Closing the door behind me does nothing to keep the cold out and a slight guilt swims through my blood that I slept in the warm last night while she was out here. I’ve got to cut that shit out, she deserves everything coming her way if she did kill a brother.
“How long have you been in here?” I ask her, not really expecting an answer.
“Three days.”
Her voice is deeper than I expected.
After a quick glance over, she hasn’t got a mark on her, apart from the odd scruff of dirt from being cooped in here.
“How old are you?” I ask next.
She looks away and down to the ground. Sitting opposite her, the ground freezes my ass in no time.
I toss the bag of food over her way and it takes her a moment to make a move for it. Her fingers nimbly make quick work unwrapping the food and she watches me, weary incase I rip it away from her.
“My name is Dex, I’m here because the club believe I’m here to kill you on their behalf,” I say, and she stops nibbling on the pancake and frowns.
“They won’t kill me, no matter what I’ve done,” she says, adamantly.
“Didn’t you hear me, they won’t kill you, but I will.”
Even as I lie, I feel sick at the thought of ending her. She doesn’t have the first idea who I am or what I’ve done.
“Tell me what happened.”
“There’s nothing to say, they say I killed my dad, and now I’m facing the wrath of the club. End of story.”
So matter of fact and cold.
“Why did you kill him?”
She doesn’t answer me, she finishes her food and ignores me.
“Does it matter? He’s dead, and he’s not coming back.”
“I’m not asking for the fun of it, tell me why?”
“He wasn’t a nice person.” Is all she has to say.
“You killed him because he wasn’t a nice person,” I muse, “I’m not a nice person, are you going to try and kill me too?”
A shadow of a smirk replaces the frown she’s been wearing since I came in and it disappears as quickly as it showed up. At least she knows when I’m taking the piss out of her.
“You’ll be safe from me as long as you don’t try to hurt me,” she warns me, and I burst out with laughter.
“You’re funny, daddy killer, but I’ll take my chances around you.”
“Daddy killer?”
“That’s what you are, aren’t you?”
She looks away, but I push on.
“How did you kill him?”
“I’m sure Gabe has filled you in already.”
“He only said you killed him, he didn’t tell me how or why. Since we’ve established the why, tell me how.”
Lying is becoming second nature to me these days. Gabe did tell me, but I want to hear it from her.
“What is the club going to do with me?” she asks instead.
“Answer my questions and you’ll find out.”
She puts down the food wrappers and tugs her knees up to her chest.
“He was beating on my mom. It wasn’t the first time and I’d had enough. I grabbed the skillet from the stove and kept hitting him over the head until he went down, then I stabbed him in the neck with his own hunting knife.”
Fuck, I wasn’t expecting to hear that from her.
“How did you stab him?”
“With the knife?”
“I mean, how were you positioned?”
“I was…when he fell to the floor, I…”
She’s full of shit, she doesn’t even have a decent cover story to stick with.
Climbing to my feet, I cross the short distance between us and pull her up, she barely comes up to my chin and weighs next to nothing.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she snaps.
“Checking something,” I grunt, opening the coat that’s too big for her, “Who gave you this coat, and when?”
“Baze gave it to me when I got here. Why?”
She’s wearing a dusty blue jumper and there isn’t a spec of blood on it. There’s one smear of blood on her forehead, and one on her wrist. That’s all. Where is all the blood if she really did stab him?
“Come with me,” I order, releasing her and dropping the key on the ground.
I won’t be locking her up again, and while I’m here, nor will anyone else.
I don’t hear any footsteps following me and I turn to find her still standing in the shed.
“Come, now.”
Flinching, her eyes adjust to the daylight as she steps out and her smallness hits me in the gut.
I may share the patch with these men, but they’re thick as fuck. I can’t believe Cas sent me all this way for this dumb shit.
Apart from the smear of blood on her forehead, she is clean.
“Where are you taking me?” she asks, coming to another stop.
“Are you complaining about being freed?” I snort and head for the cabin.
“Wait,” she calls out and I do, “They’re not going to be happy you’ve let me out.”
I lean into her and for one second, I allow the superiority of my patch to consume me.
“It doesn’t matter what they think, it’s up to me what happens next.”
She moves slowly beside me, and I hear her groan in pain when she takes the steps up to the door.
The bar instantly quietens, and the tension thickens with every second that passes. The only sound that can be heard is a chair scraping against the wooden floor.
“What the fuck, Dex?”
Zander is the first one to get up in my face.
“She’s freezing, she needs to warm up, or she’s going to die out there.”
“It’s what she deserves,” someone calls out.
I’ve got brothers coming towards us, and I feel the girl creeping up closer behind me. Her icy cold fingers seep through my jumper as she holds onto my wrist.
“I’m going to run her a bath, then I’ll be back down to talk to Gabe. I suggest you all leave her the fuck alone, or you’ll have me to deal with.”
This holds them back and without taking my eyes off anyone, I swing my arm back and scoot the girl forward beside me.
“Come on, I haven’t got all day.”
