Chapter 26: Edge

26

EDGE

T he next morning, I woke up before Evie and went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee and get a muffin for her. I really wanted to bring her breakfast in bed, but with my limitations, coffee and a muffin were the best I could do.

When I returned to our room, she was awake and sitting up in bed. She smiled when she saw me. "Morning. What are you doing?"

"I brought you coffee and a muffin. You like the blueberry ones, right?"

"I do, and thank you, but you didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I was hoping we could talk about something."

"We can," she said slowly, "but judging by the look on your face, I'm not sure I want to."

I sat down beside her and made myself comfortable. "It's about Randall."

"Oh. What about him?"

"Well," I started and cleared my throat. I knew what needed to be said, but I wasn't sure how to say it. "After everything happened in Fairbanks, you had to keep the truth to yourself. Now that the truth is out, I was wondering if you wanted to talk about it."

She exhaled heavily and started picking at the muffin wrapper. "I'm not sure there's much to talk about. It happened exactly the way I told you, except for the last part. Honestly, I don't really remember much of those few moments. I can recall everything in detail right before and right after I did it, but not the actual act itself. I think my mind went somewhere else or blocked it out to protect me."

"Yeah, that's understandable. If the memories come back or you find yourself thinking about it a lot, I want you to know you can talk to me about it. You've been through so much over the past few months. You don't have to keep it all inside if you don't want to."

"Thanks," she said softly. "I felt bad about killing Randall to a degree, but I also knew it was the only way to save myself. They would have killed both of us if I didn't cooperate with them. I reminded myself of that every time I started thinking about that night. It's kind of the same with Muzzle. It was me or him, and I chose me. For the record, I don't feel any guilt for shooting him. In fact, I wish he would've gotten what was coming to him much earlier in life. It would've saved me a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, but then you might not have met me."

She gave me a small smile. "I hadn't thought about it like that, but you're right. I likely wouldn't have ended up in Cedar Valley."

"How did you end up there? I know why you left Fairbanks, but why did you choose Cedar Valley?"

"I didn't choose Cedar Valley, per se. That's where I ran out of gas," she said simply.

"Seriously?"

"Well, I had a little bit of gas left, but I didn't have enough money to put more in the tank and eat, so I stopped there and started looking for a job. If the guy at the gas station hadn't told me about the diner, I don't know what I would have done."

"You would've figured something out. You've proven to be resourceful."

"I'm glad you think so. I felt like a hot mess most of the time. It seems like it's always been like that for me. As soon as I get settled and think things are going my way, life comes along and flips everything upside down. Even now. I moved to a new town, found a job and a place to live, made some new friends, and started making a life for myself. Everything was fine. Then, boom! Me and my new friends are almost killed, and my place of employment is burned to the ground, leaving me wondering what will happen next."

"Nothing's going to happen. The threats to you have been eliminated."

"That's not what I meant. I was referring to my job and my living situation. Irene and I had a deal. Instead of paying me an hourly wage, she let me live in the trailer on her property for free, and I got to keep my tips. If she doesn't reopen the diner, that deal will change, and I'll have to find another job."

"Have you talked to Irene about any of this?"

"No. She's got enough on her plate without worrying about my stuff, too. She needs time to think, and I don't want my needs to influence her decisions."

"For what it's worth, I want you in Croftridge." Cedar Valley wasn't far from Croftridge, but at the end of the day, I wanted her with me.

"Yeah, it is nice here," she agreed.

"Really? You'd move to Croftridge?"

"I can't think of a reason I wouldn't."

Well, that was easier than I thought. I expected some resistance from her, but I wasn't going to complain about not getting any.

"Good," I said and leaned over to capture her lips with mine.

Things were getting heated when we were interrupted by a knock on the door.

I broke the kiss and leaned back against the headboard with a sigh. It was just as well. Neither of us was in any shape to do more than kiss. "Come in."

Dice opened the door but didn't come inside. "Phoenix wants us over at the conference room."

"Why? Is something wrong?" Evie asked.

"Everything's fine," Dice assured her.

"He probably wants to go over everything and make sure we don't have any loose ends to tie up," I told her. "I shouldn't be long."

"Okay." I didn't care for the look of concern on her face, but there wasn't much I could do about it other than try to reassure her.

"It's just a standard meeting. Everything will be fine," I promised and placed a kiss on her lips.

"Do you know what this is about?" I asked Dice once we were on our way over to the conference room.

"Exactly what you told Evie. Going over everything and tying up loose ends."

"What loose ends?"

"Gary," Byte said.

"He's still around?" I asked. I was more concerned about what happened with the Mad Dogs and hadn't given Gary a second thought.

Dice chuckled. "Yeah, he is. When we got back yesterday, Phoenix told Gary he was too tired to figure out what to do with him and that he'd have to wait until today. I thought the man was going to shit himself right then and there."

