CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Explain to me again why you set up hidden cameras in your apartment, Miss Clark?” Officer Hollister asks in a bored, disbelieving tone.
“Chuck’s been erratic since my mother died. I didn’t trust him. In the past, he’s had people spy on me. I was afraid he or someone working for him might try to break into my apartment.” I point to the front windows of my apartment that extend from ceiling to floor and shrug. “It was a precautionary measure.”
“A proper deadbolt or locks on the window might have been a cheaper choice,” he says dryly. “But continue.”
He slides his patient, professional cop stare from me to Marcel, where it turns into more of an I-know-you’re-both-full-of-shit glare. “I suppose you installed the cameras with your girlfriend’s permission?”
“A buddy of mine did. But I helped him.” Marcel rubs his hand over my back. “Chuck hasn’t been thrilled about us dating. Wanted to make sure she was safe.”
“Uh-huh.” Liam grunts. “Right.” He jots down a few notes and glances up again at Marcel. “This buddy have a name? One of your brothers, I’m guessing?”
“Angus Frazier,” Marcel supplies and I realize I had no idea what Z’s real name was.
Liam ducks his head, speaking into the radio at his shoulder. “Who’s the guy out front?”
He listens to the low static that I can’t make out at all.
“Send him in.”
Z’s filling up my doorway a few seconds later.
“Have a seat, Mr. Frazier,” Officer Hollister says, nodding to one of my kitchen chairs that had been dragged into the living room earlier.
Before sitting, Z observes the scene around him. How close Teller and I are sitting. The injuries on my face and hands. I narrow my eyes and glare at him a little. In response, his mouth gives the barest hint of a twist.
“What can I help you with, officer?” Z asks in a disinterested tone.
“You place some equipment in Miss Clark’s apartment recently?”
Z doesn’t skip a beat. “Yup.”
“At her request?”
“Yup.”
“The purpose?”
“A safety precaution.”
He asks Z more technical details. While Officer Hollister was able to view the video of my uncle bursting into my apartment and our argument leading up to the stabbing on Marcel’s phone, the police want to have their own copy to examine. Z makes arrangements to provide it to them.
Officer Hollister stands. “Miss Clark, you’re not under arrest, but I’m going to caution you not to leave the area. Officially this is still under investigation.”
Marcel’s arm tightens around me. “I’m bringing her to my place, but it’s still in Empire County.”
“That’s fine.”
Marcel stands and shakes the officer’s hand. “Thank you.”
Officer Hollister jerks his head toward the door. “Let’s talk.”
Marcel leans down and kisses my cheek. “I’ll be right back.” He and Z share a look and a nod before Marcel follows his friend out the door.
Z sits up. “You okay, Charlotte?” The concern in his voice seems genuine. I don’t detect a hint of remorse for spying on me though.
“As good as one can be after getting attacked and finding out my boyfriend and his buddy invaded my privacy.”
There’s that twist to his mouth again, like either he can’t believe a female has the nerve to speak to him that way or he finds me entertaining.
“And if you say you did it for my own good, I’m going to kick you out of my apartment.”
His mouth stretches into a wide grin. “Not for your good.” He jerks his chin toward the door. “For his.”
I cross my arms over my chest and wince at the pain in my hand. “What else do you want me to do to prove myself?”
Z seems to understand that by you, I mean the club. He leans forward, elbows on his knees. “Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Were you this suspicious of Hope and Trinity?”
He takes the nosy question in stride. “Trinity? No. She’d been with the club a long time. Girl’s loyal to her core. Hope wasn’t as much of an issue of loyalty as it was understanding.”
“You didn’t want her to inadvertently bring unwanted attention to the club,” I say.
“Right.” He touches his chest. “Personally, I like you. I think if you were a rat, you would’ve sold out your uncle’s club a long time ago.”
“Never occurred to me, honestly. I don’t know what they’re into. Never wanted to know.”
“That’s good. A good ol’ lady doesn’t ask questions.”
I roll my eyes, and he laughs. “Hope’s a lawyer. She never asks questions?”
“Don’t know what she and Rock talk about in private. But in front of us? No.”
“What are they talking about?” I gesture toward the door.
Without looking away, he answers, “Probably warning Teller not to retaliate against Merlin and let the police handle it.”
My hand flies to my mouth. “Oh, shit. I hadn’t thought of that.”
