Banger's Ride: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 5) (35 page)

Her friend’s words came slowly at her, as Belle tried to understand why Holly was yelling at her.
Why are we at the river when we’re supposed to go shopping?
In her foggy mind, she couldn’t think clearly. Near the car, she noticed a Harley—it was Scorpion’s. Panic grabbed hold of her, and she tried to open the car door, but her damn muscles weren’t working right; she couldn’t move her limbs normally. “Why’s Scorpion here?” she asked raggedly.

Ignoring her, Holly slipped out of the car. Scorpion came over to the passenger’s side and threw open the door, dragging Belle out. Trying to push him away, her lack of muscle control made her no match for him. He slammed her against the hood of the car, kissing her roughly on the lips as his hands rubbed over her breasts, squeezing them tightly. “I want what you’re giving that sonofabitch Insurgent. You owe me, cunt.”

“Scorpion!
That
isn’t why you’re here,” Holly yelled at him.

“Shut the fuck up. I’m gonna have some fun before I get rid of her.” He pushed his face against Belle’s. “You up for that? No?” He guffawed. “That’s okay, you just relax. I’ll do all the work.” He grabbed the hem of her shirt.

“Holly? What’s going on? Why aren’t you stopping this?” Her tongue was thick, and everything was spinning faster. She was afraid she was going to pass out.

Holly came over, punched her brother in the arm, and shoved him away from Belle. “I told you, you’re not here for
that
. When you do your job, you can go back to town and fuck whatever slut you want.”

“Holly?” Belle said weakly as she collapsed on the ground.

Pulling her up by the hair, Holly propped her against the car. Crouching down, she brought her face inches from Belle’s. “You want to know what’s going on? You’re going to die. Your ass is worth a million dollars, and I’m ready to collect.”

Belle shook her head, as if that would help clear the fogginess slowly taking over her entire brain. “Money…?”

“Yeah. Remember that life insurance policy you signed when you brought your brat daughter over to stay with me?”

Belle closed her eyes, forcing her brain to bring out a memory from one of the clear corners of her mind. She vaguely remembered Holly telling her that if something happened to Belle, Emily and Ethan wouldn’t be provided for. Holly suggested that she take out a life insurance policy, making her the beneficiary since Ethan and Emily were minors. Belle agreed, thinking it was a good idea, that her friend was so kind for agreeing to take her kids in if anything happened to her. She remembered thinking that she trusted Holly with her life.
How fucking ironic.

“I can see from the look in your eyes that you do remember. It was too easy. Did you really think I’d want to take care of your fucked-up daughter and puny son? Fuck. You’re so stupid. I banked on your stupidity when I fucked Harold behind your back for three years.”

Money…? Harold…? What the fuck is she talking about?

“I became friends with you for a reason. I knew your hubby was rich, and the way you acted with him told me that I could be fucking him in no time. You gave him a home, kids, good meals, but you didn’t fuck him like a slut. All men want that. He knew you weren’t interested in him sexually. He’d tell me, and I’d pretend I gave a shit.”

“Come on, either let me fuck her or kill her, but your fuckin’ talking is getting on my nerves.” Scorpion threw his cigarette butt in the dirt and stubbed it out.

“You shut up. I had to put up with this whiny cunt for years, acting like I was her friend just to get to Harold so we could make some real money. I want her to know I was sucking and fucking her husband, and he loved it.” She bent down and hissed in Belle’s ear, “He fucking loved having sex with me. He bought me expensive presents, took me on his business trips, and stole the money from the business. All for me.
Me
. Then that cunt, his secretary, grabbed hold of his cock and tried to take away all the hard work I’d done. He even told me it was over between us. Can you imagine that? He wanted to give
her
the money I’d worked so hard for. Then you found out, and I was so glad because I thought you’d have a fucking backbone and would throw him out. But being the weak woman you are, you forgave him, and he left Megan
and
me, decided that he really loved you, and he was going to make everything all right and return the money. What a stupid asshole!”

The world was quickly fading. Holly was still chattering about Harold and the secretary and the money.
The money! Holly stole the money.
“You killed Harold?”

