“And what about you?” Laurel’s eyes turned to Lola, and she made herself smile. “How did Gunner get you involved in this whole mess?”
“I was at the school when Grace was taken. I’ve been trying to help him any way I can.” It was easier to skip over the part where he compelled her to come along with him, and especially easier to skip over the part where they’d made out in the bathroom just down the hall. Where she’d offered to masturbate while he watched in his classic muscle car. And how she still hadn’t let go of that fantasy.
“I know that — you told me back at the warehouse. But why are you here? What are you doing to help him?” Laurel raised her eyebrows and waited. There was a looseness to her that seemed familiar. Based on the prescriptions she’d seen in the woman’s medicine cabinet the previous day, that seemed much better than the alternative. Lola could own that part of the reason she’d turned up on Gunner’s doorstep the previous night, was that if she didn’t have some kind of release, she would have gone down a very unhealthy road as the stress and fear of the day caught up with her system. Sex with a man she barely knew had been the least bad of some very bad options. She was glad Laurel was choosing a healthier way to manage this experience.
That said, her question was awkward as hell. Gunner had explained Laurel as Grace’s aunt, but in every way that mattered, she was clearly a mother to the child. Hell, Lola hadn’t even known that Grace wasn’t Laurel’s daughter until Gunner explained it. So, she wasn’t sure how to say that she found the man incredibly intriguing and that she wasn’t ready to back away. That she wanted to know that Grace was safe, and it wasn’t just about feeling like she had a responsibility as a teacher. That she was invested now, in a way she wouldn’t have been otherwise.
“I can’t give up now,” she finally said. She didn’t know what else to say.
Laurel nodded as if the words said more than she’d expected or more than Lola had noticed. “My sister was a good girl who got involved with a bad boy,” she said, shooting a glance over at Gunner. Gunner didn’t rise to the bait, and Lola hardly had enough evidence to contradict her. “She died in a car accident that no one thinks was an accident except for the police. And now, someone comes for me, for Grace? It’s too much of a coincidence.”
“What do you mean, about the car accident?”
Gunner stood up, too fast; the chair rocked on its legs just a bit. “I can’t do this again, Laurel. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Be done with the story.” He stalked out of the apartment, his face stony and cold in a way Lola had never seen before. She glanced back at Laurel who was watching him go, a similar coldness in his eyes.
“Am I missing something important here?” Lola asked.
Laurel shrugged. “Probably, but it’s about time he faced it,” she said. “Sam didn’t die randomly. I don’t know why he won’t face it. She’d just gotten a new job, was ready to help him get his life straightened out, and had a beautiful new baby to take care of. And then something went wrong. She got scared. She wouldn’t tell me what was going on. She told Gunn to leave the club and to take her and the baby out of the state. He wouldn’t. And then she was dead. I came up here to take care of the baby while Gunn got straight, but he never got straight. He never got out of the life. I don’t think he ever will. Even though it killed the woman he loved, he won’t get off that fucking bike.”
Lola’s stomach was a tight knot as she stared at the other woman. What was all of this about? She forced herself to sidestep the comments about Gunner and listen to what Laurel had said about Sam. “What do you mean, that something went wrong? At her new job?”
“Yeah. She was like a girl in the first act of an action flick, you know? She was sure someone was coming for her. She wore big sunglasses out in public and was convinced everyone was talking about her. Complete ridiculousness. Until it wasn’t.”
“But you said — Gunner said she died in a car accident.”
“Yeah. She stepped out of the car to go get a gallon of milk, and a driver hopped the curve, drove straight into her. The paramedics said she was dead before they even got there. It took an hour for someone to hear the baby crying in the car.” Laurel shook her head. “If she had been holding the baby, they both would be dead. And maybe Gunner would have lost enough to listen to someone or something other than his dick.”
There wasn’t anything to say to that, and after a moment, Lola decided not to try. She just sat quietly, her hands in her lap, waiting for Gunner to get back.