Chapter Thirteen
Chloe didn’t mind Tannin bursting into the room to wake up her and Gorgon half as much as she minded the fact that, in an effort to cover herself with something, she rolled onto her left hip. Shooting pain seared her entire side.
“Oh, fuck. Baby, you okay?” Gorgon, on the other hand, hadn’t bothered putting anything on.
“No. Yes. Give me a second.”
“Sorry,” said Tannin, his gaze locked on the floor in front of them. “But I didn’t think you’d want to wait to hear this. I’ll go back in the hallway until you both have a chance—”
“For Chrissake, shut the fuck up and just tell me what’s goin’ on.” Gorgon grabbed his jeans and pulled them on, while Chloe wrapped the comforter around her and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Tarot is gone. Red and Honey came to find me after they went up to her room to look for her. She was supposed to be on kitchen duty, but no one had seen her since last night. Her stuff is gone, and her car is, too.”
“Who was on the gate?” At least two members or prospects took turns guarding the fenced back lot where they all parked their cars and bikes.
“Paul and Jinn. They said she didn’t say anything, and they figured she was just going shopping or to the doctor or something. She left this morning.”
“Okay,” said Gorgon, running a hand through his hair. “No reason to stop her, really. Did she steal anything?”
“Not that I can tell, but I haven’t looked everywhere yet.”
“Have a few of the prospects help you.”
“At least we’re rid of her.”
“Yeah. Guess she found a place to stay after all.”
Chloe was happy Tarot was gone, too. She hadn’t gotten along with anyone, and Chloe hadn’t forgiven the bitch for making up that shit about Rai having to fuck Donny as part of her job working for him. “Want me to make a new schedule for kitchen duty?” she asked.
“Yeah. I guess you’d better. Have Rai help you with all that stuff from now on, okay?”
After Tannin left, Gorgon pulled her close and held her. “Did you really agree to have kids with me earlier, or did I dream that?”
She laughed, smiling up at him. “If you dreamed it, so did I.”
Her life was perfect right now. Even the knowledge Brad was still out there somewhere couldn’t ruin this moment.
****
Two days later, Chloe was in the kitchen helping Meghan and Connie with lunch, when Gorgon came in, followed by two Lorain County sheriffs. She recognized their uniforms. Gorgon did not look happy. “Got a minute, Chloe?”
“Sure.” Her pulse raced as she followed Gorgon and the two cops to one of the offices.
“These gentlemen have some questions about Brad.”
What the hell? Gorgon’s face was a mask of barely concealed anger. She hadn’t called the cops. Did he suspect she had?
“Miss Dolan, we understand you were in Elyria Memorial roughly one year ago, having sustained a fall down the stairs.”
Holy fuck. How did they know that? “Yes.” She cut her glance toward Gorgon, who still wore the same expression.
“And you listed Brad Harding as your contact.”
Oh. That is why they are here. Thank God. She had to work hard not to breathe a sigh of relief. “Yes, that’s correct.”
“Why is that?”
“I was living with him at the time.”
“And when did you last see him?”
Fuck. “About nine months ago.” His ER records from when he tried to get into the club last year were out there, too. No sense in pretending they didn’t already have them.
One of the sheriffs flipped through a notebook. “That was when he last came onto the property?”
“Yes,” said Gorgon.
“And he ended up in the ER.”
“Yes.”
“Why was that?”
“He fell.”
Chloe swallowed hard. They’d both just lied to the cops.
Gorgon and both sheriffs stared each other down. No one moved. She didn’t think Gorgon even breathed. Sweat broke out along her hairline, but she didn’t wipe it away. She couldn’t let them see how rattled she was.
“Hell of a fall,” one of them finally said.
“I guess so.”
The one who’d spoken turned his gaze toward Chloe. “And that’s the last time you saw him?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you leave him?”
“It wasn’t working out.”
“And that had nothing to do with your … fall?”
“Nope. It wasn’t working out before I fell.”
“And his coming here three months later had nothing to do with it, either?”
“He wanted her back,” said Gorgon. “But she wasn’t interested.”
The other sheriff leaned forward, almost smiling. Good cop…bad cop. “You both know he’s wanted in two states now, correct?”
“That so?” asked Gorgon. “What for?”
“Breaking and entering in Ohio. Possession and DUIs in California. If you know where he is, and don’t tell us, you’re culpable. Though why you’d protect him, considering the history, is a mystery.”
“It would be a mystery to me, too,” said Chloe. “We don’t know where he is.”
She felt Gorgon’s pride in her coming off him in waves, and it gave her courage to maintain eye contact with the sheriff. He broke it first, gave his partner a look of frustration, and stood.
His partner flipped a business card toward her. “Call us if you see him, or if you think of anything else that will help us find him.”
“Sure will,” said Gorgon, picking up the card. “Let me show you out.”
Chloe stayed in the office until Gorgon returned. She wrapped her arms around him, and snuggled into his warm, hard body. “Why couldn’t we say he’d been spotted in Lorain?”
“Because Donny’s men spotted him, not us. He has contacts in their office, but I haven’t seen those two before. I don’t want to say anything to people who aren’t involved with Donny.”
“We both lied to them.”
Gorgon shrugged. “So what? At least now we know they’re looking for him.”
“And you know how they found me. From the hospital records.”
“Yeah.”
“You thought someone called them when they showed up, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
She didn’t ask who he suspected, because it struck her she already knew. Rai. “But now you know that didn’t happen.”
“I know it, baby. Don’t you worry, okay? I’ll let Vassago know about this so he can inform Donny.”
****
A week later, Chloe had just begun to make lunch when one of the newer prospects dumped a stack of mail on the counter, with barely a glance at either woman.
Meghan swore under her breath. “They’re supposed to go through it first, not just dump it here.”
“I’ll sort through it,” said Chloe. The prospect’s name was Harry Smith, and he’d been here nearly a month now. Long enough to know Gorgon wanted the mail sorted first, not simply placed in the kitchen.
Gorgon didn’t want anyone to accidentally open something addressed to Donny, or anything confidential. Fifty people lived here, so they received a lot of mail. When she spotted the envelope with Brad’s printing, a gasp escaped before she could stop it.
“You all right?” asked Meghan.
“Yeah. I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Sure.”
Gorgon was nowhere to be found. She had hoped he’d return by now, but he and Tannin had gone into town early this morning. Chloe took the note into the church and sat down, debating whether to read it, wait for Gorgon, or simply burn it and pretend it had never arrived.
But what if something in it would help Donny’s men find Brad? And worse, what if Gorgon was upset she’d burned it without letting him read it first? She didn’t want to call him and alarm him over this. He’d be back eventually.
After staring at it for a few more minutes, curiosity got the best of her and she opened it.
You fucking bitch. You called the fucking cops on me? Did you think I wouldn’t find out? If this is how I’m greeted, after I came back for you, all bets are off, Chloe. You’re still the same stupid cunt you always were. I’m still coming back for you, and this time you will NEVER get away from me. NEVER.