He’s not totally wrong.
“Where is she?”
“You can’t talk to her.”
“Is she under arrest?”
“Not yet.”
“Liam, give me five minutes with her. I can clear this all up for you.”
He stands back and cocks his head. “Something I need to know?”
“Let me talk to her first.”
He looks away, out the front door. “Go ahead.”
I rush past him into the apartment, barely noticing all the people crowded in the kitchen. My gaze narrows on Charlotte sitting on the couch.
“Marcel!”
I wrap her up in my arms. “Are you okay?”
She sits back and rage wells up inside when I see her split lip and reddened cheek.
“What happened?”
“Chuck. I thought it was you. He came in. We argued.” She shakes her head. “It got out of control so fast.”
I take several deep breaths, beating back the fury threatening to consume me.
Later. I’ll kill him later.
“Marcel, I think they’re going to arrest me.”
Cupping her chin, I lean down, my lips close to her ear. “I need to tell you something. Please hear me out.”
She turns, frantic eyes searching mine. “What?”
Keeping my voice low, I hold her wrists in my hand, careful not to disturb her bandaged fingers. “I’m gonna get you out of this. But you’re going to be pissed when I tell you how.”
She swallows and in an extremely patient way says, “Marcel. I love you. But I’m about to be arrested for attempted murder.” She leans in lowering her voice to an urgent, but exasperated tone. “So, if you can get me out of that, I don’t really fucking care how you do it!”
“Shh. Play along and pretend you knew about this the whole time.”
She grits her teeth. “Knew about what?”
“After your uncle bugged your phone, Z and I placed some cameras in your apartment. He wanted to be sure we could trust you. And I knew it would help me prove to the club you can be trusted.”
She laughs.
And laughs.
Nutty, breath-stealing laughter.
Christ, maybe her mind finally broke under the stress of all this crazy shit.
Breathing hard, she shakes her head and gives me a crooked not-quite-all-there smile. “Where?” she finally asks.
I point to the hallway. “One out there.” I point out the other two in the living room.
“The bedroom?”
“No.”
“Bathroom?”
“Fuck, no.”
She tilts her head. The shock seems to have worn off. “You did it to make sure you could trust me?”
I cup her face in my hands. “No. I already trust you, Sunshine.”
She exhales a heavy sigh and shakes her head. “Shit. I can’t even be pissed, you sneaky bastard.”
“I’m sorry. I hated doing it.”
“Well, it looks like it’s going to be the thing that saves my bacon.” She nods at the door. “Call your buddy in.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Explain to me again why you set up hidden cameras in your apartment, Miss Clark?” Officer Hollister asks in a bored, disbelieving tone.
“Chuck’s been erratic since my mother died. I didn’t trust him. In the past, he’s had people spy on me. I was afraid he or someone working for him might try to break into my apartment.” I point to the front windows of my apartment that extend from ceiling to floor and shrug. “It was a precautionary measure.”
“A proper deadbolt or locks on the window might have been a cheaper choice,” he says dryly. “But continue.”
He slides his patient, professional cop stare from me to Marcel, where it turns into more of an I-know-you’re-both-full-of-shit glare. “I suppose you installed the cameras with your girlfriend’s permission?”
“A buddy of mine did. But I helped him.” Marcel rubs his hand over my back. “Chuck hasn’t been thrilled about us dating. Wanted to make sure she was safe.”
“Uh-huh.” Liam grunts. “Right.” He jots down a few notes and glances up again at Marcel. “This buddy have a name? One of your brothers, I’m guessing?”
“Angus Frazier,” Marcel supplies and I realize I had no idea what Z’s real name was.
Liam ducks his head, speaking into the radio at his shoulder. “Who’s the guy out front?”
He listens to the low static that I can’t make out at all.
“Send him in.”
Z’s filling up my doorway a few seconds later.
“Have a seat, Mr. Frazier,” Officer Hollister says, nodding to one of my kitchen chairs that had been dragged into the living room earlier.
Before sitting, Z observes the scene around him. How close Teller and I are sitting. The injuries on my face and hands. I narrow my eyes and glare at him a little. In response, his mouth gives the barest hint of a twist.
“What can I help you with, officer?” Z asks in a disinterested tone.
“You place some equipment in Miss Clark’s apartment recently?”
Z doesn’t skip a beat. “Yup.”
“At her request?”
“Yup.”
“The purpose?”
“A safety precaution.”
He asks Z more technical details. While Officer Hollister was able to view the video of my uncle bursting into my apartment and our argument leading up to the stabbing on Marcel’s phone, the police want to have their own copy to examine. Z makes arrangements to provide it to them.
Officer Hollister stands. “Miss Clark, you’re not under arrest, but I’m going to caution you not to leave the area. Officially this is still under investigation.”
Marcel’s arm tightens around me. “I’m bringing her to my place, but it’s still in Empire County.”
“That’s fine.”
Marcel stands and shakes the officer’s hand. “Thank you.”
Officer Hollister jerks his head toward the door. “Let’s talk.”
Marcel leans down and kisses my cheek. “I’ll be right back.” He and Z share a look and a nod before Marcel follows his friend out the door.