His lips quirk. “A little naive for a lawyer who grew up around bikers, no?”
“Forgive me, I did take a few knocks to the head.”
He doesn’t laugh at my sarcastic tone. In fact, the humor drains from his expression, leaving one pissed off biker across from me. “Don’t worry. He’s definitely going to pay for that.”
“Well, I did jam a knife into him.”
Our conversation ends when Teller steps back into the apartment, closing the door behind him with a quiet click. Z raises his eyebrows and Teller subtly inclines his head. I watch the unspoken exchange, trying to determine what they’re planning.
“What did he say?” I blurt out.
“Merlin’s in surgery. Once he’s stable, he’ll be discharged from the hospital straight to Empire County Jail.” Teller’s gaze falls on me. “Liam’s leaning toward self-defense. But it’s not totally up to him. You might have to give another statement.”
“I should probably have an attorney…” Mentally, I run over the criminal attorneys I know. Good God, I don’t want to have to call David and ask him to help me.
“Hope can do it,” Z suggests.
“Or I know someone if she can’t, or you don’t want to involve one of your friends,” Teller adds.
“Thanks.”
Teller sits next to me, taking my uninjured hand in his. “Tell me what happened now.”
“What?” I gasp in fake shock. “Your video didn’t have sound?”
Z chuckles. “No.”
A key scrapes in the door and Z reacts as if we’re under attack. “Relax. It’s probably my brother.”
“Hey, Charlotte—” Carter stops dead in his tracks. “What the hell?”
In all the craziness, I never called Carter to tell him what happened.
Carter eyes Z warily then Teller. “Hey, Teller. What’s going on?”
“Relax, kid,” Tellers says, introducing him to Z.
Z sits up and shakes Carter’s hand.
“Jesus, Char. What happened?”
I glance at Teller and I think he understands I only want to tell Carter a portion of what happened.
I recite a carefully edited version of events, leaving out my rape seven years ago and the cameras.
“What the fuck? He must be taking Mom’s death harder than we thought,” Carter says when I finish.
Is that what brought on his sudden bout of craziness? Or something else?
Clearly uncomfortable around Z and Teller, my brother stands and paces. “So this was all about you and Teller dating?” He stops and glares at Teller. “I warned you something like this would happen. You swore you’d protect her!” he shouts.
Shocked at my brother’s outburst, I open my mouth to defend Teller but he squeezes my hand and answers the accusation.
“I know, Carter. I should’ve seen this coming after the other day. I’m sorry,” Teller says.
“Carter, I’m fine.”
“There’s more to this you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
I duck my head. “No.”
“Charlotte.” The anguish in his voice makes me lift my head and meet his eyes. “What if someone else in the club comes after you?”
“I’m going to stay at Teller’s place tonight.”
His wary gaze shifts to Z and back to my face. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Teller seems to understand what my brother’s afraid of better than I do. “Z’s here to protect her, not hurt her, Carter.”
Z flashes an impishly innocent smile. “Truth.”
“The cops have his name,” I add. “If I go missing, they’ll know where to look,” I assure my brother.
Teller and Z both choke on their laughter.
My brother isn’t amused. His brows draw down in a scowl. “That’s not funny.”
“She’ll be safe at our clubhouse,” Teller says. “Chuck’s supposed to be transferred to Empire County Jail, but you can come too if you’re worried about him.”
“He doesn’t give a shit about me,” Carter says.
“You don’t want to stay here,” I warn him. “The kitchen’s still a mess.”
“I’ll go stay with Bianca.” He gives me a hug. “Call me later.”
After he leaves, Z chuckles and glances at Teller. “Now I understand why you like him so much.”
“Thanks for not shooting him,” I mumble.
Z seems offended. “He’s just worried about his sister. Although I hope he has some skills to back up that mouth. Not everyone he runs into is gonna be as understanding.”
I shake my head. “Not so much.”
Teller lifts his chin. “Good call not mentioning the cameras.”
“It would’ve traumatized him to find out you…” I say, nodding at Z “…watched him sleep all night long.”
Z laughs. “I wasn’t watching twenty-four-seven like a fuckin’ creeper.”
“There’s more to it than what you told the cops, isn’t there?” Teller asks. “Now that it’s just the three of us, what did you leave out?”
My gaze darts between Teller and Z. “Personal, family things.”
