Page 114 of Claimed By the Biker Brothers

“I knew Ellie wouldn’t let that happen,” he mumbles.

“What about her?” I ask, nodding at Marlo. She’s sitting quietly in a chair, hands cuffed behind her back while she stares at Calvin’s corpse. “What’s going to happen to her?”

“Life in a Federal prison if she’s lucky,” Bentley replies. “One thing’s for certain, though. The Hughes family is done for good this time.”

I like the sound of that.

Marlo starts crying uncontrollably, sobbing like a little girl. I wish I could muster a sliver of sympathy for the creature, but I can’t find any left in me. I save what remains of my energy for Robyn, who needs me close to her now more than ever.

“We’ll need you to come to the hospital with us,” the paramedic tells her after he’s done with the EKG. “Your vitals are good, but we just want to make sure, given your condition and what you went through.”

I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her into a long embrace. “It’s okay, baby. We’re going to be okay. We made it.”

“We made it,” she repeats after me.

37

Robyn

The following days are strange, to say the least.

Everything comes out in the open: every lie, every secret, every backdoor bribe and shady deal Marlo and Calvin made with Frank Spalding. Sheriff Bentley has our statements on paper—every last detail. It makes for a compelling story.

Fortunately, things don’t work out according to what Marlo and Calvin had planned.

“How are you holding up?” Ellie asks me.

We’re at the hospital. She’s in bed, recovering from her gunshot wound. Samson is sharing his private room with her, mostly because, despite learning about her DEA affiliation, the old hoot still has a soft spot for his favorite bartender. Shay will never let him live that statement down.

“I’m okay. Kyra still has nightmares about the whole thing, but she’s been sleeping with me. It soothes her,” I tell Ellie. “What about you?”

“Personally, I’m surprised you’re even here,” she sighs. “I thought you’d be mad.”

“Oh, I am mad,” I say. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see you again, to be honest. But I tried to put myself in your shoes. I weighed everything carefully, the good and the bad. I understand the motives behind your actions, and I can’t really blame you. You were doing your job. The DEA is supposed to keep drugs and dealers off our streets. Yours is a noble profession and people like Spalding piss all over the good you try to do. I didn’t like the lying to my face part for a whole year, but I believed you when you said you really cared about me. I felt it.”

“I do care about you,” she says, tearing up.

“Yeah. You wouldn’t have been such a trustworthy babysitter if you didn’t really care about Kyra.” I say as I laugh lightly. “You can’t fake real love like that, huh?”

She shakes her head slowly. “No, I can’t. How’s the bun in the oven doing? Any aftereffects from the kidnapping?”

“Nothing concerning. I’m due for another checkup next week,” I reply. “So far, so good, and I am grateful for that. We’re all in good health.”

“Good health,” Samson grumbles as he wakes up from his heavy sleep. He looks around, eyes widening as he recognizes Ellie. “Ah, you’re still here.”

“You’re not going to get rid of me that easily,” she says and shoots him a grin.

“He’s just playing hard to get. Let’s not forget who insisted you be here in this particular room,” I chime in, giving Samson a wide smile. “You’re looking better, by the way. I can see why Diesel keeps saying the devil can’t die. He meant you.”

“You’re damn right,” he sighs heavily. “What’s the word these days?”

Ellie goes through her phone for updates from her bosses. “Well, it’s a doozy,” she says. “Once I’m fit for duty again, they’re going to post me back in the Oregon field office. But I will have to come down here at least once a week to supervise our agents. They’re screening every member of Spalding’s team in the meantime. Three of them confessed to being in on his conspiracy and drug dealing business. The others claim they had no idea, that they thought it was all DEA-sanctioned, but on the hush-hush.”

“I’m starting to think we got lucky with you, Ellie,” Samson mutters. “If Spalding had known there was a DEA UC in Redwood, I reckon things would’ve gone down differently.”

“He would’ve figured out a way to disclose my identity to the right people,” she says. “He’d have had to take me out first, then move on to the Rogue Riders and Marlo’s business ambitions. I guess you’re right, Samson. Y’all were lucky.”

“In more ways than one,” I tell her.

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