Page 90 of Diary from an Inked Throne

“Yeah. That’s not great, is it?” I asked him.

“Not exactly.” He took another mouthful of his coffee and quickly put it back down so he could tip another packet of sugar into it. “Listen. I don’t want to scare any of you. I know you have an awful lot on your plates right now, what with the baby and all, but when something keeps me awake at night, I like to get a handle on it. And this loose thread, the threat that you’re going to be exposed, is keeping me awake at night.”

The guys at Slayers had all told me Liam was a good guy. It was nice that he cared.

“So, what do we do?” I asked him.

He sighed heavily. “I mean, for starters? Have you killed anyone lately?”

Jeremiah’s dead body wrapped up in plastic and being put in the back of Bruno’s car just last night while we messed around on the balcony above them came to mind. I shook my head. “No.”

I mean, technically, that had been Luca’s kill, not mine.

“Well, that’s a start. No new bodies turning up is a good thing. But someone has framed you before, and that doesn’t mean it won’t happen again. The cops can do it a lot better than the average Joe Blow can, and if they need to make up some numbers, they could try pinning a whole lot right on your back. I’m going to put some pressure on them to leave you alone.”

“Pressure? What sort of pressure?”

He smiled at me. “Just a lot of paperwork. An official complaint of harassment and some other things we can busy them up with, make them not want to come near you unless they have a really good reason to.”

“Paperwork and form filing. How scary,” Luca muttered sarcastically under his breath.

I elbowed him.

“What?”

I didn’t reply because I couldn’t disagree with him. I didn’t really think Liam filling out some details in block letters was really going to deter anyone from anything.

But if that helped him sleep better at night, then I wasn’t going to stop him.

Liam finished his toast and brushed off his hands. “I gotta get going. Hang in there. Stay out of trouble. Hopefully this whole thing with the cops blows over, and they find something new to focus on. It would be nice if I stop hearing your name every time I’m in there.”

I wasn’t exactly known for being a smart man, but even I knew that was doubtful. The cops all had superiors to report to. Quotas to make. Solving Virginia’s murder, the murder of a local mother, would look good for their department.

As an ex-con with motorcycle club affiliation, I was the world’s easiest target.

I couldn’t get thrown in jail again. I wanted to be here for Nyah when James was returned…or if he wasn’t. I wanted to be here for Luca and for Dax and for the guys at the club.

I wanted to be here for the family I’d made for myself. This wasn’t like the first time I’d gone to jail, where I’d had nothing to lose.

I glanced over at the three of them sitting around the table either side of me. I didn’t want this to end.

Which meant I couldn’t wait around for Liam to file his paperwork and to ask the cops politely if they wouldn’t mind just letting me live in peace.

I needed to take matters into my own hands.

But I couldn’t do it by myself.

“What are you all doing today?” I asked them.

Luca glanced at his watch. “I’ve got a meeting with the crew I sent down to Vegas to search for James and Enzo, and then hockey. I’m going to be late, actually.” He pushed to his feet.

Shit, I should have been going to that practice as well.

But my gut warned that I wouldn’t be going to any practices if I was back in jail.

“If it’s about James, I’m coming too.” Nyah took a final sip of her very bad coffee and stood to follow him.

Dax did the same. “I need to go to work. Reaper is doing a pretty big piece today, and I want to make sure I’m there if he has any questions.”