SAVAGE LOVE (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (37 page)

twelve.

Emily sat at a long desk, filtering
through paperwork while her mind couldn
’
t
stop thinking of Gaige and Rachel. It still didn
’
t
seem possible that her best friend was dead. And yet she couldn
’
t do anything about it. She
couldn
’
t tell anyone. She
couldn
’
t grieve. She couldn
’
t stop long enough to miss her
friend, collapse into pieces, and then slowly pick herself back up and move on
with her life, because Emily knew that if she gave any indication of Rachel
being dead it would take her to the scene of the crime.

The pit of her stomach burned all
day.

She had three clients that were set
for their dates. All three were for the afternoon, which was a bit of a rarity
as most of the men enjoyed their dates during the evening hours. A few of the
woman who worked there would even go on overnight excursions which cost a lot
of money. The men paying though didn
’
t
care. They were rich and they knew what they wanted and they always got it.

It was early afternoon when the
office secretary, Janine, came to Emily
’
s
desk. She was in her late fifties and dressed like a grandmother. She had beads
dangling from her glasses and wore them on the end of her nose. The funny thing
about Janine though was that if she rolled up her sleeves, she was tattooed
shoulder to wrist. She had once been an old lady to the VP of a MC that shut
down years ago. She could never force herself to leave the life, even if it
meant being a secretary for an escort business.

“
Someone
is coming for you,
”
Janine
said.

“
For
me?
”
Emily asked. She
instantly thought of Gaige. She scrambled to find her phone but there was no
message from Gaige.

“
They
’
re in a helicopter,
”
she said.
“
Said he landed his jet twenty
minutes ago and got in his helicopter.
”

“
Who
would
…
?
”

“
Are
you working out of office now?
”
Janine asked and smiled. She put a hand to her chest.
“
Not that I
’
m
judging. My goodness, Emily, if I had your body, I would be out there working
it.
”

“
I
’
m not out of office,
”
Emily said.
“
Did he leave his name?
”

Emily gripped her phone tight,
ready to call for Gaige if need be.

“
He
just said he was Mr. S.
”

“
Mr.
S.? Who
…”
Emily gasped and
lost her breath.
“
Mr. S.
”

“
Know
him?
”

Emily nodded.
“
It
’
s
okay. I
’
ll be okay. It
’
s all okay.
”

“
Are
you sure? You look pale.
”

“
No,
”
Emily said. She forced herself
to smile.
“
Just someone I
haven
’
t seen in a while. A
family friend.
”

“
Okay.
Well, I
’
ll let you know
when he arrives.
”

Emily stood up.
“
I
’
ll
just wait outside.
”

She had to get out of the office.
The room suddenly felt too small. As she charged through the office, she hurried
into the bathroom for a quick stop. Barely making it to the sink, she threw up
everything she had eaten for breakfast back at the clubhouse with Gaige. Her
eyes burned and when she looked at herself in the mirror she knew she needed to
clean up and act cool.

Mr. S. was coming.

Mr. S. as in Mr. Strokner. Rachel
’
s father.

What does he know?

It was the question that burned in
Emily
’
s mind as she washed
her face, took a deep breath, and left the bathroom. She put her cell to her
ear to make it like she was talking so she could get out of the office without
anyone bothering her. The moment she stepped outside she heard the sound of the
helicopter. She spotted the black dot in the distance and watched as it grew
closer and closer until it finally dropped down to the open strip behind the
building.

The engine was shut off and came to
a whining end. The side door opened and out stepped Rachel
’
s father, the powerful Bob
Strokner. He owned real estate across the country and even across the world. He
was loaded with a ton of money and a nasty attitude. The second Emily saw him
she wished Gaige was there with her. Then again, bikers and Mr. Strokner would
be gas and fire, for sure.

Emily held a straight face the best
she could as Mr. Strokner approached her.

“
Mr.
Strokner,
”
Emily said.
“
This is a surprise.
”

His face was drawn. His eyes intent
on Emily.
“
Haven
’
t you heard yet?
”

“
Heard
…
?
”

Emily felt her body sweating. She
needed to hold the lie together.

“
Oh,
Emily,
”
Mr. Strokner said.
He sighed and offered his hand.

Emily took it.
“
What
’
s wrong?
”

“
When
was the last time you spoke to Rachel?
”

“
I,
uh, yesterday,
”
Emily said.
“
She stopped by my
apartment. She, uh
…
is
something wrong?
”

Mr. Strokner nodded.
“
There is.
”
He looked at the building and swallowed hard.
“
Did Rachel ever come here with
you?
”

“
Here?
No. She actually doesn
’
t
know I work here. It
’
s not
the most flattering job. I told her I was in school. I
’
m sorry I lied to her. How did you
…
?
”

“
I
find out everything I need,
”
Mr. Strokner said.
“
Emily,
I need you to get into the helicopter with me. Please.
”

Emily knew she shouldn
’
t go with Mr. Strokner, but what
choice did she have? She couldn
’
t
reveal that she knew the fate of Rachel. So Emily walked with Mr. Strokner and
got into the helicopter. When Mr. Strokner leaned forward to the pilot she
feared he was going to order the helicopter be started. Instead, Mr. Strokner
told the pilot to take a break. He exited the helicopter and then Emily was
alone with Mr. Strokner.

