about her.” I patted my pocket and frowned. “I lost my phone.”

  Sledge shook his head. “It’s in the car, sugar.”

  “Probably for the best.” I drained the rest of my glass and set it on the bar. “More, please.” I beamed at Robyn. “More cherries would be cool, too.”

  “You didn’t eat the ones already in there,” Sledge pointed out.

  I rested my elbow on the bar and turned toward him. He was already facing me, and I had to stick one of my legs between his. We were sitting like two pieces of a puzzle snapped together. Rather cozy. “They’re marinating.”

  He took the last slug of his beer and set it next to my glass. He had been nursing the same beer for the past hour and I wondered if he wasn’t up for drinking or if he was keeping it on the sober side to keep an eye on me.

  “Marinating?” he chuckled.

  “Yup. They get all juicy and stuff.” I had clear thoughts in my head, but when I opened my mouth they didn’t come out exactly how I wanted them to.

  “I’ll have to remember that.”

  I awkwardly winked. “You do that.”

  “You wanna talk about Lynn?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Do we have to?” I had liked Lynn and even after yelling at her like I had, I still liked her. She had just been the person who had brought all of my pissed off feelings at Duchess to the surface. I guess that was her job since she was a shrink.

  “She said if you want to keep talking, she’s always available for you.”

  Talking. Ugh. I was so much better at feeling what I felt and just dealing with it on my own. Word vomiting all over someone and then having them tell me why I felt the way I did just didn’t seem too appealing to me. “I’m sure she has a ton to say to me after I yelled at her earlier.”

  Sledge shrugged. “I don’t think you said anything surprising. Watching someone you love be an addict isn’t easy. You carried the burden of getting your sister clean for years. I’m assuming while you paid for her to talk to everyone and get clean, you didn’t do anything like that for yourself.”

  Robyn set my drink next to my elbow and grabbed Sledge’s empty. “Another one?” she asked him.

  He shook his head. “One will do for me.”

  “Am I getting drunk by myself?” I asked.

  “Got to drive you home, sugar.”

  “We could always get a taxi or one of those ride share things.”

  He shook his head. “I’m better with being in control and not having someone I don’t know drive me.”

  “Control,” I drawled. “Sledge needs to be in control.” I took a sip from my drink. “Not surprised by that one at all.”

  “We were talking about you, not me.”

  “Talking about you is more funner-er.” I tipped my head to the side. “Funner?” Well, that wasn’t right, but I guess I was sticking with funner because my brain couldn’t think of the right word.

  “Can I just summarize what I’m thinking and then we can play pool?”

  Sledge glanced over at the pool table. “How do I know you’re not a hustler who’s just looking to beat my ass.”

  “Pfft, I’m hardly good. I just like to play with the balls.” Yeah, I said that.

  “Summarize and I’ll tell you if you’re off the hook.”

  I guess I was going to have to make this good. I brushed my hair back from my face and laid my hand on his thigh. Yeah, I was hoping my hand on him would maybe distract him a little bit. “How far back do I need to go?”

  “Just tell me what’s going on in your head, sugar. You’re a tough one to read.”

  Accurate. I had spent years perfecting the tough chick act. After a while, even I started believing it. “I’m mad. I’m also a little sad, but I know if I give into being sad, I’m going to be absolutely useless. I wasn’t ready to be Gunner’s mom, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want it. The second I saw him in the hospital, I knew I would die for him.”
>
  “What are you mad about?”

  The list was endless. “The main thing I’m mad about? Well, two things I’m mad about?”

  Sledge nodded.

  “I’m mad someone tried to kill me and take Gunner I’m mad that they were able to do it and I was useless keeping Gunner safe. I’m his mom now and I couldn’t keep him safe.”

  “You were ambushed and shot, Queenie. No one would have been able to come out of that better than you did.”

  I waved my hand at him. He was right, but that didn’t make me feel any less guilty. “The second thing I’m mad about is Duchess. Pretty sure I’ve been mad at her since I was seventeen and found her passed out on her bedroom floor.” I sipped my drink and remembered the day. “I had come home from school, did my homework, and cooked dinner. My mom worked second shift at a hospital as a janitor, so it was just Duchess and me most of the time.”

  “That’s rough, sugar.”

  Rough was a pretty good word for it.

  “So, I finish making dinner and go knock on Duchess’ door, but she doesn’t answer. I know she is in there because she came home about an hour after I did and headed straight to her room. So I knock again and finally just go in.” Most people had fun memories from their childhood; I had memories of Mom never being there and Duchess doing one stupid thing or another. “She was laying on the floor, a lit cigarette hanging limply from her fingertips, and some porno playing on her small TV.” A wonderful sight to walk in on when you’re only seventeen.

  “Sugar.”

  Yeah, it was fucking ridiculous. “I kicked her feet and she jumped up like she had been shot. She might have just been sleeping, but it was a deep fucking sleep. She tried to play it off like it was nothing, but even then, I knew it wasn’t nothing.” I sighed and dropped my chin to my chest. “That was the beginning of Duchess’ downward spiral.”

  “That’s some bullshit you had to deal with that when you were so young, sugar.”

  It was. It fucking sucked. “Yup. Then two years later, my mom died, Duchess discovered meth, and I dropped out of college.”