Thankfully, Z takes that as a cue to leave. “I’m heading to the clubhouse. I’ll let Rock know what happened. Tell the guys you’ll be up later so we can sit down at the table.”
I don’t like the sound of that at all. Sit down at the table is obviously biker code for discuss how to kill Merlin. I hold my tongue until Z leaves.
“Talk to me, Charlotte,” Marcel says, running his hand over my hair. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.”
“Don’t, Marcel. It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is. Carter’s right.” He flicks his gaze across the room. “I almost fuckin’ lost it when I saw the cops in front of your building.” He holds me against him, and I soak up his comforting warmth for a few minutes before pulling away.
Where to begin?
“He was pissed that I told you about what happened. Told me you wouldn’t want me because of it.”
“Fucking asshole.” He stares down at me. “You know that’s not true.”
I acknowledge that with a nod. “I pushed him. Hard. About the truth of that night. He had to know who it was or have some clue, but it only made him angrier.” Bits and pieces of what Chuck said click into place and my stomach lurches.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Composing myself, I begin again. “He said I was pathetic for still thinking about it and I said that’s why I told you, so you’d understand why I didn’t respect him or have any loyalty to him when it came time to choose.”
“Sunshine,” he croaks, holding me tighter.
“He lost it. I thought he was going to hurt me again. You know the rest.”
Violence shimmers in his eyes. And I know exactly what it means.
Someone touched me. Hurt his woman. Marcel’s planning my uncle’s death as we sit here.
Gently, I touch his arm, pulling him out of his trance. “Marcel, don’t. Please don’t do anything. I’m okay.”
He meets my eyes and gently rubs his thumb over my bruised cheek. “In no way is this okay. He hit you. Hurt you.”
“Well, I did stab him. So, I think we’re even.”
He doesn’t crack a smile. “Honestly, his club will probably punish him before I even get the chance.”
“What? No. Whisper wouldn’t—”
“Something like this brings too much unwanted attention. Makes him seem unstable. They might view him as a liability.”
My uncle’s words come back to me.
“You don’t want to keep trying to unravel this.”
I hope there’s time to pull the truth from my uncle before his club has him murdered.
When we arrive at the clubhouse, everyone’s clearly heard about Charlotte’s attack. Hope and Trinity meet us in the living room.
“Rock’s waiting for you,” Hope says. She leans in closer and in a lower voice adds, “I’ll take her back to our house and keep an eye on her while you’re at the table.”
My throat tightens, and Hope wraps her arms around me for a quick hug.
“Teller! Let’s go!” Z barks from inside the war room.
I give Charlotte one last kiss before Hope and Trinity lead her out of the clubhouse.
Z smirks when I step in the room. “Waitin’ on you, brother. Bricks, Dex, and Birch are down at CB. I’ll fill them in later.”
“One of you better fill me in now,” Rock growls.
I recount the story and when I get to the part about Charlotte plunging a knife in Merlin, Wrath lets out a low whistle.
“Go, Charlotte,” Murphy mutters.
“This was all over what happened to her seven years ago? Why is it suddenly an issue for him?” Rock asks.
“Carter suggested it was grief from his mom’s death, but I don’t know.”
Rock taps the table in front of him. “What do you want to do?”
“He hurt my girl.” My fists tighten. “I want to fucking rip him apart.”
“Wolf Knights will get to him first,” Wrath says. “No way Whisper’s gonna let that slide. They’re probably at the table voting in a new president right now.”
I turn to Rock. “If he makes it out alive, I want a piece of him.”
“Done.” Rock glances around the table. “Anything else?”
Z raises his hand. “I think we should all take a second and acknowledge the fact that Charlotte barely blinked when she found out we’d set up cameras in her apartment.”
Rock snorts and then laughs. “Poor girl.” He turns to me. “You explain it to her?”
“Yeah. She was pissed, but she understood. It also probably kept her from spending the night in jail.”
Z shakes his head and laughs. “Girl’s brave. Merlin knocked her around pretty good and she still had enough spunk to give me lip about the cameras.”
“She did? When?”
“When you were talking to your cop buddy.”
“He’s not my buddy,” I grumble.
“I didn’t take what she said as disrespect,” Z clarifies, glancing around the table. “She’s opinionated and has a backbone. But she’s also smart. She definitely understood the why of it.”
“Good,” Rock says.
Z shrugs and continues. “She wanted to know how hard we were on Trinity and Hope.”
