Page 34 of Break Away (Riot MC Next Generation #2)

Chapter twenty

Stop Right There

Rafferty

Heavy knocks sounded at the door. My gut said those were cop-knocks, but plenty of people wielded heavy-handed knocks.

We’d hit the college bookstore first when we got back to town since Alexandra said they closed at five. When we got back to her place, it had been three-thirty. I estimated we’d been here an hour since we came back from campus.

Alexandra pulled up the doorbell camera and her brows furrowed. “Why are there cops at the door?”

The brothers were convinced that someone was setting Alexandra up and if so, sending the cops around would make sense.

I held out my hand, palm up. “Gimme your phone and answer the door.”

She arched a brow. “Do I have to?”

I nodded once. “Better to get this shit out of the way, but give me your phone first.”

By the time she opened the door, I had her phone tucked into my back pocket. I debated grabbing my cut from where I’d hung it in her closet, but decided against it.

The officer at the door showed Alexandra a search warrant. We were instructed to step out of the apartment while they conducted their search.

I joined Alexandra out on the breezeway and sent a text to Blood, Beast, Tundra, Cal, and Volt.

Cops are at Lex’s place with a search warrant. We’re outside - guessing the club doesn’t have a lawyer who can help with this.

Lex leaned against the iron railing. “This sucks. The clean-up after the break-in was bad enough. Standing outside while the cops trash my place feels like adding insult to injury.”

I slung my arm around her shoulders. “It’ll be fine, Lex. We’ll get it taken care of again.”

She twisted out of my hold to look out over the parking lot. “You can’t be serious.”

I turned to peer in the same direction. A couple had gotten out of a car and were walking toward the stairs. “Are they Ines’s parents?”

“Yeah. What am I supposed to say to them?”

“The truth, honey. That's all you can say.”

Mr. and Mrs. Tallow came upstairs, bewildered looks on their faces. Alexandra opened her arms to Mrs. Tallow and gave her a quick hug. Mr. Tallow hugged Lex, but cut their contact short.

I stuck close while Alexandra awkwardly explained the search warrant situation.

Mr. Tallow cornered an officer coming out of the apartment. I thought little of it until I heard him say, “This young woman is from a biker family. She’s the person—”

“Stop right there,” I warned.

Tallow glared at me. “Or what? You aren’t wearing any leather, but you’re one of them, too.”

I shook my head. “You have no proof of that.”

Tallow’s brows rose. “I saw you at the hospital. You wore your leather then.” He glanced at the officer. “Search this man, I’m sure he’s hidden whatever you’re looking for.”

The officer directed his brown-eyed gaze at Mr. Tallow. “Sir, do not make false accusations against someone.”

The officer moved past us and went downstairs.

Mr. Tallow glowered at me, turned, and guided his wife to the opposite end of the breezeway.

An hour and forty-five minutes later, an officer came out of the apartment and looked at Lex. “We’re done. You’re free to go back inside.”

Lex nodded somberly. “Thank you.”

What the hell she was thanking him for, I’d never know.

Alexandra headed inside and Mrs. Tallow followed. She abruptly turned around, glancing past me. “You're leaving this huge mess behind?”

“We’re police officers, not housekeepers,” the last officer said, closing the door behind him.

Alexandra shot Mr. Tallow a pointed look. “We’ll be in my room while you gather Ines’s things.”

“I didn’t mean to say—”

Alexandra cut him off. “I’m sorry, but you did mean to say it. Ines was brilliant and quick on the uptake. She told me we had that in common, so I know you meant it. I’ll leave you to it.”

I admired her so much. My temper boiled and there was no way I’d have stayed half as calm as she had. It took a special kind of grit to stand up to a close friend’s father, and she did it with cool patience.

It took us the better part of an hour to get her room back to normal after the search.

Mr. and Mrs. Tallow wandered in and out of the apartment, first taking boxes, and then taking four large trash bags of items out to their car.

Every time they passed by, tears slid down Alexandra’s face.

She tried to hide it from me, but I was hyper-focused on her.

I moved to close the door. She rushed to my side, grabbed my wrist, and silently shook her head.

That didn’t make sense to me, but she pulled me back to the bed and we sat down.

“It’s strange, but I’d rather know when they’re done. If you close the door, I’m not going to know,” she whispered.

I nodded, and realized it would be better if I kept count of how many trips they made. The cops didn’t specify that we couldn’t remove anything from the apartment, but the Tallows taking so many items right after an official search could be misconstrued.

Mrs. Tallow came to Alexandra’s door. “We’re finished.”

Alexandra hurried to the door. “Are you sure?”

Mrs. Tallow nodded.

Lex grabbed her hand. “I mean, if you need anything else, I’m more than happy to get it to you.”

With a very wan smile, Mrs. Tallow shook her head. “No, but thank you. We took all her clothing and the items from her desk and nightstand.” She paused for a deep breath that hitched.

Alexandra’s breathing stuttered, and I fought against pulling her into my arms.

Mrs. Tallow squared her shoulders. “We’re waiting on a mover to call us back, but tomorrow or the next day, there will be someone coming for the furniture. The landlord knows, so if you aren’t here, he’ll let them in. I hated the idea of blindsiding you.”

Alexandra pulled in a deep breath through her nose, blinked, and two large tears traced a path down her cheeks.

“Thanks for the heads-up,” I said, edging in close to Alexandra’s back.

Mrs. Tallow nodded at me, then looked at Lex. “I… there’s no easy way to say this, but we decided against any sort of services. I wish the circumstances were different, Alexandra.”