No one follows us up the stairs and I release a sigh of relief once we’re alone in the room I stayed in last night.
An uneasy feeling sweeps over me again, I shrug it off and leave the girl standing by the bed.
“How old are you?” I ask, before stepping into the bathroom.
“Nineteen, I’ll be twenty in two weeks.”
“How much do you weigh?”
If I asked Alannah or Bonnie this, they would rip my balls from me, for sure.
“A hundred and ten pounds.”
How the hell did my supposed brothers believe this whip of a girl could take down a man fuck knows how much bigger than her.
I run the hot tap and add the contents from at least three different bottles of crap on the shelf.
When I turn around, she is still standing by the bed, staring at me like I’m an alien.
“Get undressed, and get in the tub. We’ve still got shit to talk about and I’d rather you weren’t slowly freezing to death while I was wasting my breath.”
She doesn’t move, and it begins to infuriate me. I step forward and while a part of me expects her to be weary of me, I’m glad when she tips her chin and stands her ground.
“What’s your name?”
“Libby.”
Pushing the oversized coat off her shoulders, it falls to the floor and I step around her, nudging her towards the bathroom.
“Get in the fucking tub, Libby.”
She infuriates me further when she stops in the doorway and doesn’t move.
“Unless you want me to undress you and physically put you in the fucking bath, I suggest you start moving.”
I wait around long enough to see her start to slip out of her boots and close the door to give her some privacy. It’s time to
face Gabe before they all come looking for us.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Libby
Who the fuck does this guy think he is? Everything has been arranged already, and he’s going to fuck it up.
The only good idea he’s had since he showed up is to run me a bath. I can feel the heat coming off the steam and my entire body is tingling in anticipation of hitting the hot water.
Pain shoots up my fingers as the pressure of undoing the buttons on my jeans hits me. Fuck the cold and fuck the Lost Souls.
My thighs feel like they’re burning when I peel my jeans off and then get rid off my underwear. Leaving it in a pile on the linoleum, I dip my toe in the water while the tap still runs and gasp when the stinging starts.
It takes a while before I’m fully submerged and when I’m in, I don’t move in fear of the cold seeping in again.
Bubbles are everywhere, and the room smells like someone dropped a bottle of cologne.
This isn’t where I thought I’d be today and it’s throwing me off that I am here, in a bath, run by a guy I’ve never met before.
The door creaks open and I scoop the bubbles around me, but I don’t need to worry, it’s only Baze and my heart thumps in my chest at the sight of him.
He’s much older than I am by eleven years, but I didn’t see any problem with the age difference. He didn’t look any older than twenty-three. His shaggy long hair and dark eyes can always keep me grounded, I could look at him all day and night. I’m not in love with him, but I for sure am in lust with him.
“Where have you been?” I hiss, “You promised you’d get me out of here, who’s that guy?”
“He’s a brother from the mother chapter, don’t worry about him, he won’t be around for long. What have you told him?”
“N…nothing.”
“What’s he said?” he asks, kneeling beside the tub.
“Not much, he keeps asking how I killed my dad.”
“What did you tell him?”
“What you told me to say.”
“So why are you in here?”
I don’t have the energy to answer any more questions, I’m still so cold and I’m tired.
“When are you getting me away from here?”
He pushes away from the tub and I strain my neck to look up at him.
“I’m working on it, in the meantime, don’t say shit to him, you hear me?”
“I hear you.”
He turns for the door, but I don’t want him to leave yet.
“Have you seen my mom? Is she okay?”
It’s been a long three days and I need to hear she’s safe and doing well.
“She’s fine, Libs. Remember what I said, keep your mouth shut.”
The door slams as he slips out leaving me alone, and it all becomes too much. One tear falls and then another. I can’t stop them, I don’t want to. It was too cold outside to cry, I think the shock kept the tears away, but here in the warm bathroom, they’re flooding out.
Splashing water on my face, I hide them away before Dex, I think he said his name was, returns and sink back into the bubbles.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dex
Brothers are pissed, and I find it amusing when I walk down the stairs. A sea of angry faces are better, I know how to deal with anger. I’ve got some of my own. I search out Gabe, but it’s a waste of time, he finds me first and shoves me against the wall.
“Take your fucking hands off me,” I warn him.
“Fuck you, tell me why you let Elizabeth out when we didn’t give you permission.”
Being this close to him, I can make out the tattoo on his neck. A huge spider clings to his skin and it’s the most realistic tattoo I’ve ever seen.
“She didn’t kill Cameron,”
“Yes, she fucking did,” Zander pipes in, leaning over Gabe’s shoulder.
“No,” I roar, pushing Gabe off me, “She didn’t, and I reckon if you thought she really did, you would’ve taken care of her yourselves without having to call Cas. Now, put your hands on me again and I’ll cut them clean off.”
It’s not a fucking threat either, it’s a promise and they back away.
“Where’s your proof she done it?”
“We found her sitting by him, besides, she hasn’t denied it,” Gabe argues.