Wrath leans forward at the mention of his wife’s name. “What about it?”
“Ease up. She was asking what else she could do to prove herself to us.”
If it’s possible, I love Charlotte even more. For her understanding of my world and her acceptance.
“You trust her?” Rock asks Z.
“I do, yeah.”
“Glad to hear it,” I say. “Because she’s staying here with me for a few days.”
Rock nods. “Good. Safest place for her right now.” He glances at Wrath. “Reach out to Whisper and ask for a sit-down. We need to see where we stand with them before this goes any further.”
“Yeah, okay.”
On my way out, Wrath stops me. “I’m glad she’s okay. Never expected something like this from Merlin.”
“Me either.”
Charlotte’s swaying on her feet when I pick her up from Rock’s house. Outside, she blinks at me and I rub her cheek with the back of my hand. “Hungry?”
“Hope fed me.” She yawns. “I’m exhausted.”
We don’t say much as I lead her back to the clubhouse and up to my room. It’s still daylight out, but I take her into the bathroom and strip her down. Try to keep myself calm when I find multiple bruises and marks on her body that her clothes kept hidden.
“How’d this happen,” I ask, gently tracing the deep purple mark running from her hip to the top of her ass.
She turns and glances down. “Jesus, no wonder my whole back hurts.” I stand and grab a bottle of Advil out of the cabinet, shaking a few tablets into her hand and giving her a glass of water.
When she’s finished, I ask again. “How’d it happen?”
“He shoved me into the counter.” Her bottom lip trembles. “I was trapped between him and the counter. I thought…I thought…” She drops her head, hair falling around her face. “I don’t know. I was terrified. That’s why I stabbed him.”
Taking care to keep her injured hand dry, I lead her into the shower and clean her up.
“Is it okay that I’m here?” she asks.
“What kind of question is that?”
She shakes her head.
“This is where you’re supposed to be. Right here with me. You’re safe here.”
Finally, she meets my eyes. “I know.”
Like a zombie, she follows me out of the shower, lets me dry her off and slip one of my T-shirts over her head.
“You look good in that.”
The corners of her mouth turn up just a bit.
“Bedtime. You can barely keep your eyes open.”
Under the covers, she can’t get comfortable. I pull her into my arms and eventually, she settles down.
“I’m so sorry, Charlotte.” It’s easier to say this in the dark. “Your brother was right. I should’ve protected you better. I saw how pissed Merlin was the other day. Claiming you only made him angrier—”
“Caveman,” she teases.
“Stop. I’m serious.”
She presses her hand against my chest and lifts her head. Her eyes glitter in the darkness. “No, I’m serious. I understand you better than you think, Marcel. You want to take this and twist it so that it’s somehow your fault. And I’m not going to let you do that. The only one responsible for today is my uncle.”
I hesitate, and she keeps going.
“Don’t fight me on this, Marcel. I argue for a living. You’re just going to lose.”
How can I not laugh?
“I love you so much. I can’t stand anything happening to you, Charlotte.” My voice lowers even more. “I felt fucking helpless today and didn’t like it.”
“I know you’re not used to it, but sometimes things happen we can’t control.”
“It’s how we react to them that matters.”
She laughs softly and lays her head against my chest. “Exactly. See, now you’re learning.”
“I want you to get your concealed weapon permit. I know a guy who can push yours through quickly.”
She lifts her head. “What makes you think I don’t have one already?”
“Do you?”
“Yes. I even have a fancy little revolver.”
“Well, aren’t you full of surprises?”
“It wouldn’t be a surprise.” She inches up and brushes a kiss over my jaw, down to my neck. “If you weren’t so fascinated with my vibrator, you would’ve found the little gun safe in my bottom drawer.”
I growl and gently roll us, pushing her back flat to the mattress. “Is that right?”
She loops her arms around my neck. “Yup.”
“I’ll have to investigate better next time.” I turn my head, taking in the space I’ve called home for years. “Or have you move in with me.”
“Here?”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. Would your brothers really approve? Especially after today?”
I roll to the side, but keep my arm around her waist. “Today’s not your fault either.”
“It’s still going to drag your club into something with the Wolf Knights.”
“No one’s going to blame you for that.”
She yawns, and I kiss her forehead. “Get some rest. We’ll talk more about it in the morning.”