“
I
have to tell you something,
”
Mr. Strokner said.

“
Okay,
”
Emily said.

“
Rachel
was shot yesterday.
”

“
Shot?
”

“
Multiple
times. She
’
s
…
gone
…”

Gone.

Emily shut her eyes and felt the
pain swell in her stomach.

“
Gone?
”

“
Murdered.
”

Emily
’
s
eyes welled with tears. She was finally able to openly cry for good reason.
This only sold the lie more to Rachel
’
s
father. He pulled a small cloth from his suit jacket and handed it to her.

“
You
know why this happened?
”
he
asked.

“
No.
She never mentioned any problems to me. How
…
?
”

“
This
wasn
’
t an accident,
”
Mr. Strokner said.
“
I have the report already.
”

“
She
’
s really gone?
”

“
She
was shot several times in the back. She was placed into her car. She was in an
alley near a junkyard that has a nasty reputation of bikers. Know anything
about bikers?
”

Emily buried her face in the cloth.
She shook her head.
“
How is
she gone? I should have known something was wrong.
”

“
Emily,
clean yourself up and look at me,
”
Mr. Strokner ordered.

This was getting too serious.

Emily wiped her face and looked at
Mr. Strokner.

“
What
was the last thing you remember about Rachel?
”
he asked. His eyes were like stone.

“
She
came by my apartment yesterday with coffee. We talked for an hour. I told her I
was studying, but I wanted to just have a night alone and catch up on some
sleep. She said she was going out and left.
”

“
Going
out where?
”

“
I
don
’
t know. Just out.
”

“
And
you didn
’
t go with her?
”

“
No.
”

The lies were swelling throughout
Emily
’
s body. She could
feel herself wanting to crack. This was all going to blow up in her face. She
knew it. She just fucking knew it.

“
My
little girl was shot,
”
Mr.
Strokner said.
“
Near a
junkyard that has a reputation for trouble.
”

“
I
guess we were both lying about our lives then,
”
Emily said as tears filled her eyes again.
“
I
can
’
t believe this.
”

“
Imagine
my shock,
”
Mr. Strokner
said.
“
As far as I knew,
Rachel was a good girl. Kept to herself. Stayed out of the trouble.
”

“
Maybe
it was an accident,
”
Emily
said.

Mr. Strokner smiled and stretched
an arm out to Emily.
“
It
wasn
’
t just a random
bullet. She was shot at. I want to know who did it and I want to know why.
”

“
I
can
’
t
…
I don
’
t know
…”

Mr. Strokner blinked and Emily saw
tears. The big bad businessman was starting to cry.
“
I
’
ll
find the truth. Perhaps you should think really hard about everything too. Just
in case she said something that slipped your mind. Maybe she had a new
boyfriend. Maybe she was trying to give you hints and didn
’
t realize.
”

“
Mr.
Strokner
…”

“
I
’
m not blaming you,
”
Mr. Strokner said.
“
I came to tell you in person
before all of this gets released. And in case you were trying to call Rachel
and couldn
’
t find her.
”

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Emily said.
“
So
sorry.
”

“
So
am I.
”

Emily sat for a few more seconds
and then left the helicopter. She stood and watched as the pilot got back into
the chopper. Within a minute, the helicopter roared to life and lifted off the
ground. Mr. Strokner looked at Emily one more time and she got the feeling that
he knew she was lying to him. The man wasn
’
t
stupid.

She reached for her cell phone and
froze.

What was she going to do? Did this
really involve Gaige? He and the MC were already busy enough looking for the
shooters. Dragging them into the business of Mr. Strokner would only make
things worse.

She could not believe this was
happening. It was the exact reason why Emily kept to herself all the time. Why
she liked to stay hidden. The second she showed up to a biker fight, her entire
life changed.

Yet it wasn
’
t all bad.

Emily
’
s
body warmed thinking about her and Gaige together the night before. Maybe that
was a big mistake and maybe it would ultimately be something she would regret,
but she needed it. She succumbed to Gaige not only because he was hot and
commanding, but because she wanted that protected feeling again. To be in the
arms of someone who could and would kill for her. That meant something.

When Emily returned to the office,
she had to hurry back to the bathroom. Her emotions were now winning the
battle. She was back at the same sink but this time, she was crying.

One of the stalls opened and she
saw the reflection of one of the women adjusting her short skirt. She touched
her nose and smiled. She had been getting drugged up before going to work. The
woman left the bathroom and a second later, Janine came walking in. Emily tried
to wipe her eyes to hide the fact she had been crying, but it was to late.