Regardless, the sheriff took my statement and assured me they were working overtime on it.
“Does that mean you’re not wasting your time on the club and working to make sure you’re actually protecting and serving the community?” I asked sweetly.
Swiss, who had been hard faced during the interview grinned. Elden did not.
Nor did the sheriff.
“I’ll be doing everything I can,” he replied. “If you remember anything else, please let us know.”
“You’ll be the first person I call,” I lied.
His eyebrow twitched, but he didn’t say anything else, just nodded and walked out.
“Promise me you’re not going to get involved with this anymore,” I said to Sariah.
She blew out a raspberry. “Babe, I’m staring at you in a fucking hospital bed after he tried to kill you. How can I not get more involved?”
My heart hammered at the thought of my brave, feisty, impulsive friend doing anything for me. “Because I need you as my baby’s godmother and my maid of honor.”
Her eyes widened. “Way to bury the fucking lede!” she shrieked. “You’re getting married?”
I nodded. “It seems Elden is no longer willing to take no for an answer, and I’m no longer willing to refuse him.”
“About fucking time,” she beamed at me. “Now, I love that you’re independent and fighting the system and all that jazz,” she waved her hand, “but you and Elden are something else, babe. And you procreating is really helping out humanity because your babies will be gorgeous badasses.” She looked at my stomach. “You could be growing the first female president in there.”
“There is definitely going to be a female president before then,” I told her. “Fuck,youcould be the next female president.”
“I would rock that shit,” Sariah agreed, tapping a finger to her lips. “But I’d never pass the background check.” Her eyes narrowed. “Plus, we’re getting off topic. Wedding... When, where, and most importantly, do I get to choose my own dress?”
I grinned and let Sariah go off on a wedding planning tangent, unable to shake my dread, my certainty, that this was not over.
ELDEN
We were holding church in the hospital chapel. Something I might’ve found ironic and amusing had my pregnant woman not been lying in a hospital bed.
The only reason I was leaving her was because we had two Prospects at her door and Sariah inside with her.
Even if anyone did manage to get past two armed Prospects, they stood no chance with my woman’s best friend. I knew a couple of patched members who were equally scared to death of the woman and infatuated with her.
Javier was one of them. It should’ve relieved me that he was no longer brave enough to look or speak to Violet, but something about the fuck still rubbed me the wrong way.
“What do we have?” I barked the second the door to the chapel closed.
Despite knowing logically that Violet was safe, I could barely stand not being able to see her, not being able to use the image of her clean, breathing, beautiful and unharmed to chase away the one of her covered in blood. If I couldn’t hear her voice, then I couldn’t drown out the sound of her fighting against a fucking serial killer.
Everyone’s faces were grim. This had rocked everyone.
Jenna had been new but well liked.
Lucas was hit hardest, he had taken a liking to her. But everyone was shaken.
This had nothing to do with the club. This was something different. Something wrong and evil that had made its way into our world, had touched our women.
“He must’ve had a vehicle somewhere close,” Jagger said, face stormy. “We didn’t even get a glimpse of him when we made chase.”
“He also overrode the club’s security,” Colby shared. “Cameras, gates, everything.”
That was no mean feat. The security was done in tandem with Greenstone and Wire from the Amber chapter. That shit was top notch and rivaled some of the most high-tech government shit.