Blazing Hot Bad Boys Boxed Set - A MC Romance Bundle (69 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY

The night's quiet
, thought Jason Fowler. He drank his fresh, hot, black coffee on the deck as the sun was beginning to rise. He had expected at least one incident, but nothing. In fact, when he called over to the jail, no one answered. That was not a good sign, because either everyone had fallen asleep or Blanche was up to no good. He took his time, though. If she was gone as promised, a few more minutes wasn’t going to do him any good. If they were asleep, there was no rush.

Finally his phone rang but it was not the call he expected. It was Dana and Rick, the sheriff and deputy who were supposed to be getting some rest. They had received word that a few Norte Mexicali were arrested in Victorville. They had caused a huge scene and were extremely difficult to subdue. They found a woman’s body on the roadside, a rubber tire around her neck lit on fire. They were waiting for the autopsy report to see if they could identify the body.

Jason nearly passed out.
No.

“Jason, have you been to the jail? We are on our way over. We can’t get anyone to answer,” said Dana.

“I figured he’s asleep. She can’t get to the phone. I have her cuffed to the bed.”

“Jason, it doesn’t work that way. Get over there. You will be there before I will. Report back,” he ordered.

Jason was in total fear mode. He had no taste for coffee or relaxation now. It was a funny thing, the thought of her potentially dying that way knocked his resentment completely from his consciousness. Now he was driven for a need to know she was safe.

She had been just a kid. She wasn’t much older than one now. Not really. She did her best to do the right thing in an awful situation. He all but flew to the station. He was somewhat relieved when, contrary to what Rick said, the deputy was asleep. But his worst fears were realized when he got to the cell and Blanche was gone. She hadn’t broken out, though. Her cuffs were cut and she went out kicking and screaming. Jason would have to follow the trail of blood to find her.

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Candice Owen

CHAPTER ONE

“Aguilar’s,”
Rose says when she answers the phone, identifying the restaurant that bears her name.

“Rose?”

“This is Rose Aguilar. How may I help you?”

“Rose… this is Melina. Melina Scholly.”

“Melina! How are you? I haven’t heard from you in ages.”

“Oh, Rose…” the woman gasps into the phone. “Tim has been killed. I thought…”

“What?” she yelps. “Oh, Melina… I’m so sorry! How?”

Rose waits while Melina gets herself under control. “He was shot, Rose. Murdered this morning. Outside the restaurant.”

Rose sits in shocked silence. Things like this just don’t happen in the community of Eagle Valley. Melina has two lovely children, Michael and Kimberly, one three and the other not quite one. Both of them are about to grow up without a father.

“Melina… I can’t tell you how sorry I am. Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?”

She waits as Melina tries to get her sobs under control. “I hate to ask…”

“Melina…” Rose says warmly. “We’ve been friends forever. If I can do it, you know I will.”

“I need someone to run the restaurant for a few days. Just until things settle down. I’m sorry to have to ask…”

“I will be happy to help you, Melina,” she interrupts. “Can you manage for a day or two until I can get there?”

Rose can hear the relief in Melina’s voice. “Yes. Of course. I can’t thank you enough, Rose. I hate to be a burden. I know you have your own…”

“Hush now,” Rose says kindly. “It is no burden. My assistant managers can run the place for a few days. I’ll be there tomorrow evening some time. Don’t worry about this, okay? You worry about yourself.”

“Thank you Rose. Thank you so much!” Melina gushes. “Will you stay with me? Please? I could use the company. I feel like I am going out of my mind and…”

“Of course. I would love to. Anything I can do to help. Hang in there, Melina. I know it is hard right now, but it will get better. I promise.”

Melina is quiet for a moment before Rose hears a great gasping sob. “I have to go Rose. I haven’t called Tim’s parents yet. I’m dreading making that call.”

“Do you want me to do it?” Rose offers.

“No… I can do it. It’s just going to be so hard…”

“I know, Melina. I know…” she comforts as she begins to struggle with her own tears.

“Thank you, Rose. I couldn’t ask for a better friend,” Melina says.

“Same here,” Rose murmurs as she hears the line go dead.

She sits at her desk, staring at the walls. Tim Scholly… murdered. Tim was the nicest guy you could ever meet. A friend to everyone. Why anyone would want to kill him is beyond her.

Rose gathers herself and wipes her eyes before picking up the phone and dialing both her managers. She needs to let them know they are going to have to pick up the slack while she is gone.

***

After meeting with her managers early the next afternoon, Rose heads north on US-95 to Eagle Valley, Nevada. It has been a couple of years since she has made the six hour drive home to the community located right outside of Carson City. Not really a town, more like a loose gathering of homes for people that work in Carson City—and the businesses that support them—Eagle Valley was her home until she left to find her own way.

