Page 6 of Carlos: Trilogy: Part Two

All eyes turned to the VDMC President. Steel took a sip of his coffee, both his tone and his stature were casual. Too casual for Carlos’s liking. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Conner’s dead. However,” he said slightly louder when Carlos made to argue, “Conner’s situation is unique. There is another explanation but not one I understand yet.”

Everyone waited on bated breath for Steel to continue.

“Conner had an identical twin,” Steel reminded them all.

Bulldog’s eyebrows drew down. “He was KIA overseas.”

Steel nodded easily, “And, according to Conner, no body had been recovered. He’d had to bury an empty casket.”

Carlos’s eyes went wide. “You think it was the twin? Why?”

“Unknown,” Steel said. He took another sip of his coffee. No one had touched their breakfast plates yet. “But I do know this, he came to the station for a reason. He could have easily cornered you in a store or somewhere more private. There’s a reason he made such a public appearance in a town who thinks a man with his face is dead.”

“You think something else is going on?” Lucky inquired. “Like what?”

“I’m not sure.” Steel turned to Bulldog. “Let’s tighten security. Between this and the Pythons, I’m not liking having more questions than answers.”

Bulldog nodded once. “Already on it. We’re even setting some traps up in the fields in case anyone decides to come in the back way.”

The property the club owned used to be a distillery. Before that, it was a farm. The club had a lot of unused acres on their land. Carlos did not like that the trailer where he had found Zoe and Kyle was so widely separated from the rest of the other homes.

“If the Pythons come at you head on, is there a safe place for you to put the women and children?” Jeff asked.

Carlos did not miss how still-faced all three officers got. It was Steel who answered. Evasive, though it was. “They’ll be protected.”

Carlos wondered what other construction the club had done recently. Was it possible they had a safe room on property that he didn’t know about?

“Longhill trusted you guys,” Jeff said, either not picking up on or ignoring Steel’s vagueness. “You’ve always helped out and had our backs before. I don’t know what Hannigan had against you, but I was happy when it ended.” Jeff eyed Lucky as if he wondered if Hannigan’s dislike of the VDMC stemmed from Lucky dating and marrying his daughter. “But I won’t see Mount Grove turned into a warzone. Whatever this beef is that the Pythons have with you, you need to solve it and fast.”

Carlos nodded his agreement. “I know you guys stumbled upon the Python’s involvement in the dogfighting ring, but it made them take a closer look at you and Mount Grove. We need to stop this before it escalates.”

“We’ll handle the Pythons, but I won’t be the one to shoot first,” Steel said seriously.

“Hopefully there will be no shots fired,” Carlos stated, though even he could hear the doubt in his own voice. “What about Conner’s twin?”

“Nothing we can do,” Steel answered. “Sounds like he came to deliver a message. It was one he could have left anonymously and chose not to. We’ll just have to wait and see if the reason presents itself. The bounty hunter, Trapper, is now on our radar. If he crosses into our town, we’ll deal with it then.”

Jeff was the only one at the table who didn’t know there was a wanted fugitive in town. Carlos needed to decide if he should read his deputy sheriff into the situation. As much as he liked having another pair of eyes on the lookout for Zoe and Kyle, it was one more person who knew, and could potentially tell, her secret.

Carlos wasn’t sure if it was worth the risk. For now, it was enough that Jeff knew there was a dangerous bounty hunter in their area.

CHAPTER 3

Zoe could not remember ever smiling so much in a single day. Before going to work that morning, Carlos had dropped Zoe and Kyle off at the clubhouse to spend the day with Jenna and some of the club kids. Zoe promised to make an effort to be social and she was going to try her hardest to keep her word.

Cage, one of the patched members, offered to drive them back to the Santiago house around dinner time. He borrowed a car seat from one of the ol’ ladies and packed Louisa, Zoe, and Kyle into his work truck. One of the other members wasn’t feeling well and Cage was running out to the store to buy them some crackers, soup, and the like; he was going to drop them off on his way. Zoe wasn’t sure if Carlos had had a chance to ask Cage about adding an additional bathroom to his house. She didn’t want to overstep or speak out of turn, so she did not inquire with Cage herself.

Additionally, Zoe wasn’t sure how to act around Louisa when Carlos wasn’t present. She was a stranger now living in the woman’s home. What did Louisa think of Zoe? She obviously knew that Zoe and Carlos hadn’t known each other very long. They were as much strangers as Louisa and Zoe. Yet, Zoe was now living in Carlos’s house and had moved into his bedroom. Did she think that Zoe was after Carlos’s house, his money? Using him for protection?

As they waved to Cage pulling out of the driveway, Louisa leaned over to Zoe and said, “Let’s give this one some screen time so you and I can talk.”

Zoe’s heart had nearly stopped at those words—but she shouldn’t have worried so much. Within minutes, Louisa had her laughing so hard with stories of Carlos’s childhood that she peed a little. The cookies Kyle and Louisa had made two days ago were on a plate in the middle of the table and they both had a cup of coffee. The sounds of Paw Patrol could be heard echoing from the living room over their laughter.

Louisa was doubled over laughing, holding onto the edge of the table for support. “I kid you not,” she finished up her story. “No hesitation, no questioning if he should do it… Just walked right up to that goat and plunged his finger in like he was taking its temperature.”

“Oh God, Momma! Not this story again!”

Zoe picked her head up, her smile so wide that her cheeks hurt, to see Carlos standing in the kitchen doorway. He wasn’t alone. Keys, the VDMC’s computer genius, was behind him, looking far too happy to have overheard the ending to Louisa’s story.

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