Hot as Hades (27 page)

Shepherd put out some very discrete feelers to friendly clubs in the area, seeing if anyone knew anything about Rose, but he hadn’t gotten any useable information back.

He’d also tried to get info on the necklace she’d found on her truck, but the jewelry shop said the person paid in cash. The clerk who’d waited on the supposed stalker had gone down to Corpus Christi for vacation, and the shop owner said she’d call whenever the employee got back to Hell. Though, both Cowboy and Shep thought the lead was a longshot at best.

Daisy kept busy by helping out at Inferno Firearms. The club gave room and board, so she wanted to make herself useful. Besides, if she rambled around the hotel all day, she’d only drive herself crazy imagining worse case scenarios.

Steele put her to work at the shooting range. While grateful for the distraction, she sound she loved the job too. She handed out ammo and targets, and taught amateurs how to shoot. Steele had joked with her about calling Fort Bliss and telling them she’d already accepted another offer, so he could keep her around.

And then there was Cowboy.

She had no idea what to do about him. Daisy actively avoided commitments and the thought of completely opening up to someone was terrifying.

But the thought of walking away from him bothered her even more. She didn’t have the faintest idea what to do, so she called in someone very opinionated for some help.

***

While Cowboy had gone to spend some quality time with Cash, Daisy met Eddie for some coffee and a talk. She’d come to adore both Elizabeth and Eddie, though she had a soft spot for the older woman in particular. She loved the mixture of her straight shootin’ advice and the motherly demeanor.

After they’d ordered coffee and talked about the weather and other meaningless things, Eddie crossed her arms over his chest. “Okay, I think we’ve beat around the bush enough. What’s going on, honey? You look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks.”

She grinned. “Anytime.”

Daisy leaned back in the booth. “You know I’ve been working with the club on something, but it didn’t pan out and I can’t share a lot of it, but I
can
tell you I’ve been looking for my sister and I’m fresh out of leads.”

Eddie’s brows knit. “I’m sorry, honey. She’s been missing a while??”

“Yes, months. She got involved with a really bad guy. I think she might be still alive and I don’t want to leave until I find her…or until I know what happened to her,” she said finally.

Eddie squeezed her hand. “Of course you shouldn’t leave! You can’t live in limbo like that. You have to get to the bottom of it.”

“There’s something else, too.” She bit the inside of her cheek.

“Cowboy?” Eddie asked, arching a knowing brow.

 “He’s asked me to stay.”

Eddie studied Daisy over the rim of her coffee cup. “And do
you
want to stay?”

 “Yes and no. I adore Cowboy, but I’m scared.”

“Of course it should!” Eddie contradicted. “Love isn’t for the faint of heart, Daisy. It is seriously scary shit. You are literally handing over your heart,
your life
to another person.”

She flinched. Frankly, she hadn’t been expecting
that
response. She’d been hoping for a comforting answer that would propel her in one direction or the other.

“Sorry, honey, but there ain’t no point in me lyin’ to you. I know you think it’s only a liability, but love makes you both weak and strong. You have to make yourself vulnerable to someone else, you gotta let them in and with that comes risk. Think about it ---they know everything about you, all your faults, all your problems. But if you’ve chosen wisely and you got a man who’s worth a damn, well then none of it matters anymore. His love gives you strength you never knew you had. It helps you transform pain into power and it’ll see you through the darkest times.”

“You are speaking from experience?” Daisy said, nodding to Eddie’s tattooed wrist. “Elizabeth mentioned you were widowed. I’m so sorry.”

“Me too.” She offered a smile, though Daisy could see the sorrow in her eyes. “But we aren’t talkin’ about me, we’re discussing you.”

 “Well, we could talk about you and Captain,” Daisy said quietly and then pinned Eddie with a probing gaze.

Suddenly, Eddie’s face went as smooth and unreadable as the freakin’ Mona Lisa. “

“Come on,” Daisy coaxed. “I saw the way you two were at Lexie’s party.”

She tossed her hair. “Honey, you had an awful lot of moonshine that night, I wouldn’t put much stock in anything you
thought
you saw.” Eddie quickly changed the topic. “For what it’s worth, I think Cowboy is a good man and the club would be thrilled to have you, you’d make a damn fine old lady. But, it all comes down to
you
. What do you want to do?”

