“Do you trust her?”
“She just wants the truth, Tess. That’s what we’re all searching for. We all want to know what happened to Brooklyn and that kid.”
“Yeah, but the biggest thing they’re holding you on is the gun being at the scene and your lack of an alibi, Scorpio. As your lawyer, it’s important that I know all the details of where you were that night.”
I shot a glance at Zodiac and Bull, knowing that if I said where I really was that night, they’d be pissed. My eyes then darted to where Juliette was and the crooked cops. They were all busy outside the door out of ear shot.
The entire time I spoke, my eyes were focused on my prez, knowing that this was more of an apology than a confession. “First, I want to say that it was never my intention to put the club at risk or to do something that could come back on us later on, Zodiac.”
Zodiac remained still, only his fingers clenching like he was angry. “What the fuck did y ou do, Scorpio?” he asked, his voice raising a bit.
Lowering my gaze to the desk, I sighed. “I went to go look for information on my bike. You already know that I beat the hell out of that guy, you saw the fucking video. Well, that same guy told me I could find my bike at an Artillery drug house over on the other side of town… so I went and staked them out for a few days, watching them until the night of Brooklyn’s death and your wedding.”
“Fuck, Duncan, what the hell did you do?” Zodiac whisper yelled.
I sighed. “When I got there… well, they were dragging a woman into the building kicking and screaming. They were going to rape her, Prez. So, I intervened. I grabbed a few gas cans that were near the building and torched it. The whole thing was up in flames within minutes, and it gave me enough time to jump in there and save the girl. I almost didn’t get out of there alive because one of their men and I scrapped for a bit, but then I rolled him into a fire and it was enough of a distraction to get me out of there before the whole place blew up. That’s where I was, Zodiac. I blew up an Artillery drug house, and now it’s because of me that they’re coming after us.”
“Fuck, Scorpio, this is bad,” Bull grumped. “Why were you so stupid?”
“I just wanted my bike…”
“And did you find it?” Zodiac cut me off. “Was it worth putting your club at risk?”
“No, but it was worth saving the girl’s life, Ulrich. You and my father both taught me to stand up for those who can’t fight back. She couldn’t. I’m the only reason she’s alive right now.”
Tess patted my hand. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to sit on this alibi for a bit, Scorpio. Maybe telling her about Brooklyn’s letter and the things we found can help clear your name without revealing your pyromaniac episode.”
“I agree. We should tell Deputy Rooker about it. I think we can trust her,” Zodiac exclaimed. “If she’s anything like her father, she’s the only one we can trust.”
I could see the disappointment in his eyes, and it killed me that I was the reason for it. “I’m sorry, Zodiac. I’m sorry to you and the club. What I did was stupid and reckless, and I didn’t mean to bring this fight to our doorstep like I have.”
“We’ll talk about that later, Scorpio. You’ll have to come clean to the whole club about it, and then we’ll decide what to do next in Church. The Artillery brought the fight to us long before you ever lit that match, so don’t put that kind of guilt on your shoulders. But this won’t go down without any repercussions, and it may explain why they’re so fucking quiet right now. They’re getting ready to retaliate.”
“I’m sorry,” I reiterated, the guilt heavy in my voice.
He patted my hand from across the table, and it was more comforting than when Tess did it. “You did the right thing by saving that girl, Duncan, but that fire is going to cause problems for us with the Artillery and now we have to be more vigilant when they’re around. We will just have to figure out where to go from here. But first, let’s get Deputy Rooker in on this. She may be our only hope in getting you out of here.”
“How much do you want to tell her, Duncan?” Tess asked
“For now, I just want to show her the letter. I want her to see that Brooklyn and I were friends and that I had no reason to hurt her. Let’s hold the rest of the information until we know for sure that she’s our ally and not the enemy.”
“Okay,” Tess replied, exchanging a few strange looks with her husband. “Let me call the judge to see if we can get you out of here early because of their fucked up bully interrogation techniques. Them questioning you and threatening you when you asked for a lawyer is against the law, and will get you a quick exit.”
It was another hour and a long conversation with the judge before I walked out of the interrogation room without the cuffs. As we were leaving, I saw that Hollender was still there, so I told Zodiac to either leave his bike for me to ride back, or let Tess ride back with him and leave me the keys to her cage.
“Why?” His tone told me he was still angry, but he was doing his best to keep his composure while inside the sheriff’s office.
“No way am I leaving Juliette alone with that asshole, not after she tazed his balls. He’s put his hands on her before and tried to do it again. If they’re alone, there’s no telling what he would do to her. I’m not going to find out.”
Zodiac pulled Tess close and kissed her hair. “You want to go for a ride?”
She smiled and nodded.
He tossed me the keys to her SUV. “You know… you’re just giving up one cage for a new one,” he said jokingly. “Maybe earn yourself a shiny new leash as well. God, knows the one tethered to me is short and tight.” He tugged at this collar of his shirt then threw Tess a flirty wink. At least he wasn’t too mad at me and could still joke with me.
Tess laughed. “Ohhhhh, you are in so much trouble for that one. If you thought my leash was tight before, just you wait, Ulrich Monroe. You’ll be choking on it by the time I’m done with you.”
She was all smiles as she walked toward the front door, so I knew she was joking, but Zodiac’s face fell as he rushed after her. “You know I’m just kidding, babe. I love being tethered to you. You’re my woman and you mean everything to me. I was just warning Scorpio that he was on a short trip to being tied down and married like us.”
