Tartlet (Turf Wars #4) Read online

  I press my hand to my heart; Eve reaches over and squeezes my other one.

  “I only know this because I overheard Brad and him talking about it one day, they thought I wasn’t home. They were trying to come up with a way they could spin the story differently, but it didn’t work. I don’t know what they did with her, but obviously they dumped her body somewhere because she has never been found.”

  Oh my god.

  “Her phone pinged, because they didn’t check that it was on her. They turned it off, and well, that’s what they pinned on you. As well as a few other pieces of evidence they kept. It was their plan all along to pin it on someone, but for a while, they thought the matter had died down. That is until I went to the cops ...”

  “Why did it take you so long?” Beckett asks her.

  She doesn’t look at him, instead she looks at the ground. “After the mess I got myself into ... with you ... with all of it. I just couldn’t live with it anymore. I guess I felt like bad things were happening to me because of the secret I was keeping. So ... I went to the police and told them what I know.”

  “If you went to the police, why the hell did they come after me?” I ask.

  “You know how powerful Dad is, he has enough money to make anything go his way ...”

  That’s the thought that terrifies me the most.

  He probably has people on the inside to make shit disappear.

  God, am I really going to go down for this?

  I clutch at my stomach, feeling sick.

  “Hey,” Remy says, reaching over and taking my chin in his hand, turning my face toward him. “We’re not lettin’ you go down for this.”

  It’s sweet, that he thinks he can actually stop this.

  I don’t think he knows my father.

  Or knows that when he gets something in his mind, he always gets away with it.

  Always.

  “FUCK ME, YOU DON’T do that shit to me again.”

  I relish in the feeling of Rhett’s arms surrounding me, holding me so tightly I could easily stop breathing, but I wouldn’t care. I didn’t know just how much I needed this until this very second. I wish he had been able to see me sooner, because god, I needed him more than he’ll ever know.

  “It’s not over, Rhett,” I say, stepping back and looking up at him. “He’s very much going to make sure I go down for this.”

  Rhett shakes his head, his eyes narrowing. “I’ll tell you something, I won’t fucking let him take you down for this. If it means his blood is on my hands, then so be it.”

  “That won’t look suspicious at all.”

  Rhett grins. “Baby girl, you’re not going back to that prison.”

  Man, no wonder women swoon all over him.

  He knows what to say, and when.

  Remy walks into the room carrying two beers. The two men look at each other, but even they have to admit they’re on the same team. They might be from two very different worlds, but they both want what’s best for me.

  Remy hands Rhett a beer.

  “Appreciate you takin’ her in,” Rhett tells him. “And everything else you’re doin’ for her.”

  “She’s family,” Remy says, sitting on the sofa. “Do what you gotta do for family.”

  God dammit.

  Tears lodge in my throat, but I refuse to let them out.

  I’ve cried enough.

  “So, what do you think of my sexy new bracelet?” I say to Rhett when he sits down and I throw my foot up onto his lap.

  “Fuck me, could they make it any chunkier?” he mutters.

  I laugh. “You should try sleeping with it. I haven’t yet, but I can imagine it’s going to be shit.”

  Rhett nods in agreeance. “Nothin’ could make you any less beautiful, Gab. You rock it.”

  “Aw, stop being so sweet. It’s sickening. Let’s change the subject, how’s Rachel?”

  “Reaan,” he corrects me.

  “Fuck, I can never get them right. Can we just start calling them fling one, two, three, etcetera?”

  He grunts. “You can, but I’m not sure it’ll go down well.”

  “Maybe you should settle down, then I can just remember her name and be done with it.”

  “I’m good,” he looks somewhat horrified. “Women are too much drama.”

  “Fuckin’ here here,” Remy agrees.

  “Wow, you two are some great support.” I roll my eyes. “I’m going to shower. Rhett, are you staying?”

  “Can’t, Gab, I’ve got business. I’ll come by tomorrow, though.”

