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“What are you, the biker IT guy?”
He flashed another of those amazing smiles that made a girl forget all her troubles. “Sort of, except way cooler. And hotter.But really my role is to use my computer skills in any way the MC needs. I can access cameras, bank accounts, police… well, let’s just say I have a far reach.”
I shook my head as his words settled into my brain. “You’re a hacker?”
“Among many other things, yes.” There was no shame in his voice, if anything he was proud.
It was a lot to unpack with the weight of his gaze on my face. Who knew that biker gangs needed hackers? “What does that mean?”
He let his gaze bounce around the room before it settled on my face once again. His expression grew serious, “It means that I tapped into the Greater Metro Hospital along with Steel City Medical and Vegas Urgent Care.”
I felt all the blood rush from my face, leaving me cold and ashamed. I looked away, not able to meet his eyes.
“You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about, Emma. Not one fucking thing.” His jaw clenched angrily and though I shrank back, I realized he was angryforme.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, so I shrugged it off. Literally. “Yeah, so you know he used me as a punching bag. Big deal. I couldn’t go to SCM because he worked there and Urgent Care takes too long.” There’d been plenty of times that Alex left injuries that required medical treatment, which he refused to give.
“There are lots of x-rays showing bruises and fractures over the years.”
“Yep,” I answered and kept my gaze on the bottle shaped like a skull on the top shelf behind the bar.
“I guess the thought of going back home isn’t so appealing, that place can’t hold good memories for you.”
I looked down at my feet, “Honestly? I really want to just run away, I tried before but Alex stopped me. But this time I can’t. He’s not here and he won’t come after us but still I can’t run.”
“He’d have the right to come after you if you took Ash.”
I shook my head, ignoring that hint ofsomethingin his voice. “Ash isn’t his daughter. I met him just before she turned two.” I held my breath and waited for more questions, but he didn’t ask anymore.
“The sheriff is going to question you tomorrow. Unofficially, but it’s going to happen.”
“What? Why?” My heart raced like a sports car in my chest and every worst-case scenario I could think of played in my head. “Why? How do you even know that?” I had about fifty other questions, but I kept them to myself while I waited for answers.
“Sometimes we have common enemies, those who threaten the well-being of the town, which we’re both committed to keeping it just how it is. We have a friendly sort of relationship.”
“Odd, but okay.”
He gifted me with another smile that I felt all the way down to my toes. “Just tell Sheriff Cross exactly what you told me, about the abuse and your failed attempts to leave. Stick as close to the truth as possible.”
“Minus the whole killing him part?”
He shook his head, “Don’t go there. He left you after the argument. Right now there’s no reason for Cross to suspect anything other than a man who’s gone off-grid. Vegas is just up the street and he’s not the first husband to let the lure of the girls and gambling erase memories of his other obligations.”
A heavy breath rushed out of me. “You have a knack for making the most unreasonable things seem completely reasonable.” It wasn’t that easy and if he really was trying to help me, he needed to know the truth. “There’s more.”
Chapter 7
Slate
Iheld my breath as I waited for the other shoe to drop. It wouldn’t be the first time a woman—or anybody else—had needed our help that pulled us into their deep, dark recesses of their fucked-up messes. For some reason I expected more of Emma, but I shouldn’t have. She might be cute, but she was just a woman, and in my experience, they often brought trouble. She seemed like a good mom, but I waited with a carefully blank expression for her to tell me that she had a side piece with a criminal record or a big ass life insurance policy on her husband. “More, how?”
She shook her head and kept her gaze focused on her fingers as she began to speak. “One night a little over a year ago Alex took me out for a romantic dinner, which was out of character for him, but I guess I was starved for attention, so I didn’t question it, not even to myself. Her smile was sad. “It was a nice meal, and we talked and laughed in a way he hadn’t since before he put the ring on my finger. We took dessert home and opened a bottle of wine.”
My nostrils flared and the heat of jealousy pumped through my veins. “Sounds like a good thing?”
She laughed bitterly. “You would think but I passed out after two drinks, which was odd. I’m a lightweight but not that much of a lightweight. Two days later DCFS was on our doorstep with a complaint of drug use. I had to go in front of a judge and try to explain why there were benzodiazepines in my system when I didn’t have a prescription.” She shook her head in disbelief.“Alex swooped in and made up some story about being drugged at a club, which the judge bought. Easily.”
“Fuck,” I growled, pissed off on her behalf.
