Shade's Fall
Page 55

“Evie said someone deliberately set the fire,” Lily told him.
“Yes. Knox came out this morning and took the evidence he needed. Whoever it was slipped into the party last night with a hanger-on. We have a description. It’s only a matter of time before we find her.”
“Her?” Lily repeated, shocked.
“Yes,” Shade answered.
“Why?”
“We think it was another attempt on your life,” Shade told her.
Knox sat down at the table and she asked, “Why does someone want me dead? I don’t understand.” Lily looked for answers from the two men.
“We don’t know yet, but when we find who started the fire, we will.”
She shivered at the cold look of purpose on both men’s faces. She almost felt sorry for the person who’d set the fire. Only the knowledge of how many could have been killed had Lily keeping her mouth closed.
Everyone finished eating then Viper organized them all into one team as a cleanup crew and another to put up new drywall. Lily got up to go downstairs.
“No. You stay up here and start dinner for everyone.” She didn’t argue with Viper. She hadn’t looked forward to going downstairs and seeing the destruction while everyone was present.
Shade hung back once the other members had left. “You need anything?”
“No. Shade, maybe it would be better if I left. I don’t want to endanger anyone.” Lily didn’t want anyone hurt because of her.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said, pulling her to him. “It’s because you were here with all the security we had that it wasn’t much worse. We slipped up because we didn’t think someone was brave enough to actually make a move on you in the house. We won’t make that mistake twice.”
Lily bet they wouldn’t. Anger had poured off the men in waves. They wouldn’t make a deadly mistake twice.
“Beth will be back soon. Go shopping, get out of the house for a while. Razer will go with you two.”
“That sounds good. I’m ready to get out for a while.”
Shade touched his mouth to hers briefly before going downstairs.
Lily texted Beth with the plans then quickly threw together two crockpots full of stew to simmer while she and Beth were gone. She had just finished when Beth returned to get changed out of her uniform.
“Give me a minute while I get changed.”
It didn’t take long and then they drove into town with Razer following behind on his bike.
Treepoint wasn’t large, but it had two sizable stores that Lily should have no problem finding a new wardrobe of clothes from.
She tried on several dresses at their first stop; however, nothing was making her happy. She left disappointed. A few doors down, they went into the second department store. After they had been looking around for a while, Beth stopped.
“You go on ahead. I have a call I need to make.”
Thinking she needed to check in with her patients, Lily continued to go through the women’s department, searching through the racks. She picked out several dresses that she thought could work and a new pair of jeans before going to the fitting room.
Beth showed up as she was about to enter. “Those are very pretty. I’ll wait out here while you try them on.”
Lily tried one on after the other, unsatisfied with any of them. She pulled off the pair of jeans, the last item she’d had to try, and folded them back up. Giving the clothes to the attendant, she went out to Beth empty-handed.
“No success?”
“No. I don’t know what’s wrong. I’ll just go to the discount store and pick up a few things until I find something else,” Lily was explaining when several women stared through the aisle at the convoy of women entering the department store.
Lily turned to Beth with a suspicious look. Beth merely grinned back, not trying to hide the fact she had called in reinforcements.
“I thought we could use a little help,” Beth admitted.
No sooner had she said those words than Sex Piston and her crew stopped in front of them. “Well, I’m glad someone finally had the sense to ask me for my fashion advice.”
Lily stared at the obviously pregnant biker woman dressed in leather leggings and a bright red top with a metallic Harley studded on the front. Her baby bump was emphasized by the tightness of the red shirt that should have clashed with her red hair; instead it only highlighted the deep, rich tones of it.
Killyama pulled out one of the dresses from a nearby rack, shuddering before hastily putting it back. “No wonder the bitch couldn’t find anything. My mom wouldn’t buy anything here and she’s stoned out of her fucking mind.”
Lily heard the saleswoman a few feet away gasp at the insult.
“Let’s get out of here,” Sex Piston said, leaving without waiting for any objections.
Lily and Beth followed the women down two blocks to a newer store that had opened recently. Sex Piston flung the door open, strutting inside as if she was the one who owned it.
Lily watched as the women spread throughout the store, searching for clothes for her. She could only stare helplessly at her sister who was going through the racks, ignoring her incriminating glances. Lily decided she had better get busy going through the racks or she would be talked into buying clothes that she would never dream of wearing.
After she had searched fruitlessly, finding nothing that she considered would do, Fat Louise came and led her to the dressing room where everyone was waiting. Each woman handed her clothes to try on, despite the saleswoman’s protests that only a certain number of clothes were allowed.
“Get lost. We’ll take care of her.” Killyama’s threatening glare had the woman retreating back to the cash register just as Sex Piston barged into the dressing room, pulling a chair up outside her changing room door.
“If you don’t come out and show me, then I’ll come in there,” she threatened. Lily nodded half-heartedly.
She tried on several items but was too embarrassed to open the door.
“Are you crying?” Sex Piston asked, astounded.
“No.” Lily’s voice wobbled when she answered.
“Open the fucking door and let me see.”
Lily slowly opened the door. “I’m not crying.” She wasn’t. She had kept her promise to herself; she was just having a hard time keeping it.
Sex Piston took a look at her face then looked up at the ceiling. Lily thought it was strange, but she waited several seconds before Sex Piston looked back down at her.
Sex Piston’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. “I’m more emotional now that I’m pregnant. Now, we’re going to pull on our big-girl panties and get this done or I’m going to pick everything out for you myself. Okay?”
“Okay.” Lily took a deep breath and tried on a dress. She opened the door.
“No,” Sex Piston said firmly, running critical eyes over the dress on her body.
Lily shut the door and changed again before opening the door.
“Fuck no.”
She tried on a skirt with a matching top.
“Yes.”
She closed the door again, also happy with the clothes. She tried another.
The gagging noises Sex Piston made when she opened the dressing room door were self-explanatory. Lily shut the door with a snap.