  “Okay,” I sigh, leaning down and giving him a hug. “Call me, yeah?”

  “Will do.”

  I turn and walk off, hearing their conversation slowly fade as I go to the shower. I get in and stare down at the ankle monitor. Part of me wishes it wasn’t waterproof and would just fucking die the second I get into the water, but alas, technology is far greater than my petty mind. I exhale, close my eyes, and step under the warm shower.

  Everything that’s happened fills my mind and repeats on a painful loop, over and over, drowning me.

  I clench my eyes shut, and then the tears come. The angry tears, the frustrated tears, the tears of utter betrayal.

  My own father.

  My. Own. Father.

  There is so much I want to say to him and I can’t even do that. I can’t call him, I can’t make contact in any way. I can’t tell him how much his little selfish act has ruined my life. He deserves to rot in prison, but I can’t help but think it’ll be me that does that and not him.

  Who am I compared to him?

  Nobody.

  The shower door opens, and a big, warm body fills the small space. I look up and see Remy, naked, standing in there with me. He looks down at me, and I know I look like a right mess. My face is no doubt looking incredibly unattractive right now. If there’s snot, I’m going to lose it. He takes my chin in his hand and studies me for a minute.

  I don’t know what he’s going to say, but I’m certain it’s not going to make me feel better.

  He doesn’t say anything.

  Instead, he leans down, and he kisses me.

  A kiss that takes my breath away.

  A kiss, that, for a second, makes everything feel better.

  His mouth is warm, and he tastes like beer. His body is hard against mine as he deepens the kiss by pulling me closer. I gasp, struggling to breathe as water streams down over us, but it’s the most incredible feeling in this world. Being with him, feeling the kindness coming from his body as he kisses me, it makes me feel better, even just for a second.

  We kiss until my mouth burns and my body aches. Only then does he hoist me up onto his hips, letting my body settle onto his as he presses me against the wall. His cock pushes against my pussy and oh god, I need him. I need him more than I could possibly need anything else in this very second.

  “Are you on the pill?” he growls, mouth against mine.

  “Yes.”

  “Fuckin’ thank god.”

  He pushes inside me, one swift movement that fills me, and oh, it feels incredible. Then he fucks me, right there against the shower wall, until my body convulses around his and my fingers make lines in his skin from the firmness of my grip. We both find our incredible release, and it’s exactly what I needed.

  He gave me exactly what I needed.

  As we dress, his eyes stay on mine, watching me with an intensity that I couldn’t even begin to pick apart. There is kindness in his eyes, compassion and warmth. Something flutters in my chest, and, in that moment, I know, I am developing feelings for Remy. Right now, I don’t need to be adding the pain of being rejected to the pain of getting locked away.

  Remy made it clear what he wanted.

  I have to switch this off.

  “I don’t know about you,” I say, looking away. “But I could eat.”

  “Already on it,” he murmurs, pulling a pair of shorts on and walking out of the bathroom, shirtless.

  I follow him, a
n ache in my chest that I wish would just go away, for one damned second.

  We eat, we talk, and by the time we’re done, I’m more than ready to sleep. I need to rest, god knows how much of it I’m going to get in the next few weeks.

  “Where should I sleep?” I ask him, crossing my arms as a chill takes over my body.

  “In my bed.”

  I blink. “With you?”

  “Well, who else is goin’ to be in my bed?”

  “I thought ... I thought this was ... you know, no attachment. That seems like a great way to form an attachment?”

  He walks over to me. “You tellin’ me that you don’t already have one?”

  I scrunch my face up. “To you? Gosh no, I mean, have you seen your back hair. It’s not nice.”

  He chuckles. “I don’t have back hair, babe.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  He grins. “Pretty damn sure.”

  “Well, if it’s not the back hair then it’s ...”

  “Gabby, it’s fine. You don’t have to play it off. I get it. I feel it too.”

