Axe's Fall: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 4) (35 page)

It was as if someone had sucker-punched her. She stared at Gary. “You were responsible for my mother’s murder? You were her friend. She was so close to you. How could you let her die? You sonofabitch!”

She flew at him with outstretched hands, clawing and hitting him as hard as she could. Gary didn’t budge as she attacked him. From behind her, the killer’s deep laugh sickened her.

Baylee whirled around and raised her hand, but Stephen caught it before she struck him.

“You don’t want to do that.” He spoke harshly, his eyes narrowed to slits.

“How did you know my mother?” she asked softly.

“I worked closely with the firm, passing zoning permits through. I was head of the department for the city. She was a beautiful woman.”

Baylee’s stomach churned.

“He took bribes. Our firm wasn’t the only one who had him on payroll.”

“My mom went along with this?”

Gary shook his head slowly. “No. I didn’t involve her or Bob. I was the one responsible for securing the permits. Our firm was just starting, and we had to compete with the larger, more prestigious ones on 17th Street. If we hadn’t been able to get the permits, we would’ve closed our doors long ago.”

“And my mom would still be alive,” she said bitterly.

“Your mom wanted the firm to move forward,” he replied.

“I hardly think she wanted to die for it.” Baylee wiped her wet cheeks. “So, Mom found out.”

Gary nodded. “I begged her not to go to the police. I told her I’d make it right, but she threatened to tell Bob, to throw me out, report me to the ethics board, and file a charge with the police. Embezzlement and paying bribes. I would’ve lost everything. I had young kids. I told her I’d pay back the money I took, and I’d sever ties with Stephen, but she was adamant. She was going to destroy me.”

“So, you destroyed her instead?”

“I didn’t have a choice. I warned her.”

“You told him, and you
knew
he’d hurt her. You sent her to be slaughtered. How could you?”

“I didn’t know he was going to kill her. He told me he’d talk to her, try and have her see it our way. I didn’t know. Please, Baylee, you have to believe me. I did not want your mother killed.” He hung his head.

“But you’ve known who the killer was all along, and you did nothing. You’re worse than he is, because you were my mother’s friend.” Her throat tightened. “And my father’s.” Her eyes burned with the heat of her tears. “And
mine.
”

Stephen butted in. “Gary didn’t want to give up his lifestyle. I’ve paid him well, though, since I needed him around. He kept tabs on you all these years. Even fucked your shrink’s nurse to get information on your progress, and that’s how I knew your time had come. Your mother wanted to destroy me, and so do you.”

Gary shook his head. “It doesn’t have to be this way. Baylee, tell him you won’t say anything.”

“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

Another deafening blast shook her. Gary crumpled to the floor.

This is it. I’m next.
Her legs gave out and she sank to the floor.

“And now, Baylee, it’s just you and me.”

“You’re crazy! Don’t you think someone heard the gunshots? You can’t actually believe you can get away with this.”

“I’ll just walk away,” he told her with a shrug. “Just like I did before.”

He lifted the gun once more. Covering her face with her hands, her body shook like a leaf, and her limbs were so cold. Another blast echoed around her. She waited for death to take her. Something strong pulled her up and pried her fingers off her face. She opened her eyes slowly and stared into Axe’s.
What is he doing here? Am I dead?

“It’s okay, babe. I’m here now.”

“Stephen Rodgers killed my mom,” she said through chattering teeth.

“I know.”

“You knew?”

“I had your back the whole time. My uncle Max tipped me off. Rodgers paid him to keep an eye on you, but he didn’t know the reason. Whenever money greases my uncle’s palms, he doesn’t ask any questions.”

“He almost killed me.”

“We had to get the shit on tape. The PI planted a bug in your office, and the tapes will be turned over to the fuckin’ badges anonymously. We wanted to make sure we got enough to close your mom’s case.” He hugged her. “I was here all along. I had your back. My brothers had a sniper rifle aimed at the fucker’s head the whole time—just in case.” Axe gestured to the building across the street.

“Logan and Gary, they’re dead.”

“Casualties of war.”

