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

“What were you going to school for?”

  I blew out a breath. “X-ray tech. They make good money and I didn’t need to go to school for years. I was trying my best to get out of the hell I was living with Mom never home and Duchess always strung out. Mom died, and suddenly, I needed to pay rent and put food in my stomach.”

  “Did she always live with you?”

  I shook my head. “No. For about two years, we didn’t talk. I was too mad and she was too high. Then one day, she showed up at my apartment swearing she wanted to get clean and I was the only one who could help her.”

  “So you helped her.”

  I wagged my finger in his face. “I tried to help her. She wasn’t wanting help. She stayed with me for eleven days. I got paid on the eleventh day and she drained my account. I didn’t hear from her for another six months.”

  “Jesus Christ.” Sledge shook his head. “I can’t fault you for being mad. You were a fucking saint for even trying to help her.”

  I held up my hand. “Hold on, that isn’t where I qualified for sainthood. So after six months, she shows up again. This time, I’m wiser and don’t make the same mistakes as I did before.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “She’s ready to get clean now. She has seen the error in her ways and she has found the most perfect rehab that is going to just set her straight.”

  “Oh, hell,” Sledge laughed.

  Yeah, it was funny now. Before, not so much. “I didn’t realize my sister had learned some pretty slick shit living on the streets. So, she tells me about this rehab. I’m not dumb so I look it up, make sure it’s a real place. It’s all legit. I drive us there, a wad of money in my purse on the floor.”

  Sledge held up his hand. “Wait. Please don’t tell me she grabs your purse and takes off with it.”

  “So predictable, right? If only I would have seen it then.” I drained my drink and slammed it down on the bar. “So, fast forward a year and I’m older and wiser. Yeah?”

  Sledge shook his head and laughed. “I’m assuming not wise enough yet.”

  I tapped my finger to my nose. “You are correct. I did not think like an addict.” I leaned close. “Spoiler, I still don’t.”

  Sledge smirked. “That’s a good thing, sugar.”

  “I won’t bore you with the other two times she came to me, gave me a sob story, and then took off with a couple of my paychecks.” Robyn set another drink in front of me. “Thirteen or fourteen months ago, she winds up pregnant. Things finally start to click into place. She’s in rehab talking with Lynn and things are good. Pops out my adorable nephew, gets her own place, and for once in my life, I feel like I have a normal life.”

  “That is where the story should have ended.”

  I nod. “Yeah, it should have, but you know it didn’t. She relapses. I move her back in. Take a week off of work, make sure she’s staying clean. Two days after I go back to work, she’s dead and I’m raising my nephew.”

  “Wait, that’s you?” Robyn slapped her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but that’s kind of the only perk of my job. Sorry.”

  “That is me.”

  Robyn’s jaw dropped. “I donated to the reward fund. I’ve watched and listened to everything I can about you and Gunner. It’s absolutely horrible what happened.”

  Understatement of the year. “Yeah.”

  “How about that pool game?” Sledge asked. He planted his feet on the ground and grabbed my hand. “I need to see if you’re a ringer or not.”

  He pulled me over to the pool table but didn’t let go of my hand. He looked down at me. “You good?”

  “Um, are we talking about me being tipsy or the fact Robyn knows my whole life story now?”

  “Robyn.”

  I cringed. “Well, if I wouldn’t have been so tipsy I probably wouldn’t have talked so loud, so it’s really my own fault. Although, right now, the thought just popped into my head that she might think I’m a horrible person because I’m in a bar while my nephew is missing.” Oh, God. I was a babbling mess. I was the “You have a baby in a bar” chick but without my baby. I glanced at Robyn who was watching Sledge and me. “Do you think we can pull a Men in Black on her and erase her memory?”

  “You are tipsy, sugar.” Sledge brushed my hair back from my face. “You’re not a horrible person and I didn’t get the vibe from Robyn like she was judging you.”

  I peeked up at Sledge. “She does seem nice. Maybe I should invite her to Book Club. You know, if I make her my friend she won’t think I’m a baddy.”

