“My contact at the state police said they were only able to interview those people who stopped to help after the accident,” Copper replies. “There was no mention of an intentional hit.”
“Do you have the names of who they talked to?” Zombie asks, and Copper nods. “Good. You and Quake are gonna go pay them all a visit and see if you can get any more info that they might have left out.”
“Whatever it takes,” I bark. “I want answers.”
“Understood,” Copper and Quake say simultaneously.
A thought occurs to me, and I narrow my eyes. “What was the name of the person involved in Rowdy’s motorcycle accident?”
“Ray ‘Cray Cray’ Burns,” Romeo says, his eidetic memory kicking in. “He was affiliated with the Shadow Sixes at the time.”
“Do you have a current list of the gang’s members?” Zombie asks.
“The most recent I have is from a year ago,” Romeo admits. “Seven years ago, he was going through his initiation. According to my most recent info, he’s now higher up on the food chain as one of four enforcers.”
“Then he definitely needs fuckingtalkedto,” Trick bites out, rubbing his hands together. “I can handle that.”
I nod. “You and Undertaker track Cray Cray down,” I order. “I’ll see if I can get a face-to-face with the Shadow Sixes’ Shot Caller, Loco.”
Zombie chuckles. “Shouldn’t be too hard. Idiot was arrested two days ago on drug charges. I’m sure his lawyer will have him out soon, but as far as I know, he’s still sitting in a cell downtown.”
“I love when someone else’s stupidity makes our job easier,” Pastor states with a laugh.
“Idiots make permanent decisions with temporary information,” I comment matter-of-factly.
“I’m sure that’s some lyric,” Sawbone says dryly.
“Yep,” I say. “Look it up. Good song.”
“Anyway,” Zombie interrupts. “Back to business.”
I shove a hand through my hair. “Right. We have our assignments to sort out this accident bullshit. Anything else we need to discuss?”
“Uh, yeah,” Pilot says. “How should we handle Mellie being back?”
I tense at his question. “Whaddya mean?”
“Pres, she doesn’t remember us,” he reminds me unnecessarily. “I think I speak for all of us when I say we don’t wanna fucking scare the poor girl.”
“She remembers me,” Zombie says, grinning at me like an idiot.
“Fuck off,” I snap, slapping him upside the head, before answering Pilot. “Follow her lead. That’s the best advice I have. If she seems overwhelmed, back the hell off.”
“Is she coming to the funeral tomorrow?” Whiz asks.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “That’s up to her.”
“Are you guys still gonna get hitched?” Undertaker queries.
“What’s with the interrogation?” Zombie demands, saving me from answering. “You know as much as we do at this point. We’re taking things with Mellie a day at a time.”
“Thanks, brother,” I mumble. “Anything else to discuss?”
“I’m supposed to fly out next week to replenish our drug stash,” Pilot states. “Still good to do that, or should I put it off a little longer?”
“No more putting shit off,” I order. “We have to get back to normal, and not just for the club’s sake, but for Mellie’s, too. Everything that was rescheduled since last week needs to move forward, and any upcoming business dealings will proceed as planned. If there’s a problem, let me know, otherwise it’s back to business as usual.” I glance around the table, taking in their nods of understanding, and then I bang the gavel. “Church dismissed.”
As soon as the room clears out, I make my way to the spare room that Mellie was taken to upon arriving at the clubhouse. My heart skips a beat when I find it empty. Pulling out my cell, I shoot off a quick text to Peach, as she was the last person who should’ve had contact with my girl.
