“Oh, my God,” Cora said. “I ran into Alice at the store the other night. She was angry and said she left him because she believed he was having an affair. She said she found a necklace while going through his things, but he told her it wasn’t for her.”
“She must’ve found it and worn it to spite him that day,” Happy said. “Maybe to accuse him of buying it for another woman.”
An ambulance siren wailed in the distance, and Happy glanced down at Slice. “They’re here now. Just hang on.” But Slice was beyond hearing. He lay pale as a ghost. If not for the shallow rise and fall of his chest, he might’ve been beyond helping.
The ambulance came screaming into the parking lot. Three paramedics jumped out and ran toward them. They immediately began administering to Slice, and Happy filled them in on what had transpired as two squad cars pulled up.
In the melee of activity, Liam pulled Cora aside. “We have to go after Boyd.” There was so little time left for him, and he vowed he’d do everything he could to help Cora find justice for the innocents who’d died. Now that he knew it was Boyd, he was more driven than ever. A chilling anger had begun growing and spreading inside him ever since Happy told them Boyd was the killer. Liam should’ve seen it. How could he not have detected that Boyd was so evil? Because Liam had a history with Boyd, and they’d been on the other side of the law together back in his old life, he felt almost responsible for what had happened. He should have known.
“Happy’s calling it in right now, but we have no idea where he went. And Captain Thompson’s too smart to stay in his own car. He’ll know we’re looking for him. I just can’t believe he’d do something like this,” Cora said, looking ill. “Taking bribes and stealing is bad enough, butmurder?”
“You don’t know Boyd like I do,” Liam said darkly. “There’s not much a man won’t do if he’s desperate enough. Back in Ireland life was brutal. There was no opportunity for a better future. We were hungry and angry and hopeless. We were thieves, Cora.”
“But you didn’t kill people.” She stared at him with absolute conviction, and it was humbling.
“No, of course not,” Liam said. “I would never have done anything like that. But I can’t say the same for Boyd. He was always hotheaded and stubborn. He didn’t always think things through. I don’t know exactly what happened the night of John Brady’s murder, but I wouldn’t put it past Boyd to kill someone if they stood in the way of him gaining a fortune. Look what he was willing to do to Slice just to cover it up.”
The paramedics were strapping Slice onto a stretcher when Eli Shelton and Bear rode up on their motorcycles. The growling roar of the engines was nothing compared to their angry faces.
Eli swung a leg over his bike and shot toward the paramedics like a swarm of angry hornets. “What the hell happened to my boy?” Even though the president of the Booze Dogs was an older man and not physically in his prime, he looked mad enough to do serious damage. Bear, the supersized muscle head, was slower to get off his motorcycle, but he looked just as deadly.
Liam caught Eli’s upper arm to keep him from interfering. “There’s nothing you can do right now. Leave them be. You’ll just be in the way.”
Eli barked out a litany of swear words and tried to yank his arm away as Liam tightened his grip. “If you want him to live, you’ll leave them to do their jobs. Every second they have to deal with you is a second you take from Slice.”
“Let him go,” Bear snarled, advancing on Liam. The man’s legs were so swollen with muscle it was a wonder the ground didn’t shake beneath his feet. Liam released Eli and braced for a potentially painful fight. Bear was huge, but Liam was fast. What he lacked for in bulk, he could make up for in speed. He knew from experience men like this packed a powerful punch, but that only counted if they could catch him. He just had to stay alert and remain fast on his feet.
“Enough,” Cora said, her voice ringing with authority. “There isn’t time for this. And Liam’s right.” She held her hand out to stop Bear from going any farther, and to Liam’s surprise, it worked. It never ceased to amaze him how she managed to stay visibly unruffled in times of stress. “Slice was stabbed,” she continued evenly. “But our officer arrived when it happened, so was able to call the paramedics in time.”
“Tell me who did this.” Eli was so angry spittle flew from his mouth as he closed in on Cora. “Slice called us not fifteen minutes ago, saying he was in trouble.”
“I’ll tell you,” Liam said. “But first, back up and give her some space.” He didn’t like the way both bikers were looming over her.
Cora glanced at Liam as the two men took a step back. She lowered her voice and murmured, “Liam, we shouldn’t tell them anything until there’s been an official statement.”
“They have a right to know,” he told her. “Slice is one of theirs, and it’s only a matter of time before everyone finds out.” When she gave a reluctant nod, he turned to Eli and Bear. “It was Boyd Thompson.”
Eli’s eyebrows shot up, and then lowered into a murderous scowl. “That captain scum tried to kill our boy?” He barked out a string of curse words too fast for Liam to commit to memory. For a normally surly individual, Eli was angrier than ever. Heaving like he was about to breathe fire, with his crimson face twisted into a mask of fury, Liam caught a glimpse of what a formidable man the bike club president must’ve been back when he was in his physical prime. “This is why I hate doing business with you filthy, no-good, lying pigs,” Eli spit. “Where is he?”
“We don’t know where the captain is,” Cora said, ignoring his insults. “Only that he drove away right before we arrived. Did Slice say anything else to you when he called? Anything that could help us locate him?”
Eli shared a look with Bear, then said flatly, “No.”
“But, Prez, the captain could be headed thereright now,” Bear growled. “We can’t let him get away.”
“I saidno,” Eli hissed.
“The longer we stand here, the better Boyd’s chances of disappearing,” Liam said, noticing the flicker of indecision on Eli’s face. “Tell us what you know.”
Eli jutted his chin. “No, I’ll take care of it. Most of my men are at an event right now. It’ll take me some time to call them in, but we’ll deal with it.”
Cora crossed her arms. “If you’re talking about one of your Wednesday night cage fights at the old barn, they’re too far away. By the time you call your guys in to search for Captain Thompson, he’ll be long gone.”
Eli’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “What cage fights?”
Liam wondered the same thing. Cora had never mentioned anything about that before.
“We’re losing time,” she said in frustration. “I’ve known about your operation for a while now. I just haven’t reported it yet.”