“Damn right, I did. He fucking screwed me over. No one dumps me. Ever. When I told him I wanted one last hurrah, that he owed it to me for all the good times I gave him, he relented. I knew he hadn’t returned the money yet. He was going to do it after the weekend. I knew where he kept it, so I gave him a push—or should I say a prick—into the next world.” She laughed loudly and cruelly. “Now you can join him, bitch.” She jumped up and motioned to Scorpion. “Your turn.”

“About fuckin’ time. Damn, you got a mouth.”

“My kids and Banger know I’m out with you,” Belle croaked.

“Yeah, well, people disappear all the time, sweetheart. After I weigh your body down, you won’t ever be found. They’ll think the slut did something to you, or you ran off instead of being convicted for your husband’s murder.”

Scorpion dragged her to her feet, and she fell in to him.

“I promise to play the bereaved best friend to the hilt. Banger’s going to be so sad that you ran away, but don’t worry, I’ll console him real good.” Holly laughed. “Let’s finish this bitch off.”

“Not until I get what I want.” Scorpion lifted Belle’s top, pressing his mouth over her breasts before he pulled down her jeans. She felt sick, and knew the only hope she had was to pretend she was unconscious. She hung her head laxly and closed her eyes.

“You fucking perv. She passed out. Find another slut to fuck. We gotta get this over with. I’m not going to risk getting caught because you want to fuck her.” Holly pushed her brother out of the way then pulled up Belle’s pants. “Help me get her to the river. She’s out cold. You can drown her then we’ll weigh the body down. Get a move on.”

Scorpion hoisted Belle over his shoulder and slammed her face down on the bank of the river. Belle tasted copper from her bleeding lips. Even though she wasn’t unconscious yet, moving her body was extremely difficult. At that moment, she knew she was going to die. No one knew she was there. Banger had a tracking app on her phone, but why would he ever think anything was amiss? She’d told him she was going out with her best friend for a day of shopping, after all.

She wondered if Harold felt as sad and panicked as she did while he was dying. Tears burned behind her eyes. Sadness for a life she could have had with Banger, and not being able to watch her children grow into adults, coursed through her body. After all she had been through, her life would end in the middle of nowhere, in the deep, cold waters of the Colorado River.
What a sad and terrible way to die.

The water flooded her nose and mouth and she flailed like a beached fish, striving to breathe. Again her head was dunked in, just before she gasped for more air. Through the rush of water, she heard Scorpion’s muffled voice.

“You didn’t give her enough of that shit. She’s still conscious. Fuck, can’t you do anything right?”

“Just hold her head down, she’ll go. You like a fight, so why are you griping?” Holly snapped.

Her lungs were filling with water, and black spots floated in front of her eyes.
Here I go…
.

Muted yells and screams echoed in the background as she gave herself up to her watery grave. Then she was spitting and coughing as someone leaned over her, pressing her chest and bringing his mouth to hers, breathing life into her water-laden lungs. The brackish liquid spewed from her as she coughed, and through the slits of her barely opened eyes, she saw shadows and black boots. Then several hands picked her up and placed her in the back of a vehicle, and she gave in to the darkness that engulfed her.

“G
et her to
the hospital, now!” Banger turned back to a bloodied and bruised Scorpion and stabbed the final blow into his heart. Scorpion’s small black eyes widened then went flat as the life seeped out of him. “Get rid of this piece of shit,” Banger ordered. “When you’re done, bring his bike back to the clubhouse. No reason to destroy a Harley.”

Puck and Johnnie, the two prospects, dutifully wrapped Scorpion’s body in a large tarp, threw it in the flatbed of the pickup, and sped away to dispose of it where it would never be found.

Holly stared wild-eyed at the group of bikers. “You gonna kill me too?”

Banger gritted his teeth and fought down the urge to gut her. “Nah. It’s not that I’m soft, because I’d love to give you an Insurgents’ death—slow and painful—but I gotta clear my old lady’s name. Your ass is gonna be stuck in a cell, bitch. In your case, living is gonna be worse than dying.” He turned to Chas and Rock. “Tie this cunt up and throw her in the back. We’ll drop her off at the fuckin’ badges’ door.”

After they tied her hands and feet, they tossed her in the back of the SUV. Holly cussed up a storm.

