He grabs a folder from the edge of his desk and flips it open. “Erm, I haven’t looked through it all yet.”
“I can do that,” I offer a little too eagerly.
He grins, pushing it my way. “Okay.”
I head out and round the back of the club. There’re a few trees, and I slump beneath the nearest and open the file.
Remika Harris.I repeat it over a few times, liking the way it sounds. I skim through a few police reports from when she was a kid. Sounds like her mum took a few beatings, and Remi often ended up in emergency foster care. Colin Nash was the antagonist. I wince as I look over the photographs of her mum bruised and battered, and then I stop on the report of her mum’s death, frowning when I see the word ‘overdose’.Shit.Remi was just sixteen. I sigh, realising she was left in Colin’s care. The system is fucked if we’re allowing teenage girls to be raised by abusers.
I glance up when I hear the heavy door open, just as Remi strides across the car park. I stuff the papers away and jog to catch her up. “Sorry,” I say, and she jumps in fright. “I didn’t mean it.”
She turns to me, her eyes hard. “You did.”
I look away. “Yeah, the bit about Ragnor using you. He’s just setting up a club, he ain’t looking for an old lady.”
“And you are?” she challenges, raising a brow.
I frown, her words catching me off guard. “Well, no, but I––”
“Then we’re all good, Shadow.” She continues towards the gate.
“My name’s Logan,” I blurt out, frowning as the words leave my lips. “Wait, where are you going?”
“You aren’t my keeper.”
“I’m just looking out for you.”
She spins to face me, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. “The only person allowed to look out for me is the person I’m fucking, and last time I checked, that’s not you.”
She marches through the gate, and this time, I let her go. She needs time to cool off, and I need to learn some more about her.
I’m not sure how much time passes, but I’m so lost in Remi’s file that I don’t hear Axel calling me until he’s almost reached me. I glance up in surprise, and he looks amused. “You okay?” I nod. “I’ve been calling you for the last few minutes.” I close the file and push to my feet. “You find anything?” he asks as we head back towards the club.
“Not really. Same old story. Shit childhood. She’s running from a bad life.”
“Parents?”
“Mum’s dead. Suicide by overdose. And Colin Nash was the boyfriend who then took over Remi’s care.”
“So, nothing we gotta worry about?”
I shrug. Nothing about Remi’s life sits well with me. She’s had it rough. “I’d like to run a check on Colin Nash.”
“Why?”
“What if he’s looking for her?”
“Then it’s her problem. Unless he causes me a headache, I don’t give a shit why she’s running or who from. Man, she’s just a bar worker.”
“You hired her.”
“Cos I wanted to annoy you,” he says with a smirk. “Now, get into church.”
The rest of the brothers are already in their seats when we step into the room. The low hum of conversation dies down as Axel strides to the head of the table. I take my usual spot a few chairs to his right, the wood creaking beneath me.
Axel grips the gavel, the weight of the room shifting with that single bang against the table.
“Alright. I wanna hear thoughts on the Hell’s now you’ve met ’em.”
