Free Under Fire (Winged Enemy MC Romance) by Olivia Ruin Page B

I’d just finish the trip. I’ve just been sitting at home by myself catching snippets of news through texts, it’s bullshit. I wanted to come and find out what’s actually happening.”
    I had just driven across town alone myself, so I couldn’t sustain my aura of authority, especially with tears tracking down my face. “Just as well, I suppose. After what happened to Tim it’s obvious that being home isn’t necessarily the safest thing either. There are a couple of guys inside, and also…” I couldn’t bring myself to say Jed or Kat’s names. “Why don’t you go inside, I’ll be in in just a few minutes?”
    Zach sat down on the curb in front of me as though he hadn’t heard a word I’d spoken. “Feeling crappy?”
    I tried to hide my feelings, but it was just too much. Everything was too much. I don’t know why everything seems to blow up in the space of two days in this town, but I could use a bit of a break next time.
    “Yes.” I didn’t want to elaborate.
    “Is it because of Jed and Kat?”
    So the young guy can spot the signs of a love triangle, can he?
    “If I say no, will you stop asking questions?”
    He shook his head. “It’s usually better to talk things through. I’ve learned that much, at least. I guess it’s been pretty hard for you to watch them as they start to repair what they had before, isn’t it?”
    “Oof. You know, for a guy who just counseled me to talk through things so I feel better, you sure know how to put a dagger through a lady’s heart, don’t you?”
    A cloud passed over his face, and I wondered why until I realized the wording I used.
    “Oh shit. I’m sorry Zach. After the way Tim went… that was crass of me, I apologize. I shouldn’t be doing any joking at all right now, not with this mood.”
    “That’s ok, Leslie. You’ve always been nice to me, most of the guys treat me as the butt of the joke all the time. I guess that’s the price I pay for being the newest member as a replacement.”
    “I think that’s just guy culture. They rip on each other all the time, it’s not just you.” I looked at him sideways. “How much do you actually know about Kat?”
    He eyed me. “Is this about her and Jed? Or is this something different?”
    He is way too quick for a teenager.
    “Let’s say it’s about her and Jed. Do you have any idea what her history is like?”
    He picked up a couple stones and skipped them across the road while he considered his words. “I know that they were in love. Like, really in love. The kind you couldn’t fake if you tried. Then something blew up between them and Frank, and she left. She never came back, and I don’t think anyone knew where she went. Jed was hard to be around back then. I was a lot younger, obviously, but I remember that he never really laughed much after that.”
    “That sounds rough.” As much as I knew about Jed, which was a huge amount considering my resources and the preparation I had done for the undercover role, there were still things that I didn’t really know about. “So no one knows what happened to her between then and now? We have no idea how she spent her time or what kind of crowd she fell in with?”
    “Are you trying to ask if she turned into the type of person who could attack people she used to care about?”
    I had asked too many leading questions. I might as well have just told Zach my suspicions. I hoped that he would be discreet about it. “Let’s say I’m asking that.”
    “Let’s put it this way,” he said. “I think there’s only one person in this town who could have gotten to that point, and once you have all the facts that should lead you straight to them, shouldn’t it?”
    A wise young man, here.
    Before I could continue questioning Zach, the sound of several motorcycles roaring down the streets echoed up the road. We looked at each other and by unspoken accord got to our feet just as a few hogs ripped around the corner and screeched to a halt in front of the