Page 6 of Striker's Yield

“I’m not doing anything,” she says, holding her hands up. “Well, I am working, so I’m doing something.”

“You know what I fuckin’ mean.” I narrow my gaze and watch her carefully. Athena is a tricky woman to read. Only Brass has ever been able to figure her out. “Why all of a sudden is my sister looking to make money to save for while she’s at school?”

“Lila can’t just want a job?” Athena counters, cocking a brow.

“Babe, I know you,” I state. Calling Athena babe is something I’ve done since I’ve known her. “Also talked to Brass last night. You’re up to something, and I’m not buying it. I’m callin’ bullshit here.”

Athena watches me for a split second. I’m sure she’s assessing and weighing her next move, finally, she nods. “Fine, you want to know, come to the apartment building tonight. Meet Brass and me in the offices.”

“Got work to do at Devil’s Nirvana.” I’m not about to be pulled into something that’ll just piss me off. I’ve got enough on my plate, as it were.

“I know that. So does Brass,” she says. I swear if she were the type of woman to do it, she would add in a ‘duh’. “Come when you guys finish up.”

“Fine,” I remark, hoping it’ll get her off my back. I’ll go over there and then go home and be done with whatever it is she wants me to come over for.

“Great.” Athena beams that smile of hers that gets her out of trouble with Brass in my direction. “Now, how about I get you something to eat and a treat while you wait? My treat.”

“Sure.” I hadn’t eaten yet, so that would work for me. Turning away from the counter, I look at the different selections and see a roast beef and Swiss. I nab it, and Athena reaches over the counter with her hands stretched my way.

“Here you go. A treat to go with it.”

Rolling my eyes, I snatch the little container, and move to one of the tables.

“You ready to explain to me why the hell we’re meetin’ in here right now?” Brass demands, giving his woman a disgruntled look.

“Because of this,” Athena says, holding a remote in her hand and nodding to a set of screens along a wall off to the side.

For an apartment building, it’s a damn secure one, and nothing goes on that Athena nor Lark don’t know about. She presses a button on the remote, and the screens turn on. She does something else. “This was two days ago. Check the time.”

I look in the corner of one screen she indicates. Nine thirty at night. “Okay, what about it?”

“Just watch,” she says.

I do so, and seconds later, Autumn comes into view, going to her apartment. She looks exhausted and ready to collapse at any second. She makes her way into her apartment, and that’s it.

“Each night, she comes home around the same time. Now, watch this,” Athena remarks and fast forwards a bit. “Listen.”

It’s muffled, but you could hear screams. Blood-curdling screams.

Athena moves forward in the feed and stops again. The time stamp registers barely two a.m. Seconds later, Autumn steps from her apartment, dressed and looking like she’s heading to work.

“Each night, it’s the same,” Athena admits. “Lark looked at this video. He enhanced the audio so he could head the screams and if she said anything else. She cries out her sister’s name.”

“What about her sister?” None of us bothered to look into it when we found out. She wasn’t a part of the club, just a friend of the ol’ ladies. It wasn’t our business. As long as it didn’t affect the women.

“Her sister was killed in a murder-suicide while Autumn watched, unable to get to her,” Athena answers, not beating around.

“How did no one know about this?” Brass asks, sounding pissed.

“Cops kept it quiet on behalf of the family,” Athena explains. “Supposedly, Avery’s ex, Rick, was a jerk and stalkerish. According to the report, he shoved his way into the house Autumn and Avery owned, forced Autumn through the front doors, leaving the solid oak door open for her to see inside and locking the glass paned storm door. Autumn reportedly yelled and screamed for him to let her in the house. To let her sister go. Then he killed her. Reports from neighbors said Autumn had banged on the storm door and yanked up on handle to get in, but she’d been beside herself unable to do so. All she could do was scream for her sister and the man to let her inside.”

“Oh fuck.” No wonder she sold the house and moved, but she hadn’t lived in the apartment that long. If I remember correctly, she moved in around the time Athena started working at the café. “Where did she live after that?”

“My guess? The café or her car. She might have gone to the house to shower and change, but I doubt it.” Athena takes a moment to take a breath and I twist to see she’s closed her eyes to get her bearings.

“What is it?” I ask.

Athena nods to the screens again as she opens her eyes. “Yesterday, Lark decided to put some cameras and audio in her apartment while she was at work. After her kidnapping, he figured it could have triggered her somehow. That and that she could be targeted again.”

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