Page 47 of Rockstar Untamed
“Of course. Look, we’re going to keep some people here for protection and to keep the press away. Someone must have called them almost as soon as it happened. Some journalists are outside now, but we’re keeping them away from the gate. Would you come with us now, Mr. Creed, before they start flocking?”
Sailor told him she would wait for him at home and he went to grab a sweater. Sailor pulled Jim Wallis aside. “How did she die, Detective Wallis? Please tell me. Bart…he has a favorite method.”
Jim Wallis hesitated then sighed. “Ms. Fonseca was stabbed repeatedly, Miss King.”
“In the abdomen?”
He nodded and Sailor sighed. “Yes. That’s Bart’s mo. That’s what turns him on. I just hope to god that Tim didn’t see it happen.”
“I hope so too.”
Bodhi gazed down at the face of his much-loved friend. In death, Soleil was just as beautiful, but the sparkle, her light, her humor, her energy…now Bodhi knew what the term ‘snuffed out’ really meant. She lay naked under a blood-soaked sheet; the medical examiner hadn’t had time to clean her wounds yet, but it was obvious where she had been stabbed, how horrifically she had been murdered.
“God, Solly, I’m so sorry,” he whispered again and again. Her eyes were closed, and Bodhi couldn’t understand how he’d never see them dance with laughter again. How couldSoleil, of all people, be dead?Funny, smart, sexy, loving Solly.His tears dripped onto her face as he kissed her cold forehead and he heard the medical examiner cough. Jim Wallis touched his arm.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Creed but, you know, chain of evidence.”
Bodhi nodded. “Of course.” He shook his head, still unable to believe Soleil was dead. He turned to Jim Wallis. “We need to call Claudio Fonseca now before the press puts this online.”
They were too late. Sailor took the call from a near hysterical Claudio, who screamed at her that it was her fault Soleil was dead, and why the hell hadn’t they called him immediately and how could his beloved sister bedead?
Sailor took it all, every word of abuse, feeling like she deserved it. Finally, when Claudio, sobbing, had calmed down, he asked to speak to Bodhi. “He’s not here, Claudio…he’s at the medical examiner’s office…identifying Solly’s body.”
Another wave of ranting, and cursing in Italian. Sailor waited for him to finish, feeling as if she were in the body of someone else. Numb. “Claudio, Tim is missing. They took Tim. If you think you’re the only one blaming me for this, you’re wrong.”
The phone went dead. Sailor put her cell phone down gently, and steadying herself, switched on the television. Sure enough, Soleil’s murder was breaking news on every channel. A photograph of Bodhi Creed’s now dead ‘girlfriend’ was front and center, along with a photograph of Tim.
Too late, Sailor realized they had forgotten someone in the terror, the horror of Tim’s abduction. Someone who, if they had seen this broadcast, would now be in hysterics.
Tim’s mother. Gemma.
Her legs shaking, Sailor went to find a police officer. There was a commotion at the front door, and for a terrible moment, Sailor thought the press had got in. A moment later, a smartly dressed man with short brown hair and a kind but serious face approached her.
“Miss King?”
Sailor nodded, glancing at the officer behind the newcomer who nodded. The visitor saw her hesitation and reached into his pocket for his i.d.
“Miss King, my name is Evan Teal, I’m an F.B.I, agent and…”
Sailor recognized the pain in his eyes and immediately knew just who he was. “And the man who brought up Tim.”
Evan Teal nodded, and Sailor did the only thing she could think of to do in this situation. She hugged him.
Evan hugged her back tightly. In this situation, they were family even if they had never met before. When they released each other, Sailor led him to sit on the couch with her. Evan ran a hand through his short brown curls. “Sailor, please, just tell me everything.Everything.I called Gemma; she’s on her way down, so for everyone’s benefit, let’s get it all out in the open.”
Sailor had braced herself for the torrent of rage coming her way, but when Claudio and Gemma arrived at the same time, she realized she had under estimated. The grief and anger were all-consuming and entirely directed at her, so much so that by the time Bodhi arrived home, Sailor had been corned by both of them and was almost cringing at the force of their barrage.
“What thefuckis going on?”
Bodhi batted Claudio and Gemma out of the way and stepped in front of Sailor. “Enough!”
Both Claudio and Gemma were silent then. Bodhi turned to Sailor. “You okay, baby?”
She nodded, too stunned to speak. Bodhi turned back to his friend, and the mother of his beloved Tim.
“Stop it,” he said gently, “both of you. This isn’t Sailor’s fault. This is the work of a very, very sick man. Claudio, I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am…Soleil didn’t deserve this. She was murdered because I stupidly believed she and Tim were safe, that Sailor was the only one at risk. I should have insisted on them taking a bodyguard, but, from what I understand, they were ambushed by a few people.”
“And my son?” Gemma’s voice broke.
