Make It Right (3 page)

“Why did he tell you now?”

“He's bringing it to the table, setting it out to the club.”

Amelia sat up and Danny made no attempt to stop her. “He's claiming her? What about Missy?” She frowned, and he knew what she was thinking. She'd never liked Missy. Missy had known that and tried her best to push Amelia's buttons at any given chance.

“It'll stay in the club.” Danny could hope that would be the truth. If there was someone spilling Nightshade business, it could get out. If it got out and got to Missy, well that would be a huge problem.

“I hope it does because Fiona loves it here. If Missy knows, it's going to be a big problem when she comes back.”

“Royal will handle things. He's managed to this long.”

“Do you think he loves her?” She turned to him, her hair falling over the side of her face. Danny reached out to brush it back and she smiled. “Fiona, I mean. Not Missy. I know he loves Missy.”

“I do think that he loves her. He loves Taylor. I'm pretty sure that he's going to move heaven and earth to get them back.” Danny twirled her hair around his fingers. “You think you can go back to sleep?”

“You just want to go back to sleep?” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “That's a first.”

Danny grinned as she lay back down next to him. “I am capable of some restraint, and selfishly I'd rather that you not fall asleep in the middle.”

“That happened one time, and I was drunk as shit,” she huffed out the words as she got comfortable next to him. “I am tired, though. Do me a favor, though, don't tell Royal I knew. Tell him you told me.”

“I think I can handle that,” Danny pulled her even closer and pressed his lips against her forehead. “We can go out and get breakfast in the morning, take the bike.”

“I haven't ridden in years,” she admitted. “Not since you went inside.”

“Really?” The information pleased Danny more than he expected. “We are definitely taking a ride first thing in the morning. Head over to the bar, to my place to grab my stuff. Maybe later we'll watch some movies. Ace always has a bunch of movies. As long as nothing club related comes up, we can be lazy all day. Maybe I'll even make you grilled cheese.”

“Just like old times.”

“Yeah,” Danny had thought of that himself. “Sounds good, doesn't it?”

“It's not old times, Danny.” She sighed. “Things just can't go back to what they were, no matter how comfortable that would be or how comfortable this is.”

“I told you, I fucked up. I know that I fucked up.”

“I don't think that you do know, Danny. I don't think you know at all. You don't realize what it did to me inside to get those papers. Those fucking papers that erased everything that made sense in my life except for Fiona and Taylor. Those fucking papers.”

“You signed those papers.”

“What the fuck else was I supposed to do? You refused my visits. You returned my letters. What did you expect me to do? You wanted out. I gave you out. I gave up everything that was my life, everything, when I signed them, and I'm just supposed to forget that happened?”

“It didn't seem to be bothering you much earlier.” Danny realized the error of his words the moment that he spoke them. Amelia was out of bed in a flash, cursing him as she gathered her things. “Where are you going, Amelia? Come on, that didn't come out right.”

“I'm glad that Royal called, glad we stopped and not just because I don't want to catch something from someone fucking skanks on a regular basis.” She grabbed her bag and stormed towards the door. “Don't.” She said as he went to get off the bed. “I'm going to sleep in Fiona's room. I think that's for the best.”

Danny didn't agree, but he didn't stop her. He'd always had a skill for pissing her off, but this was more than that. This was about her being hurt. He'd hurt her, and she was right; he hadn't realized just how much until just that moment.

<#<#<#

The following morning Danny found Paco in the kitchen, making breakfast with what seemed to be every pot and pan Fiona owned. There was no sign of Amelia. He grabbed a cup of coffee, looked out the front window and saw that her Jeep was gone. “Where'd she go?”

“Not sure. I asked but she bit my head off. I heard the two of you last night. It wasn't what I figured I'd hear. What did you do?”

“Nothing,” Danny replied. “Did she say anything?”

“Not really. She's different, though. Wouldn't drink with me last night when I got here. Only ate one piece of the pizza and I made sure to get her favorite.” He moved to pop two more pieces of bread into the toaster. “You still like scrambled eggs?”

