Meant To Be (Heaven Hill Series) (17 page)

“B
reaking news tonight at 6. Investigative reporter Meredith Rager exposes outlaw biker gangs in and around South Central Kentucky.”

Denise felt sick to her stomach as she sat with the group of bikers, and probably over half the town, ready to tune in for what was promising to be a big announcement. Tyler had let her know that he’d gone earlier to warn Meredith, to let the woman know that whatever she
thought
she knew was probably not the truth. Denise’s heart sank when he told her that Meredith had blown him off. They hadn’t been great friends, but Meredith had been a neighbor, and she genuinely liked the younger woman. This had
bad
written all over it.

“Doesn’t seem like you did your job too well, brother,” William reprimanded as he glared at Tyler.

“That woman is a bulldog. I did what I could. She’s bound and determined to have her body sliced apart and stuffed in different dumpsters around the county. Who are we to stop her?”

Liam knew by looking at his friend that not being able to talk her out of this had upset him. It had cut deeper than the big man let on. Tyler kept his feelings very close and hardly ever let anyone in. As well as they knew each other, there were still some times that Liam didn’t really have a good bead on him.

“You know where this is headed.”

The woman’s face they were talking about appeared on the television screen. Tyler could tell she was nervous. It was evident as he looked in her eyes. She bit her bottom lip as she waited for the cue that would let her know it was her turn to begin speaking. He could see the fear in her eyes, the uneasy way they darted back and forth between the teleprompters.

“Thanks, Brent,” she smiled shakily at the co-anchor for the night. “A year-long investigation into local outlaw motorcycle gangs - the Vojnik and the Heaven Hill MC - has revealed many shocking secrets.”

Collectively, the group watching the newscast leaned forward, almost as if they could hurry her along. They were just as eager as the general public to learn the info she had.

“Many will remember the body of a man that was found by a natural gas crew laying new pipeline earlier this year. News Center can exclusively reveal that man’s name and who is taking credit for the murder.”

On screen, Meredith stalled and took a deep breath. This had all seemed so easy when she was researching and writing it. Now, she felt as if her heart was about to beat out of her chest, and she had a bull’s-eye painted in the middle of her forehead. Her hands shook as she shuffled her paperwork, and it was on the tip of her tongue to lie about the information she had sitting in front of her. No one would really know, she argued with herself. But it was her job to be truthful and to report the news.

“The body was that of prominent Bowling Green businessman and city councilman Jeffrey Norris who went missing fifteen years ago amidst reports he was taking bribes from the Heaven Hill MC.”

As those words left her mouth, there was a loud explosion, and the screen went black.

Silence reigned over the group for a full minute as they processed what they had seen before they all jumped up and began talking at once. Over the excited chatter, William’s authorative voice rose.

“Turn that goddamn police scanner on.”

Fumbling to do as he said, Steele turned it up so that they could all hear.

“Dispatch to all essential personnel, there has been an explosion at News Center studios. I repeat, an explosion at News Center studios. Injuries are unknown, fatalities are unknown, damage is unknown. Everyone must report. Local hospital is on alert!”

The enormity of what had just happened sank into the group and Liam looked at Denise. “We have club business to discuss, you gotta go.”

Tears clogged her throat. This was scary business, and she had no idea what was going on. She wasn’t sure who she was more worried for, Meredith or Liam. “Do I go home or wait for you outside?” she asked, her speech thick with fear.

“You can go wait for me at home. Call Roni and get her to come keep you company. I’ll walk you out,” he said softly, trying to soften this turn of events.

He wanted to punch someone, he was so pissed. She had just told him that she felt safe, and they had just had a good night out. And now this shit? He prayed this wasn’t a deal breaker for her.

“I’ll be right back,” he told the club as he took her hand and walked them out to where his truck sat.

She cursed herself because she still relished the feel of his hand on the small of her back. In reality, she knew she should be scared to death. These men had just been revealed to her as killers. It was weird, she still felt safe in this setting. She wasn’t sure if that would ever change.

“This wasn’t us,” he whispered softly as he turned her around to face him. She leaned against the driver’s side door of his truck and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Really? Because right now, it seems like it is.” Her eyes searched his blue ones, hoping to find the man she knew, not the one who needed to go deal with a bombing. She knew he was in there, and she wanted him to take her into his arms and assure her that everything would be okay.

“I can’t explain this to you right now, but I will when I get home. I promise you that.” He was making promises and almost begging – this woman had him by the balls.

Denise kicked herself mentally because she knew she sounded like a petulant housewife. “And when will that be?”

A heart stopping grin plastered itself on his face. “Do you realize just how much you sound like an old lady right now?”

That pissed her off. Was he inside her head now? “The hell I am.”

“The hell you aren’t. Get used to it.”

A million horses couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face as he put her in the truck after kissing her on the forehead. Tapping the hood, he sent her on her way before going back inside to deal with the shit storm that had just landed at their feet.

Minutes later, Denise pulled up to the house. For the first time, she felt fear. They had left a light on, and she glanced up the porch through the front door to make sure it was still shining brightly. Noting that it was, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Jogging up the stairs, she checked in on the kids who were both asleep in their beds. That was a huge weight off her shoulders, to know that they were safe.

On her way home, she’d placed a call to Roni, and the other woman was coming over. It was late, but she knew with all the excitement of the day there was no way she’d be able to sleep. Grabbing a book she had been reading, she took herself to the screened-in porch and had a seat. All she had to do now was wait.

A lit cigarette in his mouth, Liam made his way back to the clubhouse, sighing as he realized they faced a complete fuck fest.

“So who fed her the bad info?” he asked as he took his VP spot at the table.

“My money points to ol’ Dicky boy. He must have a back end deal with the Vojnik. He’s trying to get us out of the way.”

It was well known between both clubs that none of them had killed Jeffrey Norris. His wife had caught him with his pants down one time too many. She had come home early from a vacation with their children, and she’d caught him banging his new secretary. A woman scorned, she’d had enough, and after the mistress had left she’d shot him in cold blood. For a hefty fee, Heaven Hill had helped her dispose of the body, but they sure as hell hadn’t killed him.

“I say we go down to the station and see what’s going on. With it exploding right as she revealed our ‘huge secret’, heat is gonna be on us,” William groaned. “Which is exactly what we fucking do not need, but exactly what they want.”

Chaos reigned around her as Meredith fought to climb out of the black hole she’d fallen into. Her head hurt, and her tongue felt heavy. In the distance she could hear police sirens and people screaming. It took a great deal of strength, but she fought to yell at them, to let them know she was there and that she was okay. In the end the climb was too hard, too long, and she just gave up. Tyler had warned her this would be the end of her, and maybe he had been right.

Chapter Nineteen

“S
o, how’s it going with my brother?”

Denise’s head snapped up from where she lay lounging on the screened-in porch with Roni. Since Denise had already been out there, that’s where they had decided to stay.

“Good,” she answered a little too quickly, her voice a little too high pitched.

Like a hound dog on the scent of a kill, Roni sat up straighter, grinning wildly. “He’s gotten to you, hasn’t he?”

She did not under any circumstances want to talk about this. Telling him that she hadn’t had sex in thirteen years was embarrassing enough, but to tell his sister…she wasn’t really down for all of that.

“Gotten to me?” she played dumb.

“Whatever. My brother is a good lookin’ guy. I know that. The two of you in this house every night, I’m sure you’ve gotten…close.”

“First of all, we aren’t in this house every night. I think we may have spent two nights in this house together, that’s it. Second of all, I’m a mother. I take care of my children most of the time. There is absolutely nothing sexy about that. In no way has he ‘gotten to me’.”