Steven (The Skulls Book 15) Read online

  “I wanted to give up.”

  “I know. Thankfully, you’ve got an entire family that won’t let you.”

  This made her smile even wider. “You’re saying really nice things to me today.”

  “I’ve got so much I want to say to you, but I can’t keep you here, can I?” His hands glided down to her hips, and then he was over her once again, his lips on hers. “You’ve got a job to do.”

  “I’ll be available all weekend. I could be yours then.”

  “You for an entire weekend. I can’t do this weekend, but in a couple of weekends I could organize for us both to be away?”

  “I like that.” She stroked his arms, and smiled up at him. “I love being here with you. You make me feel so alive.”

  “Good, that’s what I always wanted.” Steven kissed her again, and when his cell phone began to buzz, they both groaned. “That’s probably the club, needing my ass.”

  Sally released him, rolling over, and rested her head in her hand. He grabbed his cell phone, and took a seat beside her. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he answered.

  For the longest time, Steven didn’t talk. She couldn’t hear a word what anyone was saying.

  “I’ll be there.”

  He disconnected the call, and she felt the tension in him rise.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked.

  “It’s nothing for you to worry about. Just a club meeting is all.”

  She tucked some hair behind her ear and looked at him. “You’re lying to me. I can tell. You’ve gone all quiet, and seriously deep in thought. Talk to me.”

  Steven seemed to shake it off, and smiled at her. “It’s nothing really. Just wondering what it’s about. We’ve not had a church meeting in the middle of the week for some time, unless it’s serious.”

  “Do I need to worry?”

  “No, not at all.”

  The moment was broken, and she turned to see it was getting close to her needing to be at work. “Will you be dropping me off?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  When she made a move to get out of the bed, Steven caught her arm, holding her back. “You don’t need to go straight away.”

  “I need to get dressed.”

  “I don’t know what the meeting’s about. Lash was vague.”

  This had her turning toward him. “Do you think it’s about us?”

  “I don’t see a church meeting being called for that. I see more of a Whizz beating the crap out of me thing.” He laughed.

  “I’m going to get dressed.” Sally took his hand giving it a squeeze. They were sneaking around behind her parents’ and the club’s back.

  She didn’t like it, and she sure as hell didn’t want to keep doing it.

  Once she was dressed, Steven had a couple of slices of toast and coffee ready for her. She finished her breakfast quickly, and then they were on the road in his car.

  He dropped her off at work, promising to pick her up. She gave him a wave, and then made her way inside. Clocking in, she put her bag away and began to get started on the day ahead.

  She was finishing setting up the reception desk when Luke Pearlman came to the front of the desk. He was one of the most requested personal trainers, and she’d heard he’d been the most complained about. She didn’t get it though. He was always nice.

  “I figured I’d see how you were settling in,” he said.

  “I’m doing great. It’s quite easy to get around, and the clients are nice.”

  This had a snort coming from him.

  “Is everything okay with you?” she asked.

  “Yeah, everything is okay with me.” He sat on the desk, and she watched him take a lollipop, opening it up and sucking on the candy. “You know it doesn’t matter how good you are at any one thing. A woman and even a man wants what they want.”

  She frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.” Sally didn’t have a clue why he was confiding in her, and if she was completely honest, she didn’t want to know.

  “It’s like this, sweetheart. I’m the best at what I do because I have a real passion for helping people get to their goal. Their figure, their weight, even their confidence. If that is all they want. ‘Luke, I just want to feel good.’ I can help them. It’s what I do.”

  “O-kay.”

  “What I don’t want is conditions. I’m sorry I shouldn’t be telling this all to you, but you’re Whizz’s girl, and I’ve heard that you’re the kind of person someone can talk to.”

  “Oh, that’s nice.”

  “The women and the men, the ones that keep telling lies about me, they’re wanting a bit of extra care. They go into the massage rooms, and they’re wanting me to fuck them as good as I work them out. I politely refuse. This is my job. I’m a professional, and they just complain about shit. Then they come and do the same old shit thinking I’m going to cave. Look at my schedule, look!”

  She quickly pulled it up.

  “Three of the five women I have today will try and get me to fuck them.” He shook his head. “I’m tempted to quit.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  He snorted. “Why not?”

  “Well, you’ve got a contract, right, with The Skulls. Also, you can’t let them beat you down. They’ll win. This is what you love. If you love it here, then you shouldn’t be afraid.” Sally tapped her lip with the pen. “We’ve got security cameras in place. I know how they’re facing. If you want, I may be able to move them so that you’ve got the evidence to prove you’re not being untoward to them.”

  Luke looked at her like she was an angel or something. “You’d do that?”

  “Why not? I know some of the club thinks they’re bogus allegations.”

  “Yes, if you’d do that, you’d be a lifesaver. Thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  Luke was already walking away with a spring in his step. Sally watched him leave, and then she looked at the screen. One of Luke’s appointments was Drew’s mother. Even though their friendship was slowly coming to an end, she didn’t want to see him miserable. His parents had been pressuring him for years, and if his mother was one of the people giving Luke a hard time, she saw a possible solution to his problem, and to Luke’s.

