Shade's Lady
Page 46

I raised a brow because I damned well could kill every last one of the little bitches. I’d do it, too. Had to clean out the trailer first, though.
“We got a problem, boss.” Dopey said. “Cop just pulled up.”
“Fuck,” I muttered, stepping toward the window.
Heath Andrews was outside, and he was moving fast. Halfway across the lawn already. Hannah and Mandy were hanging on his arms like rag dolls, for all the good it did them. From the look on his face, he knew something was off and he wasn’t going to stop until he figured it out. Probably because he’d seen Randy’s car, I realized. He had a whole goddamned county to cover, yet he still found time to cruise by Hannah’s place every five minutes.
This was gonna complicate things. Complicate them a hell of a lot.
“Get this cockwad into the back bedroom,” I said, kicking Randy’s chair.
Dopey and Thrash grabbed it, dragging it toward the hallway. Bax—the prospect we’d brought along to take Randy’s place—scooped up the drugs and money, making for the bathroom. I raised my gun, training it on the door, realizing there was no fucking way we could cover this up.
It crashed open and I stood, waiting, as Heath Andrews stepped into the room, his own gun raised and ready for action. Hannah was right behind him, followed closely by Mandy.
I met him head on and everyone froze.
Standoff.
His eyes took in everything. I could tell that Dopey and Thrash hadn’t made it to the bedroom from Hannah’s low moan. Apparently seeing Randy in all his half-dressed and bloody glory was a bit of a shock. Yeah, there wasn’t gonna be an easy way to explain this one.
My mind raced, searching for a solution.
With any other guy, I’d try a bribe. Unfortunately, Heath Andrews was straight up. We’d reached out to him several times already, and while most of his fellow officers were more than willing to accept a little Reaper cash on the side, Andrews had made his position clear.
He followed the law. Period.
That same law said this was assault and kidnapping, with possession thrown in just for fun. If I let him arrest us, Mandy and her sister would get pulled in as accomplices, and all three of those little girls would find their asses in foster care.
Then they’d be sitting ducks for their dad’s associates.
Hell, even if I shot the fucker, odds were good the noise would draw witnesses and we could find ourselves surrounded by SWAT. Not even the Reapers could get away with killing a cop in cold blood. At least, not without careful planning.
“Girls, get the hell out of here,” the deputy said, his voice steady.
“You should go, Hannah,” Mandy agreed quickly. “She had nothing to do with this, Heath. It’s all my fault. Go to Sara’s place, Hannah. Ask to borrow her car and start driving.”
“That’ll make a bad situation a hell of a lot worse. Come inside and shut the door,” I ordered. Hannah’s eyes darted between me and Heath, frozen in indecision. “You go to your friend’s house and get her car, that’ll just drag her into it, too. We can still control how this plays out.”
“No. We have to stop,” Hannah said, her voice quavering. “It’s one thing to hurt Randy. He deserves it. Heath hasn’t done anything.”
“Tell me what’s really going on here,” Andrews insisted, holding his gun steady. Something was strange here, I decided. Something off about the way he was handling this. He wasn’t acting like a cop. For one thing, he hadn’t stopped to call for backup. He’d barged in like an angry boyfriend ready to clean house. Out of uniform, and that sure as shit wasn’t a service issue gun… Suddenly, the pieces fell into place.
Andrews wasn’t just dating Hannah—he was in love with her. He’d come in here ready to handle Randy in whatever way necessary.
I was about to bet my life on it.
“Hannah’s fuckwad of an ex has been hiding drugs in the house,” I said bluntly, laying it all out. “Not only that, he owes people money. Some of them were here earlier looking for it. Threatened Hannah. Said they’d take the girls if she didn’t pay. I’m sure you can imagine what they’d do with them. We’re here to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
The deputy’s jaw clenched and his eyes went flat.
“Hannah, is that true?”
“Yes,” she replied softly.
“You should’ve called me,” he said, his voice full of tightly banked fury.
“Mandy’s on probation,” she whispered. “And we’ve only gone out together a couple of times. I was afraid you’d throw her in jail.”
“Jesus Christ,” Andrews said, shooting her a quick glance. “Jesus fucking Christ, Hannah. We—no. We’ll talk about that later. Right now, we focus on making this go away. How solid is your plan?” he asked me.
My hunch had been right.
“It’s solid,” I told him. “Everything is in place. We only brought in Mandy and Hannah to get him here and set up what happens next.”
“The girls will need an alibi,” Andrews said. Hannah seemed confused by what was happening, but Mandy’s eyes widened in understanding and something like wonder. She’d figured it out. “I can provide that, but your club has to deal with the evidence. This conversation never happened. As far as I’m concerned, I saw the bastard’s car here and stopped by to check on Hannah. Randy was inside picking up some stuff and I thought he was bad news, so I’m taking Hannah and Mandy with me. We’ll grab the kids and do something that will take the rest of the afternoon and evening. Something public.”
The deputy glanced behind me toward Hannah’s ex. “Do what you have to do and don’t give me any of the fucking details.”
I exhaled slowly, part of me sure it was a trick. Logic said it was—Heath Andrews upheld the law and he didn’t fuck around. Everyone knew that. But the look on his face… I knew that look. He’d decided to do something ugly and he didn’t care.
“Why?” I asked, needing the words.
“Why do you think?” Heath said. “It’s for Hannah—her and the kids. If you and I work together, I think we can pull it off. You’ll need to burn down the trailer, though. Destroy the evidence. I can’t see any way around it.” He shot a glance at Hannah. “Sorry, sweetheart, but it’s gotta go. The trace evidence will come back on us otherwise.”