She slapped the tears away and nodded. “I got this.”
“Dylan’s comin’ by to take you,” Shadow said.
“He doesn’t need to do that,” Jane countered.
“Yeah, he does,” Shadow said.
“He does?”
“Yeah, he’s got dues to pay in the form of slave labor,” Shadow explained. “Today, you’re the job.”
“Bikers are weird.” Jane let out a quiet snort and smiled. “But I like it.”
“I’ll go with you,” I said.
“No, you won’t,” Shadow countered. “You need to let Lyric deal with it.”
“What about moral support.”
Shadow took my hand and tugged me into the bedroom, closing the door behind us. “You are not in this, Posey. You need to let Lyric deal with it. The last thing you need is for some cop to start asking you questions, too.” He cupped my face gently. “Remember, you know more than she does. Keep it that way.”
I frowned, but I could see the logic in what he was saying. I sighed. “Okay.”
“Thank you,” he said, kissing me gently.
“You promise Lyric’s going to get her out of this?”
“One-hundred percent.”
I nodded, and we walked back out to the living room just as Jane answered the door. Dylan guided her to his truck, and they took off. I had no choice but to be patient and wait for her to come home.
If she came home.
* * *
I don’t know how many hours later, I got a text from Jane letting me know she was on her way home. The buzz of my phone had woken me, but the fact she was coming home had me unable to go back to sleep.
“Where ya goin’?” Shadow grumbled, reaching for me when I threw the covers off.
“Jane’s on her way home.”
He groaned, dragging his hands down his face. “I’ll get the tequila.”
“It’s two o’clock in the morning.”
“So?” he challenged. “You’re gonna need something to help you go back to sleep.”
“You may have a point,” I said, pulling on a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt.
Shadow pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top, then I followed him out to the kitchen where he grabbed a bottle of tequila and three glasses.
Jane walked in about ten minutes later. Shadow went to pow-wow with Dylan, and I pulled Jane onto the sofa. “So?”
“Lyric was amazing,” she breathed out, biting back a yawn. “She stayed with me through the entire interview.”
“Why did you still have to be in there if you lawyered up?”
“I kind of wanted to be. I wanted them to have as much rope to hang Frederick with as they could. Lyric helped to keep everything on track and made sure I didn’t say something that might seem incriminating. I’m in the clear.”
“You are?”
She bobbed her head. “Yes. It’s all done.”
I hugged. “I’m so glad, honey.”
“I just want to go to sleep for a day or two.”
“Well, don’t let us stop you. We’ll be as quiet as church mice.”
“Thanks, Posey. Seriously. I couldn’t have dealt with any of this without you and Shadow.”
I smiled. “Love you, Brainy.”
“Love you too, Mosey.” She stood and took off her hoodie. “I’m going to clean up, then crash.”
“Sounds good.”
Jane headed to the bathroom and when Shadow came back in and locked up, we all went to our respective corners and slept.
Until I heard Jane scream.
“Posey! Oh my god!”
Shadow and I were up and out of our bed in seconds, rushing into the living room where Jane was watching the news.
“Frederick Knorr, arrested for the alleged murder of his mother and kidnapping of a local young woman, has been found dead in his cell.”
“What the fuck?” Shadow breathed out.
“According to sources inside the jail, Mr. Knorr hung himself with a T-shirt. We have no other details at this time, but will be sure to inform you of them as they come in. This is Nicola Rob reporting for WJCL. Back to you—”
Jane’s phone rang just as she turned off the television and she answered immediately. “Hi, Lyric, did you see?” She nodded, then frowned. “What? He did? Oh my god. What does this mean? Okay. Yes, alright. Thank you for everything. Seriously. You’ve been amazing.” She nodded again. “Okay. Yep, he’s here. Thanks.” She hung up and dropped her phone on the side table. “Lyric said Doom’s going to call you.”
Shadow nodded and headed back to the bedroom, while I wrapped my arms around my best friend. “What happened?”
“The guards found him an hour ago and Lyric’s friend in the facility called her once things had calmed down. Frederick left a suicide note confessing to everything. He detailed his whole plan, his hatred of his mother and how controlling she was…which she was. She was horrible. Not needs to be murdered level, but kind of a bitch.”
“I know, honey,” I said.
“Anyway, it’s done. I am still technically the next of kin, so I guess I’m going to have to deal with arrangement for his burial and all that stuff.” She burst into tears. “I don’t understand how all of this went so south.”
“Yeah, it’s weird.”
“I mean, I’m so normal,” she breathed out. “I had a good childhood. My parents are my rocks. How did I fall in love with such a garbage human?”
“It’s a wonder,” I agreed. “I mean, the fact you think you’re human…”
Jane smacked my arm gently, then burst out laughing. “Oh my god, right?”
Shadow stepped into the family room, then turned around and walked out and I smiled.
“Whatever you need, Jane, we’re here for you,” I promised.
“Yeah, well you’ve proved that in spades.” She rose to her feet. “I’m going to take a shower, then I need to meet with Lyric so we can talk about next steps.”
“Okay. Let me know what you need.”
“I will.” She hugged me and headed to the bathroom, while I went to find my man.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Posey
ONE MONTH LATER, life had returned to a new normal. Jane had moved into her new home, I was still very happy in my little house next to Otter and Shiloh, although, I was probably going to need something bigger sooner than later.
Sharon had moved into a condo close to the club. Knock me over with a feather, but she and Gator had fallen in love and he was vying to be her roommate. She was a holdout due to the fact she was a ‘God-fearing’ woman and wouldn’t do anything that would jeopardize that, but he was doing everything he could to make her forget her manners.
The building fire had in fact been started by a faulty range, so there was currently a class-action suit against Mr. Calloway. Sharon had been smart enough to get renter’s insurance, so anything that was ruined by the smoke was replaced by the insurance money.
I was doing online classes from the barn, thanks to Shadow organizing some of the recruits to clear out a room at the back of the building that had been used as a storage room previously. But I didn’t have a permanent place to do massages. For the moment, every Monday and Wednesday, Shadow transformed my living room into a quiet massage area, and clients came to me. This wouldn’t last much longer, so we were working to find a solution.