Page 13 of Bullet

I say, “I didn’t know Sal and was there to see a man called Freddie, who apparently was the previous owner, about the job he did on my girlfriend’s car. Sal told me he bought the place from Freddie and kept everything exactly the same. It just so happens that Sal and his guys were the guys who worked on my girl’s car. I told him his work was shoddy, and I wanted her money back. He gave it to me, then we left.” Yeah, I left out the part about Sal’s crew looking for a fight. No need to divulge information until the police bring it up.

“One of his men says he was assaulted by one of Satan’s Pride. Is that true?” Wilson prods.

Sofia steps in. “Has this anonymous person lodged a complaint or made a formal grievance? Or is this some man who got in a bar fight, went to work the next day to find his boss dead, and decided to point fingers? Do you have any proof of a violent act involving one of these men?” She scans the room full of bikers. “It seems to me, Officer Wilson, that there are too many what-ifs and not enough evidence to even cast suspicion on any one person. How many customers visited the shop that day? How many of their customers have complained about terrible workmanship?” she asks, then takes out a document. “Let me give you a list of clients who have been through the shop more than twice in the last month who had complaints about the work done to their vehicles. Any one of these individuals could have had a bone to pick with the victim. Therefore, I suggest you start at the beginning.”

“Not many belong to a biker gang,” Wilson counters, furrowing his brows.

“I’d caution you to think twice before continuing along this path. First off, this is a club. A club, just like the policemen’s baseball club. A group of men who get together and enjoy riding their motorcycles, just like you might enjoy baseball with your friends and coworkers. This club runs legitimate businesses, pays taxes, and contributes to the local economy. They bring work to this small town and have invested wisely in assets all over the country. If you continue to harass my clients without evidence to back up your claim, I will ensure that you are removed from this case so that the actual killer is found and brought to justice. Sal may have been unethical in business, but no man deserves to die like that.” Sofia rises to her feet. “This meeting is over. In the future, you will contact me before you speak with my clients.”

Wilson looks around the room at all the brothers of the Pride. “Which ones are your clients?”

“All of them,” Sofia replies sharply. She leans forward, getting closer to Officer Wilson. “We would like to assist you with your investigation; therefore, if anything pertinent comes to mind, we’ll contact you.”

Wilson rises and turns to walk out, but he looks back over his shoulder. “Could you let Violet Harper know we’re looking for her, if you see her?”

“Who is Violet Harper?” I ask.

“She’s the young woman who worked for Sal. She’s missing. No sign of her at her apartment, and she hasn’t been seen around town,” he answers. Shit! That girl was already on the edge and looking to get the hell out of that hole. I wonder if she’s on the run. “We’d like to ask her a few questions as well. It seems odd that she worked there, was never late, was never absent without letting someone know, and suddenly, she disappears. What do you make of that?” Wilson asks me directly.

“I’d say you need to find this woman and ask her yourself,” I reply, keeping my expression stoic and cold.

Demon walks Wilson out. It’s not until he returns that Guard speaks up, but he looks right at Orion when he does, “I want everything you can find on Violet Harper.”

“It would be nice to have a little more to go on,” Orion says.

“Petite, with dark brown, shoulder-length hair. Hazel eyes. She hated working there and wanted out of there badly. She warned us that Sal and his buddies weren’t nice guys,” I say.

“This girl, Violet, she didn’t like Sal, but there’s no way she’d kill him. She had a plan to leave. She said so herself. I think she was working there to make enough money to get through school,” Blade adds.

“She didn’t fit,” War adds.

“How do you mean?” Guard asks, raising his brow.

“She’s smart. The book she was reading was all about business. I think she’s taking courses somewhere. She was quiet, reserved. Nerdy looking with glasses, but you can tell she knew Sal was a douche. I asked her straight out if he was hurting her. She said she’d be gone before he could do that. She was already working on an exit plan,” War tells him.

“What do you think happened to her?” This comes from Ghost, the man Guard calls his brother. He’s a very intense guy, but loyal as hell to the Pride and Guard. There’s nothing more important to him than his wife and kid and the club. Ghost was gone a long time before returning to the fold, and his main reason for staying gone was to protect the club. I wasn’t around for that, but since getting to know Ghost, I’m glad he’s on our side. Ghost also knows the power of Guard’s ability to sense situations and takes Guard’s warnings seriously.

“She’s running. The question is why, and where the hell is she now? If we can find her before the police do, I think we’ll get the answers,” Guard replies, then hesitates, clenching his fists at his sides. “She’s in trouble, and she doesn’t even know how bad this is going to get.”

“We’ve got to find out who’s causing the club problems,” Orion states. “We’re going to be under the watchful eyes of the police until we give them a reason to look elsewhere.”

“Whoever killed Sal either followed you men to his place and took the opportunity to set you up, or they were after Sal from the start and, with you at the wrong place at the wrong time, are trying to have this pinned on a Satan Pride member,” Demon states.

“They’re watching,” Guard agrees. “They’re making a statement.”

With that, the room goes silent, eerily so. The men have too much to lose. We’ve built our lives with our family around us. No one touches the Pride without retribution. My mind goes to Amelia and how this is going to affect her.

We’re new, but what I feel for her is so intense that if someone tried to take her from me, there would be bloodshed. I lift my head and catch Crush’s expression. His eyes are locked with mine. We’ve faced many battles together, and his expression says we’ll be facing whatever comes our way having each other’s backs.

Ghost clasps his hand on Crush’s shoulder. “You’re not alone, brother. This is something we all work through together.” Ghost reminds Crush of this frequently. The men are patient with my friend. Even though most of our brothers don’t know the extent of the damage created by the life Crush was thrown into, they know down to their core that he would take a bullet for any one of them.

“I’ve got to go tell Amelia what’s happening.” I blow out a heavy breath. “She’s going to blame herself.” She’s going to think that since I went to the shop on her behalf, she’s to blame. Amelia is shy and sensitive. This is going to weigh on her.

“I’ll have Ava drop in,” Guard says. “She’ll have a word. If Amelia cares for you, she’ll get that this is who you are.”

Amelia needs to know what’s going on. Chances are the police are going to call on her, but before that happens, I want to tell her about Sal. I head back up the stairs, then get ready as fast as I can to go over to see her. A few minutes later, at the bottom of the steps, I find Crush waiting for me.

“I’m coming with you,” he announces. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from my friend and brother.