Page 93 of The Riders’ Reign

“Yes,” Megan echoes, “why did he do that?”

Ghost sighs. “Because your family has gone through enough, and he sees that.”

But Zoo must have overheard the conversation, as he steps in. “Nah, there’s more to it than that. His mom died in jail when he was just a kid. They said it was suicide, but rumor was that she was being messed around with by a couple of the guards, and when she tried to speak out about it, they killed her.”

Megan clamps her hand over her mouth. “Jesus Christ, that’s terrible.”

“So my guess is that he didn’t want Shelley to go through the same fate. We all know how corrupt Verona Falls’ prison is, and there are bad rumors about the women’s wing. My guess is he wanted to save Shelley from that. Phoenix is big and bad enough to take care of himself, and he knows we will all be working on getting him out, if it even goes that far.”

I shake my head in disbelief. I’m not sure I’d be so brave as to take the fall for shooting a cop. If it had been Camile who’d done the shooting, I wouldn’t have hesitated, but not for some woman I barely know. I wonder if Phoenix has other motives for getting himself locked up, or if he figures once they learn the cop was corrupt, that his sentence will be slashed to nothing. I have no idea, but either way, it’s a damned big gamble.

At least now, though, we know how the cartel found Shelley. They must have asked their paid-off contacts in the local PD for any information on people in the club, and the corrupt cops would have easily been able to see how vulnerable Megan and Shelley would be to blackmail, especially after all their family has faced.

I put my arm around Camile and kiss the top of her head, thankful that whatever the fuck just happened is over, and none of the people I consider family got hurt. I feel terrible for Shelley and Phoenix and Bear, but the ones I love most are safe, and that’s all that matters to me.

42

CAMILE

The remaining police are taking statements from those of us who witnessed the event, and I wonder what I’m going to say. I saw exactly what happened, but if I describe it, I’ll be making a liar out of Phoenix and getting Shelley in trouble. I know how it feels to have a man you love in the hospital with a gunshot wound, and I picture her needing to be by Bear’s bedside. She can’t do that if she’s behind bars. In the end, I decide to just say I didn’t see anything. I was hiding behind the dumpster, too frightened to look.

It seems everyone else has come to the same conclusion, and even though there were crowds of people, some of whom must have witnessed the shooting, everyone appears to have been looking the other way.

“No one is talking,” I comment quietly to Ace.

He scoffs. “Princess, bikers don’t talk to the cops. Or at least, not our kind. It’s a fucking golden rule. We work with those we can get onside and pay off, but we don’t talk to them. I’d rather die than give those fuckers any ammunition.”

Jack walks over and puts his arm around my shoulders. “I’ve told the deputy to keep me updated on what happens with Phoenix. His first arraignment will be in a couple of days, but it’s unlikely he’ll make bail, not with a cop shooting.”

“He didn’t shoot him,” Ace says, his voice low. He explains to Jack what I told him, and Jack’s brows punch up.

I want to say that he just needs to say he didn’t do it, but I know that’ll never happen, and in a way, I don’t want it to because I don’t want Shelley to be the one rotting in jail. It’s a horrible situation all around.

“But even if he’s behind bars,” Jack says, “Phoenix is still one of us. We won’t turn our backs on him. What he did was brave, and maybe a little foolish, but he needs our support. Verona Falls Prison is not a good place to spend any time at all, never mind years.”

I stare up at Jack. “You think he’ll get years? Even if it’s proven the cop was corrupt and abducted Megan?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know, Baby-girl. It’ll be hard to say before he has a trial, and the investigation into the corrupt cops shakes out. We’ll make sure he has the very best lawyers, though. If he does have to do time, we’ll try to make it the shortest possible.”

Rook’s head is down, his shoulders slumped. It’s so sad to see him going from the high of being told he’s a fully patched in member to this.

“Fuck, I hate that I brought trouble to the compound,” he says.

I take his hand and Jack drops his arms from my shoulders, giving me the space to comfort Rook. “I did the same. But you know, it wasn’t intentional, on either side.”

He shakes his head. “Even so, I should have known better.”

“Rook,” I make my voice stern. “Would you say the same about me? Look at everything that happened. In fact, I could say that the only reason you needed to speak to Jarrod in the first place was because of me, so this is all actually my fault, not yours.”

“That’s not true,” he argues.

“Isn’t it? I’m the root of all the trouble around here, and I know you don’t blame me, so why should anyone think any differently of you?”

He lets out a sigh. “Okay, maybe you’re right.”

Rook steps into me, his arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me closer, so it’s as though we’re dancing together, slowly moving side to side. “What would I do without you?” he says.

I smile up at him. “You’ll never need to find out, because I’m not going anywhere.”