One That Came Back Read online

  “Everything secure.”

  Luke insisted that someone stay with Helen and figured it was Hector’s turn. Saks had run around all day doing errands for Luke, and Luke needed him fresh for the day. It gave Luke a small measure of satisfaction that Pepper had to play the role he was assigned as Luke’s employee.

  Luke never had a tougher job than confirming what Helen suspected from the news reports, that her husband was dead. The sturdy woman he knew crumpled in his arms, inconsolable in her grief. He let her cry herself out before she lay down on the bed, and the woman had a lot of tears. They left his leather jacket wet.

  He now had a man’s blood and a woman’s tears on that jacket.

  That summed up his life perfectly.

  It took a few days before the coroner would release Gibs’ body. The waiting and uncertainty of when that would happen took a toll on Helen and, by default, Luke. He went with her to the funeral home to help her with the arrangements. He never knew there were so many details to decide, and he was relieved when Helen’s sister arrived from Virginia to help. He felt both grateful and guilty he could hand off Helen’s care to someone else, though he knew intellectually that her sister could help Helen in her time of grief better than he.

  All he thought about was Gibs and Emily. He tried not to, but it was impossible not to.

  He didn’t like sitting in his apartment. His leg was on the way to healing and the most he felt was some soreness when something hit the muscle in his leg wrong. So he went to the shop and worked on the books, but even that was difficult. Everywhere he turned he thought he saw Gibs standing there, holding his coffee mug. Once, after staring for hours at his own messed-up accounting work, he dozed off. Not knowing he was asleep he stared at the image of Gibs walking into the office from the garage.

  The tough old man grinned at Luke. “When?” he said, pointing to a poster on the wall. Only it wasn’t a picture of a buxom blonde but Jack Kinney that straddled the Harley.

  “Soon,” said Luke.

  “Good.” Gibs strolled back into the garage.

  Luke woke with a start and rubbed his eyes. Sitting here was doing no good, and he had to get the shop open soon. He resolved it would be the Monday after the funeral.

  Thinking of the funeral, he went online to a florist shop and found one that personalized floral arrangements. They wouldn’t make anything with a corporate name due to copyright issues, which shot down his idea of having a Harley arrangement. But they could frame a picture with flowers. Luke agreed and paid for it with his credit card, then sat back and flipped through the images on his phone to get one of Gibs. He found one of him wearing his Hades’ Spawn jacket, looking over his shoulder and holding up a beer at the Red Bull. At the time, he almost ignored the impulse to take Gibs’ picture, but now he was glad he’d followed through. He sent the image to the florist’s shop through email.

  He called Saks, and then Pepper, to announce his intention to reopen the shop. He hated calling Pepper that name now. But again, he couldn’t break the cover that the agent created and Luke supposed that it would be soon enough before he’d have to sponsor Pepper for a patch.

  The last thing Luke did was write a check to Helen for five thousand dollars. He didn’t want her to worry about money. He was sure the five grand Gibs had taken from their savings probably put a serious dent in things, and he didn’t know how Helen’s financial situation was regarding her assets and Gibs’ estate.

  With that done he pocketed the check, and after locking up, headed for his SUV parked to the right of the building. He wanted to ride one of his bikes, but his leg was still sore.

  “Wade!”

  The sudden call of his name shook Luke out of his reverie. In the parking lot adjacent to his SUV, Detective Anglotti leaned against his car.

  Luke shook his head, and ignored him, avoiding the cop’s eyes as he walked toward his SUV.

  “Hey, asshole! Talk to me.”

  Luke leveled his gaze to Anglotti. “On the advice of my counsel I decline to answer any questions.” He opened the door of the SUV.

  “Why has my investigation been shut down, Wade?” Anglotti spoke loudly, nearly shouting. His voice echoed in the early morning silence.

  Luke shrugged. “Maybe because there’s nothing to investigate.”

  “Men are dead, Wade.”

  Luke slammed the door shut without climbing into it. “You think I don’t know that?”

  “You’re in the thick of it. Tell me what’s going on.”

