Against All Odds - Angel's Story(41)

While those two have their little moment, Detective Wilson passes me his business card. “Call me if you can think of anything that may help with our inquiries.” He has kind eyes and a pleasant smile on his face. Not like that other butthead he brought with him.

“Sure,” I say as I pull my hand out of my pocket, reaching for the card. Shit. Bad move. I forgot about my trembling hands. As soon as his eyes move down to my hand, his head snaps up, a curious look comes over his face.

Turning my hand over to take the card has his eyes searching out my face again. Fuck. I forgot about my grazed palms.

“Call me if you need to talk,” he says loud enough for only me to hear. What does he mean by that? Oh god. Does he know we’re not telling the truth?

“Don’t leave town,” Detective Barnes finally says, as his eyes narrow at Chase. “We’ll probably need to talk to you both again.” With that he turns and walks down my front steps.

“Look forward to it,” Chase says smartly to his retreating back.

One more look passes between Detective Wilson and I before he turns and follows. Even though it appears, for now, that we’re in the clear, I have a sinking feeling this isn’t the end of this. Not by a long shot. Not only does Detective Barnes appear to have it in for Chase, I think Detective Wilson is onto us. Without proof though, there’s not much they can do.

The only other person who can shed some light on this is Riley. So until he wakes from his coma, I guess we can breathe easy.

I hope.





CHAPTER ELEVEN

Chase



After a twenty-minute verbal rant, Pops finally let me explain what happened. His anger towards me then shifted to Benson. “He did fuckin’ what?” he screamed. He started to pace and his hands worked their way through his hair. He always does this when he’s trying to process something. Eventually he stopped and faced me again. “You did the right thing boy.” I explained everything Angel and I had discussed, about keeping it between ourselves for now. He was okay with that. “She’s tryin’ to protect ya, you know. That’s a good one you’ve got there, boy. Don’t fuck it up again,” he said before he turned and made his way to his sanctuary—his workshop.

I quickly showered and changed before making my way back here. The last thing I expected to see were the cops questioning her when I rode up. I should’ve known they’d want to talk to her. After all, she was dating that fucker.

She looked so vulnerable standing there with those two towering over her, trying to intimidate. My protective tendencies towards her kicked in straight away. I hate when they pull shit like that. I’ve seen it a million times when they’ve come up against my dad and his brothers. Cops and bikies don’t mix well.

Truth is, apart from some of the dodgy shit they dabble in, they really are a great bunch of guys. Their loyalty and ethics towards each other and the club is really something to see.

Sweet-cheeks put on a good front for the detectives, I’ll give her that. She can’t pull that shit on me though. I know her too well. I could tell she was scared as soon as I made eye contact with her. I’m glad I got back in time. I don’t want her to face this shit on her own. She’s been through enough.

Once they leave, I guide her back inside. Her hands are still shaking. That does nothing to ease the anger boiling inside me. This mess is far from over and it pisses me the hell off. How will she ever be able to get past what happened when she’s got Benson’s father and his puppets breathing down her neck?

“Hey,” I say as soon as I close the front door. “Don’t let what just happened get to you. We’re the only ones who know the truth. It’s not like Riley’s in a position to say anything.” More than anything I want to pull her into my arms and make this all go away, but I can’t. I need to keep my hands to myself from now on. She needs a friend more than anything.

“I hate lying,” she says, bowing her head.

“I know. So do I.”

“I wish this whole mess would just go away.” She raises her head looking at me. I see anger in her eyes. “I wish I’d never met Riley Benson,” she adds as she turns away and walks towards the back of the house, stopping in front of the glass wall overlooking the ocean.

I stand there for a few moments, watching her. I wish I had the answers. I hate seeing her like this. I wish she’d never met that fucker too. If it wasn’t for me, none of this would’ve happened.

Eventually, I make my way towards her. She doesn’t even look my way when I come to a stop beside her. Her arms are wrapped around herself as she looks longingly out of the window.