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I poked the screen and cringed at the messages that popped up. Several calls from my lawyer. I put on my shirt, kissed Amber on the cheek, told her I’d see her around, and to tell Kiki thanks for a great night.
She was still pouting when I opened the door, but then my phone rang, and I couldn’t worry about her anymore.
Nathan the lawyer again. That couldn’t be good.
Something heavy hit the door of the room to my right, and an annoyed bellow came from the other side. “Somebody shut that fucking phone up! Some of us are trying to sleep!”
Pissing off a club full of burly bikers was probably not the smartest idea. I hustled down the hall to the communal area, where the party had taken place last night. I could barely look at the two brown leather couches that had been the scene of a really good time. The rest of the room was a complete disaster, with empty bottles, half-eaten pizza, and various stray articles of clothing strewn about, just waiting for someone to wake up and get their clean on. I took a seat at the sticky bar, trying not to touch the counter, and answered the call. “What’s up, Nathan?”
“’Bout fucking time you answered. I have great news.”
His voice was entirely too chipper for this time of the morning. Though when I glanced out the window, the sun was pretty high, so it maybe wasn’t as early as I’d initially thought. “Get on with it then.”
“Your stepsister is going down for the murder of your dad.”
“What?” Surprise forced the word out louder than expected. There was another shout from down the hall, but this time I didn’t care. “Say more words, Nathan.”
“I’ve got a buddy down at the station. I hit him up for some details on where they were at with the investigation into your father’s death, and he said they’re pinning it on the girl. Your name was on the suspect list too, but I sorted that out.”
My head spun. “How?”
“Money talks in this town, Vaughn. You know that.”
I gripped the countertop, nails bending against the unyielding laminate. “Rebel didn’t kill our parents. She loved her mom. Have you met her? She’s pint-sized. She couldn’t murder a fly.”
“That’s part of their case against her. Don’t need to be big to poison someone.”
“Poison…” I shook my head. “She was with me the night before the wedding. And the morning of. Rebel didn’t poison anyone.”
He sighed. “I really thought you’d be more excited about this. This is good news for your case. If she’s tied up in jail for the rest of her life, the money and the property and the business are all yours. If she’s deemed the murderer, it’s an open-and-shut case to get the entire estate awarded to you. That is what you wanted, Vaughn. That’s what you told me you needed, to take care of your wife’s…indiscretions.”
I lowered my voice to a hiss. “I never said I wanted an innocent woman in jail to do it.”
“You don’t know she’s innocent. The autopsy report said that poison could have been ingested anywhere from two to forty-eight hours before they collapsed. Do you know where she was for every minute of that time?”
I didn’t. But my gut said they were wrong about this. So freaking wrong.
“Cancel the contest to the will, Nathan. I already told you once, but actually hear me this time. I changed my mind. And for fuck’s sake, get me whatever the cops have on my father’s and Miranda’s deaths. I need to know everything.”
“But I—”
“Do you want to keep your job?”
Nathan huffed down the line. “Well, of course, but I would—”
“Then do as I fucking say!”
I slammed my finger down on the end call button so hard my knuckle cracked in protest.
When I looked up, Fang was in the space between the living room and the hallway to the bedrooms. His face was like thunder.
I put my hands up. “Sorry. Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell and wake everyone up.”
“What’s going on with Rebel?” His words were as deadly and cold as black ice. “I heard your side of the conversation, and I didn’t like any of it. Don’t tell me I brought you into this clubhouse only to find you’re some sort of rat, making deals behind her back or throwing her under the bus.”
We stared at each other across the room. I had no idea whether telling him was the right thing to do, but then I wasn’t leaving without Rebel. She needed to know what she was up against. I needed to do something. “Cops are pinning our parents’ deaths on her.”
Fang shook his head. “No.”