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Owen barked out his laugh, and Mace knew that he was about to be called out for his lie. “You forget that I know Brooke, man,” Owen challenged. “She’s hot as fuck.”
“Well, I’ll be sure to let your wife know that you think so,” Mace challenged.
“Shit,” Owen grumbled. “Never mind—she’s hideous.” His brothers laughed and turned back to Mace. He knew that they weren’t going to let this go, but he needed them to because all he wanted now was some shut eye.
“If you guys are done giving me a hard time, I’d like to get some sleep. I’ve been on edge since I got to this hell hole, and I’m exhausted after going over my case with Brooke for hours.” The three brothers laughed like school-aged children, and he shook his head at them, knowing that they weren’t going to stop. “You three are children,” he chided.
“We are not,” Owen insisted.
“Wait,” Maverick interjected, “I was just wondering how well you were going over things with Brooke. I mean, were you thorough?”
“Get the fuck out,” Mace said, pointing to the door. “I will call you three when I have some news. Until then, try to grow up.” The three brothers turned and walked to the door, sulking the whole way. “Guys,” Mace said. The three of them turned back to look at him, still sulking and all he wanted to do was laugh. “Thanks for stopping by to check on me. It means a lot.” The Blaine brothers were the closest thing Mace had ever had to brothers. Them checking on him meant more than the three of them would ever know.
“No problem, man,” Steel said. “Stay in touch.” He nodded and watched them file out of his hotel room, one at a time. Mace crossed the small room and locked the door behind them, suddenly feeling very alone again. He should have been used to that feeling by this point, but he wasn’t. He always had his club brothers around him, helping him out, but this time, he needed to go it alone. It was what was best for his club, and Mace always protected his club.
It had been three fucking days since Brooke was there, and now, Mace was starting to worry that she might have written him off, deciding not to take his case. He had even tried calling her about a half dozen times a day and was sent to voice mail every time. Mace felt like his only option was to give into despair and turn himself into the cops.
Mace was about to crawl into bed to sleep when a knock on the motel room’s door startled him. He suddenly felt foolish for wishing it was Brooke, but he was. The idea of her standing on the other side of the store had his heart racing. Mace pulled on his jeans and t-shirt, not wanting a repeat of their first meeting when he was shirtless. He pulled the door open, and his heart instantly sank when he found some old dude standing on the other side.
“Can I help you?” Mace growled.
“You Mace?” the older man asked.
“Depends on who’s asking,” Mace said. “What can I do for you?”
“I think it’s more about what I can do for you,” the old guy said.
“I doubt that, but let’s hear it,” Mace insisted.
The guy looked around the parking lot and back at Mace. “How about we do this in your room? I think that I’m being watched, and I don’t want to chance things.” Mace wondered who would be watching the old guy and why, but he didn’t ask questions. He looked pretty nervous and that worried Mace. But he was right—it wasn’t safe for Mace to be standing in the doorway.
“Fine,” Mace grumbled, “come on in.” He moved out of the way to allow the old guy room to get into the small motel room. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“Doesn’t matter what my name is,” the old guy insisted. “What matters is I think I can prove that you didn’t kill Reece Childs.” That sounded too good to be true. He didn’t believe that a stranger would show up at the motel he was staying in, and offer him evidence that he wasn’t a murderer.
“Okay, shoot,” Mace said. “Tell me how you can prove my innocence.” The old guy sat down in the chair in the corner of the room and sighed.
“Reece was my son,” the guy said. “He broke up with his girlfriend the night before he was killed. She wasn’t a stable woman, and I believe that she killed him.”
“Why would you believe that?” Mace asked.
“Because she left this on my son’s doorstep after he broke things off with her.” The old guy held out a piece of paper and Mace crossed the room to take it from him. He quickly read the note and handed it back to him.
“She seemed pretty pissed off after he broke up with her,” Mace said.
The old guy nodded, “She even said that she wouldn’t let him go without a fight. She said that if she couldn’t have him, no one would. I’d say that sounds pretty threatening, wouldn’t you?” Mace had to agree with the guy, but he wasn’t sure that the note was enough to get him off.
“The letter isn’t signed,” Mace pointed out. “Do you know her name?”
“That’s the problem,” the old guy admitted, “I have no idea what her name is. Reese really didn’t share information about who he was dating, and I didn’t butt in. I’ve always been a hands-off kind of dad.” Mace was very familiar with the concept of a hands-off dad. His father had left him when he was just a baby. He never heard a peep from the guy, and that worked for him. Hell, he didn’t know if his father was alive or dead, and none of that really mattered to him. Mace decided a long time ago that he was better off without his old man.
“I don’t know if you’ve given me enough to have the cops drop the charges, but I appreciate the help,” Mace said. “I do have a question—how did you find me here?” He should have asked the old guy that question before letting him into his motel room, but better late than never.
“The cops told me that my son’s body was found at your bar. I saw three big guys leaving there earlier and decided to follow them. They were looking around as though trying to make sure that no one was watching them, and I took a chance that they knew where you were and were coming to see you.” Mace had to hand it to the guy, he was pretty smart to follow Owen, Mav, and Steel to the motel. Those jackasses were dumb enough to lead the old guy right to his doorstep.
“I’m going to murder them,” he whispered under his breath.
The old guy chuckled, “Maybe you shouldn’t say that kind of shit if you want people to believe that you’re innocent.” The old guy was right. Mace needed to be more careful about what he said. Blurting out that he was going to murder anyone might not end well for him.
