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Then there is William Newsome. He was a principal at one of the local high schools until his arrest a year and a half ago. Several current and former students came forward and filed accusations of sexual misconduct. Each girl had an escort from a local motorcycle club. I have a feeling that if I read the interviews with these girls, I’ll find that Puma and Trouble worked together to encourage them to press charges.
After reading through these accounts, I have a hunch and pull up the arrest record for our former District Attorney. Doesn’t take me long to find the phrase I’m searching for. An anonymous informant provided detailed records of his embezzlement along with information about his predilection for streetwalkers. I may not have proof, but I know Puma’s responsible for the takedown of each man. He did it to give Viper justice. Which is more than she received from the LVMPD.
After calling the casino and verifying Angela was working, I shut down and drive over to talk to her. I take a turn around thecasino until I see a woman who looks exactly like her daughter. She’s standing at the bar waiting for the bartender to finish pouring drinks. The two are chatting when I approach.
“Angela Turner?” I ask, flashing her my badge. “I’m Detective Rafe Sterling. Would it be possible to have a few words?”
Angela’s eyes widen at the sight of my badge, but she slowly nods. I’m shocked to see them fill with tears as she wraps her arms around her middle. “You found her? Didn’t you? You found my baby? He killed her. That son-of-a-bitch killed her.” Then, before I can say a word, her eyes roll to the back of her head, and she collapses. I catch her just before she crumbles to the floor.
“Shit. Where’s the doctor?” I ask the bartender, who rushes around the bar to check on Angela.
“What did you do to her?” she asks, trying to pull Angela out of my arms. “Security!” she screams out.
I show my badge to her and the two security guards who answer her call. “I’m a police officer. This woman needs to lie down. Do you have a medic on staff?”
The largest of the guards nods before lifting Angela into his arms. “This way, follow me.”
I follow him to the employee-only section until he passes through a door with ‘Medical’ on the sign. Inside is an older man who immediately takes charge of the situation. He directs the guard to lay her down on a cot.
“What happened?” he asks me.
“She fainted. I think she believes I came here to give her bad news about her daughter.”
“Angelica?” the guard asks. He blushes when I turn to look at him.
“Name’s Reggie. We all know about Angelica. Angela came to Vegas because she was looking for her daughter.”
I study the man and see the apprehension in his eyes as he studies me back. He’s large, not as big as Puma, but he’s at least6’ 8” with a broad chest and thick arms. He looks like he could play for the Raiders. Angela’s moan snags my attention. The doctor is waving a small bottle of what I assume is smelling salts under her nose. When her eyes flutter open, she looks around the room in confusion before her eyes land on me. Her whimper almost breaks me.
“Angelica is alive,” I assure her. “She’s safe and she’s alive.”
Reggie lets out a tremendous sigh as he moves forward to grasp Angela’s hand. “Did you hear that, Angel? Angelica is alive.”
“How? Where is she? Can I see her?” Angela struggles to sit up. Reggie seems torn between helping her and forcing her to lie back down. He gives a pleading look to the doctor.
“Did her head hit the floor when she fainted?” he asks me. I shake my head. He nods and looks back at Reggie. “She should be okay to sit up. Monitor her, but it sounds like she just fainted. She’ll be fine.”
With minimal effort, Reggie pulls her forward so he can slide in behind her. He keeps his arms around her. Angela pats his arm as she looks at me expectantly.
“Angelica is safe. The circumstances under which we found her required the involvement of Child Protective Services. She’s with a foster family right now, who I can guarantee will treat her like the princess she is. Angelica has been through much. She’s seeing a therapist even though she doesn’t remember much from before my friends rescued her. I saw her just a few hours ago. I’ll need to take a statement from you. You’ll need to meet with the CPS agent in charge of her case. I’ll do what I can to help facilitate a meeting between you and Angelica as soon as possible. But I need you to tell me what you know.”
CHAPTER NINE: VIPER
I consider Barry’s advice as I speed back to the clubhouse. After thanking Barry for giving me shelter, I make him promise to come visit the clubhouse soon. He wouldn’t commit to a visit but did promise to call. I hope he does. Even though I’ve known the man for less than twenty-four hours, I feel like we made a connection. Also, I think he’s lonely. He’d benefit from creating ties to our club. After all, once a biker, always a biker.
I’m relieved to see Smooth manning the gate instead of Max. Not because I want to avoid him. Quite the opposite. I don’t want to wait until he gets off guard duty so we can talk. I’m torn between the thrill of having my brother back and the anger that he’s lied to me this past year. Backing into my spot, I remember Barry’s words. Maybe Max had a good reason for not telling me who he was. For both our sakes, I need to hear him out.
Before dismounting, I take out my cell and place a call to Rafe. I feel bad about taking off without talking to him. So, I hope he’s understanding about why I needed some time. When it goes to voicemail, I leave a quick message. “Rafe, it’s me. I’m sorry for taking off yesterday without talking to you. I just needed some time to get my head around everything. If you have time today, I would really like to see you.”
Ending the call, I take a deep breath and dismount. I leave my gear stored in my saddlebags. Stepping inside the doors, the first person I see is Puma. He’s holding Elina on his shoulders. He beams at me as Elina squeals my name, fidgeting until Puma places her back on the ground. She races across the room and throws herself at me with all the confidence of youth. “Viper, you’re back. I missed you. You were gone for so long,” Elina says, hugging me tight. I chuckle at her exaggeration. She leans back to place her two little hands on my face. “You upset Max. He wouldn’t watch a movie with us last night. Go say you’re sorry and make up.”
Puma chuckles as he joins us. “Elina doesn’t like strife in the clubhouse.”
I hug the little girl before handing her back over to Puma. “I’ll talk to Max.”
As I say the words, I see him step into the common room. He freezes when he sees me. Taking a deep breath, I walk towards him. “You can use my office,” Puma offers. I give him a thankful nod before gesturing for Max to follow me. Opening the door, I wait for Max to slide in after me. Neither of us is brave enough to take Puma’s chair, so we sit across from each other in his guests’ chairs.
“I’m sorry…” both Max and I say simultaneously and then chuckle.
