Page 30 of T-Bone
One of the best lessons I learned as a detective was that sometimes it was okay to wait when you didn’t have all the answers. I didn’t want to cram so-called facts into a theory, I wanted the truth. I stared at T-Bone, looking for any sign he wasn’t being honest.
“I checked the whole fuckin’ room. If you don’t believe me, check it yourself.”
“It’s not aboutbelievingyou,” I assured him. “But men have a tendency to miss things that are right in front of them.”
He snorted. “Your view of men is really fucking bleak, Faith.”
I shrugged. “Not bleak just realistic.” I turned to the final box inside Ashley’s closet and slid the lid off. Inside were photos. Finally, some clue about her life. There were photos of her and her brother when they were young with dirt-smudged faces andwide smiles. Photos of her as a budding artist with clay on her hands, paint on her shirt and another wide smile on her face. “She was beautiful.” She resembled her brother a lot, at least if he were a beautiful woman.
“It was just Ashley and Pike growin’ up, a lot like me and my sister. They grew up on the outskirts of Vegas, desert rats is what Pike called them. He was so damn protective of her, that’s why she moved to Red Rock, to put some distance between them. She didn’t want him andbiker buddiescockblocking her. Her words, not mine.”
I smiled. She was young and vibrant, like so many of the deaths I investigated in my old life. Another life snuffed out for no good reason. “Are you sure nothing ever happened between you two?”
He let out a frustrated grunt and dropped down on his haunches, so we were eye to eye. “Look, I know you hate men. We’re all liars, cheaters, and assholes, I got it. But I am not lying to you, goddammit. I never dated, never kissed, and definitely never fucked Ashley.”
His insistence was believable, but it felt like there was a piece of the puzzle missing. “Well, I had to ask.” Before he could respond, I flipped over one of the photos so he could see the reason for my questions.
T-Bone snatched the photo from my hand and flipped on his phone light. “What the fuck?” His shock seemed genuine.
“There are plenty more,” I finally shared with him. “Seems like Ashley had a crush.” The photos were mostly taken from a distance, and T-Bone seemed to be unaware that he was being photographed so I believed him, but I had to be sure.
“I had no fuckin’ clue.” He shook his head and handed the photo back. “She was flirtatious but nothing over the top. Ifigured she did it mostly to get a rise out of Pike, which it did.” He smiled wistfully and I ignored the way that look slithered down my belly and settled at the pulsing nub between my thighs.
“Your friend will want these photos. We should take them to the clubhouse for him.” I had very few photos of Chloe from adulthood, mostly because Marcus isolated her, so we didn’t spend a lot of time together during those final years, but also because she was pregnant for nine and a half months with Gemma, and afterwards she didn’t want to take pictures because she always had bruises in various states of healing.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” He stared at me for a long minute as if he didn’t recognize me.
I shook off the daze his look had caused and sighed. “We won’t be able to carry it on the bike but, I’m worried that something will happen to this stuff. Maybe I’ll just take a rideshare back to your clubhouse.”
“I don’t fucking think so.” He stood to his full height, a dark scowl on his face as he flipped over his phone. “Let’s put this shit in bags we can carry, and let’s get out of here.”
“Sounds good. Check the linen closet or the downstairs closet near the front door, it’s where I’d keep luggage.”
He stared at me for a long time, hands on his hips and a dark scowl marring his ruggedly handsome face. “You’re bossy.”
“So are you,” I shot back. “Looks like that’s something we have in common.” I flashed a smile up at him and then shooed him away because it was fun to ruffle his feathers. The moment he was gone, I grabbed the two journals and stuffed them under my jacket. I would give them back to Ashley’s brother… as soon as I finished reading them.
Ten minutes later we had a ton of stuff packed into duffel bags, backpacks, and a small carry-on suitcase, which was the easy part. Navigating the fences, backyards, gardens, and motion lights was harder, especially given the late hour. It took twice as much time getting back to the bike as it did getting to her house, but a nice surprise waited for us.
I turned to T-Bone and grinned. “You called your friends.” My tone was surprised and teasing, which made the other two bikers snicker.
He pulled his lips into his mouth like he was trying not to laugh. “We needed a way to get this shit to Pike.”
“So considerate,” one of them said in a faux feminine voice.
“Fuck off, Gio.”
The man, Gio, threw his head back and laughed as he relieved me of the bags I carried. “I’ll get these into the trunk.”
“Thank you.”
“Anytime, darlin’.” He was young, but even more good looking than he was charming. “T-Bone being good to you?”
“Mostly,” I shrugged. “Think I can hitch a ride in the car? My ass has had enough motorcycling for one day.”
His dark brows shot up. “Motorcycling?”
I nodded. “Yeah, you know riding on a motorcycle all day for hours at a time? Motorcycling.”