She hesitated, unsure.

“Well, then you need to do some thinking.”

“Damn,” she said irritably. “I thought you’d give me some advice and I’d know exactly what to do.”

Eddie chuckled. “You’ve never let yourself love before. This is about your heart, not your head. Logic falls by the wayside whenever love is involved.”

She bit her lip as she pondered that. Logically, it would make sense to go to Fort Bliss, start a new life there. But even though it suited her career path, would it make her happy? She thought back to the joy in Elizabeth’s face. Would Cowboy bring that kind of joy to
her
life?

“And Daisy? I know you’re scared, but you are a brave, ballsy woman. You can handle anything. Remember that old John Wayne quote? Something along the lines of courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”

Daisy nodded, considering what she’d said.

“Remember that. It’s okay to be scared, but you have to show up.”

Just then, a man approached the table. He had short strawberry blond hair and wore a navy blue suit. He had big, sky blue eyes, a neatly trimmed beard, and wore a determined expression on his face. “I need to ask Ms. Weston a few questions.”

“What you need is an arrest warrant, Frost,” Eddie corrected.

“Well, we can do it with a warrant and a trip to the station, or I can ask a few questions here and we can both be on our merry way.”

Daisy glanced at Eddie for an explanation. “Detective Frost is with the county sheriff’s office. He and Steele are old military buddies. While the boys don’t mind working with him, I have my own opinion. And it bothers the hell out of me when he decides to play Sherlock Holmes.”

Eddie grabbed her purse and coffee cup, and then gestured to the table. “Be my guest, but I’m gonna text Captain and Shepherd, let them know you stopped by for a chat.”

“Tell them I said hello,” Frost said with a feigned smile as he slid in the booth, opposite Daisy.

Eddie squeezed her shoulder. “I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve found the best policy is to say as little as possible. And I’m going to sit right over there, if you need me.” She looked pointedly at Frost.

“Thanks,” Daisy said quickly.
A detective? Oh shit.

 “You aren’t an easy woman to find,” Frost said. “I had to run your plates to get your name. Apparently your employers at,” he paused to read the name from a notebook he’d flipped open, “The Pussycat Palace, didn’t have your name or identification on file.”

“No?”

“No,” he said, watching her with an unblinking blue-eyed stare. “But I got your description from a young woman named Katie Emerson, who is pressing charges against a guy she dated named Bill Chapman.”

“I don’t know anyone named Bill Chapman,” she said quickly, shoulders sagging in relief.

“Maybe you know him by an alias.” He checked his notes again. “Rock.”

Shiiittttt!

Daisy tried to keep her expression blank, completely unconcerned. “Oh really?” she said, in what she hoped passed for a casual tone.

 “I’ve been trying to locate him, without any success. Apparently the last time anyone saw him was your place of employment. In fact, Katie said she saw him
with you
.”

Dammit, Katie, I saved your ass and you are hanging mine out to dry.

“Oh?

“From Katie’s description of the situation, you seemed to be having a very intense discussion with Mr. Chapman.”

FuckFucketyFuckFuck.

 “We did have a bit of a disagreement,” she admitted.

“And how did the argument end?”

With me shooting him in the head.

She cleared her throat. “I said disagreement, not an argument. He and I went our separate ways.”

“I see. He cocked his head to one side. “Do you know where Rock is?”

“No,” she said truthfully. She had no idea what the Horsemen did with the body after she’d shot him, and she didn’t want to know.

He leaned forward. “Look, you need to level with me. I’ve seen you around town with Cowboy and you just happened to be working for the Raptors, a rival club. I can promise you, you’re in over your head on this one. Tell me what’s going on. I might be able to help you.”

“I don’t know anything,” she said stubbornly.

“If that’s the way you want to play it.” Frost slid out of the booth and stared down at her. Hard. “Look, for the most part I like the Horsemen. Some of them are decent guys, like Steele, and some of them make my blood run cold, like Duke. If you aren’t careful, your affiliation with the club could land you in jail.” Frost handed her his business card. “Contact me, if you change your mind.”

