“What the fuck is this?” I ask more to myself, but that bitch answers me.
“Your death. Isn’t it brilliant? I waited a long time to see that shit,” Shelby says as I look over my shoulder at her.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means you. Are. Dying. Understand? We all have a fate, Sly. You sent me to mine and now I can watch as you fall into yours. Did you really think you could get rid of me that easily? We are one and the same, baby. Both born and bred from the pits of hell. Look at us now!” She cackles, pissing me off a little more.
I turn back to take in the scene that’s playing out behind the window. Gauge has his hand on Shaft’s shoulder, a tear in his eyes. What the hell? Glancing down at the bed, I look…dead. Blood pools on the floor under the gurney. I didn’t think that bullet hit me anywhere vital.
“You can always go back.” Spinning around, I come face to face with Chris.
“What the hell?”
“The irony,” he chuckles.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Why not? You think I was a good man?” he questions.
“Yeah, you were!”
“I know, I’m just fucking with you man. I’m not really here per se. Look, I get it, Sly, but you can’t blame yourself. You were doing what you do. It doesn’t matter now. It’s over.”
“I killed you. My fuckin’ neglect killed you!”
“It wasn’t your neglect. You couldn’t have known. No one did. Stop blaming yourself.”
“I ruined everything.”
“She needs you.”
“What?” I ask him confused.
“Fab needs you. She can’t go through life without you. They are going to come after her.”
“Who? Who’s coming after her?” I nearly beg him for information, but he slowly fades into the darkness that now surrounds me.
“Chris!” I call out for him, but I can’t see him. Slowly a fire begins to burn in the middle of the room. It starts out small but slowly begins to build, becoming larger and higher. I can feel the heat almost as if it’s scalding my skin.
“Chris?” I ask once more when something sharp rips through my chest. I look down but there is nothing there. Then I feel it again but like the first time, there is nothing there.
Chapter Seventeen
“Ugh!” I scream loudly as I throw the leather across the room. Deb watches me intently, but she doesn’t say anything. I pick up another piece and begin to knot it to the others when I just can’t. Tears build in my eyes when I hear the knock on the door. Deb moves to answer it as I rest my head in my hands.
“Who the hell are you?” Instantly, my eyes move across the room to see a tall man in a suit.
“We’re here to talk to Fabiola Watson.”
“Yeah and I asked who you were,” Deb says once more.
“I’m Agent Simmons from the FBI.”
“What do you want?” I ask moving into his line of sight. The man looks at me strangely before clearing his throat.
“Miss Watson, I wanted to ask you a few questions about Mack Montgomery.” My chest deflates at his words. Have they found his body? Did they know that Sly did it?
“What about him?”
“May I come in?” he asks.
“No. You can ask all your questions from right there.” I’m not stupid. I know better than to let another cop into this house. I learned my lesson the hard way.
“When is the last time you spoke to Mack?” I nearly roll my eyes. They are the FBI they should know this.
“I don’t really know. It’s been awhile.”
“About how long?” he asks once more, no doubt getting tired of me edging around his question.
“Months? Years? It’s hard to say.”
“Miss Watson, he has gone missing. There have been no pings on his cell phone, and he hasn’t called in. We know he was on a case that somehow involved you. No one at his precinct is willing to discuss it.”
“And that’s my problem? I don’t know where Mack is, and honestly? I don’t care,” I add crossing my arms over my chest. At least Sly was efficient in making Mack disappear.
“You were involved with a case, right? Let me see, Soulless Bastards?”
Shit! How much does he actually know?
“I was helping him, but we didn’t turn up anything and he went on his way. I haven’t talked to him since the last time he came by here.”
“Would you mind making a statement?”
“Yes, I mind. Now if you are done questioning me, I have work to do,” I snap at him. Why? I don’t know. Why am I not turning Sly and his club in for killing Mack? Another thing I don’t know. I’m so confused and upset, maybe hurt more than anything. I don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong anymore.
“If you remember anything, here’s my card,” he says, passing me the card he just pulled from his pocket. I nod my head and watch Deb close the door behind him.
“What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know.”
“You haven’t heard from Mack at all?” I shake my head. I don’t want to lie to her, but she also doesn’t know the full story of what happened between Sly and me. I didn’t want to tell her that he kept me hostage in his basement. I couldn’t face her. “This is a big shit show. Wonder whose bed he found his way into this time,” she mumbles under her breath. I giggle and go back to the table to grab my phone and keys.
“I need to go out for a bit. Need anything?”
“No, I’m good!” I head outside and straight to the car. I start it up and take a deep breath before shifting into drive. I don’t know if I should be doing this. I shouldn’t go back over there, but at the same time, I can’t let him take the fall for Mack. I don’t condone killing but Mack wasn’t the best person in the world anyway. My feelings are torn, all over the place. The man is a killer and yet I can’t help but feel drawn to him.
The drive to the clubhouse doesn’t take as long as it should. I haven’t even had time to think or come up with what I’m going to say to him. I don’t know that I can handle seeing him and not demanding answers for what happened the last time I was here. Nevertheless, I park the car and climb out, walking up to the front door. My heart beats wildly in my chest, but before I can raise my hand to the open it, it flies open.
“What the hell are you doin’ here?” My mouth opens and closes but no words form. My chest aches, the familiar scent that lingers in the clubhouse bringing back too much all at once.
“I need to talk to Sly.”
“No, you don’t. What do you want, Fabiola?” Gauge asks, his eyes harsh.
“The FBI came to my house. They are looking for Mack.”
“What the fuck did you tell them?” he growls stepping into my space. I shake my head and wrap my arms around myself.
“I didn’t tell them anything. I told them I hadn’t talked to him in a while, but he knew that I was involved in a case with him.” Gauge cocks his head to the side, daring me to say it. To finish that sentence.