“Yeah, that's perfect. And I know that she's different. She's sad. Can't blame her for that.”

“It's more than her being sad over Fiona and Taylor. We both know it. Bury your head in the sand if you want, but you fucked her up seven years ago.”

“I'm not listening to a lecture from you, Paco. Not today. Not ever. So just fucking drop it. Let me worry about Amelia.”

“I'm not lecturing you, Danny. I'm just telling you how it is.”

“Drop it.” Danny felt his already questionable mood turning into a bad one. He didn't like the idea of Amelia just taking her off on her own with everything that was going on.

“Whatever.” Paco replied. “You want butter on your toast?”

“Yeah. Look, I know that you're just trying to look out for her. I appreciate that. It's just... it's complicated with us. We'll figure it out. Alright?”

“Yeah, sure.” Paco grabbed two plates, dished out the food, and then they ate in a less than comfortable silence. They stayed like that, eating and drinking, until the front door opened and then slammed shut.

“It is cold as balls out there,” Amelia complained as she walked into the kitchen with an armful of grocery store bags. “Did you use every single pot and pan, Paco? Doesn't matter, I'll clean up. You two might want to get out of my way. I don't want Fiona and Taylor coming home to a dirty house.”

“Looks pretty clean to me.” Paco observed.

“I've been to your house. It could be declared a biohazard.” She dumped the bags onto the floor, revealing what looked to be the entire cleaning aisle to Danny. “This place is a disaster itself. I'm surprised there was any good food left in the fridge.”

“There wasn't. I ran out and got some stuff earlier.”

“What did you do with the rotten stuff?”

“I tossed it in the trash before I started cooking. Oh, maybe that's what that smell is.” Paco looked sheepish. “Why don't I just throw it out now?”

“Good idea.” Danny spoke up. “Take your time.” He didn't comment on the way that Amelia rolled her eyes and turned away from him. Yup, she was still good and pissed. Once Paco was out the door he rose to his feet. “Where'd you take off to?”

“I went to the store. Needed to buy some cleaning stuff.” She kept her back to him, started to unpack the bags. “I've got a lot to do.”

Danny was all too familiar with her tone. He didn't need to see her face to know what her expression looked like. “Amelia, would you just look at me?”

“Just leave me alone Danny. You're good at that, remember?”

“Yes, I remember. Do you really think I forgot? I fucked up.” Danny hated repeating the words, hated that they were true. And even more than that he hated that he didn't know how to fix it. “Just tell me what to do and I'll do it.” Silence followed, and his biggest fear was that there was nothing he could do.

“I don't know, Danny. I really don't. I just want to clean this place up, alright? Just clean. Not talk. Not think.” She turned to face him. “Please?”

“I'll get out of your hair for now.” He closed the distance between them. She didn't pull back when he reached out to stroke her face. “I'm going to head down to the bar. Paco's going to stay here. I can tell him to hang outside if you want.”

“No, it's cold out there.”

“Give me your phone.” Danny programmed his number when she handed it to him and dialed his burner. “Now you've got my number. You call if you need anything or if you've got to go anywhere. I mean it, Amelia. Until we know what happened with Fiona and Taylor I don't want you unprotected.”

“I've got my gun. I'll be alright.” She rolled her eyes, huffed out a sigh. “Fine, if I need you I'll
call.”

Danny wasn't quite sure if he could believe her but realized that he needed to give her space. She really didn't like being crowded; sometimes she just had to be alone. It had always been that way and would likely always be her way. “Thank you.” He grabbed a piece of her hair, tugged lightly. “Don't mix ammonia and bleach.”

“That was one time.” She narrowed her eyes but smiled slightly.

“One memorable time,” Danny didn't bother to hold back the laugh that followed. He'd come home to their first apartment to find her almost passed out on the back porch after she'd tried to remove some of the grime the previous tenants had left behind. “What do you say we take that ride we talked about later? Weather is still good enough if you dress warm.”

“Yeah, alright. That sounds nice.”

