“And how did Biche come into the story?”
“When the prosecutor offered me a deal, she told me she had witness statements from Lee and one Mr. Ford, aka Biche. He went to the police and told them he’d seen me selling drugs and when they canvased the area, they found Lee. They threatened Lee with jail time and he flipped on me.”
“And what did you have to give the prosector in return for your deal?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t give them anything. Blaze did. He came to see me after I got locked up and he was feeling all kinds of guilty, saying the club had lost its way. He’s the one who gave up our supplier and it’s also why he got shot.”
“Shit,” he whispers, shaking his head. “I never knew that.”
“Yep,” I reply. “Any of that help you?”
“I don’t know. Let me dig into a few things and I’ll let you know what I find.”
I nod. “Sounds good. Talk to you later.”
“Actually, one more question.”
“Shoot.”
“What the hell did Biche gain by getting you locked up?”
Sighing, I press down on the gas a little harder, anything to release some of this anger I still carry around with me everyday. “You know who Biche’s old man is?”
“No.”
“Xavier Ford.”
He lets out a low whistle. “You mean the same Xavier Ford that was our supplier?”
“Yep. Turns out, he didn’t think Biche had what it took to manage the family business so he made him work the streets to prove himself. It drove Biche crazy and when you add in the fact that I always out sold him, it’s not really a surprise that he did whatever it took to get rid of me.”
“And then Xavier shot Blaze?”
I nod. “Exactly.”
“Whatever happened to Xavier?”
“I have no clue but I always wondered if taking him out of the picture was Blaze’s last act of vigilante justice.”
“Dude,” he murmurs. “My mind is spinning now. You’ve given me so much to look into. Gotta go.”
He hangs up on me before I can say anything else and I chuckle as I pull up in front of Kady’s house and put the truck in park. Hannah’s car is in the driveway along with Kady’s truck and I cross my arms over my chest as I lean back in my seat.
Shit.
I wish I could see in the windows.
I hate not knowing how she is.
Sighing, I think over everything I’ve learned so far and all the missing pieces still out there to find. For the most part, none of it makes any sense but I’m not going to stop until I find answers. Something has my girl terrified and that’s not something I can let stand.
* * * *
Sighing, I shift in my seat and groan as I glance up at the cabin. The sun is sinking behind the trees surrounding Kady’s property and there’s a chill in the air as darkness descends. I roll the window of the truck up and turn back to my phone. I’ve been wasting time, playing some stupid game called Candy Crush that Streak downloaded on my phone, for the past few hours, and I think I’m about ready to call it a night. Hannah is still inside and as much as I’d kill to be a fly on the wall, listening to their conversation and getting an explanation on who the hell that guy was today, my back is killing me.
I lose my game and toss the phone across the seat. It’s a good distraction when I’m sitting outside the cabin like some kind of stalker, I suppose, but most of the time when I try to play it, I just end up getting pissed and throwing my phone. And since Kady doesn’t have any neighbors to call the cops, looking like a creepy stalker is really low on my list of worries.
The phone rings on the seat next to me and I glance over, scowling at the unfamiliar number before I grab it and press it to my ear.
“Hello?”
“If you’re going to just sit out there like a psycho, you might as well come in.”
I arch a brow, grinning as I look up at the cabin. “Kady?”
“Yes,” she sighs, her annoyance making me laugh. “Unless, of course, you’re parked outside some other poor girl’s house like a stalker.”
“Nope. You know you’re the only woman for me, baby,” I reply and I can practically hear her roll her eyes. I bite my lip to hold back my laughter.
Shit.
I love riling her up.
“For fuck’s sake,” she mutters. “Have it your way.” Before I can respond, she hangs up on me. I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at the screen for a second before grinning and turning the truck off. The temperature has dropped ten degrees, at least, since the sun went down and I shove my hands in my pockets, wishing I’d brought a hoodie as I make my way up the driveway. When I reach the porch, the front door opens and Hannah studies me intently.
“Hey, Han.”
She nods, her glare boring into me. “Noah.”
“Jesus,” I whisper, shaking my head. “You know she breaks my balls enough all by herself. You don’t need to join her.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” she asks, flashing me a smile that reminds me of the time Kady almost cut off my balls for going to the strip club and I shake my head again.
“Two peas in a psychotic pod,” I mutter as I step inside and Kady walks into the room.
“What was that?”
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
“I’m gonna take off, Kady,” Hannah says. “You good?”
My gaze flicks back and forth between Kady and Hannah as they have an entire conversation without saying a damn thing. It’s infuriating. Finally, Kady nods.
“I’m good.”
“Call me if you need me again. I don’t care what time it is.”
Kady walks past me and wraps her arms around Hannah while whispering something to her. Hannah’s gaze softens and she pulls back to look at Kady as she nods. She turns to the door and just when I think I’m home free, she turns back to me with a glare.
“Don’t you dare hurt my best friend again, Noah LeBlanc.”
“I’d rather die,” I admit and she studies me for a second before nodding and walking out the door. I stare at it for a moment before turning to Kady.
“How exactly did I hurt you before?”
She laughs. “How didn’t you hurt me, Noah?”
I scowl as she walks back into the kitchen and after a second, I follow her, determined to get answers. Kady always has been and always will be my entire goddamn world and what I said to Hannah was true - I’d rather slit my own throat than hurt her.
“I’m serious, Kady. How did I hurt you?”
“Really? You don’t know?”
I shake my head and plant my hands on the counter as she leans against the sink and sighs. “Back before you got locked up, how often did I ask you to get out of the club?”
“All the time,” I answer, not sure where she’s going with this. “But I was doing that for you, for us. To set us up for the future.”
“I didn’t need all that, Noah. I just needed you but you wouldn’t listen to me. You were so convinced that you knew better than me and you had so little respect for me that you wouldn’t even try to see it my way.”