Starting with the two who had hurt Teresa.
NINE
A FEW DAYS LATER THEY HAD NOTHING MORE TO HELP JOEY.
Tests had concluded beyond a doubt that it was Larks’s blood on Joey’s clothes. The absence of a murder weapon hadn’t seemed to dissuade the DA from filing murder charges against Joey. Witnesses had pointed to Joey doing the deed.
Teresa was devastated. Joey was resigned. This was unacceptable.
The only interesting find was in the autopsy report, which indicated that the knife blade used to stab Larks was atypical, had an unusually patterned edge with distinctive markings, as if it had been custom made. The coroner said the edges didn’t match any standard knife edges in their database.
Which meant if they could find the guy who owned that knife and match it to the wound pattern on Larks’s body, they would have their killer.
Teresa made the suggestion to Pax and AJ after she closed the bar that night. She’d finally been able to reopen the bar, and had figured Pax and AJ would take off, head back to doing whatever it was they did for the government. But they hadn’t left. They’d come with her to the bar and helped her and the girls clean it up. Then whenever she went for updates on Joey’s case, they’d hung out at the police station with her, talked to Joey’s lawyer, spent some time huddled on their cell phones talking to their boss. And when she opened the bar in the late afternoon, they’d go with her, one on either side of her like two imposing bodyguards.
She had to admit she didn’t mind that part at all. Even Heather and Shelley were giving her raised brows and elbow nudges, though she told them both nothing was going on with AJ and Pax. They didn’t believe her.
“I like those guys, Teresa,” Heather said as they stood hip to hip in the storeroom doing liquor inventory.
Teresa inhaled and let it out. “I like them, too.”
“One tall, dark and handsome, the other tall, light and handsome. And both have eyes only for you. Goddamn, Teresa, it’s every woman’s dream.”
She ticked off the whiskey list. “Yeah, it is.”
Heather put her clipboard down. “Okay, spill. What is it?”
Teresa turned to her and smiled. Heather was beautiful, popular and changed men as often as most women changed nail polish. “You know what it is.”
“You’re gonna tell me again that you’re not ready yet.”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I mean it’s been five years. And these guys . . . they make me feel, Heather. I haven’t felt in so damn long. And I want to. You know how much I really want to.”
“Do they know?”
She nodded.
Heather’s lips curled up. “And they’re still here.”
Teresa’s smile matched Heather’s. “Yes, they are.”
“Most men wouldn’t be. Many haven’t been, as you well know,” she added, wagging her finger at her. “None of the guys you’ve told have stuck around long enough to help you through it.”
“I know. And they warm me in ways I can’t even explain. More than physically. Their presence—the way they watch over me—”
“They care. They’re protective. I can see it. They’re nothing like those guys who hurt you.”
“Logically I know that.”
“At some point you’re going to have to stop letting logic lead you and let a man touch you again. And I mean all the way touch you. You’re going to have to have sex again. You have the need, don’t you?”
She never talked about these things with anyone but Heather. “Of course I do. I get . . . urges, just like any other woman.”
Heather crossed her arms. “Let me guess. You’re taking care of those ... urges, on your own, instead of letting a guy take care of them for you.”
“Yes. But at least I can touch myself again. Sex is sexy to me again. At least I’m actually thinking about a man touching me again. That’s progress, isn’t it?”
“Well good for you. After five years you finally want sex again. Get going, Teresa. Otherwise, those assholes who hurt you win. You lose. You know damn well what they did to you wasn’t at all about sex.”
She shuddered a breath. “I know. You’re right.” Heather had never coddled her. That’s why they were best friends. When she needed a good kick in the butt, she knew where to go. Heather had been there for her five years ago when her world had shattered. She’d held her, comforted her, let her cry for days, weeks, months, had held her hand when she didn’t think she’d ever be whole again. And when the time had come for her to pick up the pieces and go on, Heather had been the one to shove a boot in her ass and make her start living again. She owed Heather everything.
“Look, Teresa. You have two hot men who want to take it slow and easy with you and help you get back in the real world. Honey, I’m surprised you aren’t coming at the mere thought of it.”