He wasn't sure if she meant it or not, but she kept her word. Even if she was reluctant they'd ride tonight. “I'll call you when I'm headed back. Might be late.”

“I'll be here. And you'll call if you hear anything about them, right?”

“Absolutely.” Danny leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead. He nearly told her he loved her but knew that might be too much too soon; in fact he was sure it would only freak her out more. He didn't need her any more freaked out.

Chapter Three

There was only so much that Amelia could clean. Even though Fiona had been gone for a few days, she'd left the place in good shape. After bleaching the entire kitchen, she began to strip the linens off of all of the beds. In Fiona's room, she didn't stop at stripping the bed. She started to snoop, to look for anything that might give some sort of suggestion as to what had happened.

There were things she knew, things she was starting to realize now that her mind was a little clearer. The first thing was that there was no way in hell Fiona would open the door to someone that she didn't recognize. She wouldn't go out late at night to investigate a noise, she'd check through windows and doors, making sure that the police were called. Except now, the police presence in Detroit was spotty at best. Even the Mayor had made comments that armed home owners shouldn't hesitate to defend their homes, because a quick response from the police wasn't possible.

The night before, as she tossed and turned in Fiona's bed, she'd come to the conclusion that Fiona and Taylor had been taken. Fiona hadn't left willingly. She just knew it, and with no sign of forced entry she had to accept that it was someone Fiona knew. Probably someone she knew. Maybe even someone that she was trusting now.

In the bottom of Fiona's closet she found a shoebox that didn't contain shoes. She recognized the leather-bound journals her sister had always seemed to be writing in. Amelia sat down and began to flip through them. Each seemed to cover a year or two; some pages were filled with sketches or poems instead of daily entry. In each one, Royal was mentioned over and over again.

“Son of a bitch.” Amelia felt a little sick as she realized that the relationship between Royal and Fiona had continued. From what she'd skimmed already, they always came back to one another no matter how hard they tried to stay away. “Oh, Fiona. He'll never leave her.”

Amelia couldn't claim to like, or respect, Royal's wife but she knew that he would never divorce her. Missy was an overbearing bitch who did not like the word no or things not going exactly her way. It had never made sense to her why Royal had fallen for someone like that. But he had, and Missy enjoyed her position as the self-proclaimed first lady a little too much.

She put the journals back just as she'd found them, returned the box exactly as it had been and shut the closet behind her. Amelia picked up the linens, carried them downstairs into the basement laundry room. It was a familiar routine, all the laundry supplies in the same place. Taylor's bicycle was parked near the dryer, as well as some storage containers.

Amelia opened the washer and could only stare down at the blood-covered towels stuffed inside. She dropped the bottle of detergent she'd grabbed and fumbled in her pocket for her phone. It took several attempts to actually dial the number Danny had programmed. He answered on the first ring. “Come home, now.”

She couldn't stay in the basement. She went out the door that led into the back yard where she found Paco sprawled out on a lawn chair as if it wasn't nearly freezing outside. What was wrong with him? She could see her breath. “Hey.” He popped up at the sight of her. “What's wrong?”

“There's a load of bloody laundry in the washer.” Amelia let out a laugh at how ridiculous the words sounded. How wrong they were. Blood meant someone was hurt. Someone being hurt meant that someone could be dead. Taylor could be dead. Fiona could be dead. Fuck.

“Sit down,” Paco pulled her towards the chair. “Head between your legs.”

“What?”

“It'll keep you from passing out. I saw it on television. Just do it. It can't hurt. I'm going to call Danny.”

“Already did.” Amelia pressed her hands against her face, rocked herself back and forth. “He should be here soon. He'll be here soon.”

“Do you want to go inside? You've got to be freezing.” When she shook her head he draped his jacket over her shoulders. “Don't worry. I'll be fine. I've got way more padding than you do.”

Amelia managed a smile at his weak attempt at humor because she appreciated it and his jacket was warm. It also smelled like him, which was a mix of his cologne and the mints he was always sucking on. It was a comforting scent. She shut her eyes and sat there until she heard the rumble of a bike. She got to her feet, headed around front and saw that it was Royal, not Danny.

