Breaking The Biker (The Biker Series) - An MC Gold Vipers Motorcycle Club Biker Romance Novel (9 page)

“What…what did you just say?” I asked Joanna, who wasn’t making any sense.

“I saw Billy. He’s alive,” she repeated and then gasped. “Oh, my God. It’s Phillip. He’s home. He must have seen me.”

Stunned that I’d heard her right, my heart began to pound. “Wait. What do you mean that Billy is alive?”

“Phillip was at the cabin. I thought he was cheating on me, so I drove up there. I peeked into the window and saw him up there, with your son,” she whispered quickly.

“That’s impossible,” I said in a husky voice. I’d seen my son’s lifeless body in the hospital before they’d wheeled him away. His ashes were now in the urn, sitting in my living room. 

“I know but… I also know what I saw. I have to go. He’s hollering for me.” Joanna hung up.

I slipped the phone into my purse, my mind still trying to wrap around what she’d just told me. My level-headed, successful, lawyer sister-in-law had just claimed that she’d seen my son
alive
. It sounded crazy but I could tell from her voice that whatever she’d seen had rattled the hell out of her.

“What’s going on?” asked Justin.

I forced a smile. “I don’t know. I think my sister-in-law is losing her mind.”

“You asked her about Billy. Was that your son?”

“Yes,” I said, feeling suddenly exhausted.

“What happened to him?” Justin asked softly.

“He was killed.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“There was this party and… the gal who was supposed to be watching Billy dragged him to it. There was some shooting involved and he… he was hit.”

Justin grabbed my hand. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Raina. I can’t imagine the shit you’ve been going through.”

“It hasn’t been easy,” I admitted, unable to look him in the eye. “I know it hasn’t been for you either. With your father being killed.”

“No, but your son was so young. He had his entire life ahead of him.”

All I could do was nod.

“I take it you’re talking about the Devil’s Rangers’ party?”

“Yes.”

“Listen to me,” he said, tipping my chin back so he could look into my eyes. “My club had nothing to do with that. I swear to God.”

“Cole said it
was
your guys. That you were retaliating for some other things that went on before.”

“Cole is either lying or was highly misinformed. Like I told you before, we don’t do that shit. Slammer would have never ordered something like that. Neither would I. When we have a problem with someone, we look them in the eye and take care of business. Whoever was responsible for the shooting that night wasn’t a Gold Viper. I give you my word.”

I believed him and the shame that I felt for killing his father made me sick. “I believe you,” I said, trying to prepare myself for the confession that I was about to do. I owed it to Justin, and no matter what happened, I was prepared to face the consequences. Even if it meant going to prison or… death.

“Good.”

“There’s something you should know,” I said, letting out a ragged breath.

His eyes bore into mine. “I already do. It’s pretty obvious.”

I could barely breathe as we sat there staring at each other. I could tell from his expression that we were talking about the same thing.

After a few more seconds, I had to break the silence. I needed to know what he was going to do to me. “Are you going to have me arrested?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I’m… so sorry. I… thought that he –”

“No. You were
told
that my father ordered the shooting that killed your son,” he interrupted. “You needed to hurt the man responsible. I may hate what you did. But, I do understand why you wanted revenge.”

“You do?” I asked, somewhat relieved. There was a sadness in his eyes that made my heart heavy, however.

He nodded. “I probably would have done the same thing.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, reaching out to him.

He raised a hand between us, stopping me from touching him. “Just because I get it, doesn’t mean we’re friends. I need you to leave.”

“Yes. Of course,” I replied, taking a step back just as my phone began to ring. I looked down and saw that it was Cole. I ignored it.

Justin was silent as I grabbed my purse and headed to the doorway. Before I walked out, however, he asked me what Joanna had said about Billy.

I turned around. “She claimed to have seen him at their cabin.”

“Is it even possible?”

“No. The last time I saw my son he was clearly dead,” I replied.

He nodded and said nothing more.

