Page 102 of Diary of a Biker Queen

Lynx smoothed his hand over my hair. “It’s going to be okay.”

But it wasn’t, and we both knew it. All I could do was cling to him while the car burned in front of us and sirens wailed, getting closer by the minute.

The fire trucks and the police arrived in unison, skidding onto the scene, kicking up dirt and gravel beneath spinning tires. The firefighters went straight to work, and the cops stood by, watching and talking amongst themselves until the blaze was completely out.

Without the flames, there was no camouflaging the burned body behind the steering wheel.

But there was no recognizing it either. It was so blackened and burned I couldn’t have even told you if it was male or female. My entire body shook, and I couldn’t look away, no matter how hard I tried to force myself to.

Cops began questioning people, and two burly officers with broad shoulders came over to where Lynx and I stood in a huddle. They introduced themselves as Officers Rivera and Akers, but I barely registered any of it.

I couldn’t stop staring at the smoking remains of Luca’s car and the body inside it.

“I’m told you were the first to raise the alarm, Mr. Cross.”

For a moment I didn’t realize who he was talking to, until Lynx nodded and I remembered he actually had a legal name.

“Yes. I was just coming back from town—”

“Can anyone verify your alibi?”

He blinked. “My alibi? What the fuck do I need an alibi for?”

Akers shrugged. “We need to know where you were this evening.”

“I was driving around town, searching for Luca Guerra.”

The officer glanced up at him with one of his bushy eyebrows raised. “I guess you found him.” He jerked his head carelessly toward the smoldering remains of Luca’s car.

I gaped at him. “That’s not Luca inside that car.”

Rivera finally turned to me. “Why would you think it’s anyone else? Do you have proof Mr. Guerra is alive and breathing elsewhere? Or that he would have loaned his car to someone?”

“No…but…”

The officers waited for me to say something more, but I didn’t know what.

They turned back to Lynx, ignoring me completely. “Your alibi, Mr. Cross. Who can verify your whereabouts in the last hour?”

“In the last hour? I…I don’t know. I was riding around, looking for Luca. I was at Saint View Tattoo and the Greasy Spoon earlier. I spoke with people there. They can vouch for me.”

Akers jotted something down on his notepad. “Okay, but no alibi for the last hour?”

Lynx’s fingers loosened around me as he faced off with the police officers. “Am I seriously a suspect here? Do I need a lawyer?”

“Did you know almost half of all murders are committed by a spouse or intimate partner? I believe you and Mr. Guerra were in a relationship?”

Lynx blinked. “How did you even know that?”

Rivera just stared at him. “Is it true?”

“Yes, but—”

The officer didn’t care. He just wrote something else on his notepad. “And is it true you were recently released from prison?”

Some of the fight went out of Lynx. “Yes.”

“And during that time you were in prison, is it true there was a man murdered, one who had lynx marks carved into his back?”