“I’d love the company.” Rix had a great deal of affection for Elizabeth. Out of all of the neighbors, she’d been the most welcoming. Everyone gave a wave and smiled, saying morning or evening, but Elizabeth actually made conversation. Rix talked often about having a full-on street barbeque but so far, they hadn’t tried to draw everyone together.
With the dogs on leads, they made their way out of her yard and headed toward one of the fields that Anna-Beth hadn’t known was there.
“How are you finding it here, sweetheart?” Elizabeth asked.
“I love it. I’ve got a good job. I love my house.”
“And how are you finding Rix?”
“He’s a good guy.”
“You’re both at that stage where you don’t believe, am I right? You think I’m a little old to be telling stories.”
She laughed. “I don’t think that at all. You’re not the first person to tell me about the cursed houses. A colleague did.” They were still waiting on some information about the previous owners. She wasn’t entirely happy about the thought of invading other people’s lives, but this had to be farfetched.
“You lived in the city, didn’t you, before coming here?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yeah. It’s two different worlds, that’s for sure.” She shivered at the memory of the gun.
“What about family?”
“Both of my parents passed away a couple of years ago. I don’t have any family. It’s just me.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine.” She thought about Rix. He’d been a family to her in the short time they’d been together. “What about you?”
“Don’t talk about me.” She waved her hand in the air.
The field was a huge open space.
“You can let them off the lead now. They will go crazy and run all over.”
Anna-Beth did as instructed and watched the dogs run. She laughed as she put her hands on her hips.
“You know, you remind me a little of myself when I was your age,” Elizabeth said.
“I do?”
“Yeah. You’ve got your life all mapped out. You know what you want but at the same time, you’re afraid to go get it. I understand. You’ve had heartbreak and you’ve been scared as well. It can cause anyone to want to take a step back from life. I get it. Believe me.” Elizabeth sighed. “This life, Anna-Beth, we only get one. Even eighty years, it sounds like a long time, but in reality, it’s not. Time flies, and we don’t get enough time to do everything. Don’t live your life with regrets.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“You do understand, you’re just afraid. Don’t be afraid. Live your life without regrets.” Elizabeth took her hand, holding it. “Whatever happens with Rix, embrace it. Don’t think, just allow your feelings to take over.”
She laughed.
The dogs each brought back a stick and she kept throwing them. When the dogs came back without the sticks and looked ready to call it a day, she put them back on the lead, and they started to make their way back to Elizabeth’s house. She declined a drink, wanting to get washed and changed for Rix’s return.
She invited Elizabeth around for lunch for the next day and as she got to the edge of the road to cross over for her own home, she came to a stop.
There was a limousine parked outside the house.
She tensed up.
Stepping across the road, she tried to ignore the car and the men.
The car door opened up as she got to her front door.
“Excuse me,” a man said as she slid the key into the lock.
Turning toward him, she saw he wore a suit, and there was ink just visible around his neck.
“Yes?” she said. She felt the first wave of panic rush over her.
“I don’t suppose you know who lives here?” He pointed at Rix’s house.
“No, I don’t.” She turned the key, stepping into her home. Just as she was about to close the door, he was there again.
“I think you’re lying,” the man said. He’d followed her up her small drive.
There was something about him that set her on edge. She didn’t know what it was, and she didn’t care for it or the feelings that swept over her.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but you need to step off my property and leave before I call the cops.”
The man smirked. “And what makes you think they’ll come running?”
She knew Rix was an MC president. He’d never lied to her, even about his time locked away, but this, this was the reality of the kind of business he was mixed up in. She was terrified. He wasn’t even here.
Pushing against her front door, she tried to close it, but the man stopped her, inserting his foot. He must have been wearing some decent shoes because he didn’t show any sign of being hurt and she pressed against the door.
“When you see Rix again, tell him I want to talk.” He held out a card. She didn’t take it. There was no way she was helping this man. “Listen, miss, I can make this very difficult for you. Take the card, or I will be forced to make you.”
She glared at him.
He was clearly used to getting what he wanted and she didn’t like that.
Still, she took the card.
He removed his foot, then she slammed the door closed and leaned against it.
What the fuck did Rix have going down?
His club visited him regularly, all without their cuts and sometimes not even on their bikes. She’d allowed herself to become disillusioned, believing he wasn’t a bad biker.
She moved away from the door, she knew she was going to have to talk to Rix. This man, whoever he was, was trouble. She didn’t need to have experienced something like this living in the city to recognize a bad person.
She didn’t look at the name on the card. Stepping into her kitchen, she went straight to her freezer and took out some ice cream. Not exactly the best way to deal with stress or panic, but this was how she was going to deal with this one this time.
Chapter Seven
It had been a long time since Rix buried someone. Today wasn’t exactly the day he wanted to get started back into his life, but the woman who’d tried to infiltrate his club was selling club secrets and there was only one way to deal with a traitor like her.
Night had arranged for her to be locked in a secure location so he could torture all he needed from her. She bore the mark of the capo who had framed him, the very person he intended to kill.
She was supposed to lure him to his death.
Now she was dead.
Even if they were going to recover the body, there was no way anyone would be able to identify it. After she died, he made sure to take her apart piece by piece.
“I’ve got word back to the underboss. He’s going to take care of it,” Night said.
“See that he does.” He removed his clothes, passing them to Night to burn, while he stepped beneath the cold spray of the shower, removing all traces that would link him back to the woman. He was always careful.
He thought about Anna-Beth and quickly pushed her to the back of his mind. He couldn’t think about her right now. Not with another woman’s blood on his hands.