Page 9

Slate

S late booked another date for Jaelynn on Saturday. She wasn’t working for Ezra during the day, so he made plans with her. He had seen her since Tuesday but hadn’t been able to take her out. Between issues with the strip club, sitting in on interviews, and other shit, Slate was at his wit’s end.

Grabbing takeout and watching TV with Jaelynn was not how he wanted to court her. Today, he’d booked something he hoped she’d see as romantic.

But what did Slate know about romance? He was a biker, not the boy next door. Slate was doing his damn best.

As he pulled up outside Jaelynn’s house, he smiled as Jaelynn opened the door and came hurrying out. She wore a jacket and carried her helmet.

“In a rush?” Slate teased.

“I love riding!” Jaelynn replied as she swung up behind him.

Slate had noticed that the last few days, Jaelynn had worked up the confidence to start touching him. She was more comfortable around him, and her flinching had lessened. She also seemed to be settling into the bar. He’d watched her Thursday and Friday night, and she’d been tense and on edge. But she soldiered through it.

Slate wanted nothing more than to tell her to quit the jobs and be a stay-at-home mom. Because he intended to knock her up as soon as possible. However, if Slate rushed Jaelynn, he may traumatise her more. Slow and steady won the race.

They rode towards Pactola Lake up in the Black Hills. Slate had taken a guess that Jaelynn might enjoy a day on the water. Self-doubt now kicked in as he hoped she liked the water and didn’t hate it. Despite the chilly weather, their warm clothing eased Slate’s concerns. Rage held a cabin up there, and Slate knew it was well stocked.

They parked outside, and Jaelynn took off her helmet and looked around.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Rage owns this. We have a booking system; nobody had today, so I grabbed it,” Slate answered. “Come on. If you like log cabins, you’ll love this one.”

Jaelynn followed him up the steps and onto the porch, where there was a swing. “I love that,” she said, pointing.

“Then feast on this,” Slate replied, opening the door to a quintessential log cabin.

“Oh wow,” Jaelynn exclaimed. Her eyes drifted around the large open space, which had been separated into three using furniture. An eight-seater dining table sat against the far wall. The kitchen area was to the left, and a lounge filled the rest of the space.

“There’s four bedrooms upstairs and those are two sofa beds,” Slate said. “Considering the size of some of our families, we needed big.”

Jaelynn shrugged, and Slate could understand. She hardly knew anyone from the club yet.

“I thought we might go fishing,” Slate suggested, and Jaelynn smiled.

“Wonderful! I used to go with Aunt Elise and Dorothy,” she exclaimed.

“A master fisherman?” Slate teased, and Jaelynn tilted her hand back and forth. “Ten bucks I beat you!”

“Oh, you’re on!” Jaelynn grinned.

“Help me make a picnic, and then we’ll head to the boat shed. The rods and gear are down there,” Slate added.

Half an hour later, Slate was steering them out to where there were usually good fish to be found. Jaelynn was relaxed back in the small boat with cushions behind her and rods by her side.

Slate was beginning to realise he might have bitten off more than he could chew. Jaelynn was the most chilled he’d ever seen her. There was a twinkle in her eye that warned him he was about to get his ass kicked.

◆◆◆

Four hours later and twelve fish to his four, Jaelynn was crowing as they headed back to the cabin. Jaelynn had been thoroughly amused at his lack of fishing skills, according to her. Slate kept his mouth shut that he was one of the better skilled fishermen in the club and wondered if he could set up a contest. He’d make a killing betting on Jaelynn.

He steered the boat into the shed and tied it up properly. To his surprise, Jaelynn had released all the fish into the lake. As she said, if they were staying the night, they’d have kept a couple back, but there was no point in wasting fish. He agreed and fell a little bit more for her.

Slate had been surprised at how comfortable it had been to sit in a boat in silence with her. He’d almost expected Jaelynn to fill the air with needless chatter, but she hadn’t. She’d been quite content to watch the world drift by. Slate could easily envision lazy days like this in the summer.

“Enjoy that?” he asked as he put away the blankets and rods.

“Yes. It’s been a long time since I could sit back and relax,” Jaelynn responded, smiling. Her smile kicked him in the gut. There was happiness and trust there.

“Then we’ll make sure we do this weekly. Just us and nobody else,” Slate said.

“That would be a bit hard with my shifts. I work every day,” Jaelynn replied.