  Oh.

  Right.

  Straight to the point.

  I bite my lip. “You do?”

  “Yeah, I do. Especially when you got arrested. Fuck, it made me crazy.”

  “Oh. Well. In that case, I guess I can sleep in your bed. You should know, sometimes I snore and it’s not a sweet, innocent snore, it’s like a bear with a cold.”

  He chuckles. “I’ll take it, now, let’s go. I’m not done with you.”

  Well.

  Okay then.

  14

  “OKAY, SO, WE ONLY HAVE one chance at gettin’ this right,” Riggs tells us all the next day in the garage, as we try to get back to a semi-normal life until this can get sorted.

  I insisted on coming back to work, I need something to take my mind off it.

  “Any suggestions how we do that?” Remy asks him. “The man is smart; he’s covered all his bases. It’s not goin’ to be easy to catch him out.”

  “No, it won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible. He was the one who buried that girl and because of that, his DNA will be all over her body.”

  “Wait,” I say, shaking my head, “you want to find her body?”

  “He couldn’t have gone far. Fact is, he is smart but he’s not a killer which means he likely didn’t think everything through. If we can find her, we can not only put her family’s minds to rest, but we can have him locked away for life.”

  “You don’t just go find a body, Riggs,” I say, shaking my head. “That’s not how it works.”

  “No, you’re right, it isn’t, but Bradley knows where that body is.”

  “Brad isn’t going to help. Brad is so far up my father’s ass they’re one of the same,” I mumble.

  “You think there’s not a reason for that?” Riggs goes on, crossing his arms. “Bradley wants what your father has, and if we can convince him of how well off he’ll be if your father is locked away, we might just sway him in our direction.”

  I shake my head. “He’s so loyal, he won’t do it.”

  “I think you’re wrong,” Remy says, carefully. “I think he will do it. The man is as fuckin’ selfish and power hungry as your father. He wants to run that empire and, given the chance, I think he’ll take it.”

  “And if he doesn’t take it,” I snap. “Then what? My father knows your little plan and that body will never be found again.”

  “It’s the only chance we have, Gabby,” Remy says carefully. “Your father is too powerful for us to use what little evidence we have. Even if Becky testifies, there is no proof her story is true. It won’t hold up.”

  “Maybe what they have against me won’t hold up either,” I say, almost desperately. “Maybe we just let this play out. They don’t have much against me, surely no jury is going to believe I did it.”

  “Are you goin’ to take that risk?” Hugh pipes up. “Are you honestly okay with that?”

  Fuck.

  I close my eyes, struggling for calm. “Okay, so let’s say we do get Brad, how the fuck are you going to convince him to risk everything and help you?”

  “We’re pretty persuasive.” Riggs grins. “And he doesn’t have to help us, he just needs to tell us where that body is. Then he can go back to sucking up your dad’s ass, he’ll never know anything better, and by the time he does, he’ll be in prison for a very fucking long time.”

  “What about if he calls a hit against Brad, for telling, that’s a possibility,” I point out. “Brad will be too scared that’ll happen and won’t say a word.”

  “Your father wouldn’t know where to fuckin’ start,” Riggs mutters. “This is our only option, Gabriella. If we can’t find that body, we’ve got nothing but he said she said, and that ain’t enough to keep you out of prison.”

  “Fuck,” I mutter. “Fuck. What if I can get him to confess? I can go over there wired ...”

  “Your dad ain’t that stupid, honey,” Remy says gently. “He’s not goin’ to say a word.”

  “There has to be something,” I cry. “This is the worst plan ever.”

  “It’s the only one we’ve got, and we need you on board. Becky agrees, and she’s willing to help.”

  I bite my tongue, so hard I taste blood.

  I don’t have a choice here.

  They’re making that clear.

  “I need a break, for just a second,” I say. “I’m going to Wildflowers.”

  I turn and walk off, because, honestly, I don’t know how much more I can take.

