Royal was hauling ass on I-26 toward Greenfield when his phone rang. It was almost one, he’d been up for almost twenty hours already, and he was sick with worry over the loss of the safe, but seeing the name on his phone made him smile.
“Royal.”
“Gabriel?” Stella’s voice came over the speakers in the SUV.
“Sorry, yeah, it’s me.”
“Am I interrupting?”
“No. Sorry I didn’t call, but it’s been a little crazy today.”
“Are you okay? You sound a little down.”
“It’s been a long day, that’s all.”
“And it’s not over yet?”
“No, not yet. I’m still an hour outside of Greenfield.”
“That’s too bad. I was hoping you could stop by.”
That made him smile. “I would like to, but I have another job first thing in the morning.”
He heard her sigh. “Okay. I called to tell you I have been thinking about us.”
“And?”
“And I’d like to talk to you.”
“Uh-oh,” he teased then became more serious. “I would like that, but I can’t. Not now.”
“Tomorrow night?”
“I doubt it. I’m really under the gun on this.”
There was a long pause. “You’re not upset with me, and you’re not just saying that are you?”
“What?”
“That you have to work.”
“No!” he cried in frustration. Now she wants to talk! “I wish I could stop by and talk to you about this right now, but I can’t.”
“And you can’t tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. Maybe, but I doubt it.”
“Okay,” she said softly.
“Don’t give up on me, Stella,” he said firmly. “I’m not stringing you along.”
“Can you at least tell me what’s so important? You were available every day and I couldn’t get rid of you, then just like that, you’re not available anymore, even when you’re in town. It’s like you got out of your system whatever was bugging you, and that scares me. I know I’ve been a mess the last couple of days, but you said you could give me time while I figured it out.”
He sighed. “I know, babe, and I’m sorry. Will it make you feel better if I stop by on my way home?”
“You don’t have to do that,” she said softly.
“I know, but I want to. I want to be there with you and Katrina, but work. You should understand that.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I’m just feeling vulnerable right now.”
“I’m sorry. I really am. Just hang in there, okay? We’ll get through this.”
He heard her smile in her voice. “I know. I’m just tired, I guess.”
He chuckled. “I know the feeling. Didn’t you sleep good last night? I did my best.”
“I did,” she said with a soft giggle. “Now that I’ve turned in my notice, it’s hard to stay enthusiastic about working at the diner.”
“So leave.”
“I can’t do that to them. I gave my notice, and they’re looking to hire someone else. They were good to me, and gave me a chance when I needed it, so I don’t want to leave them in a bind if I can help it.”
“You just have to make it until Friday,” he said. “I should have this problem sorted by then.”
“What problem?”
“Someone robbed the club last night. I’m going to track him down and make him wish he’d never heard of the Iron Kings.”
She was quiet for a long time. “What are you going to do?”
“Me? Nothing. Just track him down. After that? That’s up to the muscle side of the club. We won’t kill him, if that’s what you’re worried about. We need him to tell us were the safe is, and murder is a bad rap. But we will express our extreme displeasure with him, that much is certain.”
“You know who it is?”
“Pretty good idea. We think it’s a guy name Antonio Daniels. He was doing some contract work for us, getting the clubhouse—”
“Tony Daniels?” she squawked, cutting him off.
“Yeah. Do you know him?”
She was quiet for a long time. “We need to talk. Tonight. Call me when you get in the parking lot and I’ll unlock the door.”
“Stella? What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain it all when you get here.”
***
Gabriel pulled to a stop in the parking lot of Stella’s apartment complex and switched off the Suburban. He sat for a moment then scrubbed his face with both hands, trying to get the blood flowing and to wake himself up. He picked up his phone and dialed her number.
“I’ll unlock the door. Just come in,” she said after several rings, her voice thick and slow.
He trudged up the steps, rapped once softly on the door, then push it open. She was standing in the family room dressed in a long light blue sleep shirt, and though there was nothing particularly sexy about it, he still wanted to take her to bed and hold her.
He silently closed the door then took her into his arms. “I’m here.” She returned his hug a moment then pulled out of his embrace. “Now, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“Tony. He stopped by last night a little after midnight. When he arrived, I thought he’d forgot what day it was, but he wanted me to go away with him. He said—”
“Wait,” he interrupted. “Back up a minute. What are you talking about?”
She sighed and moved to the couch where she sat, waiting until he did the same. “Tony and I were lovers. It was kind of a friends with benefits thing. Anyway, he stopped by last night and asked me to run away with him. He said he’d come into a lot of money and he was making changes in his life.”
Gabriel was still reeling from the fact Tony was sleeping with Stella. “How long has this been going on, and were you going to tell me?”