“Show me,” he demanded. “Show me, right now.”

Amelia yelped when he grabbed her arm. She didn't think he intended to hurt her but his grip was much tighter than she'd expected. “Yanking my arm out of the socket isn't going to make me move faster.”

Royal released her arm immediately. “Sorry, Sweetheart, I'm a little on edge.”

“No shit.” Amelia rubbed the spot he grabbed. “Danny called you?”

“Yes. I was close so I headed straight here.” He looked towards the house. “Can you show me what you found, please?”

“This way. I decided to clean up. Fiona wouldn't want to walk into a messy house. You know how she is.”

“I do.” He sighed. “Show me what you've found. No reason to panic until we figure everything out. That's a girl. Christ, you're shivering. We need to get you warmed up or Danny will have my ass.”

“I stripped the beds. I was going to throw the linens in and...” Amelia stomach churned as they approached the door. “And there were towels, maybe other things. I don't know. I didn't look too far inside because there was blood. So much blood.”

“You can stay out here,” Royal replied. “I will go in.”

“No, I don't need to stay out here. I need to know.” Amelia steeled herself for whatever else might be contained within the washing machine. One thing was for certain, she would never wash another load of clothes in that machine without reliving this moment.

Together they walked into the basement, but Amelia let Royal go over to the machine himself. He opened it began to dig through, towels falling to the floor, followed by sheets patterned with an array of princesses. Taylor had never quite grown out of the princess thing. Amelia heard Royal roar, but it sounded like she was underwater. There was a pounding in her head, eventually she realized that it was the sound of her own blood pumping as she stared down at the blood-soaked sheets.

Amelia went with Royal when he grabbed her by the arm; she didn't complain that his grip was too tight because even if it was she barely felt it. The cold fresh air washed over them, the slightest whiff of smoke wrapped up in it. Somewhere something was burning, and automatically she scanned the sky looking for smoke.

Really she was looking at anything to focus on besides the cold hard truth that things were bad. Really bad. Bad enough that she wasn't sure she could handle them. Fiona and Taylor were the only family she had left, the only people who loved her without hesitation or judgment no matter what she'd done or was going to do. Royal tried to hug her, but she pushed away.

There had to be some trace of who had taken them if there was this trace of what had happened. The idea that she might have destroyed anything in the kitchen and bathrooms with her frenzied cleaning spree made her want to throw up or cry or maybe just do both at once.

The sound of bikes approaching filled the air, and Amelia headed for the front yard. She watched as Danny came to a stop, with Train directly behind him. She remained where she was, waited for him to come over to her. “Talk to me, Amelia.”

“Taylor's sheets. Taylor's bloody sheets.” She looked down at the ground. “I think it was a set I got her for her birthday.”

“Jesus Christ. Come on, let's get you out of here.”

“Where else am I going to go, Danny? This is it. This is my home. No, I have to stay. I have to stay and find whatever there is to be found.” Amelia drew in a deep steadying breath. “I'm okay.” She met his eyes. “I think that ride is going to have to wait, though.”

“I'm not going anywhere,” he replied. Amelia was pretty sure that he didn't believe she was fine, but it looked like he wasn't going to call her on it and she was glad for it.

<#<#<#

They found blood in the area by the front door, between tiles that weren't perfectly aligned. Someone had cleaned up after themselves to a level that suggested experience with doing so, which suggested that this was a professional job. A professional job pointed in only one direction for Amelia. The only reason for Fiona and Taylor to be targeted was Royal, but it was impossible if no one knew about the connection. Except if someone knew. Royal had sworn he'd only told Danny, and no one could ask Fiona if she'd told anyone else besides Amelia. And now everyone knew; they'd had an impromptu church session in the basement. She'd had to stay upstairs.

She was outside now, smoking a cigarette that she'd grabbed out of one of the packs the guys had thrown on the kitchen table. She'd quit years earlier but even just sitting there with it in her hand calmed her some.