Z sits up. “You okay, Charlotte?” The concern in his voice seems genuine. I don’t detect a hint of remorse for spying on me though.
“As good as one can be after getting attacked and finding out my boyfriend and his buddy invaded my privacy.”
There’s that twist to his mouth again, like either he can’t believe a female has the nerve to speak to him that way or he finds me entertaining.
“And if you say you did it for my own good, I’m going to kick you out of my apartment.”
His mouth stretches into a wide grin. “Not for your good.” He jerks his chin toward the door. “For his.”
I cross my arms over my chest and wince at the pain in my hand. “What else do you want me to do to prove myself?”
Z seems to understand that by you, I mean the club. He leans forward, elbows on his knees. “Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Were you this suspicious of Hope and Trinity?”
He takes the nosy question in stride. “Trinity? No. She’d been with the club a long time. Girl’s loyal to her core. Hope wasn’t as much of an issue of loyalty as it was understanding.”
“You didn’t want her to inadvertently bring unwanted attention to the club,” I say.
“Right.” He touches his chest. “Personally, I like you. I think if you were a rat, you would’ve sold out your uncle’s club a long time ago.”
“Never occurred to me, honestly. I don’t know what they’re into. Never wanted to know.”
“That’s good. A good ol’ lady doesn’t ask questions.”
I roll my eyes, and he laughs. “Hope’s a lawyer. She never asks questions?”
“Don’t know what she and Rock talk about in private. But in front of us? No.”
“What are they talking about?” I gesture toward the door.
/>
Without looking away, he answers, “Probably warning Teller not to retaliate against Merlin and let the police handle it.”
My hand flies to my mouth. “Oh, shit. I hadn’t thought of that.”
His lips quirk. “A little naive for a lawyer who grew up around bikers, no?”
“Forgive me, I did take a few knocks to the head.”
He doesn’t laugh at my sarcastic tone. In fact, the humor drains from his expression, leaving one pissed off biker across from me. “Don’t worry. He’s definitely going to pay for that.”
“Well, I did jam a knife into him.”
Our conversation ends when Teller steps back into the apartment, closing the door behind him with a quiet click. Z raises his eyebrows and Teller subtly inclines his head. I watch the unspoken exchange, trying to determine what they’re planning.
“What did he say?” I blurt out.
“Merlin’s in surgery. Once he’s stable, he’ll be discharged from the hospital straight to Empire County Jail.” Teller’s gaze falls on me. “Liam’s leaning toward self-defense. But it’s not totally up to him. You might have to give another statement.”
“I should probably have an attorney…” Mentally, I run over the criminal attorneys I know. Good God, I don’t want to have to call David and ask him to help me.
“Hope can do it,” Z suggests.
“Or I know someone if she can’t, or you don’t want to involve one of your friends,” Teller adds.
“Thanks.”
Teller sits next to me, taking my uninjured hand in his. “Tell me what happened now.”
“What?” I gasp in fake shock. “Your video didn’t have sound?”
Z chuckles. “No.”
A key scrapes in the door and Z reacts as if we’re under attack. “Relax. It’s probably my brother.”
“Hey, Charlotte—” Carter stops dead in his tracks. “What the hell?”
In all the craziness, I never called Carter to tell him what happened.
Carter eyes Z warily then Teller. “Hey, Teller. What’s going on?”
“Relax, kid,” Tellers says, introducing him to Z.
Z sits up and shakes Carter’s hand.
“Jesus, Char. What happened?”
I glance at Teller and I think he understands I only want to tell Carter a portion of what happened.
I recite a carefully edited version of events, leaving out my rape seven years ago and the cameras.
“What the fuck? He must be taking Mom’s death harder than we thought,” Carter says when I finish.
Is that what brought on his sudden bout of craziness? Or something else?
Clearly uncomfortable around Z and Teller, my brother stands and paces. “So this was all about you and Teller dating?” He stops and glares at Teller. “I warned you something like this would happen. You swore you’d protect her!” he shouts.
Shocked at my brother’s outburst, I open my mouth to defend Teller but he squeezes my hand and answers the accusation.
“I know, Carter. I should’ve seen this coming after the other day. I’m sorry,” Teller says.
“Carter, I’m fine.”
“There’s more to this you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
I duck my head. “No.”
“Charlotte.” The anguish in his voice makes me lift my head and meet his eyes. “What if someone else in the club comes after you?”
“I’m going to stay at Teller’s place tonight.”
His wary gaze shifts to Z and back to my face. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Teller seems to understand what my brother’s afraid of better than I do. “Z’s here to protect her, not hurt her, Carter.”
Z flashes an impishly innocent smile. “Truth.”
“The cops have his name,” I add. “If I go missing, they’ll know where to look,” I assure my brother.
Teller and Z both choke on their laughter.
My brother isn’t amused. His brows draw down in a scowl. “That’s not funny.”
“She’ll be safe at our clubhouse,” Teller says. “Chuck’s supposed to be transferred to Empire County Jail, but you can come too if you’re worried about him.”
“He doesn’t give a shit about me,” Carter says.
“You don’t want to stay here,” I warn him. “The kitchen’s still a mess.”