  “Take a breath, Queenie.” He cupped my cheek in his hand and backed us up until I bumped into the table. I grabbed his arm to steady myself. “Stop worrying about whatever people think. You’re doing everything you can. You’re allowed an hour or two to yourself to get a grip and reenergize.”

  “Day drinking is reenergizing?” I laughed.

  “In the badass biker world, it is.”

  “And that is the world I seem to be living in right now.” I leaned into his touch and closed my eyes. “I think I’m drunk.”

  “No thinking about it.”

  I smiled wide. “Can I kick your ass in a game of pool now?”

  “I’d like to see you try.”

  *

  Chapter Nine

  Do you ever feel…exhausted?

  Sledge

  The same number flashed on the screen of my phone.

  “Uh, you’re pretty popular today.”

  I silenced the call and dropped it on the couch. “It’s the news.”

  Queenie sat up and tucked her legs under her. “Um, excuse me?”

  I focused on the TV.

  “Is that all you’re going to say? Pretty sure the news calling you is a big deal.”

  “They want to do a story about you and Gunner.”

  “Okay.”

  I glanced over at her. “You know all of that shit you spilled to me at the bar the other day? They’re gonna wanna hear all of that. Then once they air the story, some asshole hiding behind a computer screen is going to think they can tear apart whatever they hear and spin it into some bullshit.”

  Queenie wrinkled her nose. “Well, that doesn’t sound like fun.”

  I turned back to the TV. “That’s why I’m not answering the phone. The police can hold a press conference if they want. Putting you in front of the camera isn’t going to help. If anything, it might piss off the people who tried to kill you the first time.”

  “You don’t really think they’re going to try to kill me again, do you?”

  “They’d be stupid to try, but they were also stupid to do it in the first place.”

  Queenie sighed and laid her head on the back of the couch. “I just want Gunner, Sledge. That’s all I want. I wouldn’t care if my apartment burned down around me and I lost my job. As long as I had Gunner, everything would be okay.”

  “We’re gonna find him, sugar.”

  A knocked sounded on the door. “Is that Quinn?” she asked.

  Sure was. Zephyr hadn’t mentioned to him that I was thinking of telling Detective Kaye about Core and C, so I asked Quinn if I could talk to him. We were still stalled out on any leads about Gunner. Queenie was going stir crazy and at her wit’s end. We needed to strike a match and light this investigation on fire.

  I pulled open the door and stepped to the side. Dyno was with him, as were Kimber and Fancy. “Didn’t expect you to bring the girls with you,” I mumbled.

  “They didn’t get a say,” Kimber laughed.

  “We really didn’t,” Dyno grumbled. “They fucking followed us.”

  Kimber and Fancy plopped down on the couch on either side of Queenie.

  Fancy shrugged. “It’s not our fault you guys were talking so loud that we overheard you were coming over here.”

  “You both had your ears pressed to the fucking door of church. That’s not overhearing, Fan, that’s fucking eavesdropping.” Dyno sat at the kitchen table and kicked his feet out in front of him. “We’re gonna bar yo
u two from coming to the clubhouse.”

  Kimber rolled her eyes. “As if.”

  Quinn and I sat at the table on either side of Dyno.

  “What did you want to talk about?” Quinn asked quietly.

  “Can you three please speak up?” Kimber called. “I can’t hear you clearly.”

  Quinn slowly turned in his chair and glared at her. “Woman. I don’t care if you listen, but do you think you could just be a quiet spectator for once in your life?”

  Kimber rolled her eyes. “I see you brought asshole Quinn with you today.”

  “Or maybe you have a knack of making him come out?” Quinn turned back around and laid his hands on the table.

  “Is there trouble in paradise?” Fancy asked loudly.

  Kimber scoffed. “No. Quinn is just cranky because he needs answers but he can’t find the answers. He likes to be in control.”

  “So does Sledge,” Queenie exclaimed.

  “Oh, really,” Fancy drawled.

  Kimber wiggled her eyebrows and leaned toward Queenie. “Things must be progressing over here. I had no idea.”