“We can sort something out.”

Jaelynn could take Monday and Tuesday off from Ezra and increase her hours for the rest of the week. Ezra wouldn’t care. Jaelynn wasn’t there as a secretary but to keep everything filed and ensure Ezra sent invoices. Ezra had a dedicated cell phone for the business, so nobody would be ringing the offices. Yeah, they could leave early hours of Monday morning, after the bar closed at midnight, and then drive up here and wake up to the lake. Sounded perfect to Ezra.

Jaelynn stopped walking and looked puzzled.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I could have sworn I just saw a flash of red moving in the trees,” she murmured. “I must’ve been seeing things. Let’s take the hamper to the cabin.”

“Yeah,” Slate replied, alert to any sign of movement, but there were none. Jaelynn must have imagined it.

Slate put everything away and made them a drink. They sat on the porch swing, watching the sun begin to dip, and Jaelynn sighed.

“As much as I hate leaving here, we better go, or I’ll be late for my shift,” she said.

“We’ll come back,” Slate offered.

“This is my ideal home. On the lake, fishing, hunting,” Jaelynn responded, and Slate looked surprised.

“You like to hunt?”

“Yeah. Aunt Elsie used to take me. I can skin and butcher my prey. She hated waste, and I was taught to use almost everything. I’ve not been hunting for several years. The same for fishing. Dorothy taught me everything. They believed if I could catch and eat them, then I needed to know how to prepare them for eating and how to cook them.” Jaelynn smiled.

“What else did they teach you?” Slate asked as they approached his bike.

“I used to have a large vegetable plot, and I raised chickens. We used to have this rooster, and he was tiny, but he used to strut like he was the man.” Jaelynn grinned as she remembered.

“Country woman? Didn’t see that coming. I thought you were a big city girl,” Slate teased, and Jaelynn’s face fell.

“No, the country never left my heart, despite what people tried to mould me into,” Jaelynn murmured.

Slate stopped at his bike and, with a finger, tilted Jaelynn’s chin up till she met his eyes. “Be as country as you want. I don’t give a fuck. If you’re happy, that’s all that matters.” Slate bent his head to kiss her when they both jumped. A flock of birds left the tree cawing, and Slate felt a cold sensation run down his spine. Jaelynn clearly sensed the same.

“Come on. Let’s get you home,” he murmured, gazing around.

There was nobody there, but he felt eyes on them, and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. There was a threat in the forest, and it meant harm to them. Slate was sure of it.

Drake – four days later.

“What do you mean there is a fuckin’ body?” he grumbled as his ass hit the bike, with Fish hitting his just behind him. Drake signalled to ride out, and they headed out onto the road.

“There’s a body, Pres, and worse, it’s someone we know,” Hunter said, concerned.

“Who?”

“Skylar, who worked at the bar. Prez, she’s been beaten, and her throat’s been slit,” Hunter replied.

Drake felt a cold sensation settle in his stomach. Shit. “Call Ramirez. We’ve got a serial killer. Don’t touch anything, we’re on our way,” Drake ordered and hung up.

He dialled Mac. “Find out where Frenzy is and if he’s still locked up,” he ordered as soon as Mac answered.

“What’s happened?”

“Hunter found another body at our cabin, and it is identical to the one dumped behind the Haunted House. And again, it’s a former barmaid. It’s Skylar,” Drake replied.

“Fuck. Two out of the three girls that were fired have turned up dead? We need to find Hailee and quick,” Mac replied. “I’ll run checks on those we locked up. It might not be Frenzy, Pres, we are responsible for a lot of people being inside.”

“Not that damn many, we tend to kill those who really piss us off,” Drake stated dryly and hung up.

When he arrived, he spotted Hunter pacing in front of the cabin. He and Fish parked where Hunter had, and they saw Mina inside.

“Mina okay?” Drake asked.

“She’s shocked. She discovered Skylar’s body during her walk to the shore. I never wanted to hear Mina scream like that again, and someone caused her to,” Hunter answered, scowling.

Drake read between the lines. Whoever this was, was going to get a beating from Hunter, at the very least, for scaring his beloved woman.

“We can call for a prospect to collect her,” Drake said.

“Already called Cody. He’s coming in a cage. Fuck! I just wanted one day with my old lady! Was that too much to ask for?” Hunter exclaimed, annoyed.

