Page 81 of Beyond the Cut
Never.
TWENTY
I will strive to understand myself and my machine so that I rely on no one but me.
SINNER’S TRIBE CREED
Dawn laced her fingers together under the wooden table. She’d never been in an interrogation room before, but it was much as she’d imagined—four white walls, a one-way mirror, cold fluorescent light on the ceiling, camera in the corner, and Doug seated across from her, clearly uncomfortable, as evidenced by his constant shifting in his seat.
“Where exactly were you when you saw the body?”
“In the back alley behind my house.”
He tapped on his laptop his eyes focused on the screen. “Who else was there?”
“The girls. Cade. And two Sinners.”
Doug’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly when she mentioned Cade’s name. “Did you know the deceased?”
“He’s the private investigator from the video Jimmy showed at court to win custody of the girls. My lawyer has a copy if you need to see it.”
“And the mark on his shirt?”
She’d never seen Doug so cold and detached. Professional. A little part of her died inside. He’d always been a good friend to her and he clearly felt hurt and betrayed. “MDfor ‘Mad Dog.’”
He stopped typing and looked up. “You think Jimmy did this?”
“I know he did. It’s a message. He’s angry because…” She cut herself off just in time.
“Because you’ve taken up with the Sinners.” Doug slammed his laptop closed. “I can’t believe it myself, Dawn. I mean, what the hell were you thinking? After what you’ve been through—what you’re going through now—how could you do this? How could you put your children at risk? How could you go back to a world that caused you so much pain?”
“Doug…” Nausea gripped her belly. He was right. About all of it. She’d spent three years trying to get away from the biker world and live like a civilian. And now, not only was she fully immersed in the life, her children were, too. “I want to take you up on the witness protection offer. I want to testify against Jimmy.” Bile rose from her throat as she spoke the words.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. She felt it in her gut, but she didn’t have a choice.
Almost instantly his face softened. “Dawn… I don’t know what to say. You’ve made the right choice, of course, and I’ll be with you every step of the way.” And then his smile faded. “But what about… Cade? I won’t pretend I don’t know you’re close.”
“He’s a Sinner. He’ll stay with his club.”
“And your cut?” He gestured to her leather vest.
Dawn swallowed hard, curling her hand around the soft leather. “I’m giving it back. I have one more thing I have to do for the club—a party I organized—and then I’m done with the Sinners. The whole biker thing was never real. It wasn’t me.”
***
“You’re gonna love these twins.” Gunner showed Cade a picture of two young women in a hot tub, one blond and one brunette, both with what Cade knew to be surgically enhanced breasts. Real breasts floated.
“Just what you need to get out of your black mood,” Gunner continued. “So things didn’t work out with your girl. You just gotta get back in the saddle.”
Cade studied the picture as he sipped his beer in the clubhouse kitchen. The blonde was cute but she had nothing on Dawn. Her hair was too short, her face too thin, and her eyes hazel and not brilliant green. She had the look of a pampered princess who had never done a day of work in her life, unlike Dawn who worked three jobs. But maybe Gunner was right. He needed someone to take his mind off Dawn. He needed to go back to having casual hookups where he could have his fun without the emotional burden or intimacy of a relationship dragging him down.
“When are you going?”
“Tomorrow night. They’re bringing some friends. But you’re gonna have to sober up. You don’t want to have to ride out there in a cage. These chicks dig our bikes.”
Gunner jabbed him with his elbow but Cade couldn’t even muster a smile. He hadn’t heard from Dawn since the police showed up to investigate the body outside her house. And, of course, Benson was with them, and everything went downhill. Benson promised to protect her and arranged for a police detail to watch her house. Benson assured her he would find out who was responsible, and if it was Mad Dog, he would lock him up for good. Benson took her away in his police car after she’d arranged for Martha to look after the kids.
From his vantage point on the hill above Dawn’s street, Cade had watched Benson put his arm around Dawn’s shoulders in the police car. Was she really planning to take him up on the witness protection offer? Nothing had ever cut Cade so deep as the moment she’d called Deputy fucking Benson.