I hadn’t realized she still held Mrs. Tallow’s hand until Lex squeezed it again. “Thank you for letting me know. I’m incredibly sorry for your loss.”

Tears filmed over Mrs. Tallow’s eyes, but didn’t fall over. She gave Lex’s hand a squeeze, nodded, and left.

I hustled us both to Alexandra’s bed, shifted her around to face me, and settled in the bed so she was on top of me. “Let it out, baby.”

She cried, but she seemed to cut it short like last week.

I stroked her back. “We all process shit differently, but are you holding back on me?”

She lifted her head, her brows furrowed. “No. Not really. We should probably lock the door.”

“I’ll handle that,” I said, rolling us both gently to the side.

Saturday morning, Lex and I were doctoring our coffee.

Her stomach growled and her eyes filled with embarrassment.

“Sorry, I’m getting hungry. Not sure if I have any food worth eating in the fridge.

We can go somewhere and grab breakfast. I’m glad we hit the bookstore yesterday instead of the supermarket. ”

“Why?”

Her lips quirked with skepticism. “After yesterday, I have a feeling I’ll need a free schedule today.”

I sipped my coffee and swallowed. “It’s all good, Lex. We’ll hit the store today.”

The moment I set down my coffee cup, there was a knock at the door.

Alexandra’s eyes rolled to the top of her head. “Who could that be this early?”

I prowled to the front door and through the peephole I saw Beast and Tundra.

“Well?” Alexandra whispered from behind me.

“Beast and Tun are here,” I whispered and opened the door.

The moment they caught sight of Alexandra and our heavy mood, they both scowled.

“What the hell? You hurt her already?” Tundra asked.

I crossed my arms on my chest. “No. Her roommate’s parents got here not long after I sent the text about the search warrant. Before they left, they said movers will be here today or tomorrow. It’s sooner than Lex expected.”

Alexandra plopped down on the couch and took in a deep breath. “Sorry, I’m such a wuss.”

Beast sat next to her and slung his arm around her shoulders.

“Stop it, Alexandra. You’re not a wuss. Nobody expects to lose their child at any age, and you never expected to lose your roommate.

All of it is blindsiding. Though, sending the movers so soon is probably a good thing, gives everyone - including you - closure. ”

I settled in an arm chair. “What brings you by?”

Beast sat forward. “The club lawyer has some connections in town and they did some digging. Gainesville PD got a tip about money and drugs being here.”

“That seems obvious after the search,” Alexandra said.

Beast continued. “Right. The tip came from an anonymous source.”

“Also not surprising,” Alexandra muttered.

Beast smiled. “Our lawyer says a judge can’t sign off on a warrant unless the informant is reliable and there is a credible basis of knowledge.”

Tundra propped a hip on the arm of the couch near Alexandra.

“Bernstein also said the tip has to be information a police investigation can independently corroborate. Plus, there’s more to getting a warrant with just a phone call.

It’s highly likely the police were already watching your apartment for drug activity. ”

She nodded. “Okay, why the legal lesson?”

Beast shot her a patient grin. “Unless your roomie had more than one boyfriend, my guess is that it’s either Brantley or Tobias who called in the tip.”

“Or Porter,” I said.

Alexandra shot me a sideways glare. “I’m not thrilled with Porter, either. But seriously, Raff. That’s going too far, don’t you think?”

Tundra nodded. “Yeah, don’t get distracted by her ex-boyfriend.”

I shook my head, fighting against my rising temper. “Not distracted. He was at Brantley’s when I confronted him about the drugs.” I looked at Lex. “And we found some money and drugs in your roommate’s bed, but most of that money was in your room.”

Beast pressed his lips together and stared at me. “One more thing, not sure if you told Alexandra, but I didn’t notice this when we found the cash. The rubber bands on each roll had Riot MC written on them - somebody knew enough to throw her - or possibly you - under the bus.”

I heard a key slide into the lock, but the door didn’t go.

Alexandra’s eyes widened and she rose. “I forgot to give the Tallows the new key.”

Beast, Tundra, and I stood to block her path.

A man’s muffled voice from behind the door said, “One minute, that’s the wrong key.”

“That’s our landlord,” Alexandra said, and shot past us.

She opened the door and greeted the landlord. The Tallows came in, followed by two movers.

Alexandra wandered back toward the couch.

Mr. Tallow stopped on his way back to the bedroom. “The couch belongs to my sister. We’re moving it, too.”

The air grew heavy.

Beast didn’t help matters when he spoke. “Could have told her that yesterday.”

Tallow’s eyes sliced to Beast. “With the death of my daughter, it slipped my mind.”

On the one hand, that was undeniably true, but on the other hand, this man was going out of his way to be an asshole.

“We’re sorry to hear about your girl, but there’s no need to be a jerk right now,” Tundra said.

Mr. Tallow went into a stare-down with him.

I sauntered up behind Alexandra and gently put my hands on her shoulders. “Does the lock on your bedroom door work?”

She nodded.

“Good. We’re gonna go to your room, put on our shoes, lock your door and head out.”

She twisted her head and whispered. “I don’t have a key.”

“It’s a knob lock, honey. I can pick it,” I whispered.

She turned back to Mr. Tallow. “I’ll just gather the afghan and throw pillows since those are mine, and we’ll get out of your way.”

While she gathered those things, I sidled up to Beast and shared the plan with him in a low voice.

Beast nodded. “Be damn sure that door locks when you close it.”