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“Nope. They’re staying here. With me.”
Gio’s shoulders sagged, and he shook his head. “I’m not touching this fucking mess.” He walked towards the bar, securing a beer while he flirted with the woman serving drinks.
“Peyton, over here.”
I looked up to find four sets of eyes laser focused on me.
Worry and guilt coursed through me, and I didn’t know why, but I pushed my shoulders back and joined the small group. “Did you find Chloe’s killer?”
“No.” The sheriff’s head hung low. “But this will help.” He nodded to the closest table, and I took the seat farthest from Rocky, who then circled the table and dropped down right beside me. “We’re still tracking down leads.”
I huffed out a bitter laugh. “I’m sure you are, but that’s not helpful to me. No offense.” I knew he was trying his best, or at least I hoped he was, but that didn’t change the fact that my life was on hold until this person was behind bars.
“Since we’re handing out bad news, let me pile on,” Slate said. “The messages you’ve been receiving are coming from a spoofed number routed through different VPNs, which means they could be coming from next door or Tokyo.”
“You’re right, you are piling on,” I said with a sigh. “Thanks for trying, though.”
“The good news is I might be able to work some magic on the other phone you guys have just brought me, so…I’mma go try, now. See ya.” Then he stood and headed off to god knows where.
Well, alright then.
“Peyton, look at the photos again and tell me if you recognize this person.” Sheriff Cross laid out several of the photos from the shoebox and pointed at the man. “Take your time.”
“I don’t recognize him,” I said flatly, as I stared at a slightly overweight, dark haired…somebody. “He’s obviously too old to be a student, and it’s clear that he doesn’t want to be in these photos.”
“What do you mean by that?” Cross said, and I looked up to see all three remaining men staring at me like I was talking gibberish.
“Look, his finger blurs the selfies of him and Chloe in most of them, and he’s quickly turning his head like he’s looking away in the rest, which is why his face is difficult to distinguish. And here,” I pointed at a few others, “his body is turned away or it’s just his profile in the photos. This looks like a man who hates pictures, and his girlfriend who insists on them anyway. It’s almost as if he’s purposely trying to hide his face.”
“Obviously,” Rocky says, as if it’s far from obvious to him. “Right.”
“Is he a professor?” Sheriff Cross asked.
“If he is, I haven’t taken his class.” Though that would be a good reason for Chloe to keep it a secret. She would’ve loved being in the power position of holding his career in her hands. “Another thing that doesn’t make sense is why would she take time to print out photos when she could have them on her phone or cloud storage. Why would she take the time to do it and then hide them.”
Bile rose in my stomach as the answer hit me clear as day. “She was obviously his dirty little secret.” My gaze collided with Rocky’s, and I stood abruptly, rushing for the nearest toilet to empty my stomach.
Again.
Chapter 21
Rocky
Sitting around the table at the main hub, waiting for Diesel and a few other brothers before church, my thoughts were squarely on the now prickly woman asleep in one of the rooms down the hall. She’d avoided me for the rest of the day after Cross left, and my coward ass left her alone instead of talking to her, like I knew I should have. I’d figured there’d be an opportunity the next day. But that very next day, she’d packed up all her shit and disappeared off to the clubhouse with Gio, and I hadn’t seen her since. I knew she slept a lot and had been sick a lot, so again, I let her be, figuring she needed time. I guessed the stress had finally gotten to her, my shitty treatment of her probably hadn’t helped either. But she wasn’t making a show at all. She was deliberately avoiding me, and I was starting to fear I’d never fucking see her again.
And it was my own fucking fault.
“All right, guys, let’s get started.” Diesel walked in and took his seat at the head of the table. I sat to his right and Maverick sat to his left. Diesel looked around, mentally taking note of those in attendance while Hawk documented the minutes of the meeting. “New news?”
Rebel spoke first, as he usually did when it came to MC money matters. “Rocky’s scheme has, so far, proven lucrative. We’ve contacted half of the douchebags on the list so far, and have nearly a quarter million added to the coffers. As of yet there are no signs of retaliation, and we’re still rolling out our little threats and receiving more cash as we speak. He sat back and flashed a satisfied smile as he folded his tattooed arms. “I think we should move forward with the next name Slate has vetted.”
Diesel nodded, his expression blank but relaxed. “Sounds good.” He turned to me with a smile. “Good job, Rocky.”
“Yeah, thanks. It’s the least that fucker Carter could do for us in death, considering everything else.”
Diesel’s expression darkened as he, no doubt, was thinking about the fact that Carter’s son had kidnapped his woman. “Too fucking right, brother.”
Maverick cleared his throat and sat forward. “We have a guest and she’s safe,” he began, wiggling his eyebrows in my direction. “Doesn’t talk much and mostly stays to herself, but whatever trouble is on her tail hasn’t made it to us. Yet.”