  Thinking about Drew made her incredibly sad. She’d not texted him in a long time, and she pulled out her cell phone to read the messages.

  Drew: I’m not sorry that I did what I did.

  Drew: You need to know there are other fish in the sea.

  Drew: Talk to me, Sally.

  That last one made her smile for some reason.

  Sally: I don’t want to hurt you. It has never been my intention to do so. You’re my best friend, but you want something I cannot give. For that, I am sorry, but I think it’s better this way. I don’t want to give you false hope.

  She sent the message, and even as she did, there were tears in her eyes. She did love Drew. It just wasn’t enough for him.

  ****

  When Steven got to the clubhouse, Whizz was outside. He looked … deadly. Maybe this would be a damn good day to die. He wasn’t sure, but he loved Sally with all of his heart. She was the only woman he wanted, and would be the only woman he ever loved. Climbing out of his car, he made his way over to Whizz.

  “What’s going on?” Steven asked.

  “You were right.”

  “About what?”

  “The sheriff. When I got his information up something didn’t sit right in my gut. Something was missing, and I had to keep hunting.” Whizz brought a file from behind his back, and handed it to him.

  “What’s this?”

  “Those are all the files that have mysteriously vanished.”

  Steven opened it up, and then looked at Whizz. “Vanished.”

  “Can you guess what files have vanished?” Whizz asked.

  “Witness statements?”

  “Not just any witness statements.”

  His stomach twisted as he stared at Whizz. “Let me guess, young girls w
ho talk about being … used.”

  Steven didn’t want to read through the file, but what made him concerned was there were at least twenty pages in this file.

  “Five of these girls are dead, suicide,” Whizz said. “What has me concerned, the latest witness statement went missing three weeks ago.”

  “How did you find this out? Witness statements are handwritten?”

  “They’re not the statements, Steven. They’re the details between foster kids, being admitted to the hospital, or finding an offense, and then being pushed back into the system.”

  “Someone must see a link. They must.”

  “It’s a small town. He’s the best guy they’ve got. Those witness statements are in his home.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do. He has access to everything. He’s the sheriff.”

  “If he’s the one who’s been present, someone else is writing the damn statements, Whizz. Shit like that don’t get covered up.”

  “It does, if the person taking the statements is either on the payroll, or gets off on it. They make the statement from the kid, and then rewrite another one. You know it can be done.”

  Steven ran a hand down his face. “This is fucking … is this what church is about?”

  “Yes. I wanted you to know before we went in seeing as you’re the one that dealt with this, you brought it to me. I’ve spoken to Lola, and she confirmed that something didn’t sit right with her, so she went looking, and that kind of shit is what she found.”

  Steven shook his head. “I had no idea it went this far, or the number of girls.”

  “We’ve got to put a stop to this. For the girls that have already killed themselves, for those that have been struggling. We’ve got to end this shit.”

  “I agree.” Steven stared down at the file and frowned. “Lola said to me that she read the witness statement from Sally. If they’re all handwritten, how?”

  “She told me that when Sally’s statement was taken, someone else must have been working in the sheriff’s office. This one email was saved on a document. She believes it was going to be attached to a file. As you know, unless you know how, there’s always a trace of something. The file was deleted from the computer, but it’s not forgotten. Lola hacked the sheriff’s service, and found it. The fucker hadn’t even changed his devices in the past twenty years. I don’t know who the woman is, or what happened. I only know that statement didn’t get sent.”

  “That’s how she knew something was going on.”

  “Yes. Lola’s good.”

  “You’re better.”

  “I have experience. I’m just about following the breadcrumbs. I’m about finding a pattern. The moment you cross-reference stuff, you find that hole, and once you find that hole, then you have the breadcrumbs that people have left for you.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I don’t think I want to know.”

  “It’s a bunch of technical numbers and shit.” Whizz slapped him on the arm. “Let’s head inside. I made sure Lash was okay to get you up to speed here. The others already know. We’ve got a certain someone who can possibly help us.”

  Steven stared at Whizz.

  “Be warned, Killer doesn’t like him.”

  He frowned. Killer didn’t really like anyone, so he didn’t have the first clue what to expect when he entered the clubhouse church room. It certainly wasn’t to see one suited-up Michael Granito, Kelsey’s ex, who had brought a shit ton of problems to the club.

  There had to be a good reason for him to be there.

  “Do any of you want to tell me what that fucker is doing here?” Killer asked the moment the door closed.

  “Nice to see you, too, Theodore. I see you’ve been taking care of Kelsey, and making a nice little family for yourself.”

  Killer stood, glaring across at the asshole. “Give me one good reason why I should let you live right now!”

  Michael burst out laughing. “You need me. I divorced Kelsey. You’re married to her. There’s no beef between us.”

  “I called him,” Lash said.

  “Why? We don’t need this prick.”