  Luke put on his shades, even though the sun had barely risen. “There’s nothing to tell. Stop bothering me, Anglotti. I’ve nothing to say to you.” He reopened his door and climbed into his SUV shaking with anger. The DEA promised immunity, but they didn’t promise that local police would stop bothering him. In fact, they wanted it to keep Luke’s evolving cover as a loyal Hades’ Spawn member willing to move up.

  He hated this. This wasn’t him. It wasn’t the man he wanted to be.

  But he had to. For Emily’s sake. “Dammit!”

  He pulled out of the parking lot and headed away from Anglotti. Not sure where to go, he drove for a while before finally stopping by Gibs’ house.

  Helen’s sister, Mary, answered the door. “Hello, Luke. She’s finally sleeping.”

  “That’s good. Can you give this to her? Tell her it was the bonus I was supposed to give Frank.”

  Mary took the check and her eyes narrowed.

  “This isn’t a bonus check,” she said. “It’s made out to Helen.”

  “I want her to have it. I know things will be tough. Nothing’ll make up for Frank’s loss, but I don’t want her struggling financially also.”

  Mary handed him the check back. “We Andersons don’t take charity.”

  He shoved his hands in his jean pockets. “I’m not taking it back. If she doesn’t cash it, I’ll just send her another one.” He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “I can be stubborn too. And I know where she lives.” He purposely kept his tone light.

  Mary smiled. “Okay, Luke. I’ll give it to her. But you can expect much the same response.”

  “All I can do is try. Has anyone else from the club been by?”

  Mary shook her head. “Only Saks and Pepper. They come by regularly to check up on us.”

  Luke nodded, feeling a slow burn. “Well, everyone in the club will be at the funeral.”

  “I’m sure.” She said it politely, but not understanding the importance of the club’s loyalty.

  “I’ll see you later then.” Luke got into his SUV feeling his anger roiling in his stomach. Kinney caused Gibs’ death and didn’t have the decency to pay his respects to Helen? It was outrageous. What else could he expect from a coward? Aces sent Gibs to do his dirty work and dragged him into the middle of the Rojos and the Hombres. Luke ground his teeth as he drove away.

  It didn’t take him long to reach the Red Bull. He scanned the lines of motorcycles and found Aces, Wolf, and Dagger’s bikes parked together.

  He thought a few moments, trying to decide what he wanted to do. The angry part of him wanted to call out Kinney and give him a good beating. The calculating part of him wanted to reel the f’er in and let him get spit roasted slowly by the burn of his crimes. His brain won out over his heart this time. Beating up Kinney would provide a moment’s satisfaction. Watching him get thrown in jail for twenty years would provide years of revenge.

  Luke pasted a smile on his face and entered the bar. He scanned the room and found Kinney’s table. With a motion of his hand, he indicated to John, the barkeeper, to send a round to the table. John knew enough what Luke liked to drink so it arrived with the others after Luke sat down.

  “Hey guys,” he said.

  “Luke!” Kinney blinked in surprise. “What brings you here?”

  Luke took a sip of his beer and looked Kinney in the eye. It was nearly lunch… nearly. Or it had to be five o’clock somewhere. “Too bad about Gibs. I hear he was helping you out.”

>   Kinney settled back in his seat and stared at him, as if trying to gauge Luke’s comment and the man himself.

  “Everyone helps his brothers in the club.”

  “Not this kind of help.”

  Kinney glanced at Wolf, then Dagger, who both crossed their arms over their chests and sent Luke hard stares from their tough faces.

  “So what of it?” Kinney shrugged and smiled.

  “I’m a businessman, Aces. I believe I’ve shown I have connections.”

  “That Rojos president is dead.”

  “You don’t think I know that?” Luke fired back each of his responses as if he’d rehearsed them. “You think that matters? And you think he was the only connection I have?”

  Kinney sniffed and rubbed his nose.