“Will someone gag the bitch?” Banger demanded. “I’m not listening to that shit all the way back to Pinewood.”

When they got to the police station, Detective Sanders was waiting for them. Cara had called ahead and told him what was happening, along with sharing her information about Holly. Banger let Hawk deal with the detective; he had to go to the hospital and see his Belle.

When he entered her room in the emergency department, Belle was propped against a bevy of pillows holding a large glass, her teeth crunching on something. He rushed over and kissed and hugged her.

She pulled away. “I look a mess.”

He kissed her bruised face, whispering, “You’re the most beautiful mess I’ve ever seen. Whatcha got in the cup?”

“Chipped ice. The doctor says water flushes will push the drugs out of my system. I’m still woozy, but not like I was earlier today. Damn, I can’t believe any of this.”

“I know. Fuck, I knew there was something I didn’t like about the cunt, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. I didn’t like how she kept flirting with me, you being her friend and all. I knew something wasn’t right.”

“She killed Harold.” Her voice hitched. “And they had an affair for a long time. How did Harold do that to me, and with my friend? I thought Megan was the only affair he had, and I chalked it up to midlife-crisis shit. I don’t understand any of this. I can’t wrap my head around it, because everything I knew and believed for the last five years has turned out to be nothing but a big, fucking lie.”

He bent down and drew her close to his body. “Harold was a fuckin’ idiot to have looked at any other woman when he had you in his life. And Holly is a grifter. She conned and scammed for money, and if murder was the way to get it, that’s what she did. She was never your friend.”

“But how could she act like we were best friends, sharing our thoughts, our dreams, our jokes—everything? How could she do it?”

“She’s a pro. She banked about two million from your husband and would’ve gotten another from you.” He stopped, a lump forming in his throat. He’d been so close to losing the woman he adored. “We got Cara to thank for saving you,” he said in a low voice.

“I’ll have to thank her. If she hadn’t looked into this, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Let’s be happy you are. The past is over. We got a whole lifetime ahead of us.” He went over and closed the door then came back to her. Drawing a chair close to the bed, he said, in a hushed voice, “That fuckin’ badge is gonna be over here real soon to talk to you ‘bout what happened. Tell him everything except that Scorpion was there.”

“What happened to him?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. It’s club business. Just don’t mention the fucker. It was only you and the cunt. Got it?”

She nodded just as someone knocked on her door.

“Remember, babe.” Banger kissed her gently on the lips then went over and opened the door. Detective Sanders stared at him. Banger moved aside. “Come on in.”

Sanders entered the room. “I’d like to speak with Mrs. Dermot alone.”

“I want Banger to stay,” she said. “I can’t talk too long. I’m still groggy.”

He sat down on the chair at the foot of her bed while Banger plopped on the one next to her.

The questions went on and on and on, and Banger could see Belle’s face was a mask of exhaustion. He’d give the fuckin’ badge a few more questions, but then he was outta the room.

Once again, Sanders asked, “Was anyone with you besides your friend, Holly?”

Belle stuck with her story. “Only Holly was there. She drugged me. The toxicology report will prove that. I also left most of the punch, so I’m sure it’s still there in the thermos in her car.”

“Was her brother, Scorpion, there?”

She shook her head. “No. I haven’t seen Scorpion since the time I spotted him with Megan, my late husband’s mistress. That was about two or three weeks ago.”

“Did you witness a fight between your fiancé—” his chin jerked to Banger “—and Scorpion?”

With a sweet, innocent face, she replied, “No, I never did. They didn’t even know each other.”

Sanders stared hard at her, and all she did was smile and put another spoonful of chipped ice in her mouth. Then Sanders looked at Banger’s expressionless face. Inwardly, he was laughing his ass off.
She’s gonna make a kick-ass old lady.

“We did a search on your supposed friend’s house, and we found all sorts of fake IDs, the life insurance you signed, and a multitude of sedatives. She had them buried in the corner of her closet.”

In a small voice, she asked, “Did she kill Harold?”

“It appears that way. She planted the syringe in your unit knowing your stepdaughter would find it and put the blame on you. She got her brother to cozy up to Megan Ryan so if your body ever turned up, she’d be the likely suspect.”

“Did Darren know anything about what Holly was doing?”