Teresa snorted out a laugh. “Believe me, my body is fully aware of them. It’s a big step.”
Heather laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’s a big step that’s been a long time coming. Do something about it. Let them help you get past this. If you trust them, they’ll back off if it gets too intense.” Heather peeked around the corner of the doorway, then looked at Teresa. “Besides, you could always start with doing them one at a time. Then graduate to both.”
“Oh, God.” Teresa leaned against the wall, the cool brick taking her rocketing temperature down. “One at a time would be more than enough, I think.”
Heather’s eyes went dark. “I’d do both of them in a New York minute.”
“I’ll bet you would.” She envied Heather’s ability to think about sex as just . . . sex. Teresa had to get that mind-set back. She
would
get it back. The rape wasn’t going to define her for the rest of her life.
“You decide you want to dump them, let me know. I’ll do whatever it takes to get a piece of both of them before they ride on out of town.”
“Whore.”
Heather laughed and picked up the clipboard, once again scanning the liquor boxes. “You say the sweetest things.”
Traffic was light at the bar tonight, but it was about what Teresa expected. She had a few strangers pop in now and then, but her regulars had always been Joey and the rest of the Thorns, and with the start of Bike Week in Sturgis in a couple days, all the bikers had headed up north to South Dakota. Joey’s guys hadn’t wanted to go out of loyalty to him. Even though he was out on bail, he needed to stay put. But Joey had insisted the Thorns go have some fun. God knows someone should.
She paused in wiping up the bar. Of course. That’s why they couldn’t find the Fists. She dropped the rag in the sink and went to the table where AJ and Pax were nursing their beers and talking to Joey. She leaned over to talk to them.
“They’re in Sturgis. That’s why we couldn’t find any of the Fists.”
Pax arched a brow. “You sure?”
“No. But it makes sense. Our guys headed up there, didn’t they?”
Joey nodded. “Russ and the others left at dawn.”
“Do you usually go up there?” AJ asked.
“We go every year. Never miss it,” Joey said.
“He’s right,” Teresa added. “This place is a ghost town during Sturgis Bike Rally week every August. All the biker clubs from the region head up there. I don’t know why I didn’t make the connection the other night.” She took a glance at the clock. One hour until closing time. She was certain Heather and Shelley could run the bar for her. “We need to get on the road.”
AJ raised a hand. “Wait a minute. Get on the road? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Sturgis. We need to go.” She took a look around the bar, then swiveled back to them. “Or I need to go there. You can come along if you want, or not.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m going.”
AJ exchanged looks with Pax, who shrugged and said, “I don’t have a clue.” Pax looked at Teresa. “What are you talking about, honey?”
“Don’t you see? The guy who killed Larks has to be up there.”
She decided to ignore their dubious looks.
“How do you figure?” Pax asked.
“The Fists went there. I’d wager this bar that’s where he is. And I’m the only one who can identify him.”
“No,” AJ said.
“She has a point, AJ,” Pax said.
Joey stood. “Oh hell no. No fucking way, Teresa.”
“I agree with Joey,” AJ said. “Let the cops handle it.”
Teresa turned to AJ. “They don’t even know who to look for. I do. I know he’s there.”
“Yeah, him and a half million other bikers,” Pax said with a laugh.
“Needle in a haystack, Teresa,” AJ added. “You don’t seriously think you could find him up there.”
“If the Fists are all up there, they’ll hang as a group. They’ll protect their own, including this guy.”
“Providing he didn’t turn against the Fists,” Pax said.
“If he’d betrayed the Fists he’d be a dead man by now,” Joey said. “Turning against one of your own club leaders requires swift and very public retaliation. If he killed Larks, the Fists would have taken him down right away. And we’d all know about it.”
AJ nodded. “Joey’s right. And if he didn’t, if this was planned with the Fists full knowledge, then they all closed ranks around him.”
“Which means he’s with them. They’re protecting him,” Teresa said.
“In Sturgis, if they’re all up there,” Pax added.
“So maybe that’s what did happen. But there’s no guarantee,” Joey said.
“Well maybe he did, and maybe he didn’t. Either way, we have to help my brother. I can’t do nothing when I might hold the key to his freedom.”