  From Kinney’s reactions to his comments, Luke surmised the depth of Aces’ stupidity. The man used his own product. That made this club’s president both easier and more difficult to deal with. It might be easier to get in with him because his judgment was clouded, but the man would be more paranoid and unpredictable. Luke sighed, pretending to give in. “Fine. Then let’s talk business.” Luke took another sip of his beer. He’d dance with the devil if it meant avenging Gibs’ death, and right now that devil was Jack Kinney.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Luke's Letter

  The next number of days went by in a haze for Emily. Somehow, in her drug influenced mind, she knew that taking the medicine was doing her no good. Sure, she slept, but her dreams were disturbed and she hated being suspended between waking and sleep. The next morning, when her mother brought the pills, she refused to take them. She wanted her mind back, not the drugged one. Towards the end of the day, she began to feel more like herself.

  Somehow during the ensuing days of haziness, her clothes were shed, and she’d been wearing one of her mother’s terrycloth bathrobes. On the chair under the window, her clothes sat neatly folded. She brought them to her nose, confirming her suspicion that they had been freshly laundered.

  After taking a shower, she dressed and made her way down the stairs following the scent of warm cooked food. Her mother and father were in the dining room seated at the table.

  “Emily!” Her mother stared at her in surprise.

  “Hi, Mom.” She gave her a kiss on the cheek, then rounded the table and did the same for her dad.

  “How’re you feeling?” he asked.

  “Tired. But I can’t sleep my life away so I don’t have to deal with reality.”

  “Sit, I’ll bring you a plate.” Her mother disappeared into the kitchen, returning a moment later carrying a plate of meatloaf with gravy, mashed potatoes, and peas.

  Emily smiled. It must be Wednesday. That was her mother’s meatloaf day. “Looks great, Mom. Thanks.”

  “What do you want to drink?”

  “Iced tea?”

  “Sure.”

  Her mother hurried back to the kitchen as her father cleared his throat. “I’m glad you’re finally up. Justin called. He said he had some news.”

  “What kind of news?”

  “He didn’t say. Just said he wanted to talk to you.”

  “Oh.” She wondered if Justin had told her dad and he just didn’t wish to say anything, like a silly control thing. Or maybe he simply didn’t know. She shouldn’t jump to conclusions without asking.

  Her mother brought the iced tea and sat back down. Emily waiting for them to say grace then realized they must have already done it. She tried a bite and nearly moaned with how good it tasted in her mouth.

  They continued to eat in stilted silence, as if they were afraid to say anything to upset her.

  It began to get annoying. She knew she’d been a burden the past few days but she wasn’t a leaf petal, she wasn’t as fragile as they thought she was. If they only knew… She shook her head to clear the thoughts and images running through her mind. “Good meatloaf, mom. Did you change the recipe?”

  Her mother gave a little shrug. “Justin’s mom has a different take on meatloaf. She mixes in ground pork and uses this garlic and herb blend of breadcrumbs. Your father liked it very much when we had dinner at her house last week.”

  Her father’s cheeks colored. “I was just being polite, Amanda.”

  Emily nearly laughed out loud. Well, this is interesting. Sam Dougherty had never liked another person’s cooking over his wife’s in his life. Even restaurant food paled in comparison to Amanda Dougherty’s culinary skill. This odd bit of tension over something so mundane was almost funny, it was so precious. Then Emily thought of something else.

  “Wait a sec,” Emily said, catching the whiff of a conspiracy. “Why’d you eat at Justin’s mom’s house?”

  Her father muttered something like ‘done in by meatloaf” and her mother blushed. They both went back to their food, stuffing large bites of meatloaf inside their mouths to save them from having to answer.

  Their actions were entirely visible. Emily bit back a smile and a head of annoyance. “Come on. Out with it.”

  “Oh dear.” Her mother covered her mouth and her eyes grew big. “We weren’t supposed to say.”

  “They wanted,” said her father gravely, “to wait for the Memorial Day picnic to make the announcement.” He acted as if Emily had uncovered some ancient secret no one was supposed to know.

  “Announcement? Are they…?”

  “Yes.” Her mom nodded. “They’re getting married.”

  An image of Luke and her in front of a priest saying vows popped into her head. Blinking heavily she pushed it away. “That’s wonderful.” And then another thought hit her. “Why didn’t Angela tell me herself?”