I closed the door behind me and left.

“What exactly happened?” asked Raptor, calling me a few minutes later.

I told him everything, including Raina’s admittance of killing my father.

“So, her son was shot and she blamed Slammer?”

I pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the freezer. “It sounds like she was told that he ordered the drive-by. The Devil’s Rangers pinned it on him.”

Raptor let out a heavy sigh. “Now they’re shooting up your place. I’d better warn the others.”

“Yeah, you’d better. Although, I think it was more of a warning from the Devil’s Rangers, by Cole’s request.” I lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. “I’m sure they had no idea Raina was in my house.”

“Maybe, but we can’t take any chances.”

“I know. We need to call a meeting tomorrow and let everyone know what’s going on.”

“Good idea. What about the girl? Raina?”

I thought about the pain, grief, and guilt she was now feeling. I could tell that she’d been remorseful about killing my father. She’d been through enough. “Nothing.”

“What about having her arrested?”

“Hell no. She’s already living in her own prison,” I said, thinking back to her apartment, especially her son’s bedroom. “We both lost people we loved and can’t bring them back. I’m not going to hurt her or send her to jail. We let it rest.”

“Sure. What about tonight’s shooters?”

“We catch those fuckers and take them down.”

“Okay.”

I yawned. “I’m bushed. Let’s plan on meeting later this evening. Around seven.”

He agreed and we hung up. I cleaned up the glass and left a message for a guy I knew that replaced windows. Afterward, I fell asleep on the sofa, my gun close.

I felt empty inside when I left Justin’s place. Part of me was relieved that he’d let me walk out the door, another part wanted to be punished for killing his father.

As I got into my car, my phone rang. It was Cole.

“Where have you been?” he barked. “Sal and I have been trying to call you for the last couple of hours.”

“I’ve been busy. Cole, who in the hell told you that the Gold Vipers were responsible for the drive-by that killed Billy?” I asked sharply.

“Ronnie,” he replied. “He’s our V.P. Why? What’s the problem?”

“Because he was wrong and I killed an innocent man,” I snapped.

“Hold on a minute. Why would you say that?”

“I just left Tank’s place and there is no way the Gold Vipers were responsible for the drive-by.”

“What? You were actually there? Are you fucking crazy?”

“Honestly, I feel crazy right now. But even more than that, I feel like a cold-blooded murderer,” I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

“What brought all of this on?”

“We had a long conversation and he told me that they are against drive-bys.”

“And you believe him?” he asked dryly.

“Yes I do. Cole, I admitted to killing his father and he let me walk out of his house alive.”

He gasped. “You told him the truth?”

“I had to, Cole. I owed it to him,” I said, staring out into the darkness.

“What is wrong with you? Are you on some kind of suicide mission?” he asked angrily. “I mean what in the hell were you thinking, going over there?”

“I needed to confront him.”

“Why? You knew he was looking for you.”

“Yes, and I wasn’t about to go into hiding for the rest of my life. Anyway, I’m glad I did. Now we both know the truth.”

“This is insane.”

“What is insane is that I almost died tonight because of the drive-by
your
club orchestrated.”

“I don’t know anything about a drive-by tonight. But I do know that Ronnie wouldn’t lie to me about who killed Billy. It was the Gold Vipers.”

I still didn’t buy it. “Then why didn’t Justin kill me?”

“Justin?”

“Tank,” I huffed, “or whatever the hell they call him. Listen to me, you were fed the wrong information and now… I have to live with killing an innocent man.”

“My club wouldn’t lie to me.”

“They aren’t your club, Cole. Not yet. You’re just a damn prospect which, as far as I’m concerned, is high-minded.”

“You really told him that you killed his father, the leader of the Gold Vipers, and he let you walk away?” he asked, ignoring my snide comment.

“You’re talking to me, aren’t you? He should have put a bullet through my head,” I said miserably. “Like I did to Slammer. He owed me that much.”

“What did he say when you confessed?”

