“You know me. I don’t give a shit about most people, but Bear—she’s got trauma. I walk into her house, pull out the list of shit that’s got to be done. She doesn’t talk to me for at least an hour until something’s finished. That’s because fucking Bookie didn’t do a goddamn thing. So now she’s overcompensating.”
“Aww, fuck.”
“Yeah. Titan never disrespected Mary Beth. That’s the example Sabre grew up with, and Grizz to some extent. Their Old Ladies had Liz.”
I should have asked her what she wanted, listened, and then made a plan to win her over. I’d fucking jumped the gun, talking out of my ass before I even knew what I was saying.
Neither of us said much as we sat after that.
The kitchen door opened, and Grizz stuck his head out. “D clocked a cop car cresting the hill. It doesn’t have its lights on.”
I instantly stood, and Slate followed me through the clubhouse and out the front door. No one would have told us, dealing with it themselves, but I was afraid this was news about my wife. She hadn’t returned.
The girls stood on the porch, holding onto the railing until their knuckles turned white.
Buster saw me first. “This can’t be about Aunt E.”
I pulled her in for a quick hug. “We don’t know what’s going on.”
She nodded at me before pulling away.
Taking the steps two at a time, I hit the lot and jogged to where the rest of the men were standing at the fence, waiting.
We had a double-gate system, and the officer turned into the driveway, pulling up to the first one. C could have let the officer pass through, trapping him between the two gates, but he didn’t. He left him outside.
The officer got out of his car and walked towards the first gate, shoving his fingers through the links in the fence. “I’m looking for Elizabeth Burkhardt,” he yelled, but when we didn’t move, he placed his hands on his hips. He stared at us as we watched him, not bothering to respond.
My heart sank, fear flooding my chest until my stomach twisted. Sabre would know if something had happened with Alex, right? He had said nothing, and as far as I knew, the brothers with her hadn’t called.
“Elizabeth Burkhardt?” the officer tried again, but none of us responded, and the women wouldn’t have been able to hear him.
The ground trembled. The sound of loud pipes cut through the air. All our heads shifted to the right at the same time as the first two brothers crested the top of the hill. I held my breath until I saw the car, silently making a promise that if my wife was alright, I’d never take our marriage for granted again.
The policeman traced our line of sight, and when the first two bikes approached, he walked to the back of his squad car, blocking them from entering the driveway. Zook and How turned off their bikes, removed their helmets, and waited for everyone else behind them to catch up.
“I’m looking for Elizabeth Burkhardt,” the officer tried again.
Neither one of them said anything, shooting each other a look.
Dead parked the car on the side of the road before walking around the front and opening the passenger door. He held his hand out to Liz, and I could see the top of her head as she swung her feet out to stand.
“Go through the shed,” Sabre said to me through gritted teeth. I didn’t hesitate as I ran to the shed, crossed over, and exited on the other side. The brothers who had ridden behind the car dismounted before coming around the back.
“What’s…going on?” Liz muttered.
I leaned forward, swiping a piece of her hair behind her ear. “He’s asking for you,” I whispered. It was the closest I was going to come to keeping my volume down.
“Why me?”
I shrugged.
She wrapped her arm around mine, shuffling towards the officer.
“Are you Elizabeth Burkhardt?” he asked her when we got close enough.
“Yes.”
“Ma’am, I’m really sorry to tell you they found Gerry Whitmore dead this evening.”