As soon as he left, Daisy tore it up. She wouldn’t be turning on the Horsemen, not after all they’d done for her. She just hoped they’d shoved Rock’s body in a deep dark hole somewhere.

Her cell phone started ringing. She didn’t recognize the number but answered anyway. “What did Frost want?” Shepherd asked, without bothering to say hello.

Daisy sighed. “He asked me about Rock.”

She could practically feel the tension on the other side of the phone line. “I see. And what did you say?”

“Not a damn thing.”

She could almost hear the relief in his voice as he spoke. “I wouldn’t worry too much. No murder weapon and no body, means no case. As long as you keep what you know to yourself? It won’t be a problem.”

The reality of what she’d done finally hit her.

She’d committed murder and she didn’t feel bad about it, not really. She worried about getting caught, but it wasn’t the same thing. As far as she was concerned, the world was a better place without Rock in it. She hadn’t thought she’d ever be capable of that kind of moral relativism.

“I might have been wrong about you,” Shepherd confessed. “I had no idea you could be so hardcore.”

“I didn’t like lying to the detective,” she insisted.

“You don’t have to like it,” he countered. “But you have to protect yourself and the club.”

“Yeah, we’re on the same page with that.”

“Look, I’m going to text you an address. I got a voicemail this morning. The clerk from Devilish Diamonds is back today, according to the boss. With the exception of Duke and Cowboy, the club is in San Antonio today, to do a toy run. I thought you wouldn’t mind checking it out?”

“I’d be happy too.” She hung with Shepherd and silently prayed for another lead.

***

Two hours after investigating the jewelry store, Daisy pulled up in the plaza across the street from the Pussycat Palace. She sank further down into the seat, and pulled the hoodie up over her hair.

According to the clerk, an older man in an impeccable suit bought the necklace and also carried a black briefcase embossed with the initials AK.

 Andrew Kent? It had to be!

At least, she hoped it was, surely those initials would be too much of a coincidence. She’d debated calling Cowboy and letting him know, but ultimately decided against it. He’d been adamant about not approaching Kent earlier to get info on Rose, but she couldn’t help it. It might be a shot in the dark, but she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t at least ask him. Besides, if he had a crush on her, wouldn’t he be more likely to answer her questions?

But she’d also taken precautions. She’d tucked her .38 and the switchblade into her hoodie, just to be safe.

Kent said earlier the Raptors insisted on seeing him every night at the club and sure enough, his Lexus sat parked near the door. While she knew he worked for the club, she didn’t exactly peg him as the type who’d hand her over to them. If the Raptors found her, they’d kill her. No question. But she doubted a lawyer would want to be implicated in a murder.

She just had to wait.

An hour later, he sauntered out the front door  of the club and pulled out his phone, started tapping on the screen. She bet he’d just texted his security force.

Time to make her move.

He pulled out of the parking lot, and she slid out into the intersection right after him, followed his car outside of Canyon City. Once they’d traveled a couple miles down the road, she flipped her headlights on, and tried to signal him but he didn’t seem to notice. She hit the horn, and he checked the rearview mirror.

She pointed to the side of the road and took a long, hard look in the rearview before he finally pulled over.

She vaulted out of her truck and pushed the hoodie away from her face, so he could clearly see her, just in case he assumed she would be a threat. She walked up to the driver’s side window and he lowered the glass.

He peered at her, his expression curious, with absolutely no trace of hostility. “Well, hello there.”

“I need talk to you for a minute, can I climb in?”

“Of course.” She rounded the car, hopped in the passenger door.

The car had gray upholstery and she noted everything was manically clean. No dust, no bits of gravel, no abandoned French fries in the drink holders. Not even fingerprints. Maybe he’d just had it detailed?

“I’m sorry for all the cloak and dagger stuff, but I needed to have a conversation with you,” she said quickly.

“The club is looking for you,” he said.

She bit her lip. “And are you going to let them know I’m here?”

“Of course not.” He placed his phone very deliberately on the console, so she’d know he wasn’t texting anyone. “I told you, I’m an officer of the court. I might help them out of their legal troubles, but I certainly don’t invite them to get involved in new ones. Apparently, after your encounter with Junior, they’ve been out on runs, trying to find you.” He paused. “Then a detective, by the name of Frost, showed up asking a lot of questions about Rock.”