I went over the conversation.

“Is he still looking for me?”

“I don’t think so but he’s going to go after the Devil’s Rangers for shooting up his house. You can count on that.”

“Fuck. Listen, I don’t know what the hell is going on. If there was a drive-by tonight, I wasn’t told about it.”

“But, you’re a prospect. I’m sure they don’t tell you everything.”

“I need to talk to Ronnie. He’ll want to know about this.”

“Dammit, Cole. What you need to do is get the hell away from that club before you get yourself killed.”

“Don’t worry about me, Raina,” he replied. “I’ll be fine.”

“Cole –”

“I’ll call you later,” he said and then hung up before I could say anything more.

Swearing, I threw the phone on the passenger seat and drove home.

***

It was just after three a.m. by the time I made it home. I left a message for Sal, letting him know that I was fine and would call him later in the day. Afterward, I ate a piece of bread and peanut butter, and then crashed from exhaustion. When my alarm went off at eleven a.m., it took everything I had to drag myself out of bed and into the shower. But, I’d made a decision before falling asleep, and was determined to follow through with it. Sometime today I planned on turning myself into the police for the murder of Justin’s father, Slammer. If I didn’t, I knew I could never live with myself.

When I was finished with my shower, I slipped on the black dress that I’d worn to my son’s funeral, and put my hair up into a bun. As I was searching for my black pumps, I heard my cell phone go off.

“Hello?” I said, not recognizing the phone number.

“Hi, Raina. It’s Phillip,” said my brother-in-law.

“Oh. Hi. I didn’t recognize the number.”

“I’m calling from the hospital.”

Mark’s older brother, Phillip, was a surgeon at St. Luke’s Hospital, which was only a few miles away. We’d always had a strained relationship, mostly because he had never approved of me and I’d always thought him to be an arrogant, stuffy bastard. After Mark had died, he’d warmed up slightly, at least in front of others. I still felt uncomfortable talking with him, though. “I see. How have you been?”

“Good. How about yourself?”

“Oh. You know… I’m getting by.”

“It will get easier. It just takes time,” he replied, as if talking about the weather.

“That’s what I hear.”

“The reason I’m calling is because I noticed that Joanna contacted you late last night.”

“Yes,” I replied.

“What did she want?”

“She just called to see how I was doing. Why?” I lied. Although I knew there was no possible way that she could have seen Billy alive, something seemed off.

He let out a ragged sigh. “Joanna had a nervous breakdown early this morning. She tried killing herself.”

My eyes widened. “She did?”

“Yes,” he replied, sounding torn up. “She tried overdosing on some sleeping pills. Luckily, I found her in the bathroom, with the bottle, and stopped her from taking a handful of them.”

“Oh, my God. She’s okay, though, right?”

“Physically, yes. Mentally, she’s going through a tough time. I actually have someone staying with her today, while I’m at the hospital. I’m afraid she’ll try it again.”

“Do you know why she would do something like that?” I asked. The Joanna that I knew had always seemed so happy. Although, she certainly hadn’t sounded like herself on the phone earlier. 

“Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on with her. First, she tried accusing me of cheating and then she came up with some cockamamie story about Billy.”

“What story was that?” I asked, not wanting to admit that I already knew.

“For some crazy reason, she thinks that he’s alive. I know it’s crazy and I probably shouldn’t even be bothering you with this nonsense, but I wanted to find out if she said anything to you. I’d hate to think she upset you with such a tale.”

“I’m fine,” I said. “I’m more worried about Joanna. This doesn’t sound like her at all. Is she on some kind of medication?”

“No. I think Billy’s death might have hit her hard, too. I’m not sure if you knew, but she couldn’t have children. It’s been very troubling for her, especially the last couple of years.”

“I had no idea. I’m sorry.” I’d always figured that they just didn’t want children. They were extremely wealthy and lived very busy lives.