“Hey.” Joey laid his hand over hers. “I’m going to be fine. I didn’t do this, and eventually the cops are going to figure that out. It’s not your job to save me.”
She palmed the top of the bar, her gaze clear and focused as she looked from AJ to Pax to her brother. “I know what I’m doing. And if the cops are here trying to find him, why can’t we be up in Sturgis doing the same thing?”
“Do you really know what you’re in for?” Pax asked “It’ll be crazy up in Sturgis, honey. Crowded. Lots of bikers. Lots of men.”
She sucked in a breath. For Joey, she’d do it. She had to. And she wasn’t going to be afraid. She lifted her chin. “I can handle this. Let’s go.”
Pax slid his gaze to AJ, who shook his head.
“I don’t like this.”
That piqued Teresa’s anger. “I’m going with or without you two.”
AJ’s gaze shot to hers. “That’s not smart.”
“I’ll get some friends to go with me. I won’t go alone. Russ and the other Thorns are up there, and I could meet up with them. But you’re not stopping me.”
“We’ll go with you,” Pax said, giving AJ a solid glare when AJ turned to him. “Won’t we, AJ?”
AJ locked gazes with Pax, then finally shrugged. “I guess so.”
Teresa turned to Joey. “I’m sorry you can’t go with us. But can you hang around the bar and keep an eye on my girls?”
“You know I will. I still don’t like this.”
“I know you don’t. But if our situations were reversed, you’d do it for me.”
“Yeah, I would. But this is different.”
She crossed her arms. “Don’t get sexist on me. Besides, I have two of the best bodyguards around going with me. I’ll be fine.”
“I guess we’re going to Sturgis, then,” AJ said. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
After Teresa closed up the bar, AJ sent her home with Pax. He detoured to Joey’s apartment to talk to him.
Joey lived like a true bachelor: sparse furniture, beer cans and laundry strewn everywhere; not much in the fridge with the exception of beer. Joey grabbed a couple and handed one to AJ. They took seats on the worn-out sofa and chair in Joey’s living room.
“I’m sorry you and Pax got mixed up in all of this. Really shitty timing for you guys.”
AJ shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I’m just glad we could be here for you. And for Teresa.”
Joey took a couple slugs of beer, then wiped his mouth. “Man, you gotta keep an eye on her. I don’t like this whole Sturgis thing.”
AJ looked down at his beer, then back at up at Joey. “She told us about the rape.”
Joey leaned forward, blew out a breath and looked at his shoes. “Damn.”
“Now I want you to tell me the real story.”
Joey’s head shot up. “What real story?”
“It was a message from the Fists, wasn’t it?”
Joey’s brows slanted together in anger. “That’s a lie. It was random.”
“You trying to make me believe it, or make yourself? Don’t bullshit me, my friend. We go too far back for that.”
Joey laid his beer on the scarred table and stood, ran his fingers through his hair and walked to the front window, staring outside.
“We had just had a big showdown with the Fists the night before. Larks was laying down some serious pressure about us joining with him. He wanted to make inroads into our territory, needed the river to get access for his drug shipments.”
“And the Thorns were blocking him.”
“Hell yeah. This is our turf and he and his fucking drugs could shove it, which is what I told him. I told him he could stay the hell out of our territory or face the consequences. The Thorns were willing to go to war to protect what was ours.”
“And?”
Joey blew out a breath. “Larks said we wouldn’t win a war with them. We were too clean and the Fists fought dirty, and we might not like the consequences. Then they left. The next night, Teresa’s bike broke down and she was raped.”
AJ didn’t say anything. He knew there was more Joey needed to say.
“There wasn’t a goddamn thing wrong with her bike or her tires. I checked them myself all the time at the garage.”
“Someone sabotaged her bike.”
“Yes. She was set up to have a blowout and they were waiting for her.”
“She was used as an example of what war with the Fists would be like. He wanted to show you what the casualties would be.”
“They wore no colors, no patches and kept every part of their bodies covered. And when they raped her they never said a word. They knew Teresa would be able to identify them otherwise. But it was the Fists. I’d wager my soul on it.”