It is going to be like old times, going back to the restaurant she worked in until she left for college. She, Tim, Melina, and Joseph Warner—they were best friends and the core group of high school kids that had served as waiters and busboys for her parents’ restaurant,
The Green Goose…
or as the locals call it, the
Goose.
Her parents had sold the restaurant to Tim less than a year ago when they had retired to Florida.

When her parents announced they were retiring they had offered her the
Goose
but she had already graduated from UNLV with a degree in business and hospitality management and had opened her own restaurant,
Aguilar’s
, in Los Vegas.

Where
Aguilar’s
is upscale, open for dinner only, and catering to the well-heeled, the
Goose
is open from five am until ten pm every day, serving simple meals at reasonable prices. Tim, who had worked up from busboy to assistant manager, had expressed an interest when her parents had decided to sell and Rose was thrilled that the restaurant had all but stayed in the family.

She hasn’t been home since her mom and dad had announced their plans to sell and retire, and despite the circumstances, she is looking forward to meeting her old friends. But poor Melina… Rose had worked it out with her two managers to be gone for about thirty days with just the occasional visit back to Vegas to handle any problem that might need her attention. By then Melina should be back on her feet and can take over the restaurant if she chooses. She had worked there for a long time before quitting to raise her family and Rose is confident that once she is over the shock of Tim’s unexpected death, that she will be fine and the
Goose
will be in good hands.

She slows as she cruises past the
Goose
on the way to Melina’s house
,
it’s lights off, closed because of the tragedy just past. She is saddened to see the dark restaurant. Not only because it is due to the death of her long-time friend, but also because the lights are so rarely out at the
Goose.
As she drives past she sets her jaw in determination. The
Goose
will be open for breakfast tomorrow morning at five am, just like always, if there is any way she can make it happen.

Less than ten minutes later, Rose parks her BMW in the drive of her childhood home. When the Scholly’s bought the
Goose,
they took it as a package deal with her parents’ nearby house. It was good deal for Tim and Melina because they were able to obtain the larger home their growing family needed, and they could live only eight miles from their livelihood. It was also a good deal for her Mom and Dad, allowing them to make a clean break and unload their house at the same time as the restaurant. She smiles as she pulls her suitcase from the back of the car. Except for being painted a pale yellow instead of tan, the place looks exactly the same as the last time she saw it.  

Greg Scholly, Tim’s father, opens the door at Rose’s ring. “Rose,” he says. “I’m so glad you could make it. I’m sorry it is under these circumstances.”

Greg seems to be holding up well, but his eyes are sunken and red. “I’m sorry for your loss Mr. Scholly.”

He nods and his face twists as he struggles not to cry. “Won’t you come in?” he asks brusquely after clearing his throat, stepping back and opening the door wider before taking her bag.

“Oh, Rose…” Melina says quietly, entering from the kitchen, hugging her fiercely.

Rose tries, she really does try, but she can’t hold her tears, her heart breaking over Melina’s grief at the loss of her husband… and her own at the loss of a dear friend.

“Melina… I’m so sorry for you,” Rose gasps.

Melina weeps softly for a moment before releasing Rose and wiping her eyes. “Thank you, Rose. It’s been so hard.”

Rose wipes her own eyes. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through. How can I help?”

“You just being here helps,” Melina says, trying to smile. “I knew I could count on you.”

“I’m here for you Melina,” Rose says. “Anything you need, just tell me.”  

Rose hugs Melina’s family, then Tim’s, weeping with them briefly and offering what words of support she can. No parent expects to outlive their child and Rose can tell Mr. and Mrs. Scholly are devastated by their loss. After Rose is settled in Tim and Melina’s parents leave, with Melina’s parents taking the children for the evening.

Rose then takes over the duties of answering calls and speaking with well-wishers. The grief in the house is palpable, but Rose holds her own tears, trying to be strong for Melina. They sit together and talk. There is a lot of crying and some laughing as they remember Tim and the time they spent together as kids and young adults. They reminisce over how it had been Rose that gave Tim a swift kick in the ass to ask Melina out for the first time during their junior year of high school, and they laugh about the merciless teasing that Rose and Joseph had to endure after Tim had caught them making out in the storeroom.

As they talk Rose learns that Melina wants to sell the
Goose
. Though she is saddened by the news, she can understand why. Running a restaurant is more than a full-time job, and trying to do that while raising two small children would be a nearly impossible task. The
Goose
is a well-established and respected part of the community so they shouldn’t have any problem finding an interested buyer within the thirty-day window that Rose has set aside. Tomorrow she will call her dad, find out who else was interested in the
Goose
when he sold it to Tim
,
and start making some calls.

When Melina finally falls asleep on the couch, Rose carefully covers her with a throw then retires to her own bed. Her restaurant doesn’t open until four in the afternoon and is open until one in the morning. Some mornings she is just getting to sleep when she will have to get up to have the
Goose
open at five. Rose sighs as she settles into bed. These first few mornings are going to
suck.