“We were planning on adopting, but I don’t know now. The fact that she tried taking her life…” his voice trailed off, and for the first time, I felt some real emotion coming from him.

“Maybe Billy’s death has taken a harder toll on her than you thought,” I replied. I knew Joanna and Phillip had adored Billy. They would always lavish him with gifts on Christmas and his birthday.

“Maybe. Anyway, I just don’t want her upsetting you with crazy stories.”

“I’m not upset. Don’t worry.”

“That’s a relief. I’ve been thinking – maybe you could come over and join us for dinner soon. I think it will help Joanna a little. When you’re feeling up to it, that is.”

“Sure,” I replied, not up to telling him about my plans for the day.

“Definitely.” He swore. “I’m being paged. I’ve got to go.”

“No problem. Goodbye, Phillip. Tell Joanna I’m thinking about her.”

“I will. Goodbye, Raina.”

After hanging up with Phillip, I called Sal.

“I’m so glad to hear from you,” he said. “I was really worried last night.”

“I’m fine.”

“You know, I stopped by your apartment. Someone was waiting for you there.”

My eyes opened wide in surprise. “What are you talking about?”

“Tank. The leader of the Gold Vipers. He was hiding out in your apartment.”

I sighed. “He never mentioned that.”

“You spoke to him?”

“Yes.”

“Did you tell him where Cole was?”

“No. Sal, I have something to tell you. You’re not going to like it.”

“What’s wrong, honey?”

I took a deep breath and went over everything, including how I’d shot Slammer at the ATM. “So, I’m turning myself in,” I said at the end. “To the police.”

He groaned. “What? Why?”

“What do you mean,
why
? I murdered someone Sal. You of all people must realize how wrong that is.”

“I do, but Raina… Slammer isn’t worth going to jail for. I’ve been talking to people and they say he was definitely involved with some shady stuff.”

“It doesn’t matter. I killed him. He didn’t deserve to die. Hell, don’t what I was thinking. I killed a man in cold blood,” I said miserably.

“It appears that way. But, you obviously reacted out of anger and grief. Hell, even Tank realizes that you weren’t in control of your own actions.”

“I
was
in control,” I argued. “I wanted someone to die and he did. Now, I’m going to do the right thing.”

“Sweetheart, do you have any idea how many years they’ll lock you up for? You have to reconsider.”

“I have to do this,” I said softly.

He sighed. “And you’re going to do it today?”

“Yes.”

“At least let me see you before you turn yourself in. Please.”

“I’ll stop by the bar but don’t try and talk me out of it, Sal. It won’t work. I need to do this.”

“I understand,” he replied softly.

“I’m sorry I let you down. I know you wanted me to take over the bar.”

“You didn’t let me down. I let myself down.”

I frowned. “Why do you say that?”

“Because, I was so wound up in my own demons that I had no idea how much more horrible yours actually were. Now, it’s too late. I’ve failed.”

“You did not fail,” I said firmly. “My heart broke when Billy died and there is nothing you could have done that would have stopped me from going after the person I thought was responsible for his death. Don’t you dare go blaming yourself. I’m a grown woman and liable for my own actions, Uncle Sal.”

“Still –”

“Still,
nothing
. I did this to myself. I’m owning up to this, okay?”

“Yes,” he replied, his voice sounding suddenly thick.

I rubbed my forehead. “You’re not drinking, are you?”

“No,” he said. “I’m just… emotional. Hold on.” I heard him blowing his nose. When he was done, he sighed again. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. I’m going to clean up around here and then meet you at the bar. Okay?”

“Sure.”

“I love you, Sal.”

“I love you, too, honey,” he answered, sounding as if he was going to really start crying.

Feeling guilty, I hung up and began cleaning up some of the mess in my apartment, knowing that I might not see it again for quite a long time. As I was shoving an empty pizza box into a garbage bag, my phone rang.

“What now?” I mumbled, racing over to my purse. I pulled out my cell phone and saw that it was Joanna calling again. Sighing, I answered it.