“No, brother. And most of us are doing the same, taking days off to spend with family,” Drake replied.

“We better go see,” Fish added, nodding towards the shore.

“Hunter, stay with Mina. We’ll be back soon,” Drake ordered. Hunter sent him a look, and Drake acknowledged it. Hunter wasn’t leaving Mina’s side for the foreseeable future.

Fish and Drake walked down, careful to stick to the path and not trample any evidence. There, with her hair tangled in the reeds, floated Skylar. Her eyes were open and stared sightlessly at the sky. One eye was missing, and Drake winced at the gory sight. She was naked, and bruises were clearly showing all over her body. And Hunter was right, her throat had been slit.

“Fuck,” Fish hissed.

“This is shaping into a shit storm.”

“Why?”

“Because Slate was here. And now there’s another body,” Drake replied.

Fish’s head snapped around so fast Drake wondered if he’d been possessed. “Slate did not do this!”

“Of course not. But in the eyes of the law? Two places Slate’s been and bodies have dropped. Wanna know what’s worse? Jaelynn admitted being a hunter, the girl knows how to cut and gut her prey,” Drake replied.

“You think she did this?” Fish asked.

“I fuckin’ hope not. We can’t handle another serial killer being in our ranks. And not a brother’s old lady,” Drake stated.

“Slate hasn’t claimed her.” Fish frowned.

“Yet. We can see where it’s heading,” Drake commented and turned away. They marched back up the slope to the cabin.

Mina was sitting on the porch swing, wrapped in a thick blanket and snuggled into Hunter’s side. She held a large mug of coffee in her hands and glanced up as they approached.

“Hey,” she said weakly.

“You warm enough, girl?” Fish asked, and she shrugged. Fish disappeared inside and returned with another blanket, which Hunter tucked in around her.

“She worked for the bar?” Mina questioned. “I think I recognised her.”

“She did. It was Skylar. She’s been dead for a few days,” Drake replied. He studied Mina carefully, but she seemed okay.

Mina had suffered hell on earth. A stalker, later revealed as her sister, killed her family. Mina wasn’t a stranger to death, and Drake wouldn’t sugarcoat it for her.

“No point asking if you saw anyone,” Fish stated, and they all shook their heads. Sirens bounced off the hills as Ramirez and at least one other police car drew near.

A few minutes later, three cop cars, including one unmarked, pulled up and parked where Drake pointed them. Ramirez climbed out with Ben while four uniforms got out behind him.

“You called in a body?” Ramirez said.

“Down by the water. Mina discovered her. Before leaving, Ramirez, this was a former waitress at the Hell’s Rage. Skylar was fired the same time as Ariel,” Drake explained.

Ben and Ramirez exchanged glances.

“You’re sure?” Ben asked.

“Yup. Skylar’s missing an eye, but she’s recognisable,” Fish replied.

“Seems Rage has a problem,” Ben drawled, keeping his tone even.

“Let’s go see her first. Then, we’ll conduct interviews. The coroner is on his way,” Ramirez informed everyone.

“Just answer this. Has Slate been anywhere near the cabin in the last few days?” Ben inquired.

Drake bristled and clamped his mouth shut. He wasn’t snitching on his brother.

“That’s a yes,” Ben answered and sighed. “His girl’s running from a cop, were you aware? Her reaction towards Ramirez and me was telling. An officer, Drake, knows how to stage a scene. Just a thought.”

Drake was surprised at Ben’s words, considering how long they’d fought one another in the past. Even though Ben had learned that Rage was what he believed, Ben still held suspicions. Which was why Ben’s comments took Drake by surprise. He’d thought Ben would go straight after Slate. Instead, the cop saw past the obvious and searched for a different answer.

“Yeah, it’s strange,” Ben continued. “A missing person’s report hit my desk this morning. Girl sure looked familiar, but she was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Obviously, an old photo. Anyway, she ain’t been seen around here, so I shredded it.”

Drake glanced at Ramirez, who was smirking. “Ain’t no point keeping shit we don’t need.”

“No,” Ben agreed. “Unusual name as well. Jaelynn, pretty. But not the same person; their looks are different.”

Drake grasped what Ben was saying in a roundabout way. It had been Jaelynn, but he’d covered for her.

“Odd though, it wasn’t a family member that reported her missing. It was some girl named Lucy Rogers, said they were close friends,” Ramirez added.