  “Actually, you do. I’ve stayed in touch with Tiny, and then when the details of the club changed hands, I’ve kept in touch with Lash.”

  Killer looked first at Tiny and then at Lash. “Is this a fucking joke?”

  “It wasn’t behind your back. There was no need to say anything.”

  “This is bullshit. After what that fucker did. He put my Kelsey and the entire club at risk.”

  “I’ve done bad shit. I get that, but since we’ve been apart I’ve been working very closely with law enforcement,” Michael said. “I’m not here to cause you any trouble. I’m here to help.”

  “That’s all he wants to do, Killer,” Lash said. “He wants to help, and everything we’ve discovered, we need to put this fucker to bed.”

  “Give me his address and I’ll deal with the fucker,” Killer said.

  Steven stood in the corner of the room, and watched as Killer and Michael went back and forth.

  “You do realize that I work for the law. I’ve got contacts, and I help them.”

  “Last time I checked I didn’t give a fuck what you’re doing, and I don’t care.”

  “Killer, I know you don’t like this, and I’m all for settling problems and shit, but right now, this is bigger than us.” Lash and Killer shared a look. Steven didn’t want to be around when those two brothers got into it.

  “Are you done?” Michael asked. “I get why I’m not exactly a great guest and all that, but I’ve left you alone for fucking years. Give me a break.”

  “You got a wife yet?” Killer asked.

  “No.”

  “Kids?”

  “No.”

  “I’ll settle down when you do. Kelsey is mine.”

  “I know, Killer.” Michael started chuckling. “We’re going around in circles, so I’m just going to get on with it. So for the past few years, I’ve been putting most of my investments into criminal detection services, mainly focused online.”

  “You’re the one that keeps everything in check,” Whizz said.

  “We try to. The rate of revenge porn, child grooming, and even snuff has been on the rise. I’ve been working tirelessly to bring it down.”

  “That’s nearly impossible.” Whizz spoke up again.

  “The key is to find it happening, and then to draw those people out, and make sure they don’t harm anyone. Your guy, the sheriff, there have been some questions about him in recent months.”

  “Months?” Whizz asked. “What about fucking years?”

  “Some of this stuff takes time. He’s not the only one on the radar, but he’s part of a bigger network. When Lash called me about this, I had no choice but to come here as soon as possible in order to ask for your help.”

  “We don’t help people like you,” Killer said.

  “Last time I checked, The Skulls were squeaky-clean. You’ve not been on the radar for some time,” Michael said.

  “We’re never off the radar,” Lash said. “It’s part of being a club with a questionable past.”

  “And this is where the deal comes in. I work closely with law enforcement who are willing to make a deal.”

  “No,” Killer said.

  “Listen to it first.” This came from Tiny. “Go on.”

  “They’re willing to scrap everything. Every file, every little piece of data they have on The Skulls, get rid of it.”

  “What do you want in return? Stuff like that is not easily wiped clean.”

  “You’ve been clean nearly five years now. That shit that went down with Gash’s brother was the last time you guys were deep in it, and that wasn’t even your own fault.” Michael looked around the table. “It’s a pretty decent offer.”

  “Yeah, before we decide on any details or anything. I want to know what you want.”

  “We’re going to want The Skulls helping us out. We
’re not talking using you and putting you in the line of fire. There are men, women, and children out there who need people to help them. I was hoping that when we need to protect someone, I mean an innocent someone, you’d consider helping. That’s what we want,” Michael said.

  “What about witness protection? Don’t that shit help?” Hardy asked, speaking up for the first time.

  “It does, but we all know people can be bought off. We all know you guys can’t be. You’re all tight. No one can get through your defense, and that’s what we need.” Michael paused. “I want you to think it over. I’ve booked a hotel close to here. We’ll talk more when I have your answer.”

  “What about this fucked-up sheriff?” Steven asked.

  “We’ll talk more when I know your answer.” With that, Michael left the room.

  Silence fell around the table. Steven looked toward Lash, who had taken a step away from the table. He was rubbing the back of his head. They would go from criminals to heroes no matter if anyone ever knew.

  Chapter Eight

  Michael left the clubhouse alive, and that was more than he thought would ever be possible. He was just about to leave the main door, but stopped when he saw Kelsey standing there. She was smiling down at her son, who was walking beside her, and in her arms was another boy.

  He stopped and looked at her. It had been a few years since he had last seen her. She still worked as a dental nurse but only part-time now because she had started a family.

  When she looked up, the smile on her face slowly ebbed away.

  “Hello, Kelsey,” he said.

  “Michael? What are you doing here?”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not here to cause trouble. I just came to do some business.”

  “With The Skulls?”

  “Yes, with them.” He reached out and stroked the kid’s cheek. “You’re happy.”

  “Yes, I am. Wait, does Killer know you’re here?”

  “He does.” He glanced back at the room. “Though he’s not too happy about this, and I can see you’re nervous.”

  “I’m not nervous. It has just been a long time since I saw you, and a lot has changed.”