Baylee couldn’t grasp it all. She heard his words, but they didn’t sink in. She was retreating back into the shadows. Not remembering was her safeguard, and she wanted to forget about what had just happened. Squeezing her eyes shut, she wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth, her mind retreating to her safe zone.

One month later

Cherryvale Clinic

Denver

L
eaning back on
the leather chair in Dr. Scott’s office, Baylee folded her hands in her lap. “I can’t wait to go home. I thought I’d be here longer—like the last time when I had a breakdown.” She shifted her eyes from Dr. Scott’s to the window behind him. Outside, sprinkles of red and orange mingling with the hues of summer showcased the arrival of autumn.

“You’re much stronger than you think. You’ve made amazing progress over the summer. There was a time when this would have crushed you and sent you spiraling backward into darkness.” Dr. Scott placed his pen down and closed her case file. “I credit your strength on your decision to no longer be a victim of the past, and your love for your young man.”

Baylee held her therapist’s gaze as warmth curled around her. “He’s pretty special. I never would have made it without him. I’ve been so afraid of a relapse into darkness, but the opposite has happened. After the initial horror of it all, all the shadows have been replaced with clear memories. The clarity was always there. I guess my fear just blocked it from coming out.”

“Fear holds so many things back from us in life. In your case, you weren’t ready to face what had happened the night your mother was killed. Your guilt of not being able to help your mother overpowered everything. The memories were always there, you just needed to let them in.”

“Guilt almost made me slip back again when I started blaming myself for Gary’s death and what happened in my office in Pinewood Springs.” She smiled when she spotted a small rabbit scurry across the lawn. In a low voice, she said, “I now understand that I wasn’t responsible for anything that had happened—Stephen Rodgers was. I knew something was up with him. My instincts told me he was bad news when I’d met him at Axe’s mother’s wedding; I just didn’t know how to connect the dots at that time.”

“Your mind was trying to free you. Our minds can either be our allies or our foes. All the snippets of memory you experienced while in Pinewood Springs were a collage of Rodgers, down to the scent of apples and vinegar. He’d been shaking down a small apple cider business and had collected his pay before he’d come to confront your mother. The smell of fermented apples was so strong that your mind tucked it away, only for it to come forward that night at the restaurant in Pinewood Springs.” He smiled warmly at her.

“It’s so freeing to be able to remember. It’s like I took an eraser and rubbed out a large, black spot from the tapestry of my life. It’s wonderful.”

Baylee had never felt this complete since the night her mother lost her life. She also credited Logan’s miraculous survival as playing a role in her recovery. The shot had narrowly missed a major artery, and he’d be returning to the firm in the next three weeks. She’d bet he’d be as ambitious as ever. When she’d spoken to him on the phone the previous week, he hadn’t held any animosity toward her, for which she was grateful.

“Is there anything else you’d like to go over?” Dr. Scott said.

Shaking her head, Baylee said, “I want to know when I can go home and return to work.”

“By the end of next week.”

“Seriously?” Baylee’s eyes danced.

Nodding, her therapist smiled.

Baylee leapt up from her chair, rushed over and gave him a big hug. “Thank you for everything,” she said.

“You’re welcome. I’m so happy the way things worked out for you. I wish all my cases had a happy ending.”

As she left his office, she looked over her shoulder at her doctor who stayed with her through thick and thin. He’d been her life saver for the past two years. It would seem strange not to see him anymore. Their parting was bittersweet. She flashed him a big smile then closed the door behind her.

Not wanting to go back to her room, Baylee walked outside and sucked in the air, enjoying the moistness after the dry summer heat. Scattered around the grounds were oak and maple trees gilded with gold leaves that hadn’t yet started to fall. Baylee raised her eyes to the cloudless, blue sky—the licks of amber formed a stark silhouette against it. Sitting on one of the many white, wooden benches around the clinic, Baylee tilted her head back, relishing the warm shafts of sunlight caressing her face as the light breeze tousled her hair.

When coolness replaced the sun’s warmth, her eyelids fluttered open to reveal Axe in jeans and a leather jacket standing in front of her. Since she’d been at the clinic, he’d been coming and staying at the charter clubhouse for days just so he could visit and be near her, and whenever he came by to visit her, the thrill of seeing him sent jolts of pleasure through her each and every time. He was her rock, her world, and her love.