  “You’ve had a lot of things on your plate, dear.” Her mom patted her hand. “She didn’t want to—”

  “Oh, for heaven’s friggin’ sake! I’m not a broken doll! I have the capacity to be happy for my sister even if my life feels like shit.”

  “Emily!” Her mother’s mouth popped open and her eyebrows disappeared behind her curled bangs.

  “Language!” warned her father.

  “Language?” said Emily indignantly. “I’ve heard you use that word a few times, Dad. And while we’re at it, I’d appreciate it very much if you didn’t treat me like I was going to break at any second. I’m not the fuck-up you all think I am.”

  Her mother’s face turned bright red.

  “Emily!” Her father shouted and then muttered, “That stupid Wade boy.”

  “This is not about Luke!” She glared at her father.

  He stood and fumed. “You know what? I don’t give a pig’s eye what you think this is about! You act like you are all high and mighty and know better than anyone! You ignore our advice and when things go all wrong, you cry that you’ve been treated unkindly. You still don’t listen to your parents! And when the shit hits the fan, and it always does when you’re around Emily, you come crawling back here expecting us to be all understanding and forgiving. You put your mother through hell these past few days!”

  Emily opened her mouth to shoot a retort back at him and then pressed it firmly shut as she clenched her jaw. He always had to be so friggin’ unreasonable! He—

  “Hey, hey, what’s all this?”

  All eyes turned as Justin spoke from the entrance of the dining room. Still in shock, Emily realized Justin’s status in the family had changed. He felt comfortable walking into the house without knocking.

  “Sorry, son,” said her father. He stood and shook Justin’s hand. “Everything’s fine here. But unfortunately, the secret’s out. Can’t keep anything from a Dougherty woman. She’ll scope it out, even if your heart’s slowly stopping.” He shot a look of warning at Emily, as if daring her to say more.

  “That’s okay,” said Justin with a smile. “Angela’s been dying to tell Emily.” He coughed. “I mean, she’s been anxious to let you know.” Justin leaned toward his future father-in-law, a teasing smirk on his lips. “I understand there’s a lot of super-secret girl stuff that goes on before a wedding. H
ighly top secret.”

  Her father rolled his eyes. “I suppose.”

  “You look better Emily.” Justin took a seat opposite her at the table. “I have some good news.”

  “Would you like anything?” Emily’s mom got up, ready to make a plate of food for him.

  Justin waved his hand. “I’m fine, thank you. I’m on my way home now. I won’t be here long. I want to catch up with Angela before she heads into work.”

  “So what’s the good news?” Emily suddenly wanted something to look forward to, anything to get her out of the house.

  Justin shook his head. “It’s crazy. All the charges against you have been dropped.”

  “That’s wonderful,” enthused her mother.

  “How?” Emily stared at him, trying to process what he meant. “Why?”

  Justin smiled, pleased to have surprised her. “The DA said he looked over the case. Apparently, with the little evidence there was, it was easy to see that Evan was trying to make your life difficult. He’s dropped the theft charges, and because of what he termed ‘an overzealousness to prosecute’ dropped the traffic charges as well.”

  “Isn’t that unusual?” For all the stress and anxiety she’d been through the past while, it didn’t seem like the case would be dropped that easily. “It’s all dropped? Just like that?”

  “Just like that.” Justin laughed. “I’m not going to question our good fortune. Neither should you.” Justin stared at her, his eyebrows raised. “Hey! Be happy, Emily. We won!”

  Emily could easily imagine why Justin would be happy. With this miraculous ‘win’ he’d look like a legal god to his employers. She knew she sounded bitter inside her head. Her father’s outburst a moment ago continued to stew in her mind. It seemed to take the tarnish off of what should feel good. She also missed Luke. She wanted to know where he was and if he was okay. She forced a smile. “I am glad. Sorry, if I don’t show it.” She rubbed her forehead. “I think I’m just still groggy from the anti-anxiety pills.” Or whatever they were.

  Justin stood. “Now be ready at eight sharp Monday morning. I’ll pick you up for your hearing on the restraining order against Evan. While we’re at it, we’ll get back your bail money.”