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Abby rushed from the cottage, locking the door behind her and meeting Scott halfway up the path. Her heart was galloping; her need to know how her mother was doing competed with the incomprehensible need to keep the presence of the notorious outlaw biker inside the house from Scott.
“She’s okay.”
Abby shook her head, searching his face for more information. “What does that mean?”
Scott cupped her face in his hands. “It means Rachel is still waiting for the test results but is in good spirits and much recovered from her episode yesterday. She’s been told nothing other than a patient on the ward died under suspicious circumstances.”
A sliver of relief washed over Abby. “But you told her who he was? How he came to be in the hospital?”
Scott nodded. “How about we go inside, and we can talk? It’ll be a little while before you can get in to see Rachel.”
Abby jerked her head out of his hands. “No!”
Scott’s eyes widened and his brow furrowed.
“I mean, I’d just feel better if we headed back to Ballina now.” She forced her mouth into a smile. What was she doing? This inherent need to keep the biker a secret made no sense. And she’d never lied to Scott before. “We can talk on the way.”
Scott held her gaze a moment longer before shaking his head. “Okay, whatever you want.”
Abby hurried around Scott and to the car, relief and anger performing a dangerous dance in her gut. She needed to talk to her mother; to understand exactly who this man was. The answer nudged at her core, but she wouldn’t believe it until she heard it from Rachel. And even then, Abby wasn’t sure she’d be able to accept it as truth. She could not imagine Rachel involved with an outlaw MC, not in any lifetime.
Scott unlocked the car and she got into the passenger seat. Once he was seated beside her and they’d pulled away from the curb, she spoke.
“What did Mum say about this guy just turning up on her doorstep and knowing my name?”
“She was worried about you, of course.”
“And you told her I’m fine?” Exasperation nipped at her; she wanted to know what her mother knew, not talk about how Abby was faring.
“I told her after the initial shock wore off, you are yourself.” Scott glanced at her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Stubborn, defensive–”
Abby held up her hand. “I told you, I’m no one’s damsel in distress.”
“I know, Abby. I hear you. It’s just … you just don’t have to build your walls so high.”
She stared out the window, blind to the changing landscape of the Lennox Head township and the rolling emerald green hills that contrasted against the deep blues of the Pacific Ocean. Abby was in no mood to have this argument again.
She changed the direction of the conversation. “Did Mum know him? Kypianos?”
“No, he wasn’t familiar to her at all and had no idea why he would show up at her home.”
Neither did Abby. All her instincts were screaming that Zep–she was sure that was the name Scott had said when he pointed out members of The Devils on his laptop yesterday–and The Devils MC had something to do with it. But what? If Rachel knew Zep from her past–she couldn’t bring herself to even think what their relationship might have been–why would he suddenly appear all these years later?
“The police were going to take her statement after I left, and a detective from Ricochet wants to speak with her.”
“Ricochet?” Abby’s chest tightened. “Don’t they investigate MC gangs? I thought you said Kypianos was connected to some Melbourne crime syndicate?”
“He is, but it turns out his youngest son was murdered by The Devils when they thought he’d double-crossed them.”
Heat pricked at Abby’s skin. “I don’t understand.” She could barely get the words out. “What’s any of this got to do with me?”
Scott sighed and placed his hand on her thigh, gently rubbing her leg. “We don’t know. The Devils connection only came up because Brodie Jones had been spotted in the area, and a witness described a man that fits his description as the shooter.
“It’s possible Kypianos was looking for you for something completely unconnected to The Devils, and you just got caught in the crossfire of something else.”