It didn't take us long to get over to the conference room, but I wasn't surprised that we were the last ones to arrive.

As usual, Phoenix didn't beat around the bush and got started right away. "We need to decide what to do with Gary. Killing him isn't an option I want to entertain but letting him go or turning him in for the fire are possibilities. Thoughts?"

"If we turn him in, we run the risk of him telling the cops everything we did to him, as well as everything that happened with the Mad Dogs. That could bring unwanted attention to Muzzle's disappearance and Hound's death, which would muddy the already choppy waters between us and the Mad Dogs," Dash said.

"Yeah, but if we let him go, he could go straight to the Mad Dogs and tell them we made him tell us everything, which ultimately led to a confrontation between us that resulted in their president's death," Duke countered.

"We didn't kill their president. Their vice president did," Shaker said. "I don't think there's much he could tell them that would warrant a response from them. Everything he was hired to do wasn't sanctioned by their club. If you get down to it, Gary's loose lips turned out to be beneficial for their club."

"So you think releasing him is the way to go?" Phoenix asked.

"I think it's the better of the two choices."

"Gary has been scared shitless since he's been here. I think he'll agree to whatever we ask of him if he gets to leave here in one piece," Carbon said.

"Of course he will. The question is: will he keep his word once he's gone?" Badger said.

Carbon chuckled and cracked his knuckles. "I'm sure we can come up with a way to guarantee his silence."

"We already have one," Byte said. "We have video evidence of him starting the fire at the diner. We also have a voice recording of him admitting to accepting money for a job he wasn't licensed to do and illegally tracking down Evie."

"That should work," Phoenix said. "Does anyone disagree?"

When no one did, Phoenix told Carbon to bring Gary into the room. "We've come to a decision on what to do with you," Phoenix started.

"Please, man, don't kill me," Gary begged. "I'll do whatever you say."

"Good. So, here's the deal. You are on video starting the fire at the diner. We also have a recording of you admitting to starting the fire, hacking into traffic cameras to track people, and continuing to work as a PI after your license was revoked. We're going to let you go, but if you so much as breathe a word about any of this to anyone, I'll make sure the evidence we have falls into the right hands."

"I won't say a word. I promise."

"Yeah? What are you going to tell Hound when he asks why you didn't show up at the meeting yesterday?"

"I don't know. I'll tell him I got arrested or something. Yeah, that's it. I was arrested and had to spend the night in jail."

"And when he asks you to continue working for him?"

"I'll tell him I can't. That it's too much of a risk. I'll cut ties with him. I'll do whatever you want me to do."

"What happened to your hand?"

"Fishing accident."

Phoenix nodded. "Let me be very clear. Don't mistake this for an act of kindness. I'm letting you go because it's what's best for me and my club. If you cross me, I won't hesitate to eliminate you."

"I understand. I will happily go on my way, and you'll never hear from me again," Gary promised.

"All right. Carbon, get him out of here."

Gary's face paled, and I almost laughed.

"Where are the old dudes? Can't they take me back to Cedar Valley?"

Carbon laughed. "I'm not taking you back to Cedar Valley. I'm taking you to the bus station in Croftridge. Is that a problem?"

"Nope. Not a problem at all," Gary blurted.

Once they were gone, Phoenix took a seat and leaned back in his chair. "I think that takes care of everything. Does anybody have anything else we need to discuss?"

"Can we resume regular activities at the clubhouse?" Duke asked.

"Let's give things another day or two to settle before we do. I think Gary will keep his word, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Anything else?"

When no one had anything else to discuss, Phoenix banged his gavel and dismissed us.

On the way back to the house, I finally had the opportunity to talk to Byte about something that had been on my mind. "Evie's mother and stepfather live in Fairbanks. Can you do some research on them? Evie went no contact with her mother well before anything happened with Randall, but I want to make sure there isn't anything that might cause them to suddenly reappear in her life."

"Sure. Is there something specific I should look for?"

"Not that I know of. Just anything that seems like it could be a reason for them to contact her, like money trouble or health issues."

"Okay. I'll see what I can find. Anything else?"

"Yeah," I admitted. "Can you do a little digging into Muzzle, too? He was cheating on Evie's mother with the woman who gave birth to Snarl. I'd like to know if he has other kids who might try to find Evie."

"Say no more. I'm well versed in the hell secret siblings can cause."

"Thanks, man. And, um, can we keep this between us for now? I haven't mentioned any of this to Evie. I don't want her to feel like I'm going behind her back and invading her privacy when I really just want to make sure she's safe."

Byte nodded. "I won't say anything, but if you don't want her to feel that way, you should tell her what you're doing."

"I don't plan on keeping it from her. I just haven't had a chance to talk to her about it yet."