A few minutes later she stretches out on her stomach. I run my hand over her hair and down her back until her soft snores tell me she’s out.
I lay there, one arm resting on my chest, the other behind my head and stare at the ceiling, thinking of everything that happened and everything that’s coming.
Sleep evades me and eventually, I give up. Charlotte’s sound asleep and safe here.
The clubhouse is dark and mostly quiet as I pad down the stairs. Light spills out from under the war room door.
Looks like I’m not the only one up.
At this hour, it used to be Rock we’d find in the war room. Since he’s in his own house now, it’s probably Z.
There’s also a light next door in the office, but that doesn’t register for me right away. I open the war room door, expecting Z to be at the table.
Instead, I get an eyeful.
I recognize Hope first. Or rather her long hair cascading down her bare back as Rock strips off her sweatshirt. She’s sitting on the table facing him and they’re obviously about five seconds from fucking. He leans over her, pushing her down against the table, then catches sight of me.
One hard get the fuck out stare is all I need to snap me out of my shock.
I jump back and quietly shut the door.
“What’re you doing up, bro?”
“Shit!”
Z’s standing by the office, corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk.
“Nothing much. Just been traumatized,” I whisper loudly, as I stride over to him.
He waves his hand, inviting me to follow him inside. “Rock came over earlier to talk. Hope followed a little later. They’re going through some stuff. Thought I should leave them alone.”
“Next time hang a sock on the door or something to warn the rest of us.”
“Aw, nothing you haven’t seen before, little brother.”
“That’s different.” I shake my head. “I’ll never look at our table the same.”
“Christ. On the table? Figured they’d do it on his throne, or one of the couches—”
I cut him off. “Can we not.”
Z chuckles. “What’s got you up?”
“Take your pick.”
“Rough fuckin’ day.” He drops into his chair and one of the dogs pops out from under the desk and sets his head on Z’s leg. “Wrath set that meeting up with Whisper.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“I want to be there.”
“You think that’s a good idea?”
“Come on, Z. Give me some credit.”
He sits, stroking his hand over Zipper’s head for a few seconds. “Seems unimportant now, but I looked into those transcripts.”
“And?”
“It fit her story.”
I grunt in response. Never expected different.
“I’ve been thinking about who they might have been in business with six or seven years ago.”
I raise an eyebrow, surprised Z’s still interested.
“You think it’s possible he set her up?” he asks. “Some way to get in with another club?”
“After today, anything’s possible with that asshole.”
He nods and works his jaw from side to side as if he’s contemplating whether he should say what’s on his mind. I brace myself. Z’s not one to second-guess giving his opinion.
“Is it possible he did it?”
“Fuck. Not gonna lie, it’s crossed my mind.” I run my hand over the back of my neck, considering how much to share. “At the hospital, she was told there was more than one.”
Z sits back and sighs. “Jesus. Any man who thinks that’s okay to do to a woman deserves a bullet to the head.” He points at the door with an imaginary gun and pulls the trigger. “One bullet.”
I stretch my legs out in front of me, getting comfortable in Rock’s office chair. “Now I understand why she didn’t believe me when I told her we didn’t tolerate that stuff here.”
“Please. Clubhouse or college campus. Seems like that shit goes on everywhere lately. Some days I think we’re the only ones who actually have a moral compass.” He snorts. “Which is really fucked up.”
“Agreed.” I put my hand down at my side, snapping my fingers. Ziggy lifts his head and trots over to have his ears scratched.
“I’m patching Charlotte.”
Z glances up. “She’ll make a good ol’ lady.”
I take that to mean Z will vote yes. “Thanks.”
“Give it a little time, though,” he cautions.
“Because of this?”
“Because of everything.” He pins me with a more serious stare. “Let her interact with the girls more.”
“Oh, man,” I groan, understanding what he’s saying. “Trinity even said she’s over it.”
“I’ve known Trin a long time.” Z’s mouth quirks. “You know how it is. Talk shit about me, I’ll let it go. Talk shit about my friend, I won’t be as quick to forgive.”
I snort at the truth of his sentiment. And I’d be pissed, except I know that down the road, he’ll defend Charlotte the same way. Hell, he already announced in front of everyone that he trusted Charlotte.
After what Charlotte went through today, his suggestion might seem cruel, but no one gets voted into this club out of pity. Not even the old ladies. That’s not how things work in our world.
Every person earns their place in the Lost Kings MC.