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Sophie saw Colt up ahead, and realized she was being brought before him. She saw the police Sergeant, Carmelo, hovering beside him, too. Colt was talking to an older man, with a plain leather jacket and a beer belly.
“Did Phantom go out and kill him? Carmelo’s going to have to call in favors to cover this one up…”
“Phantom didn’t do it,” Sophie said, with 100% watertight conviction. Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at her.
But Colt and the others had seen her now and looked up, and she felt herself being pushed toward them again.
“What is she doing here, Colt?” the older man asked as she approached. “The cute little cafe owner who Phantom seemed to have the hots for?” His eyes swept her up and down. And back up and down again. Sophie set her jaw.
“Thought you’d been a good boy, Blue, thought I’d reward you with an ice cream,” Colt joked wryly, taking a deep drag on the cigarette.
The older man, Blue, sniffed. “That the beast from hell had fallen for such a little girl next door is fucking hilarious!”
Colt threw Blue an unamused look as he stubbed out his cigarette in an ashtray. Sophie was pretty sure Colt wasn’t meant to be smoking in the bar, and she felt annoyed at this Blue character, too. Who was he, anyway?
Colt turned to Sophie. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel his presence. He was tall, broad, and handsome. He brought in with him a whiff of leather and cigarette smoke and pure prime man.
“Sophie, this is April’s father, my father-in-law and the head of the Gangs division at the FBI. Black Coyotes MC works for the FBI,” Colt said, nodding.
Sophie felt herself sway.
“To bring you up to speed quickly, basically… we work with the FBI. Now, Johnny was an undercover agent, turns out… but he got… attacked last night, early hours of the morning, throat cut, he bled out… we know Phantom had beef with Johnny-”
“I’m telling you now, Phantom didn’t-”
“Phantom’s a killer, you know that, right?” Blue cut in.
She looked to Blue.
And swallowed.
And held her head high as she replied, “Of course I know.”
Colt stared at her without blinking for a second. Did he realize she was bluffing?
“And Phantom absolutely did not do this. He was with me, all night, he never left the room until he had to go to work-”
“He could have looped around when he left-” Blue started to say.
Carmelo butted in now, “No, the body’s been dead for at least three hours, Johnny’s all stiff and cold, if Phantom left at 6 a.m., the timeframes don’t match up.”
Colt looked visibly relieved.
Blue looked annoyed.
Sophie had no idea if he left in the night or not, she had been out of it, completely passed out in a post-sex coma, but she’d be damned if she told them that. She’d be damned before she let any blame fall at Phantom’s door. She knew, in her heart, this wasn’t him. He wasn’t a cold-blooded monster. He was a hurt, scared little boy. He wouldn’t lash out randomly because of a misunderstanding, even over Sophie. He was getting his own back on the people who hurt him. She’d be damned is she let any seeds of doubt grow in her mind. Unequivocally, she trusted him. She believed in him. She stood by him.
“Phantom didn’t do this,” she reaffirmed.
Carmelo nodded. “Steel said he turned away some guys last night, trying to get into the party, they didn’t have any passwords but they kept loitering nearby.”
“Phantom’s normally a tidy killer, this was a fucking mess-” Ash piped up from beside her now. Sophie turned.
The others had hung back a bit, but she heard Rita whisper, “Demonios. Here, trying to get into the clubhouse?” She felt them bristling with indignation.
Blue spoke up, “Why the fuck would the Demonios surface now, after months of silence, after we know the SoCal chapter is basically dead… and try coming after you?” He stared at Colt like he knew there was something Colt wasn’t telling him.
“We’ve had a few… sightings of some Demonios members recently,” Colt said as he turned to Blue to explain. “I told you about how Sophie was nearly killed by a Demonios the other night. Phantom luckily got there first-”