Amelia didn't look up as the door opened and closed. She assumed the footsteps that approached her were Danny's, but instead it was Train who sat down next to her. “Got a light?”

“What do you want?”

“A light, like I just said.” She handed him the matches she'd found and got to her feet. “Where are you running off to? You didn't even finish your smoke.”

His borderline friendliness didn't sit right with her. They didn't do civil conversations past greeting one another and only did that out of respect. “You want to sit out here and chitchat? Have you had a recent head injury?”

He laughed, and the sound sent cold fingers up and down Amelia's spine. “Few weeks ago this girl was using way too much teeth on me. Does that count?”

“You're a pig.”

“Been called worse.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I might not be your biggest fan, but I liked your sister and the kid. I'm all for finding out what happened to them and breaking some necks in the process.”

“I appreciate that,” and she did.

“Also, if you're just going to cut and run, not give Danny what he wants, then maybe you should think about leaving town sooner than later.”

“What I do is none of your business, Train.” Amelia flicked her cigarette as far as she could into the yard. “Danny will tell you the same.”

“Whatever.” Train exhaled a long stream of smoke.

“Asshole.” Amelia pushed the door open and stepped into the kitchen. Ace was making a pot of coffee, no huge surprise, and Earl had his head stuck in the fridge. “Hey. Where are Royal and Danny?”

“They're taking another look through the upstairs. You want a cup of coffee?”

“Please.”

“Still lots of cream and sugar?” Of all the guys, Ace was the most easygoing. He was likely mellow from all the weed he smoked through the course of a day, which he balanced out with a shit ton of caffeine. “I can make you a sandwich or something if you're hungry.”

Amelia wasn't hungry, but she'd eat. It would save her an argument with Danny about it. “That would be great. Thanks.”

“You got any of that salsa stuff?” Earl questioned.

“I don't think so. Look in the cabinet, though, you never know with Fiona.” Amelia sat down at the table. “How's Jackie doing?”

“She's good.” He smiled at the mention of his wife. “Pregnant again. It'll be our second. She said to tell you hi when she heard you were back. Said call her if you need anything. And score. One jar of salsa. Shit. Are there chips?”

“Check the pantry.” Amelia couldn't help but smile. The food bill at Earl's house had to be massive, because he never seemed to stop eating. “See if there are any toaster pastry things. I want one of those.”

In minutes Ace was frying bacon for BLT sandwiches, Earl was microwaving makeshift nachos and she was eating a fake cherry-flavored pastry. It felt comfortable. It felt like home. Amelia was surprised how much she'd missed this, interacting with people who she actually cared about. In Pennsylvania the most contact she had was with store clerks. Even her job had allowed her to work pretty much on her own.

It was nice to have people around, to talk and laugh and for her not to feel completely awkward while doing it. Even Train coming in from outside didn't make her feel nervous or out of place. Paco joined them as well, and he was always good with comic relief. By the time that Danny came back into the kitchen she was eating her BLT and drinking coffee with enough sugar to rot her teeth straight out of her head.

He didn't waste any time picking up the other half of her sandwich and started to eat. Danny followed the bite with a sip of coffee. “Is there anything but sugar in here?”

“Yes, there's coffee and cream. And if you don't like it, you can always make your own.” Amelia replied.

“I'll just have yours, I can deal with it.” To prove his point he took another large sip and then a bite of the sandwich. Amelia waited for him to say something, anything really, about Fiona and Taylor and what they'd found so far, but he didn't. “You get enough to eat? Ace, fire up another sandwich for her.”

Before she could tell Ace she didn't need another sandwich, Royal walked into the kitchen and all conversation stopped. The easy good mood was gone. Everyone was serious and waiting for him to speak. “There was more blood in Taylor's room, enough blood that we know that something bad happened here. I want to know what. I want to know who.” Royal's eyes went to Amelia. “I will end whoever did this and anyone who had a part in it, but we cannot give up hope. There is still a chance that...”