“She’s lying, I don’t know why or who for, but she is. You say she shanked him in the neck, where the fuck is all the blood, cause I’ve necked someone before and I was covered in blood.”
One by one, they all go quiet and Gabe steps further away from me.
“Who killed him then?” Zander demands to know,
“How the fuck should I know, I only got here yesterday.”
Gabe pales and sits down on the nearest table. I stay by the bottom of the stairs and keep my back to the wall. I’ve got to keep my eyes open to anyone putting their hands on me again.
“Zander, go and find out why she lied, while I talk to Baze again,” Gabe instructs.
While Gabe is facing Zander, Baze appears at the top of the stairs and shrinks into himself, no one notices, but I do.
“I’ll talk to her,” I jump in, offering my services.
I’ll be able to get the truth before these pricks will. I don’t wait around for anyone to argue with me, and head for their kitchen.
I’ll make her a hot drink, as well as the bath she’ll warm up in no time.
“She hates coffee, she likes hot tea when she’s cold.”
Baze stands in the doorway, and the unease I felt earlier returns.
“How well do you know Libby?” I ask him while he’s here.
“Just that she was Cam’s daughter, he’d bring her around here occasionally,” he says, adding, “How well do you plan on getting to know her?” he retorts.
I snort, “How well do I plan on getting to know her?”
What the fuck?
“It’s a simple fucking question, brother.”
I get it now. The gleam in his eye, the twenty fucking questions, knowing she prefers tea over coffee when she’s cold. Something’s going on with them.
“My plan is to get answers and get back on the road as soon as I can, happy now?”
He doesn’t particularly look happy, but what do I care. Sharing the same patch doesn’t mean I have to like him.
“Up till three days ago, she’s always been a good kid. I don’t know why she did what she did, but none of it makes sense.”
He almost sounds like he genuinely cares for her.
“Would you vote to end her.” I ask him straight up.
He briefly looks over his shoulder, and when he sees no one is close by to hear him, he says, “If it comes to a vote, I wouldn’t go against what the club wants, but I won’t stick around for the show.”
The kettle whistles loudly on the stove, and I pick it up and pour the steaming hot water into the mug.
Throwing a tea bag in, the smell of crap fills my nose, it fucking stinks. I pour myself a coffee while I’m in the kitchen, and when I turn around to head back upstairs, Baze is gone.
Nobody is interested in me as I head for the stairs, and Gabe is now talking to Baze, while Zander is standing close by.
Something in my gut tells me to lock the door to the room I’m staying in, and I frown when the bathroom door is open. It was closed when I left.
Unless she got out the bath, someone has been in here, and I’d put money on it being Baze.
I nudge the door open with my boot, and Libby’s head snaps up. If I’m not mistaken, her heavy sigh of disappointment confirms someone was in here when I was downstairs, and she thought they could or would return.
I don’t mention my thoughts and pass her tea over. I couldn’t care less she’s naked in the bath. There are enough bubbles in the bath to keep her covered and I perch myself on the edge of the tub. Like I said, I don’t give a shit.
“After you killed your dad, what did you do?”
She looks up at me through her wet lashes and
then back down at her drink.
“I…sat beside him.”
“Then what?”
“I sat watching him until the club showed up.”
“So, you beat your dad with a skillet, you then stabbed him in the neck, you watched him die and now here we are?”
“Here we are,” she murmurs, agreeing with everything I’ve said.
Scouring the room for somewhere to put my coffee down, I put it by the basin and then brace one arm on the other side of the tub and slide my free hand around the back of her head. The mug in her hands falls into the water and disappears under the bubbles, her hands shoot up to my hands and she grabs at me arms to try and defend herself.
I’m not hurting her, not one bit, she’s uncomfortable, and where I need her.
“I’ll allow you to lie to me one more time before I truly lose my temper, tell me again, what did you do after you killed your dad?”
“I’m not lying,” she stammers out.
“Yes, you fucking are. I was sent here to sort this mess out, now I’m staying to find out who you are covering for.”
I drop my hand from the back of her head, down to her neck and rub my thumb over her throat.
I could squeeze, push my thumb in and cut off her air supply. I could watch her die before me and allow her ghost to haunt me for all days, she could join Melissa and they can swallow my soul together.
“I’m not lying,” she repeats, pulling me out of my trance of murder.
“You’re lucky I can’t handle another woman’s death on my conscious, but I can’t be stuck here after the snow sets. I need to be on the road, so, tell me, who killed your dad?”
“I’d rather die than tell you.”
And now I have her.
“Death isn’t the only option, it’s just the option I can’t live with, but I have no problem hurting you to get the truth, so I can leave. You will tell me, and you’ll tell me soon.”
It’s not a threat, it’s a promise and one she better believe because I’m not messing around.
The fight fades quickly from her and she mashes her lips together, frowning at me.
“Get out, dry yourself off and get your ass out into the bedroom. We’ve just become best friends until I find out the truth.”
“What if you never do?”
“I guess we’ll be together forever,” I smirk, and leave her in the bathroom.