“I’ll go stay with Bianca.” He gives me a hug. “Call me later.”
After he leaves, Z chuckles and glances at Teller. “Now I understand why you like him so much.”
“Thanks for not shooting him,” I mumble.
Z seems offended. “He’s just worried about his sister. Although I hope he has some skills to back up that mouth. Not everyone he runs into is gonna be as understanding.”
I shake my head. “Not so much.”
Teller lifts his chin. “Good call not mentioning the cameras.”
“It would’ve traumatized him to find out you…” I say, nodding at Z “…watched him sleep all night long.”
Z laughs. “I wasn’t watching twenty-four-seven like a fuckin’ creeper.”
“There’s more to it than what you told the cops, isn’t there?” Teller asks. “Now that it’s just the three of us, what did you leave out?”
My gaze darts between Teller and Z. “Personal, family things.”
Thankfully, Z takes that as a cue to leave. “I’m heading to the clubhouse. I’ll let Rock know what happened. Tell the guys you’ll be up later so we can sit down at the table.”
I don’t like the sound of that at all. Sit down at the table is obviously biker code for discuss how to kill Merlin. I hold my tongue until Z leaves.
“Talk to me, Charlotte,” Marcel says, running his hand over my hair. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.”
“Don’t, Marcel. It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is. Carter’s right.” He flicks his gaze across the room. “I almost fuckin’ lost it when I saw the cops in front of your building.” He holds me against him, and I soak up his comforting warmth for a few minutes before pulling away.
Where to begin?
“He was pissed that I told you about what happened. Told me you wouldn’t want me because of it.”
“Fucking asshole.” He stares down at me. “You know that’s not true.”
I acknowledge that with a nod. “I pushed him. Hard. About the truth of that night. He had to know who it was or have some clue, but it only made him angrier.” Bits and pieces of what Chuck said click into place and my stomach lurches.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Composing myself, I begin again. “He said I was pathetic for still thinking about it and I said that’s why I told you, so you’d understand why I didn’t respect him or have any loyalty to him when it came time to choose.”
“Sunshine,” he croaks, holding me tighter.
“He lost it. I thought he was going to hurt me again. You know the rest.”
Violence shimmers in his eyes. And I know exactly what it means.
Someone touched me. Hurt his woman. Marcel’s planning my uncle’s death as we sit here.
Gently, I touch his arm, pulling him out of his trance. “Marcel, don’t. Please don’t do anything. I’m okay.”
He meets my eyes and gently rubs his thumb over my bruised cheek. “In no way is this okay. He hit you. Hurt you.”
“Well, I did stab him. So, I think we’re even.”
He doesn’t crack a smile. “Honestly, his club will probably punish him before I even get the chance.”
“What? No. Whisper wouldn’t—”
“Something like this brings too much unwanted attention. Makes him seem unstable. They might view him as a liability.”
My uncle’s words come back to me.
“You don’t want to keep trying to unravel this.”
I hope there’s time to pull the truth from my uncle before his club has him murdered.
When we arrive at the clubhouse, everyone’s clear
ly heard about Charlotte’s attack. Hope and Trinity meet us in the living room.
“Rock’s waiting for you,” Hope says. She leans in closer and in a lower voice adds, “I’ll take her back to our house and keep an eye on her while you’re at the table.”
My throat tightens, and Hope wraps her arms around me for a quick hug.
“Teller! Let’s go!” Z barks from inside the war room.
I give Charlotte one last kiss before Hope and Trinity lead her out of the clubhouse.
Z smirks when I step in the room. “Waitin’ on you, brother. Bricks, Dex, and Birch are down at CB. I’ll fill them in later.”
“One of you better fill me in now,” Rock growls.
I recount the story and when I get to the part about Charlotte plunging a knife in Merlin, Wrath lets out a low whistle.
“Go, Charlotte,” Murphy mutters.
“This was all over what happened to her seven years ago? Why is it suddenly an issue for him?” Rock asks.
“Carter suggested it was grief from his mom’s death, but I don’t know.”
Rock taps the table in front of him. “What do you want to do?”
“He hurt my girl.” My fists tighten. “I want to fucking rip him apart.”
“Wolf Knights will get to him first,” Wrath says. “No way Whisper’s gonna let that slide. They’re probably at the table voting in a new president right now.”
I turn to Rock. “If he makes it out alive, I want a piece of him.”
“Done.” Rock glances around the table. “Anything else?”
Z raises his hand. “I think we should all take a second and acknowledge the fact that Charlotte barely blinked when she found out we’d set up cameras in her apartment.”
Rock snorts and then laughs. “Poor girl.” He turns to me. “You explain it to her?”
“Yeah. She was pissed, but she understood. It also probably kept her from spending the night in jail.”
Z shakes his head and laughs. “Girl’s brave. Merlin knocked her around pretty good and she still had enough spunk to give me lip about the cameras.”
“She did? When?”
“When you were talking to your cop buddy.”
“He’s not my buddy,” I grumble.
“I didn’t take what she said as disrespect,” Z clarifies, glancing around the table. “She’s opinionated and has a backbone. But she’s also smart. She definitely understood the why of it.”