“Almost two years, and no I wasn’t going to tell you, not unless you want to trade stories about all the lovers we’ve taken since you abandoned me. I ended it last night and told him I couldn’t go with him. And before you get all pissed off, I haven’t slept with him since you and I…” Her voice trailed off and she shrugged. “You surely didn’t think I spent the last four years pining for you, waiting for you, did you?”
He stared into her eyes a moment then shook it off. “No. I’m sorry. You’re right. I knew you were sleeping with someone because of the condoms. It’s okay, don’t worry about it. Did he say where he was going?”
“No, not that I remember. What I do remember was how excited he was. He said he’d come into money. I had no idea that he’d stolen it from you.”
“Not me directly, but the club.”
“How much?”
“About a hundred grand. That was our seed money to get the club up and operating. We have to get it back.”
She nodded. “That’s a lot, but the way Tony was talking, I thought it was millions. He tried to bribe me into going by telling me he would open a bakery for me.”
“Why did he want you to go with him?”
She smiled and looked at her feet. “He said he loved me.” She looked back up and met his eyes and gave him a ghost of a smile. “I loved you, but you leave me, then four years later, I have two men who say they are in love with me.”
“Do you love him?”
“No.”
He wanted to ask the obvious question, but couldn’t bring himself to, so he stuck to the business at hand. “Does Tony have any family around?”
“I don’t know. He and I weren’t close. The only thing we shared was my bed.”
Gabriel heaved a large sigh. “Okay, in the morning, will you call him?”
“Why?”
“I’ll be honest with you. I want you to set him up. I want you to pretend you changed your mind and you want to meet him. Find out where he is, or having him come back here, something like that. Are you willing to do that?”
She stared at him and swallowed hard. “If you catch him?”
“When we catch him, we’ll get our money back. How hard he wants to make it is up to him. But you have my word we won’t kill him. We’re not that kind of club and we don’t want that kind of heat.”
“What will you do?”
“If he rolls over right away…” Gabriel shrugged. “Probably kick the shit out of him as a reminder that stealing is wrong. If he wants to play the tough guy, he’ll end up in the hospital with some broken bones and he’ll be hurting for a long time. But make no mistake, we will, eventually, find him. It’s what I do. And the longer it takes us, the worse it will be for him.”
“And if I choose not to help?”
He sighed. “This has nothing to do with you, not directly anyway. I’ll just be gone longer while I track him down.” He looked at her then took her face in his hands. “Hey, I love you, okay? Nothing will change that. I want your help, and it will make it go easier on Tony if we catch him sooner rather than later, but if you don’t want to, I understand. It won’t change anything between us.” He pulled her to him and gave her a gentle kiss to reinforce his words.
“What if he comes for me for setting him up?”
“If he hurts you or Katrina, I’ll kill him myself. Do you think he would do that?”
Her eyes opened wide. She’d never seen Gabriel so hard and she had no doubt he was capable of carrying out his threat. “No, I don’t think so.”
He nodded. “He didn’t strike me as that stupid either.”
She licked her lips, her stomach churning. “When do you want me to call him? Now?”
“No. In the morning, before work.”
She paused as she thought about it. “Okay. I’ll do it. But you promise to not hurt him?”
“I can’t promise you that,” he said. “He stole from us. He has to answer for it.”
“But you won’t torture him or something, right?”
“Not unless he makes us.” He could see he was losing her. “Stella,” he said softly. “You have my word we’ll use the minimum amount of force necessary. That’s why you can help us. If we find him in the next day or so, and he gives us back the money, we’ll kick his ass and leave it at that. He’ll be sore for a few days, but he’ll recover.” He paused again. “I’ll make it part of the deal with the club. I’ll find him, but we’ll go light on him if he rolls over. Okay?”
“And if he doesn’t ‘roll over’?”
Gabriel shook his head. “That wouldn’t be in his best interest, but we won’t kill him. You have my word on that. You have to trust me.”
She swallowed hard then nodded. “I’ll do it.”
He smiled and kissed her again. “Good girl. That’s the right decision. I’ll make sure the club knows the price of your help.”
She smiled slightly. “Now that you’re here, can you stay? I need you to hold me.”
He smiled then rose to his feet, pulling her up with him. “Yes. Go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute. I need to send Doc a text.”
She nodded then left him alone as he typed away on his phone. After sending his message, letting Doc know he had a lead and he would see him later in the morning, he retired to her bedroom. After undressing he crawled into bed with a long sigh. He pulled her into a comfortable spoon and sighed deeply again as she snuggled in, her arms going around his.
He kissed her on the shoulder, and she sighed, making him smile. He could feel sleep tugging hard at him and he realized if he was going to keep doing this, he needed to bring at least a toothbrush and a razor. As he held her, he tried to think of all the things that could go wrong with Stella’s phone call, but didn’t get very far before the darkness of sleep took him.