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Emily drags me down the hallway, we take a sharp left and she shuts the door to the bedroom. On the bed, Lars lifts his head and wags his tail.
Emily peeks out the window as if someone might be eavesdropping. “We have maybe five minutes, so let’s get to the point. You can’t tell anyone I’m telling you this, okay? Because the reason I’m doing it is that they stupidly tried to keep it from me and it backfired and you’re dating Razor now, so you should know.”
“Okay.”
Emily tugs on the ends of her long hair. “The RMC is a rival motorcycle club in Louisville. The Terror and the Riot hate each other. In the past, it was bad, but they have a peace treaty now, but it seems to be on the edge of falling apart. I’m telling you this because if you see anyone from the Riot, you need to get out quick, especially if they know you’re the girlfriend of one of the Terror.”
The click in my head is so audible that I’m surprised Emily didn’t hear it. I unlocked part of a threat and that threat was from the Riot Motorcycle Club.
“Eli and the club are freaking out. The Riot ran through on their bikes a couple of weeks ago and then Razor went after them on his own. If Cyrus hadn’t caught up to him, there is no telling if Razor would have been hurt. Because of that Eli has been stonewalling me on visiting.”
My mouth is completely dropped open. “Razor what?”
“Went after them,” she repeats.
“Is that who shot Razor?” It’s like I can’t draw enough air into my body.
Emily goes completely still as if she’s a statue. “Say that again?”
Secrets. Violet told me that this is a life of secrets. “Razor was shot. It’s part of the reason why they’re throwing this party.”
Emily’s eyes dart to the thoughts in her head. “I was told it was for me, but this makes more sense. But we’re off track. Look, I like you. You’re funny and nice and everyone in the club is seriously praying you two work because, to be honest, Razor’s freaking suicidal.”
I blink several times and Emily’s expression falls. “I don’t mean, like, he’s tried it or he’s vlogging his last words or anything. I mean he does these stupid things like that fight you talked about or chasing after the Riot or...”
Teetering on the ledge of a bridge over a rushing river. “I understand.” I try to force myself out of the long tunnel of shock. “Then it’s safe now? You’re here in Kentucky, so the Riot is no longer a problem?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t supposed to know about Razor going after the Riot, but I overheard Oz and Eli talking about it when they visited me in Florida. It drives me freaking insane, but this club is super secretive and that’s not going to change. I mean, for God’s sake, I consider Razor a friend and he was shot and no one told me.”
“If it isn’t safe, then why are you here?”
Emily gestures to the dresser and on it are two wooden boxes. “Those are Olivia’s ashes. She was like a mom to Oz and Razor, but she was my biological grandmother. She left us instructions of what she wants us to do with her remains. One
box is for me and Oz and the other is for Razor. Her letter to me and Oz said that we had to spread her ashes in Kentucky. Eli let me come because I told him we were being disrespectful to his mother if we pushed it out any further.”
I walk over to the boxes and take an interest in the one that has an envelope with Razor’s name resting on top of it. “What is Razor supposed to do with the ashes?”
“No one knows. Not even Razor. Olivia left him the bylaws of the club and said when he figured it out, he would know what to do with her ashes. What’s even odder is that Oz and I received our letter after she passed, but she had specific instructions for when Razor was to get his. He received his a few weeks ago and it was related to some sort of event that no one will tell me about. Olivia was awesome, but she could be weird.”
I note the wistful tone in her voice—the same one Razor has when he speaks of Olivia. She must have been someone truly amazing. Behind the box is a stack of papers stapled together and I tilt my head. “Are these the bylaws?”
“Yes, but we need to go. Razor will be looking for you and Oz will be pissed if he finds out I’m telling you this.”
A screeching of a screen door, boots down a hallway, and Emily is pleading, but my focus is on the page. The first code’s a cipher...a key to unlock something else...
Razor involved me with the code because a detective brought him a file on his mother. Olivia—a woman he admitted he loved and who loved him in return, a woman married to the president of this club—this Olivia left bylaws to be given to him after a specific event. An event where Razor was trying to discover what happened to his mother?
I snatch the bylaws off the dresser and Emily rushes toward me. “What are you doing? I know you’re new, but you cannot read those. Seriously, they will freak out and—”
“I need a printer.” I fish my cell out of my pocket. “I have a file and I need to print it.”
Emily squints in confusion and there’s no way she can understand. No one knows what this is about and I won’t tell her, but even worse, this isn’t only about Razor anymore. This is also about me. I’ve seen the code. It’s there in my head, when I sleep, when I eat. A constant nagging.
The door to the room opens, Razor enters, and when he spots what’s in my hands, he warily eyes Emily, then me. I show him my cell. “She needs to go, and I need a printer. Full page. Eight-by-ten. Nothing smaller. Nothing bigger. This has to be precise.”
A shadow crosses his face as he notices the picture I had promised to delete off my phone. “Get out, Emily.”
I don’t cower at the pure anger radiating from Razor, but Emily is out the door in seconds. I maintain eye contact with Razor, and he steps closer, towering over me as if he could will me into compliance. He can glower, he can yell, but this is Razor and he could never hurt me because he is built to the core to protect.