  “Maybe you should ask them to talk louder or just set up shop outside of their door,” Dyno suggested.

  “No, no,” Queenie laughed. “Not like that. Well, I can’t say for sure, but I was just saying in general.”

  Lord. Queenie couldn’t dig herself out of this. Kimber and Fancy took what she said and were off to the races.

  “I’ve heard your bed is tiny. How do you manage?” Kimber asked.

  Queenie sat back. “Um, what? And how do you know what size my bed is?”

  “For fuck’s sake,” Quinn thundered. “Enough from you three on the couch. You sit there, listen, and don’t talk. Ya, dig?”

  “Dig?” Kimber whispered.

  “Kimber,” Quinn growled.

  All three girls pretended to zip their lips and Kimber even went as far as to act like she tossed the key into the kitchen.

  “We’ve got probably five minutes before one of them starts talking again.” Dyno leaned to look at Fancy. “And I know it’s you.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him and flipped him off.

  “Feisty flakes?” I chuckled.

  Dyno shifted back. “Bet your ass it is. I like her that way.”

  Quinn nodded to me. “We’ll talk about what you want to first.”

  “You know about Detective Kaye, right?” I sighed and just put all of my cards on the table. “I think we need to tell her about Core. How he was hired to kill Queenie and who hired him.”

  “We don’t know who hired him. C is just the middle guy,” Quinn pointed out.

  “Well, have Point and Core been able to get anywhere with finding that out?” Though it had only been a few days since Queenie was released from the hospital, it felt like I was pretty out of touch with the club.

  “C is pissed at Core. He told him he would give him a call if a job comes up that would fit him.”

  Another dead end. “So let’s tell the cops. Tell them what we know. We weren’t the ones looking to kill Queenie. All we’re doing is passing along information that they can possibly use.”

  “The club is handling C. Right now, it stays in the club.”

  “Quinn, come on, brother. We need to do everything we can to find Gunner.”

  “What are they going to do that we can’t? Raid C’s and send everyone even remotely connected to him running for the hills? We do that and you might just be sending Gunner’s kidnappers to do something drastic.” Quinn sighed. “I get you want to do everything you can, but C and the people he deals with are not your neighborhood thugs. These are people who have deeper pockets than you can even imagine and have connections to some of the evilest people in the world.”

  Another knock sounded on the door.

  “Who the fuck is that?” Quinn demanded.

  I didn’t have a clue. Quinn was the only person we had invited over.

  Fancy moved to open the door, and Dyno called for her to sit down. He made his way to the door and pressed his face to the peephole. He looked over at us. “Looks like a cop.”

  Quinn growled and leaned toward me. “Is this you? Is this your way of trapping me in a corner and getting your way?”

  I shook my head. “I wouldn’t do you that way, Quinn. I’m not about to fuck things up with the Kings over a cop.”

  Quinn glared at me. “I do the talking.”

  “You got it. You’re the prez.” My words sounded lame, but I meant them. I didn’t go above Quinn’s head.

  Dyno opened the door and Detective Kaye stood there.

  She raised a hand to Dyno and looked into the apartment. “I’m Detective Kaye. I was wondering if you had some time to talk and go over a few things.” She looked around and smiled. “Don’t everyone say hi at once.”

  Dyno motioned for her to come in.

  She sat down on the edge of the recliner and rested her elbows on her knees.

  The tension was so thick in the room it was choking the words from everyone.

  “Alrighty then. I guess I should just cut straight to the point.”

  “Sorry,” Quinn drawled, “you have to understand you’re dropping in without notice is alarming.”

  “Is it about Gunner?” Queenie asked. “Did you find anything?”

  “Sort of,” Kaye replied. “I’ve narrowed it down to five men who might possibly be Gunner’s father. I came to find out if any of them sounded familiar.” She opened the folder she had with her and pulled out a piece of paper.

  “They all in the same jail?” Quinn asked.

  Kaye nodded. “They’re all in Whitmore.”

  Quinn nodded. “Okay.”