“Yeah, a girl like that, you’d think a boyfriend or family member would have called it in,” Ben added.

Drake heeded the warning. Someone was looking for Jaelynn and had reported her missing. But it wasn’t family; they knew she was safe, according to Slate. Ramirez and Ben were also saying that the boyfriend, who should have reported her, hadn’t. That was telling. In more ways than one.

“Let’s go check the crime scene,” Ben said and walked away.

“Ben’s mellowed,” Ramirez stated and followed his partner.

Yeah, Ben had chilled out, Drake thought. In the past, Ben would have been dragging them down to the station to interview.

“I will call Slate. Give him a heads up,” Drake murmured to Fish. “And put our lawyer on standby.”

Slate

“Holy shit,” he muttered as Cayla waded in on a bitch fight. He’d no intention of getting involved, but Cayla was grabbing hair and tearing the fighting women apart.

“Stay the fuck there, or I’ll bust you down to last spot!” Cayla roared at Candy. Oh, Slate knew Candy, the woman didn’t stop whining. The other dancer, Sindy, Slate thought, was glaring at Candy and, to Slate’s amusement, holding a wad of hair extensions. Or at least he hoped they were.

His phone rang, and Slate looked down at it, and his happiness faded. Drake fucking owed him for this.

“You’re an asshole. I’ve got bitches fighting and not in a good way,” Slate announced as he answered it.

“I’m at the cabin, and Skylar’s dead body is here. Think I beat you, brother,” Drake replied, and Slate blinked. That wasn’t what he’d expected.

“How long she been there?” Slate demanded.

“Looks like a few days. Lawyer’s on standby,” Drake said.

“Fuck!” Slate growled out and moved away from everyone. Cayla continued laying the law down, and Slate didn’t want anyone listening in.

“Yeah, someone’s setting you up. That or your woman is a serial killer,” Drake replied.

“Jaelynn ain’t no murderer. This is a setup, Prez,” Slate snapped.

“You told me Jaelynn hunted,” Drake retorted.

“Jaelynn is no Artemis or Irish. She’s not out hunting former barmaids that we sacked,” Slate stated.

“Ramirez and Ben think you’re clean for this and Jaelynn, too. But they’ll interview, they have to, or when the case goes to court, it’ll fall apart,” Drake said.

“Won’t go to court. This is an attack on a brother, we keep that shit in-house,” Slate countered.

“Idiot. I know it won’t. But they’re going to do it by the book, which means you and Jaelynn will be formally interviewed,” Drake declared.

“Then we need to hide her. I won’t have her name out there for her to be tracked.”

“We can get Ramirez to keep it quiet.”

“If her ex is a damn cop, he ain’t acting alone. Jaelynn could have called the police on him. The fact he is free and she’s on the run means he’s got contacts and people helping him. I’m blind here, Drake. Am I looking at an officer, uniform, detective, or maybe a state trooper, what about a Fed. You’ve any idea who I should be keeping an eye open for? No. We need to lock Jaelynn down,” Slate erupted.

“Finished shouting? Good. The only person who can give you those answers is Jaelynn or put Hawthorne’s on her,” Drake replied.

“Did that. Davies said he triggered an alert and stopped looking because I told him to,” Slate stated.

“Wait a minute. Call Davies and ask if the alert could be tracked back to him or Rapid City. Because you might have just given Ramirez an answer,” Drake ordered.

“You think her ex is here, killing people to set me up? That’s a bit far-fetched. If he was here, he’d try to take her.” Slate denied the idea.

“We’ve seen stranger shi—fuck. An early slot has opened up for Silvie. Apache is taking her in, they’re operating today,” Drake announced.

“Go deal with Apache, he’s gonna be a mess. I’ll grab Jaelynn. Tell Ramirez to phone me if he needs me.” Slate hung up and rubbed a hand over his face.

Today was going to hell, he decided as Candy open-slapped Sindy as Cayla turned her back for a second.

“You’re fired!” Slate roared and pointed at Candy.

Candy’s mouth dropped and then she began to shriek her innocence. Slate shook his head and headed towards the exit. “Get your shit and leave. I won’t have dancers attacking dancers. Goodbye, bitch!”

The door slammed behind him, and Slate hit his bike. A few minutes of riding and everything would be fine and dandy again.