“Oh, she knows about the possibility of charges too.”
“You told her!” I shout at Devlin’s girl, which of course causes him to jump to his feet and get defensive.
“Calm down, man,” Dev warns.
“Even if Lucy didn’t know the details, it would only take her a few clicks on the computer to find out,” Malcolm says simply as he takes a sip from his bottle of beer. “She’s really good at finding shit — like you, for instance…”
“I hate to break it to you, Nash,” Jetta starts. “But Lucy knew about the homicide investigation on Thursday when I talked to her. It was right after the sheriffs showed up at your apartment looking for you and executing the search warrant. They’re the ones who told her about the homicide investigation, probably to try and scare her into turning you in if you showed up later.”
“You’re certain she knew I was a suspect in a multiple murder case?” I ask.
“Yep.”
“I don’t believe it,” I mutter. “All weekend she knew…and she acted completely normal other than in the car on the way to the resort. But I just figured that was because she was trying to figure out how to tell me she stalked me and was related to my ex-wife.”
“The girl is a helluva lot tougher than she looks,” Malcolm says.
“Yeah, she survived cancer too. Did you know that?” I ask him.
“Sure did.”
“How did you find that out? She couldn’t have told you, because it was like pulling teeth to get anything out of her!”
“No, she didn’t tell me. The PI I hired after Naomi lifted Lucy’s phone and wallet from her purse did a little digging on her. I thought it was strange that she would show up out of the blue at an MC clubhouse to talk to me about you if she was ‘just a concerned neighbor.’ And it turned out I was right. But I knew she was harmless, just looking for a fresh start with someone who could relate to what she had been through with her ex.”
“Yeah, well, he cheated on her and got Ellie pregnant while she was battling cancer and having surgery that would take away her chance of ever being a mother. You can bet your ass that Ellie rubbed that shit in Lucy’s face too, as if she hadn’t hurt her enough.”
“What a bitch,” Jetta huffs. “Ellie, not Lucy. Lucy’s great.”
“Yeah, she is,” I agree, turning to Devlin’s woman. “Will you be there for her? Make sure she moves on?”
“What if she doesn’t want to move on?” Jetta asks.
“Then make her!” I exclaim. “She can’t wait on me. She’ll just end up wasting years of her life before she realizes I’m a lost cause and finally gives up.”
“Dude, we’re going to figure out something,” Devlin says. “Do you really think we would let you rot in prison?”
“We’ll do whatever we need to do,” Malcolm agrees. “Even if we have to bribe a judge or some shit.”
“Let’s just all be realistic,” I tell them. “Don’t do anything crazy that will put you all on the chopping block too. Lay low, and hopefully the DA’s case will fizzle out with me. You know I would never rat anyone else out.”
“We know that,” Silas agrees. “And you should know that we’re not gonna sit around with our thumbs in our asses either.”
“Promise me you’ll all be smart.” I glance around the table, meeting each guy right in the eyes. “I’d appreciate it if you would all look after Lucy too.”
“She may look small, but she’s tough as nails,” Malcolm says. “Do you have any idea what she does to cheating men?”
“What cheating men? What are you talking about?” I ask in confusion.
“She’s in some online support groups for women who are cheated on. Apparently, she decided that talking about it isn’t enough, so she started taking action. Using her skills, she hacks into the men’s social media accounts and posts embarrassing shit like tiny dick pics on their profile pages, images of them wearing women’s panties, whatever she can find to hurt them. It’s savage as fuck but pretty funny.”
“How do you know she does that?”
“Saw the shit on her phone when Naomi nabbed it. When I confronted her about it, she just said they deserved it.”
“What if those assholes find out she’s responsible and come after her?” I say in concern.
“I told her the MC would have her back if she needed it since she agreed to look out for you.”
“I wish you had never made her do that,” I grumble.
“No, you don’t,” Malcolm argues. “You’re just pissed that the charges came down and are fucking things up.”
“I don’t care about the charges. I can take whatever punishment they give me. But Lucy…I never should’ve gotten so close to her.”
“You say that shit, but I can look at your face and know that, if you could be anywhere right now, it would be with her,” Malcolm remarks.
“She deserves more. And the sooner she sees my future, the quicker she can move on with hers.”
“What are you talking about?” Silas asks.
“I appreciate the dinner, Naomi. And I’m glad I got to see all of you before I go,” I tell them as I get to my feet. “But it’s time for me to turn myself in.”
“The attorney said you didn’t have to go into the police station until tomorrow,” Malcolm grumbles as he gets up and stomps over to me.
“I’m ready now,” I tell him as I give him a back-slapping hug. “Take care of everyone.”
Before he can say anything else, I start making the rounds, giving Wirth, Silas, Fiasco and Devlin each a bear hug goodbye and kissing Jetta, Naomi and Honey on their cheeks.
Then it’s time to get this over with.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lucy
* * *
I’m working away at my computer, still searching for as much information as I can about the victims when I vaguely hear sirens off in the distance.
Gradually, the noise gets louder as if it’s growing closer before I finally cave and get up from my desk to go look out the front window.
“Holy shit!”
In the dark parking lot of the apartment complex, there are no less than four police cruisers, all with their lights on. The men in uniform are crouching behind the car doors with their guns pointed at one target – Nash.
What is he doing back here? He was supposed to be staying with Malcolm tonight and then turning himself in tomorrow after he talks to an attorney. I may have overheard part of their phone call.
Slipping on a pair of flipflops, I head out the door just as one of the officers slams Nash face first on the hood of one of the cars so hard it probably gave him a concussion.
“Hey! That was uncalled for!” I yell at the officer. Several of the other men turn and train their guns on me, but five seconds later decide I’m not a threat but simply a pest that’s not worth their time or concern.
“What’s going on?” I ask as I head toward Nash.
“Go back inside, Lucy!” he yells at me, which causes the officer to slam his head down again for no reason.