“Hey, babe.” He sat down next to her and leaned toward her giving her a soft kiss on her lips. “How are you?” Axe pulled back and ran his fingers up her arm.

“Good. Did you bring me something?”

“That’s the first thing you ask me?” He scowled, but the smile on his lips told her he wasn’t really mad.

She poked his chest lightly. “It is when you have your hand behind your back like you’re hiding something from me.” She craned her neck as she moved sideways. “What is it?”

Shaking his head, he kissed her again, his dark eyes lit with merriment. He swung his arm in front, and in his hand, he held a red rose and a purple chrysanthemum.

Blinking rapidly, she asked, “Are those for me?”

With a smile tugging at his lips, he nodded.

She took them in her hand, bringing them close to her nose as she breathed in their sweet scent. Her glistening eyes scanned his face. “Thank you,” she said as she leaned over and kissed him. “I didn’t peg you as a flower type of guy.”

“I’m not.”

“I know, and that’s what makes this even more special.” Her lips quivered.

Axe yanked her close to him, crushing the delicate petals of the rose as he slid her top’s neckline aside then kissed her shoulder. “I fuckin’ miss you. When you getting outta here?”

She pushed him back. “You’re ruining my flowers.”

He winked at her. “I’ll just pick some more for you.”

“I want these. They’re the first ones you’ve given me.”

Shrugging, he leaned back on the bench. “It’s time to come home, babe. I need you.”

Tracing her finger over his t-shirt, she smiled. “Dr. Scott said I can go home next week.”

“Are you fuckin’ with me?”

“No. I’m okay. Actually, I’m better than okay—I’m fantastic.”

Axe hugged her tightly. In her ear he whispered, “I can’t wait to fuck you all night. I love you more than you know.”

She squeezed him closer and whispered back. “I know, because I feel the same way you do. I love you so much.”

The two lovers kissed and held each other as the sun’s rays slowly gave way to the early evening chill. Baylee shivered against the cold, and Axe took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. She snuggled further into it, breathing deep his scent of citrus and the wind. With Axe, she felt safe and cherished.

When the realization hit her that Axe had coerced his uncle to tell Rodgers and Gary that her memory had come back, she’d been livid that he’d set her up and hadn’t warned her that she was meeting with the killers that night. She could’ve been murdered, and even though Axe had assured her repeatedly that she hadn’t been in any danger because he and his brothers had her back, reliving the terror she felt when Rodgers aimed the gun at her, made her body shake.

Through therapy, she’d worked through the anger, the terror, and the hurt which had been consuming her since the incident in her office. She forgave him for not clueing her in on what was going down on that fateful night. Axe was right, she would’ve been nervous, and Rodgers would’ve caught on that something wasn’t right. Cruel people could always smell fear.

He stroked her hair as she leaned her head against his chest, feeling his heartbeat against her temple, his soft breaths sounded like a gentle summer breeze. In the inky sky, chips of light twinkled and burned, and the faint scent of hickory blended with the musty scent of marigolds and earth.

Axe kissed the top of her head. “I’m here for you, always. Never doubt that.”

In the darkness, Baylee smiled as she hugged his waist tighter. “I don’t.”

The serenity of the night engulfed the couple as they clung to each other, content to be together, sharing the moment.

Six weeks later

B
aylee replaced the
wilting flowers in the two vases framing her mother’s tombstone with fresh bouquets of sunflowers—her mother’s favorite. Brushing her fingertips over the stone, she said in a soft voice, “You’re finally at peace, Mommy. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine.” After all these years, Baylee had finally said goodbye to the fear and darkness.

Leaves scurried across the graves as the wind blew them out toward the horizon. In the distance, the Rocky Mountains had a bluish hue under the late October sun. During the week, there were very few people who paid respect to their loved ones, and it was Baylee’s favorite time to come. She loved the solitude.

A roar shattered the peacefulness of the cemetery. She jumped, then smiled when she saw Axe ride up on his Harley. Since she’d left the clinic, he’d been coming down most weekends to see her, unless club business interfered.