"Oh, good. I thought I was going to have to knock some sense into you with my crutch."

I laughed. "You sound like Ranger."

"I'm equally flattered and offended."

Evie was still in our room, resting in bed, when we got back to the house. She looked up when I entered the room and smiled. "That didn't take long. Is everything okay?"

"I told you it wouldn't, and yes, everything's fine."

"Is that all I'm going to get?"

Climbing into bed beside her, I got situated before I answered. "There will be times when I can tell you things, and there will be times when I can't. If I can't tell you something, it's not because I don't want to or because I don't trust you. It's for your safety and well-being."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Plausible deniability, for example. You can't be held accountable for something you truly knew nothing about. This doesn't really apply to us, but a lot of motorcycle clubs keep their women in the dark to keep them from being targeted for information."

"So, whatever you guys discussed this morning is something I don't need to know about?"

"I didn't say that," I chuckled. "You know Walter and Buck caught the guy who set the diner on fire. They brought him here, and we questioned him, which is how we knew when and where to meet the Mad Dogs. Phoenix called the meeting this morning so we could decide what to do with him."

"Oh," she said and stayed silent for several moments. "What did y'all decide?"

"He agreed to keep his mouth shut, so we let him go."

"What?"

The look of utter disbelief on her face almost made me laugh. "We have the video of him starting the fire and a voice recording of his confession to the fire and other crimes. He'll keep his mouth shut or go to prison. Either way, he won't be a problem for us."

"You guys really do have a different way of handling things."

"We do. It might not always be within the lines of the law, but it's usually the right thing to do. And speaking of the right thing, I need to tell you something else."

"No," she almost whined. "I don't want to hear any bad news."

"It's not bad news. At least, I don't think it is."

Picking up a pillow, she carefully hugged it to her chest. "Fine. Let's hear it."

"On more than one occasion, you've mentioned how things will be going good for you when something comes along and flips your world upside down. I don't want that to keep happening to you, so I asked Byte to check into your mother, father, and stepfather to see if there's anything that could be problematic for you in the future. He hasn't started yet, so if it's not okay with you, I'll tell him to forget the whole thing."

Her reaction was not what I expected. "Oh," she smiled. "That's kind of sweet."

"Really?"

"Yes. I appreciate you being proactive and looking out for me, but it will probably be a waste of time. Muzzle is dead, and even though they're assholes, my mother and stepfather are pretty boring people. I can't think of anything that would possibly be a future problem for me."

"I can. Unknown siblings are the first thing that comes to mind."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. You know what happened to Gabby and Patch. There are several people in the club who have discovered a sibling later in life, though most of those didn't have a bad outcome, but that's not the point. Is it possible that Muzzle fathered other children?"

"I never thought about it, but I'm sure it's possible," she said and wrinkled her nose. "Does it make me a bad person if I hope there aren't any?"

"If it does, I'm a bad person, too," I admitted. "Not that I don't want you to have other family members, but there's no way in hell I'd trust one of Muzzle's kids."

"I'm one of Muzzle's kids."

"You know damn well I wasn't referring to you."

She grinned. "I know."

"So, it's okay for Byte to poke around in your family's business?"

"Yes. It's completely fine and thank you for thinking of it."

"Well, now that we have that settled, do you have any big plans for today?"

"If I thought it wouldn't hurt you or me, I'd slap your chest."

"Oh, come on. We have so many options to choose from. Will we be binge-watching television shows or having a movie marathon? Are we watching in bed or on the couch? Should we schedule naps or let the pain pills decide when we sleep?"

She closed her eyes and clutched her pillow. "Oh, don't make me laugh."

"Laughter is the best medicine."

"I swear, one day I will beat you and your idioms with this pillow."

"One day, but not today."

"Edge," she groaned.

"Okay, okay. You decide on a movie franchise while I get some snacks. Bedroom or living room?"

"Can we get someone to push the ottoman in to make the sofa a huge bed so other people can watch with us if they want?"

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Then I choose the living room," she said and started working her way out of bed. "Go ahead and get the snacks. I can make it to the couch by myself."

I knew she could, but I wanted her to have help if she needed it. Since I was on the same weight and activity restrictions as her, there wasn't much I could do to assist her. As luck would have it, I ran into Dice in the hallway. "Can you help Evie get to the couch? She wants to have a movie marathon in the living room."

"Sure, man. Is she ready now?"

"She is," Evie said from the doorway.

"She'll need her blankets, too," I said before I continued down the hallway, wishing I was able to walk faster. Evie didn't like asking for help, and she didn't like me asking for her, but she was always gracious about accepting it.

So that's how we spent the rest of the day—snuggled on the sofa, watching back-to-back Pirates of the Caribbean movies, snacking on junk food, and intermittently napping alongside our friends.