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All I could do was nod, grateful for her concern but hating that they were all seeing me like this.
Bliss put me in the front seat of her car and closed the door, but War stopped her before she got in the driver’s side. He said something I didn’t hear, then put his hands on her little baby bump, rubbing it affectionately, before kissing her mouth.
When they broke apart and moved aside, Fang was all I could see through the windshield. His eyes locked on mine.
I dropped my gaze to my lap, twisting my fingers in the fabric of my T-shirt until Bliss got in and started the car.
“War is staying here to talk to the other men. He wants you to tell them who did this to you so they can take care of it.” She turned the car around on the gravel lot and headed for the gates.
Ice, one of the club prospects, unlocked them and waved us through, but even his eyes glinted with the promise of something dangerous when he noticed my injuries.
I slumped in my seat. “Like I told Fang, I have it handled.”
Bliss looked over at me with the saddest expression I’d ever seen. “I know you’re used to handling your own business. But you don’t have to…”
“I want to.”
She slowly nodded. “Do I know him?”
Them, I corrected silently in my head. But I couldn’t tell her the truth. Caleb was her ex. I’d listened to her talk about how evil and abusive he was.
But I hadn’t recognized any of that in the man who’d sat at the end of my bar that night and called himself by a different name. By the time I’d realized who and what he was, it had been too late.
I could never tell Bliss it was her ex who’d done this to me. She’d blame herself for bringing him into my life, or she’d assume he’d done it to get back at her.
That wasn’t true. At least not entirely. The things Caleb did were for his own sick pleasure, as much as getting back at a woman who had moved on from his abusive games. Bliss had at least one of her three men around her at all times. Especially now she was pregnant. Caleb couldn’t get to her.
I’d been a weak, easy target.
“Have you heard anything about your mom?” Bliss asked gently.
I shook my head, but then realized I didn’t even know where my phone or my purse was. “Shit. I think I left my purse at the courthouse. My clothes are all still at the hotel as well. Fuck, they’ve probably thrown them all out since I was only booked in for one night. Could I borrow your phone? I need to call the police. They might have been trying to get a hold of me.”
She nodded at her phone sitting near the gearshift. “Of course. As soon as you’re done, I’ll call Nash or Vincent and get one of them to go get your stuff from the hotel. They can go to the courthouse too, and see if your purse was handed in.”
I looked up the phone number for the Providence Police Department and bounced my leg nervously while I waited for someone to pick up. It rang four times before a woman introduced herself as Officer Lehey.
“Yeah, hi. My mother died…” I ran my hand through my hair as my throat threatened to close up. “She was at the courthouse, getting married yesterday when she collapsed…”
“Hold on a moment, please. I’ll patch you through to the detective working that case.”
Bliss glanced at me and gave me a questioning thumbs-up. I tried to return it, but it was half-assed at best. She went back to driving, and I rested my head back on the seat and closed my eyes, trying to keep it together long enough to speak to the detective.
His voice was bristly when he barked his name and job title down the line. Detective Simon Richardson, Senior Detective with the Providence Police Department. “I understand your mother was one of the deceased at the courthouse yesterday. Your name?”
“Rebel Kemp.”
There was a shuffling of papers. “You were there at the time of their deaths? Your name isn’t on any of this paperwork.”
“Well, no, it’s probably not because I didn’t speak to any of the officers there.”
“Was there a reason for that?”
I didn’t like his tone, but there were things I needed to know. “I want a copy of my mother’s autopsy report. I want to know what she overdosed on.”
“We’ll need you to come down to the station immediately, Miss Kemp.”
I scrunched my face. “Can’t you just email it to me?”