  He was playing his cards close to his chest. I didn’t know what was going on in his mind, but I could see he was forming some type of plan.

  Kaye rattled off the five names and with each one, I watched Queenie’s face. None of them gave her pause. It was as if Kaye had just read off a list of random names.

  “Do you remember Duchess mentioning any of those names?” she asked Queenie.

  Queenie shook her head. “No, not at all. None of them rang a bell.”

  “Can I see the list?” Quinn asked.

  Kaye handed him the paper. He laid the list on the table and pulled out his phone. He took a picture of the list and then tucked his phone back in his pocket. “I’ve got a friend in Whitmore. I can talk to him and see if he knows these guys.”

  “Whitmore is a pretty big prison,” Kaye pointed out. “The odds of your friend knowing them isn’t good.”

  “Brick isn’t just your ordinary prisoner,” Quinn drawled.

  Kaye’s face paled, and she sat back.

  Quinn eyed her carefully. “You’re not looking too good there, detective. What did you say your last name was?”

  What the hell was going on? Why did Quinn want to know what Kaye’s last name was? “Uh, I didn’t say.”

  Quinn smiled. “Wouldn’t happen to be Crew, would it?”

  “Something is going on here, but I don’t know what it is,” Dyno drawled. “Did you and Kaye used to date or something?”

  “You did?” Kimber shouted.

  “For fuck’s sake.” Quinn reached over and slugged Dyno. “You really are fucking clueless sometimes, you know that? She used to date Brick, you nimrod.”

  “Oh,” Dyno drawled, “I didn’t think you two would have dated. She’s not your type.”

  Leave it to Dyno to open his mouth and speak without thinking.

  “Wait,” Fancy called, “who is Brick? We know someone in prison?”

  “No,” Quinn called, “Kaye and I are the only ones who know Brick. Isn’t that right, Kaye?”

  Kaye shifted in her chair. “Seems like it was another life when I knew him.”

  “Yeah,” Quinn drawled, “I bet it does.”

  “I feel there is so much going on that we don’t know,” Kimber whispered loudly.

  “Right?” Fancy replied. “It�
�s like we should pop some popcorn and see where this goes.”

  Dyno and I were just as clueless. I had heard Quinn mention Brick before. Brick was the one who had told Quinn about Rhino and Point when the club was forming. As far as I knew, Brick was in prison but he was a member of the club. What a small fucking world it was that Brick and Detective Kaye were connected.

  “I never met you, but Brick talked about you.” Quinn sat back and smirked. “A lot.”

  “I’m sure he did,” Kaye muttered.

  “I’ll make sure to get him this list and tell him who I got it from.” He handed the list to Kaye. “I wonder if he’ll look like he’s seen a ghost—like you did.”

  “Doubtful. Brick always had a good poker face.” Kaye stood and brushed her hands on her pants. “Let me know what you find out. I’ll also be looking into each name.”

  “You know Brick will have better luck than you.”

  Kaye nodded and headed to the door.

  “Wait,” I called. This was either going to work in my favor or it was going to go over like a lead balloon.

  Quinn eyed me carefully. He knew what I wanted to tell her. The possibility of good outweighed the bad, though.

  “Whatever you decide, Quinn,” Dyno said quietly.

  Quinn stood and walked over to Kaye. He looked down at her, and I held my breath.

  “The day Queenie was shot, someone else was offered the job of killing her. He turned it down. It still happened.”

  Kaye reared back. “You just stumble on this information?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “But I’m sure you don’t have any names.”

  “Got names, but you and I both know that those names aren’t shit.”

  Kaye opened the folder and pulled a pen from her pocket. “Why don’t I be the judge of that, yeah?”

  “He goes by C.”

  She scribbled on the paper and looked back up at Quinn. “Go on.”

  “That’s the only name I’ve got.”

  “That’s not a name, it’s a damn letter,” she growled.

  Quinn shrugged. “Like I said, you know how it is. When you’re on that end of the law, you’re not giving anyone the name your mama gave you.”

  “So who is C? The guy who turned down the job, or the one who was looking to hire?”