  If this doesn’t work ... which it won’t, then I’m going down.

  Forever.

  God dammit.

  “HOW ARE YOU, DEAR?” Doris asks me when I sit down beside her table with a muffin and a coffee.

  I glance over, not even realizing she was there. “Oh, hey, Doris.”

  “I heard about your little prison stay,” she tells me, her face softening just a touch. “I bet that wasn’t fun.”

  “Well, I came out in one piece so it wasn’t horrible,” I tell her.

  “I went to prison once,” she goes on, one of her usual stories. “There was this man and he wouldn’t leave me alone. He was obsessed with me. One day, during a time he was following me, I had enough. I took off my heel and whacked him right over the head with it. Maybe more than once. He had me charged for assault, and the police locked me up for a night. But I’d do it all over again, dear.”

  I laugh. “God, only you could attack someone with a heel.”

  She nods. “Well, it was all I had on me at the time. Why did you go to prison?”

  “Murder,” I say, blank faced. “Only it wasn’t me.”

  Her eyes widen. “Oh my, oh dear. I must know more.”

  She gets up from her table and joins mine. I tell her everything and she listens, sipping her coffee every few minutes and not once taking her eyes off me.

  “Oh dear, that’s terrible. I know what you should do, you need to have that really handsome biker gang go to your father, tie him up, and torture him until he confesses. It’ll work, it works every time. I watched a movie the other day where they cut off his fingers, one by one, until he spoke up.”

  “Jesus, Doris. You’re too old to be watching that stuff.”

  “Nonsense, dear, there’s nothing like a good horror. Anyway, that’s what you need to do.”

  “My father is too smart for that. He won’t let anyone get their hands on him.”

  She waves a hand. “Oh, rubbish. He can’t stay inside forever. That club, oh, they’d make him talk.”

  “And then they’d get into trouble,” I point out.

  She scoffs. “They’re smarter than that. All they need is to get him to tell them where the body is ...”

  She makes a point.

  A really valid point.

  Maybe this plan is better than the other one.

  Perhaps this is the only way to sort this out. If we take my father and make him talk, then m
aybe, just maybe, we might have a chance. It has to be better than what they’re planning.

  It’s terrifying that an old woman gave me the idea, but I’m certain if you spent long enough with Doris, she could tell you things that would make your skin prickle. The woman has lived some life, there’s no doubt about that.

  “You know, Doris, you’re smarter than people give you credit for.”

  “Oh, I know, dear.”

  I laugh. She’s priceless, that’s for certain.

  “Hey,” Eve says, coming to the table, face flustered. “Sorry I haven’t stopped and talked to you yet, it has been crazy in here today. Are you okay?”

  I nod. “Doris has been keeping me company. Actually, she has given me an idea. I’m going to go and see Riggs.”

  Eve narrows her eyes. “Is that safe?”

  “Probably not.” I laugh. “But it’s worth doing.”

  I stand and smile at Doris. “As always, your life advice is on point.”

  She smiles up at me. “Just remember, teeth, hands and feet ... very good for identifying a person. So be careful with those.”

  Oh, Jesus.

  I laugh and walk out.

  I want to be Doris when I grow up.

  I’m certain everyone does.

  15

  “IT’S RISKY,” RIGGS says, crossing his arms.

  “Maybe, but you can’t tell me you haven’t done worse. If my father is going to talk, it’ll be because he is terrified for his life.”

  “The problem with that is,” Adan pipes up, “if we let him go and he goes to the cops ...”

  “What is he going to say? A bunch of bikers kidnapped him and made him confess? He’s not that stupid.”

  “I have an idea,” Poppy pipes up. “Remember that cop, who wanted me to get information on the club?”

  “Dane?” Ramona says.

  “Yeah, I feel like if we talk to him, he’ll consider this. If it’s him who makes the arrest ... he can make whatever my father says work in our favor. I think he could make this easier.”